I didn’t laugh but it reminded me of the 1990s humour of The Day Today as a guide to what you will see.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p04sh6zg/simon-amstell-carnage
Musings on the byways of popular culture
I didn’t laugh but it reminded me of the 1990s humour of The Day Today as a guide to what you will see.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p04sh6zg/simon-amstell-carnage
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Arthur Cowslip says
Just watched this and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It’s comedy with an agenda. Having an agenda can sometimes kill comedy stone dead, but here it doesn’t. I think it was the Independent review which pointed out it’s the first pro-vegan comedy to actually point out how annoying vegans are.
The comparison to The Day Today is a good one. Simon Amstell seems to want to position himself as the new Chris Morris, and that’s fine by me. I always had a lot of respect for Simon Amstell.
Until now I was never convinced by veganism or even vegetarianism. (On The Old Place, to my eternal shame, I even started a playful anti-vegan thread which was interpreted by more than a few of the Massive as trolling). But having watched Carnage…. well I’m almost convinced.
It’s the simple, elegant idea at the heart of it. In fifty years time, what are we ‘carnists’ going to seem like? Like all bad ideas that take a while to properly flush out from social normality (smoking, racism, homophobia…), Carnage gently suggests that we’re going to look stubborn and ridiculous in old footage. (Like 70s footage we cringe at now, with people casually referrings to “poofs” and “darkies”).
I don’t know, though. While I could probably live without red meat, I love a good chicken. And things like milk, eggs and butter seem impossible to consider giving up. When you find out that most alcohol isn’t vegan friendly, the whole thing just feels insurmountable.
But there you go. A comedy show I laughed at and genuinely caused me a bit of soul searching. Good on you, Simon Amstell. You’re a clever chap.
RubyBlue says
Annoying vegan here. đ
I thought it was very well done; bit too close to the bone (sic) to be funny, for me (although there are at least four laugh-out-loud moments). I think I flinched more than I laughed.
But a good achievement to illustrate as behaviour we see as ‘normal’ might actually be deeply strange.
(On and Simon Amstell’s stand-up is worth a look, if you thought of him solely as ‘annoying nasty Buzzcocks guy’. )
Arthur Cowslip says
It was certainly hard hitting in many parts. Seeing animals being slaughtered is never fun. Which is kind of the point.
Gary says
Another thumbs up for Amstell’s stand up. A couple of years back I trawled through loads of youtube stand up shows in search of the good stuff and Amstell was the comedian I liked most. Very honest and self aware and funny.
Dave Ross says
I’ll start with I like Simon Amstell, a lot. I will seek out his new thing because he’s never really disappointed. Buzzcocks had more than its share of laugh out loud moments and was never better than with Amstell at the helm. The scenes with Amy Winehouse would make tough viewing now but the ones with the idiot from the “band” Towers Of London and Dappy remain some of my favourite TV moments
chiz says
That was very good. It really is quite hard to justify our obsession with torturing, murdering and eating animals. Except for them being so goddam tasty of course.
Trivia point: one of the people dancing naked in the supermarket is Charlie Gilmour, son of David.
Gary says
Available on youtube now, non-Uk dwellers. Like others above, I found it entertaining and thought provoking.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vsTzVmRfsZY
WholeHogg says
Another annoying vegan here. Pleased to hear that the general consensus so far has been a thumbs-up. I really enjoyed it, despite it being very ‘Day Today’ / ‘Time Trumpet’ in approach and I wondered how non-vegans would react. I think Amstell achieved a good balance between silliness and making salient points though the echoes of the Jo Cox murder were difficult. Overall, anything that helps us to think about where our food actually comes from has to be a good thing.
Mark Kermode’s interview with him at the BFI is worth watching if you want to hear more about the project.
Moose the Mooche says
Thank you for reminding me about Time Trumpet.
“He keeps pipe tobacco…”