Aziz Ansari wasn’t exactly his goofy Tom Haverford or Raaaaandy self on Friday at Wharton Center, and he didn’t crack jokes about being the “brown Ryan Gosling” or talk about his porky cousin Harris’ obsession with Cinnabon and “Lost.”
For most of his 90-minute show, Ansari went into painstaking detail about how much it sucks to be single. Thanks, Aziz. Instead of making fun of Kanye West jamming to his own music at a house party, you managed to remind me yet again of how I spend my nights pounding carbs and watching “Dexter” alone. Granted I’d probably be doing the same exact same thing with my boyfriend, but that’s not the point.
There were times in his show that I actually was tearing up (admittedly I sometimes cry watching TV commercials…). After describing how painful it is to pine for someone you care about with all your heart, he brought up the high divorce rate. His longing to be in a relationship reminded me of all the best moments I spent with my ex-boyfriend and how much I loved having him in my life.
On top of that, Ansari publicly goaded anyone who ever pretended to be busy or straight up ignored a text from a hopeful suitor asking to hang out. How do you feel when someone takes two days to message you back and the most they can muster is a feeble “lol”? That hit home to anyone who’s ever had a friend copy edit a message before pulling the trigger or deluded themselves into thinking the text somehow didn’t send. It made me ashamed of all the times I didn’t even take the time to reply when someone invited me out for drinks.
Next time I’ll think twice about coldly clicking off my phone when I get a message from an unknown number. Ansari unabashedly made a call to arms to everyone to remember the people behind the tiny cream-colored message bubbles that pop up on your cellphone screen.
Not exactly the upper I was hoping for.
Don’t get me wrong. The nearly 2,000 students in the audience and I laughed our butts off during most of the show. We laughed at ourselves.
Ansari characterized the worst parts of dating, such as the moment right after you send a text to that hottie from psychology and proceed to pace obsessively in your dorm until they finally text you back, if they actually text you back. It felt good to hear someone acknowledge how hard love can hurt, while making fun of the drama with so much wit I literally threw my head back in laughter. It was empowering to put things into perspective and laugh instead of cry for once.
And Ansari helped me reflect on how I treat others. As he said, you wouldn’t give someone the silent treatment if they pluck up the courage to ask you out via phone call. Why is it more acceptable to ignore someone via text? He gave me a greater sense of empathy and concern to respect other humans like real people, not just little cream-colored bubbles on your phone.
The show was a lot heavier than I bargained for, and some people went so far as to call him “unfunny.” But I prefer humor that has depth and helps me gain a new perspective on life. We don’t have to be satisfied with mindless jokes about the endless stream of people making idiots of themselves on YouTube, although sometimes a Daniel Tosh rant is enough to perk up my day. It might not have been traditional humor, but there’s only so much you can get out of Ansari’s killer impression of Seal singing “Kiss from a Rose.” If nothing else, Ansari’s performance made me think.
Summer Ballentine is copy chief at The State News. Reach her at sballentine@statenews.com.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Ansari gives truths, laughs at Wharton” on social media.
