Why it's ok for Carlos Mencia to steal his material from people with real talent (981 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: -0.95 on 39 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by I Am The Wrinklebeast (View user info) at 2007-03-23 21:24:58 EDT
A small storm has been raging in the comedy world after the Feb. 10th incident between Joe Rogan of NBC's Fear Factor and comedian Carlos Mencia. Rogan is getting attention with strong worded accusations that Mencia steals much of his successful and lucrative material. This type of tumult is nothing new in an industry that operates virtually beyond the protection of copyright laws.
Comedians, for the most part, cling to their material and react emotionally to its unauthorized re-use, but the act of stealing artistic material is a long standing human tradition. Beyond comedy, all art forms utilize appropriation, as it is called politely, to recreate and reinvigorate old ideas. All art uses appropriation in one form or other. To draw from nature, as Leonardo did, is to essentially steal an image from the world.
The greatest of creative geniuses have all been frauds to some extent. The most famous love story of all time, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette, was an unoriginal story, being based on an older poem about the exploits of Tristan and Isolde. Picasso, possibly the most powerful and inspirational painter in two thousand years, is noted to have gained influence for his cubist style from his visits to Africa and exposure to their artistic culture.
All of this was placed center stage during the age of Andy Warhol as outright copies of soap boxes and soup cans crowded the minds of the great artistic thinkers. Warhol offered us an almost quantum-mechanical view of art and the creative process, one where observation held a vital role in creating the nature of that which was being observed. In this slightly extremist viewpoint, theft is impossible, since any re-creation will unavoidably be altered by the context of its retelling.
Literary material, like artistic images, is recycled persistently and endlessly. As the wise King Solomon was once rumored to have said, "There is nothing new under the sun." Author Dan Brown, of the smash occult hit The Da Vinci Code, is accused of stealing his best-selling plotline from the late Robert Anton Wilson, whose dozens of books explore Illuminati and Gnostic mysteries surprisingly similar to Brown's.
In the comedy world, theft is a repetitive accusation, and one which has felled few great comics. Robin Williams is apparently notorious in comedic circles as a wholesale vulture of others' material. Comedians were once noted to end their routines and walk of stage when Williams would enter a club. Dennis Leary had been lambasted for stealing various cigarette and drug routines from the late Bill Hicks, while Bill and Dennis are both accused of stealing material from the legendary Lenny Bruce.
It's in the nature of a joke to be retold. While our modern mass-media system has created a world that epitomizes individual creativity, the legacy of our human oral tradition continues to thrive. In the act of re-telling a joke, one cannot help but punctuate certain parts, extend others, and add ones own personal inflection to the telling. In this way, jokes and stories have rolled across civilization for thousands of years.
There is also the synchronistic nature of comedy to consider. For a wonderful example of comedic synchronicity, visit Daryl Cagle's daily political cartoons page on msn.com. If you read every cartoon for a particular day, you will notice abject similarities between certain cartoons. On the first anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq for example, at least six cartoonists, completely independent of each other, drew cartoons featuring a birthday cake with a single stick of dynamite placed festively on top.
Carlos Mencia is as brilliant as he is bigoted and as offensive as he is endearing. His racially charged jokes and stubborn, unapologetic style have endeared a large fan-base and a strong opposition. Visionary or exploitative jerk; Genius or fraud, Carlos Mencia carries the immeasurable energy necessary to engage his audience and sell even the most wrong-headed joke. In this way, he remains a truly great comedian.
User Reviews
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2007-03-30 17:36:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by NoMeD (user info) at 2007-03-26 13:38:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Mencia is shit.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-03-26 13:25:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Submitted by maiorano84 (user info) at 2007-03-23 20:01:31 PDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I'm not sure if it's amusingly ironic or just plain sad that this article itself was stolen.
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I like the irony better
Submitted by Unabonger (user info) at 2007-03-24 09:03:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
I hate Mencia.
If you have influences in your art, like the african influence in Picasso's work, it's not stolen. If he sat down and traced exactly what someone else painted, that would be stolen. That's what Mencia does. It's not like he tells it his own way or anything. The lead in, the build up, and the punchline are the SAME. It's not him taking a funny joke and putting his own personal spin on it. He's telling the SAME joke. There might be influences of Tristan and Isolde in the play Romeo and Juliet and there might be similarities but it's not word for word a rip off. Mencia is, word for word, a rip off.
