Ali Wong is a stand up
comic, actress, and writer who is perhaps most well known for her Netflix
specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”, both of which she performed when
she was pregnant with her daughters. In addition to stand-up comedy, Wong has
made appearances on the television shows American Housewife and recently
starred in the Netflix original Always Be My Maybe. Wong has also written for
the sitcom Fresh Of the Boat.
When Wong recorded “Baby
Cobra” in 2016, she was six weeks away from the birth of her first child. It
was from this show that Wong gained popularity. “Baby Cobra” was a game
changer, where Wong unabashedly talked about her pregnancy, the double
standards of parenting, marriage and how she thinks she would be as a mom. In
her set, she compares her baby to a human tamogotchi with no reset button. Two
years later, she released a sequel, “Hard Knock Wife”, while pregnant with her
second child. In “Hard Knock Wife”, Wong continues talking about motherhood,
but also her rising fame and the accompanying anxiety. She expands on the
sprinkling of political agenda that was in “Baby Cobra” – mainly on maternity
leave – and talks about being the breadwinner of her family, and how society
treats new working mothers. Wong not only provides material that is relatable
to other mothers, she also challenges societal norms, and advocates for policy
change.
Recently Wong starred in a
Netflix original, “Always Be My Maybe” with her friend and fellow Asian
American comedian, Randall Park. The movie brings together a cast and production
team of other Asian Americans including Keanu Reeves. Well received by critics
and audiences alike, “Always Be My Maybe” is hopefully the start of a trend in
more diverse narrative in the entertainment industry.
Wong sources a lot of her
material from her own experiences. She wasn’t exposed to comedy until she was
in college where she joined a comedy club that Randall Park founded. She says
that her jokes just come to her as flashes of insight. Wong talks freely about
how being more famous causes her anxiety. She worries about becoming not funny
anymore and losing her motivation because she is already successful. She admits
that she is motived in large part by the monetary aspect of her success (an
extrinsic motivation) and that she doesn’t want to become lazy in her creative
process. Part of her creative process includes testing her jokes while
undercover so that people won’t recognize her. She also works hard at her
craft, having performed stand-up comedy almost every night for nearly a decade.
She even performed the night that she got married to her then husband. That
level of dedication shows that her success is also partly due to intrinsic
motivation to do well. Ali Wong has worked hard to get where she is now and I
am excited to see where she goes from here.
I love Ali Wong. She is truly one of the best comedians out there! She talks a lot about sex in her material too, which I really appreciate as there is a double standard for female comedians to not talk so candidly about their sex lives. How do you think this might impact how she is seen by the field?
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool! I've seen the trailer for this movie but have yet to see it or any of Ali Wong's content. After this, I'll be sure to watch it. It's amazing how shes bringing in so many ideas that are usually cut out from comedy, largely because it is male-dominated and also has a male bias. I also think it's really interesting how jokes come to her as flashes of insight, and I wonder what the mechanism behind that is.
ReplyDeleteLauren — Ali Wong is super interesting and I'm glad you featured her! I find it very compelling that her comedy is pushing for policy change. I wonder how much this is actually effecting public opinion on issues like maternity leave, considering she makes her promotion of the issue very appealing and digestible with the use of comedy.
ReplyDeleteI became a fan of Ali Wong's when I binged all of her Netflix specials in one sitting last year. I had never heard of her, and then it seemed like she gained massive popularity overnight. Ironically, monetary success in her career appears to be a motivator and a constraint for her, since a successful career consequently attracts the public eye. Her anxiety about being more well known could stunt her creative process, but if her intrinsic motivation outweighs her anxiety she will hopefully continue to make thousands laugh.
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