HOW THE MAN'S DADDY GAVE ME ONE OF THE MOST SURREAL DAYS OF MY LIFE - BY MR BIFFO

HOW THE MAN'S DADDY GAVE ME ONE OF THE MOST SURREAL DAYS OF MY LIFe - by Mr Biffo

12/7/2017

QUESTION: What did the big clock say to the little clock?
ANSWER: KLOKK!!!!

So... Last year I watched a documentary called Asperger's Are Us. You can find it on Netflix, but I think we stumbled across it first on iTunes.

As the dad of someone with autism, the title stood out to me for reasons that should be obvious. It told the story of the world's first comedy troupe formed by people on the autistic spectrum, as they prepared for what the documentary led us to believe would be their final ever show.

I really enjoyed it, and though the film - as edited and subtly emotionally and narratively manipulative as documentaries often are - focused on the personalities, it was the comedy which really intrigued me. Or, at least, the tiny hints of it which the documentary deigned to show.

It revealed that the Asperger's Are Us guys were fans of deadpan comedian and actor Mark Proksch - check out his K-Strass videos on YouTube - so I figured there was a degree of crossover in terms of our sense of humour. However, it wasn't until I sought out some of their sketches online that I realised the documentary might've done them a disservice by focusing on - in their own words - "The Hallmark stuff".

References to an Elton John routine and something called "The Safety Album" led me to a brilliantly bizarre sketch set at an Elton John concert, in which a gravel-voiced "Elton" comes on stage and starts hammering tunelessly on a piano while shouting out safety tips.

"Stay close to an adult!"

But still, the documentary stayed with me. It helped in my ongoing attempt to better understand autism. It was also inspiring and heartwarming, but I figured Asperger's Are Us were a done deal. I'd love to have seen them live, but the sense I got was that they were all heading in their own directions.

Therefore, when I was contacted by Asperger's Are Us via Twitter, inviting me to come and see them on their UK tour - while quoting an old Man's Daddy joke back at me to boot - I was left reeling.

A LITTLE BIT OF RESTRAINT
During Sunday and Monday I exchanged messages back and forth with troupe member Noah Britton, who runs the Asperger's Are Us Twitter account. We set up a plan for me to see their show at Colchester Arts Centre on Tuesday evening, and do some filming for Found Footage beforehand.

My other half sometimes tells me I have a surreal life... and I suppose I do objectively, but subjectively it never feels that surreal. This was one of the few occasions when - yes - I'm happy to admit that I was in the midst of something which felt a bit beyond your average day-to-day happenings.

It only got weirder from there. We met the guys - Noah, Ethan Finlan, Jack Hanke and New Michael Ingemi (his father being Old Michael, see) on Tuesday this week - and they played me a video of them falling about laughing as Man's Daddy jokes were read out.

How was that remotely possible?

There have been Man's Daddy jokes on this site in recent years, but I recognised these as old jokes from the original run of Digi. Obviously, America never even had teletext - let alone Digitiser. How were they fans?! It made no sense.

Except... it turns out that 13 years ago, somebody posted a bunch of Man's Daddy jokes on a message board, where they were seen by Noah. He tried to find out more, discovered the Super Page 58 tribute site, and it went from there. Somehow, despite all living in the Boston area of New England, despite having never seen teletext, Asperger's Are Us became Digitiser fans.

Indeed, Jack is now banned by the others from repeating the KLOKK!!! joke, because he has told it so many times.

Suffice to say, I knew nothing of this while watching the documentary about them. It's like watching Planet Earth, then, I dunno, walking down the street and having David Attenborough drive past and shout "Moc-moc-a-moc" at me.

SWIFTY
Something I realised pretty swiftly after meeting them is that the Asperger's Are Us documentary doesn't really do the guys justice.

They're incredibly likeable, incredibly smart, and incredibly funny. They don't beat you around the head with their autism, they don't use it as an excuse or a way to elicit pity. They're just getting on with life. I mean, Noah is a professor of psychology for pity's sake.

They've even organised and funded the European tour entirely themselves - barring a modest crowd-funding campaign to pay for their flights - including all promotion. These are four people who might've been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum, but aren't defined by it. They don't wear it like a badge of pride. They don't play the victim card. It even feels like doing them a disservice by mentioning it here (although, I accept that it's hard not to given their name).

I'm banging the drum because it's rare for me to laugh at anything as hard as I laughed at the Asperger's Are Us live show. I want other people to enjoy them as much as I did, and I want the guys to be known for their comedy, rather than the misleading documentary.

They deserve to be hugely successful in their own right, and I think people who enjoyed Digitiser would enjoy them as much as I did.

.22
In a way, the documentary is a bit of a catch-22. On the one hand, it has allowed Asperger's Are Us to tour Europe, and certainly raised their profile... on the other, it sets up expectations of them which are false. They're not about autism. They don't preach. They don't do comedy around autism - barring an opening sketch which references it only obliquely.