And he doesn't even rip off good jokes.
The fact that this post was stolen from someone else and passed off as your own should make it an auto -2 but, because of the context, I think it's vaguely humorous so here's a -1...even though I'm sure the irony wasn't intentional.
Submitted by Spooner (user info) at 2007-03-24 08:05:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Nice try, but it's not ok in the last bit.
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2007-03-24 07:17:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:47:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:09:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Mencia is an unfunny hack. If he is stealing anything from anyone, he's stealing the wrong material, because it just isn't funny.
What pisses me off most about his show is that it's obviously supposed to be some kind of Latino version of the Chappelle Show, but it falls short in every way imaginable. First of all, Mencia is going too far with the fake Latino accent and stupid Latino jokes. How many border jokes can one man regurgitate and still get a genuine (uncanned) laugh?
The bottom line is, some comics just try too damned hard. They rehash a show night in and night out, or in the case of TV comedy, they have writers who help them try to stay funny longer, but at some point something's got to give. You can't be funny forever and its stupid to try. Human beings don't work that way. We all have emotional ups and downs that don't lend themselves to this kind of static automation. That is why the best comics are those that go off script and just talk crap half the time. They don't know what's going to come out and neither does the audience. It's that rambling, off-the-cuff improv that excites people and reminds them that it's ok to have completely juvenile thoughts.
It's not difficult to tell the difference between a comic who is regurgitating and one who is playing it by ear.
_______________________________
Thank you, ETS.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2007-03-24 07:02:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
this is what I imagine the world would look like if Electro wrote for The Mail.
Submitted by Kent_Weirdo (user info) at 2007-03-24 04:45:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Ned Holness is half-German and half-Honduran (doesn't mean shit). Stop calling him Carlos Mencia.
Did anyone hear that radio interview where he was on for ten minutes only to be swept off after telling someone else's jokes again?
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/92114/Carlos_Mencia_Kicked_off_Radio_Show.html
The first nine minutes are worthless, but be sure to queue forward to where he starts talking about his stereotype olympics, and listen to the end. It's beautiful.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-03-24 03:32:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Yeah he sucks
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:47:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:09:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Mencia is an unfunny hack. If he is stealing anything from anyone, he's stealing the wrong material, because it just isn't funny.
What pisses me off most about his show is that it's obviously supposed to be some kind of Latino version of the Chappelle Show, but it falls short in every way imaginable. First of all, Mencia is going too far with the fake Latino accent and stupid Latino jokes. How many border jokes can one man regurgitate and still get a genuine (uncanned) laugh?
The bottom line is, some comics just try too damned hard. They rehash a show night in and night out, or in the case of TV comedy, they have writers who help them try to stay funny longer, but at some point something's got to give. You can't be funny forever and its stupid to try. Human beings don't work that way. We all have emotional ups and downs that don't lend themselves to this kind of static automation. That is why the best comics are those that go off script and just talk crap half the time. They don't know what's going to come out and neither does the audience. It's that rambling, off-the-cuff improv that excites people and reminds them that it's ok to have completely juvenile thoughts.
It's not difficult to tell the difference between a comic who is regurgitating and one who is playing it by ear.
_______________________________
Thank you, ETS.
Submitted by Fartman (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:41:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Did you really think that you could slip this past our intrepid research department?
Think again, Bubba.
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:39:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Beaners, even half-beaners like Mencia, steal.
I'm not sure why this is so surprising.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2007-03-24 01:09:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Mencia is an unfunny hack. If he is stealing anything from anyone, he's stealing the wrong material, because it just isn't funny.
What pisses me off most about his show is that it's obviously supposed to be some kind of Latino version of the Chappelle Show, but it falls short in every way imaginable. First of all, Mencia is going too far with the fake Latino accent and stupid Latino jokes. How many border jokes can one man regurgitate and still get a genuine (uncanned) laugh?
The bottom line is, some comics just try too damned hard. They rehash a show night in and night out, or in the case of TV comedy, they have writers who help them try to stay funny longer, but at some point something's got to give. You can't be funny forever and its stupid to try. Human beings don't work that way. We all have emotional ups and downs that don't lend themselves to this kind of static automation. That is why the best comics are those that go off script and just talk crap half the time. They don't know what's going to come out and neither does the audience. It's that rambling, off-the-cuff improv that excites people and reminds them that it's ok to have completely juvenile thoughts.
