As if upon command and with every Netflix comedy special comes a tidal wave of pearl clutching and moral grandstanding. It’s a trend popularised by religious extremists throughout history. Unfortunately for them we live in a digital age where media can be obtained fairly easily. No longer are enlightened minds struggling to pull books from a burning pile – modern censorship has taken the form of online discourse, corporations (of already questionable morals and practices) flirting with cancel culture and general gurning.
Luckily comedy still remains the antidote for this and comes in the form of your Hicks, Carlin, Chapelle and in this case – Gervais.
Ricky is back to his roots in both content and delivery here and it’s refreshing to see (read our review of ‘Ricky Gervais : Humanity’ Netflix special here). Much of his material in Super Nature harkens back to the quick-fire delivery and parodied nonchalance of opinion displayed in his 11 O’Clock Show days.
The subject matter for this show largely deals with the aforementioned themes of ‘woke culture’ and the nature of modern comedy. At least for the opening portion of the special, which puts the routines into an adequate platform of perspective.
The comedian targets hypocrisy and absurdity with deft skill, utilising a surgical blade and a sledgehammer.
“I’m not a fan of Hitler”
– Ricky Gervais
Conclusion
The only down point in the show is sadly a feature of our times. Modern comedy now must include a forward section dealing with offence and cancel culture, wokeism, gender and identity politics. This section seemingly must appear in all modern shows and must include the comedian pointing out the definitions of comedy. Or at least with a disclaimer stating that this is comedy.
Gervais expertly Lampoons this offence culture and the perceived rules surrounding the nature of humour and comedy itself. Its a shame he has to tread this murky water but it is 2022 and the theme is ripe for the picking.
This show is Gervais back on top form, clearly enjoying what he’s doing. Compared with previous specials this one adopts a more conversational tone and a flowing delivery which works well for the comic. This is Gervais’ Ted Talk on life, the universe and everything.
Unsurprisingly there has been complaints surrounding the content of the show, but as Gervais deftly points out – the jokes aren’t offensive….
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