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Ronny Chieng has gone into a trance.
We need it, Prime.
We need Prime harder, faster, stronger, he chants.
Give it to menow.
When I press buy, put the item in my hand …now.
Chieng targets American excess with relish, joking that we are breaking the laws of reality with the abundance.
Helping people is at the bottom of the list of reasons, he says.
Dont let that get in the way of what this is really about.
Its about the money and prestige.
The audience is howling with laughter as Chieng imitates a hardworking bellboy aiming the water at his exposed bottom.
Abruptly, though, the mood shifts just one degree in a more serious direction.
I sat up a little straighter on the couch when I heard this.
The beef hes talking about sounded familiar to me.
There was one acceptable form of discrimination in my home growing up.
He addresses the audience, reassuring them its okay if theyve never heard of these events.
People in the West dont really know this because theres noSchindlers Listfor Chinese people, okay?
he says, to slightly uncomfortable laughter.
If you didnt know it, Im not calling you out.
I wont ruin the jokes ultimate destination for you, but both ISIS and Pokemon are involved.
Chiengs special fulfills Ezra Pounds seemingly impossible maxim, Make it new.
But what makes Chiengs special really worth watching is that it centers a purely Asian perspective.
Its about us, and for us, full stop.
Chieng isnt just a Southeast Asian comic with a huge platform, which would be a victory in itself.
I came for Chiengs masterful dunks on capitalism.
I stayed because Chieng used comedy to pop crack open the door for Southeast Asian people like me.
Theres room for us on the big stage, too.