It's not difficult to tell the difference between a comic who is regurgitating and one who is playing it by ear.
Submitted by kuroneko_sama (user info) at 2007-03-24 00:37:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
its all in the delivery
"... the aristocrats!"
Submitted by gravitas (user info) at 2007-03-24 00:13:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
at least plagiarize something worthwhile. damn.
Submitted by DarthFaded (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:56:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
wow it has been something since someone tried to pull off a rip off...
I think Plagairists should be automatically bannned.
Submitted by beeltea (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:48:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:43:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
recal...you are nothing to me now
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:38:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
WOOOOOOOOOO WOOOOOOOOOOO HERE COMES THE MINUS TWO TRAIN!!!!!
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:27:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I wanted to rip my eyes out and put them in backwards so I could stop reading, but I could not avert my eyes from the horror.
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:10:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by maiorano84 (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:01:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I'm not sure if it's amusingly ironic or just plain sad that this article itself was stolen. Either way, plagiarism in any sense is purely fagtastic.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/166206/why_its_okay_for_carlos_mencia_to_steal.html
________________________
Hah!
Submitted by maiorano84 (user info) at 2007-03-23 23:01:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I'm not sure if it's amusingly ironic or just plain sad that this article itself was stolen. Either way, plagiarism in any sense is purely fagtastic.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/166206/why_its_okay_for_carlos_mencia_to_steal.html
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2007-03-23 22:42:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
whats the saying, there are only 6 orginal stories?
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2007-03-23 22:25:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
williams started stealing his jokes from customers when he was a waiter @ the Trident restaurant in San Rafael, Ca
Submitted by MidnightToSix (user info) at 2007-03-23 22:12:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This writing was great. RAW was an awesome author.
Carlos Mencia is a 2nd-rate hack. Truly horrible. But, I agree there is a fine line in between imitation and allusion.
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2007-03-23 22:05:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Oh, and Carlos Mencia is also not really Hispanic.
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2007-03-23 22:05:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by pen_name (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:54:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
FTW just acknowledged that he would give nazi liturature +2's if it was well written.
________________
This is true.
Submitted by pen_name (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:58:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
here, not hear. i can't write well. I guess i'll never be a nazi.
Submitted by Foolproof (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:58:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Carlos Mencia is the hispanic Dane Cook.
They both suck tremendously and only idiots enjoy them.
For comedy, I'll stick with good ole George Carlin.
Submitted by ampersand (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:57:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Romeo and Juliet is NOT based on Tristan and Isolde.
A lot of art is appropration, a lot of it is not. Just because Picasso was influenced by african culture doesnt make him wholly or partially a fraud.
almost quantum-mechanical view of art--what the fuck does that mean?
Dan Brown is NOT literature.
Stop talking out your ass.
Submitted by pen_name (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:57:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
you heard it hear first. darko has hitler porn.
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:56:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I would give Nazi literature a +2 if it was well written.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:55:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
lenny bruce was the kicker of all ass
Submitted by pen_name (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:54:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
FTW just acknowledged that he would give nazi liturature +2's if it was well written.
Submitted by pen_name (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:52:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
he's an asshole.
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:51:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:47:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Okay, so this was well written.
And I wanted to rate this negatively so badly, because Carlos Mencia (not even his real name) is not funny at all. He says something funny once in awhile.
One episode I watched him go on about, "OH MAN, WOULDN'T IT BE LIKE SO FUNNY IF YOU WERE RUNNING FROM THE POLIZE AND YOU CHOPPED OFF YOUR DICK WHILE YOU WERE RUNNING AND THREW IT AT THEM?!?! OH MAN, YO, IMAGINE HOW SURPRISED THEY'D BE. THEY'D BE ALL LIKE, "I JUST HAD A PENIS THROWN AT ME OH MY GOD!!"
Nothing about him is funny. People think he's funny because people are fucking retarded.
Submitted by mikethescottish (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:30:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good post.
Submitted by Dolson (user info) at 2007-03-23 21:27:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
You know what pisses me off? People who plagarize the Beatles. I mean, it's not like we're going to notice or anything.