Their material skilfully straddles the line between all-out absurdism - Homer's The Odyssey sung to the tune of the Pokemon theme, repeated ad infinitum as a link between sketches - with jokes that are beautifully structured. Oh, and a sketch about cleaning fecal matter out of a swimming pool. They couldn't be more me.

Their material is 12-A; the mix of wordplay, silly voices, and smart ideas, features just enough nudge-nudge wink-wink to appeal to anyone. They partly define what they do as "aspie" comedy - but it's so similar to what I'm trying to do in Found Footage, what I've tried to do in the weirder moments of Digi, and it's so good, that I'm humbled by the fact they'd consider themselves fans of anything I might've done.

Their philosophy is to make themselves laugh first, and if anybody else enjoys it then that's merely a bonus. I can relate to that. It might also be why I'm eternally surprised when anybody ever says they like the stuff I've done.

They're just a really funny, really talented, group of performers and writers who - if they weren't known as the world's first all-autistic comedy group - I'd have just thought were a really funny, really talented, group of performers and writers. I mean, to be honest I know plenty of people who've never been diagnosed who would probably score pretty highly on the spectrum.

They gave me a shout-out on stage last night - something which has never happened to me before - and Jack was given permission to tell the KLOKK!!! joke one more time.

As ridiculous as it is... I teared up at it. Yes: at a Man's Daddy Joke I probably wrote 20 years ago.

So. Yeah. Alright. That was really bloody surreal.

FIGS AND DATES!
Asperger's Are Us have only a few more dates remaining in the UK before they head back to the States, though we're going to try to do some more filming with them for Found Footage before they leave.

Try to see them if you can, and check out their amusingly retro website for more details. KLOKKK!!!

July 12: ADC Theatre, Corpus Playroom, Cambridge, UK. 19:00 & 21:30. 8 GBP each.
July 15: Hackney Attic at Hackney Picturehouse, London, UK. W/Darren Walsh. 19:00. 9GBP. 7 GBP/student.
July 16: The Cavendish Arms, London, UK. 8:30 PM. 10 GBP.
July 18: Boys' School at Smock Alley, Dublin, Ireland. With Conor O'Toole. 6 & 8 PM. 10 EURO each.
July 20: Queen's University Students' Union, Belfast, Northern Ireland. 7 PM. 18+ (sorry!). 10GBP.
July 22: Webster's Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland. 8 PM. 12-15 GBP.

19 Comments

Horsenburger link

12/7/2017 12:37:21 pm

They are one of the funniest acts I've seen on stage, such cleverly written and beautifully performed, a genuine laughter fest. And Jack tells the clock joke so well. These guys deserve to be massive, go see them if you can!

Sir David Attenborough

12/7/2017 12:40:35 pm

Stay AWAY from my BINS.

Mr Biffo

12/7/2017 12:49:35 pm

:-O

colincidence link

12/7/2017 01:00:52 pm

KLOKK-KLOKK-a-KLOKK!!!

This is very cool and rad and I will be watching more.
Be a bit careful with your sentences that start "they don't" - because that language is often used to diminish activists, who can also be cool and rad. But I get the point and their means of a sardonically enthusiastic name is a great way to establish that autistic people can be as assertive and inventive and whatever as allistic people, without making the content tedious.

Meanwhile, autism really needs to be culturally recognised as the spectrum it is, with the variety of ways in which our brains work.

12/7/2017 01:04:07 pm

btw in your wilderness decade I was always linking people to that Super Page 58 archive as a means of succinctly advocating your humour. I bet it has had a lot of spread in that manner.

Spiney O'Sullivan

12/7/2017 02:27:25 pm

The death of Robin Williams brought a brief bit of attention to the question of how much there's a link between comedians and not being neurotypical (whatever that is...). Depression and anxiety in particular seems to be pretty rife for comedians, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's more on the autistic spectrum than we know about (it being a very wide spectrum). As utterly trite as this will sound, there's perhaps something about not quite "fitting in" that gives a different perspective on the world that's necessary for the kind of subversion of norms that comedy often relies on.

(PS: hopefully that doesn't come off as offensive to people on the spectrum or who are otherwise not neurotypical. Wording this sort of thing, especially without the fallback of an edit function, is always a bit of a challenge.)

12/7/2017 02:31:07 pm

One way autism helps with comedy is (please allow a base interpretation of autism here): If your mind tends to take everything literally, there's a whole lot of confusing absurdity in language and human interaction. The stereotypical autistic brain can capitalise on that by converting it into comedy.
There are probably many similar elements of how societal norms clash with a 'hyperlogical' outlook with comic potential.

12/7/2017 02:36:12 pm

I think you might be right, and since properly looking into autism about five years ago, it's amazing how so many people display traits of it. Obviously, there's a scale, but bottom line is... we're all on it. Being diagnosed as "autistic" can be freeing for people - "ah, that's why I'm different" - but we're ALL different in some way.

