Review: Solomon Georgio’s “Homonegro Superior”
I enjoyed Solomon Georgio’s comedy and commentary on race, sexuality, and social issues because his ideas feel authentic. While it is clear that he is putting on a show, I never felt like he was saying things for shock value or just to please his audience with “taboo” tidbits about what it’s like being a gay man. I think what makes his performance so realistic and authentic is the way he communicates with his audience. Many comedians who fall outside of the norm of white, straight men often have to present a caricature of their own existence to fit into the standard of “comedy” that audiences have been trained to expect. For example, many female comedians in the 90s to the 2010s were characterized by raunchy and crude jokes that were an imitation of male-oriented comedy catered to male audiences. I think the only reason that newer comedians have grown out of this expectation is due to the fact that the crude comedy of the original female comedians drew more women to audiences, which in turn has allowed for more realistic portrayals of womanhood.
I think that our evolving social climate has also changed the space for comedians of different backgrounds and identities, which is evident in Solomon’s performance. His perspective is special because it doesn't feel like a forced imitation of comedians we’ve already seen. SG isn’t trying to be something he’s not, and he’s not trivializing his experiences and a gay black man to make them easily digestible for audiences that are often straight and white. My issue with a lot of other comedians like SG is that they don’t seem to value their own identity. While Solomon jokes about his stories he invites the audience to laugh with him, whereas many others present themselves in a way that encourages audiences to laugh at them. The latter isn’t necessarily wrong, but I personally don’t enjoy watching a comedy special where a black comedian is inviting their white audience to clown on black experiences, or where a female comedian furthers issues of objectification by trying to embrace sexism to please a male audience. My opinion is that if you can’t be funny by embracing and being yourself and you rely too heavily on shock value comedy then you’re just not as funny as you think :/
And that is why I think Solomon Georgio IS funny and why his comedy works. When he talks about his experiences in an immigrant family the joke isn’t centered around “immigrants are so weird and crazy right???” or when he tells stories about his experiences as a gay man the purpose of the joke still isn't “gay people are so weird right???”. He is fully authentic and never has to sacrifice the legitimacy of his identity for a cheap laugh. While I may not relate to everything he talks about or experiences, as an audience member I am still able to understand the humor and overall message because the underlying feelings he conveys are universal human emotions. Overall, I think Solomon Georgio’s perspectives and performance can teach us all to have higher standards for storytelling and comedy and will hopefully even help us be more accepting of the common ground we all share with each other.
