Hello Meltingpot Readers,
Did you know May was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month? (Try to say that three times fast!) I actually did know that, but kind of forgot because May has become the bane of my existence. As a college professor and the mother of three school-aged children, in my house, May has become the “Cram Everything Important into Three Weeks” Month. I’ve gone to three spring concerts just this week! But I digress. This isn’t about me, it’s about my new best friend in my mind, Ali Wong.
Today is Friday, so that means I get to share one of my favorite people, places or things, and today that favorite is Ali Wong. The fact that she’s Asian (Chinese and Vietnamese) and today is the last Friday in Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage month is merely coincidental, but I will act like I planned this all along if you think it makes me sound more organized than I really am.
WHY I LOVE ALI
I discovered Ali Wong by stumbling on to her 2016 Netflix special, Baby Cobra. I like stand-up comedy just as much as the next guy, but I don’t want to hear the same jokes told by the same type of people over and over again. Stand-up is so male dominated, I’m always excited to hear a female comic do her thing. And if the female is also a person of color, I’m even more geeked because I like comedians who are really performing social commentary and not just cracking jokes. And if you’ve lived your life as a some type of “other,” then your perspective, your commentary, your comedy is going to potentially be more original and funny (to me at least).
Ali Wong didn’t disappoint in this respect. She had me rolling on the floor, gasping for breath laughing and nodding my head in agreement with so much of her act.
One of the things that made Baby Cobra funny before Wong even opened her mouth is that she performed while seven months pregnant with her first child. Her routine touched on everything from pregnancy, to sex, to interracial dating, to feminism. She didn’t center her ethnicity at all, but she’s an Asian-American woman and her identity obviously informs her perspective. On Mother’s Day of this year (2018), Wong released her second Netflix special, Hard Knock Wife, to coincide with her second pregnancy. Again she performed in a skin-tight animal print dress while very pregnant. Clearly becoming a mom has dramatically impacted Wong as almost her entire show revolved around motherhood, pregnancy and breast-feeding. But she also revealed more about her ethnic heritage and upbringing, noting that she grew up alongside a Latino community in California.
SHE’S SMART AND FUNNY!
I don’t need to sell Ali Wong because she is freaking hilarious, original and smart. Check out this NPR interview with Wong from 2016 . Then go watch both of her specials and then come back here and thank me for introducing you to Ali Wong or tell me how long you’ve been a fan. You know I’m listening.
Peace!
