Latest news with #Japanese-Taiwanese-American
The Age
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Comedy was just a hobby for Atsuko – then three years ago, ‘things happened'
This story is part of the August 9 edition of Good Weekend. See all 13 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he speaks to Atsuko Okatsuka. The Japanese-Taiwanese-American comedian, 37, was named Best Comedy Debut of 2022 by The New York Times for her stand-up special, The Intruder. Her latest release is Father. POLITICS Your maternal great-grandfather was a pro-independence Taiwanese politician whose son – your grandfather – was assassinated by the Kuomintang. Did you grow up knowing these stories? My family doesn't talk about a lot of things; it gives me bits and pieces and then I have to be a detective about it … with a comedian's brain. I don't know if it's an Asian family thing, but we're all forced to be Sherlock Holmes because everyone's just trying to swallow what happened in the past and keep it down. Your comedy is laugh-out-loud, but you also talk about your family history and some of it's heavy. How do you make that material approachable? Oh, I have to remember to chase the funny. Like when I tried to give my grandma a bath recently, it was hard. I was nude. I can laugh about it, but for someone else hearing it … they might need more jokes. What do you think the US gets right, compared with other countries? We legalised weed in a lot of the states and I think that's correct. Has there ever been a serial killer on weed? Not that I can think of. You'd be caught way too easily. Or you'd be laughing on your way to murder someone and be way too loud. What does the US get wrong? We're too big! Too big means more people, which means too many different opinions. SEX If you could get into a time machine to meet Atsuko as a kid, and have a pep talk with her about sex, what would you say to her? I don't know. I don't really know kids. I don't talk to any kids. We don't have kids. I'm not friends with any kids. Why would I be friends with kids? That's creepy. Which reminds me: you recently posted a fun video documenting your husband, Ryan, getting a vasectomy. Apparently, they call it a 'pipe cut' in Japan.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Comedy was just a hobby for Atsuko – then three years ago, ‘things happened'
This story is part of the August 9 edition of Good Weekend. See all 13 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he speaks to Atsuko Okatsuka. The Japanese-Taiwanese-American comedian, 37, was named Best Comedy Debut of 2022 by The New York Times for her stand-up special, The Intruder. Her latest release is Father. POLITICS Your maternal great-grandfather was a pro-independence Taiwanese politician whose son – your grandfather – was assassinated by the Kuomintang. Did you grow up knowing these stories? My family doesn't talk about a lot of things; it gives me bits and pieces and then I have to be a detective about it … with a comedian's brain. I don't know if it's an Asian family thing, but we're all forced to be Sherlock Holmes because everyone's just trying to swallow what happened in the past and keep it down. Your comedy is laugh-out-loud, but you also talk about your family history and some of it's heavy. How do you make that material approachable? Oh, I have to remember to chase the funny. Like when I tried to give my grandma a bath recently, it was hard. I was nude. I can laugh about it, but for someone else hearing it … they might need more jokes. What do you think the US gets right, compared with other countries? We legalised weed in a lot of the states and I think that's correct. Has there ever been a serial killer on weed? Not that I can think of. You'd be caught way too easily. Or you'd be laughing on your way to murder someone and be way too loud. What does the US get wrong? We're too big! Too big means more people, which means too many different opinions. SEX If you could get into a time machine to meet Atsuko as a kid, and have a pep talk with her about sex, what would you say to her? I don't know. I don't really know kids. I don't talk to any kids. We don't have kids. I'm not friends with any kids. Why would I be friends with kids? That's creepy. Which reminds me: you recently posted a fun video documenting your husband, Ryan, getting a vasectomy. Apparently, they call it a 'pipe cut' in Japan.
