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One of the primary through lines ofHannah Gadsbys Emmy-winning special,Nanette,was an argument against comedy.
You learn from the part of the story you focus on, Gadsby says.
Her own comedy was a form of self-harm.
It also has a pretty happy ending.
By the argument ofNanette, none of GulmansThe Great Depreshshould be funny.
Except it really, really is.
He lingers on some of the lowest moments of his life.
He talks about contemplating suicide.
He talks about thinking his comedy career was over.
He talks about his sense of shame.
No, she tells him.
A happier kid you couldnt find, always had a smile on his face.
Thats the point, of course young Gulmans happiness was a persuasive performance, but it was not true.
Its affirming without being trite, and its warm without being simplistic.
Things will still be hard.
Life, as Gulman explains with a grimace, is every single day.
He describes moments from his depression that are not exactly flattering.
But the impulse underneath those sequences isnt self-flagellation or self-loathing; its generosity.
Its a very personal special, rooted in Gulmans life and in the story of his last several years.
But one of the smartest thingsThe Great Depreshdoes is connect his experience with bigger generational critiques.
Its a joke that relies on the audiences understanding that change was good, that the story got better.
