It is the end of the year 2023 and as tradition has it, many comedy specials, with which the stars of the scene have been on tour for a year, land on Netflix: Among them is “Where was I” by Trevor Noah. The host of the “Daily Show” also addresses Germany and the national anthem in his somewhat more than one-hour performance in Detroit.
Trevor Noah approaches feelings and laughter. While typical US comedians like Jim Gaffigan prefer to laugh at themselves and Ricky Gervais often leaves you with laughter stuck in your throat, Trevor Noah always carries a message promoting a better world.
In his latest comedy special, he finds this better world
, which he explains to the US audience, precisely in Germany: He talks about a trip to Berlin and how honestly the Germans deal with their dark past: The Germans would explain to children in school what their ancestors did during the Nazi era, telling the children that it was not their fault, but that we all have to ensure that such things do not happen again.
One should not conceal the past, even if it is uncomfortable, but confront it.
Germany, Noah says, did everything differently after the war: They even changed the national anthem, but kept “the beat” and only exchanged the lyrics, comparing it to the Jedi in Star Wars keeping the “Imperial March” by Darth Vader after their victory.
Unity and justice and freedom) should be sung.
In the USA, there is a completely different approach to history, as he makes clear with the example of “Columbus Day”: Only a white man has the confidence to sail the world in the wrong direction, stubbornly claiming he discovered India and that the people living there are Indians, to then get a holiday in a country he never set foot in. Only white men could fail “upward” like this.
Other topics Noah addresses:
- His own childhood in South Africa
- The bizarre, unexcited attitude of the French towards their work
- Why conflicts revolving around public bathrooms are fundamentally silly and only distract from the essential problems
- The 5 favorite things of white people, where there is a clever punchline
Whites loved swimming so much that they manipulated the Olympics to hand out absurdly many medals to swimmers:
The comedy special on Netflix “Where was I” lasts 68 minutes, it is only available in English but with German subtitles (via netflix).
It is more of a special for smiling and thinking rather than one for roaring laughter. Noah indeed makes hopeful comedy that aims to make the world a little bit better. Those who prefer something else can always watch Jim Gaffigan or Ricky Gervais, who also currently have their new specials on Netflix.
If you are more in the mood for a series at the end of the year, we recommend Bodies
: New series on Netflix turns out to be a sci-fi thriller that gives you the feeling of being damn clever