My partner is pretty much certain I'm not "neurotypical" (as you say - whatever that is), and though I always seem to score low on those online autism tests, I'm sure I have some traits - and I'm pretty certain I've got ADD to a degree.

For me, I don't want people to use a diagnosis of something like autism as a roadblock in their life, or as an excuse not to try. Most autistic people I've known are incredibly intelligent, and I would love it to be seen as a way to reflect upon what they CAN do rather than what they can't. Some people are autistic, some people are gay, some people are short-sighted, some are black, white, tall, short... We're all unique.

Evil Keg link

12/7/2017 02:57:43 pm

I was diagnosed with Asperger's at 32, but been writing for "public consumption " since 17. I may or may not be any good, but the way I think autism helps with comedy writing is the fact that you see things others don't notice, simply because they've taken it for granted that's the way things are.

My stuff is more in the pastiche/parody/satire end of things and it does help to be 'on the outside looking in', as it were. Because, as an autistic, you have to consciously work out others motivations (rather than simply going off your inbuilt social programming ) you're bound to ask more questions about the because you've had to analyse it more.

And if you do that, an awful lot of human activity looks ridiculous. After that, humour comes very easily.

12/7/2017 03:23:55 pm

I understand the "freeing" thing to an extent. I was diagnosed with some (irritating but not major and not dramatically unexpected) brain-related stuff the other year, and the "well, that makes sense" thing is, if not freeing per se, helpful in the sense that it explains things and means I know what to work on. That said, I can also understand how easy it is to see things as a roadblock, like "right, this is as good at X as I can actually be". I do think that trying to push past that is important, but I also recognise that I'm broadly lucky enough to be in a place that I can afford to do something about it, since a lot of people can't.

12/7/2017 03:31:21 pm

I should note that I did used to write comedy as a student (a mix of surrealism and satire), as did a lot of people I know, all of whom are a bit "beyond the norm", so my conjecture above is probably at least partly projection...

Ste Pickford

12/7/2017 03:01:32 pm

Ah, shame they aren't able to do more UK shows, as I'd love to go and see them if they were playing nearby. That video was ace.

PeskyFletch

12/7/2017 05:21:33 pm

Is the "swifty" paragraph heading a reference to the rather marvelous Rick & Morty? If so interestingly enough(although i'd assume you might already be aware of this) Dan Harmon, one of the guys behind it and the main man behind Community is also on the spectrum.

Picston Shottle

12/7/2017 06:13:24 pm

I don't want to sound uncaring or dismissive, because it is obvious autism is a real thing which has a real impact on "sufferers" (and I am using "speech marks" here because I'm trying not to make autism sound like something people have to endure, as they would, say, depression) lives and relationships, but is diagnosis of autism being over used? Is the whole spectrum thing just handy way of categorizing people who's personalities are a little different?

I'm 42, and growing up, autism wasn't something you came across - it pretty much didn't exist outside of the clinical world. But now autism seems to be really prevalent. But, I wonder if this ubiquity somehow denigrates its own "sufferers" who are higher on the spectrum? What I fear is that autism is being used to try to explain, or as an excuse for, what was once seen as good old fashioned quirks or eccentricities. Or, ya know, just being a dick.

As I said, I am not trying to denigrate anybody who has been diagnosed as being on the spectrum, or to make light of what is an established and recognized neurodeveolpmental condition, but I am just interested in how autism has itself become, for want of a better word, mainstream, and if this going mainstream has had a detrimental impact on those who have more challenging symptoms.

Also, yeah, The Man's Daddy is, and always will be, the World's Greatest Comedian.

12/7/2017 06:26:07 pm

That's sort of the point of what Asperger's Are Us are all about. They want autism to be considered normal, rather than a disability.

But... the increased awareness of it that you mention can only really be a good thing, because it means that the people who need help really do need help. And I'm speaking in terms of my own offspring, who does need support, and it only really manifested in adulthood in a way where it became clear that there was an issue.

I think if getting a diagnosis helps somebody to understand that they have autism, and helps them to understand themselves, then it's only positive surely?

12/7/2017 06:53:41 pm

Speaking from my own POV, I'd like my stuff to be judged whether it's funny or not, not whether people think "oh, he has ASPERGER'S. And he's TRYING. "

Chris Dyson

12/7/2017 07:37:34 pm

But for some people autism is a disability. For many autism is truly debilitating. That's the thing about the spectrum, it covers such a vast array of conditions. For those at the "less able" end of the spectrum, regular life is bloody hard work, and they require lots of help to get through it.

RichardM

12/7/2017 07:28:06 pm

Interestingly, Asperger's and Autistic Disorder aren't in the DSM-V (the American manual of psychiatric illnesses): they've been replaced by 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder', the umbrella term that captures all of them.

The spectrum has always existed, Psychiatry just churns up new diagnoses over time to better group and research it. Society (including the drug companies!) dictate the pace at which that happens and which diagnoses are important. Are there more people on the spectrum now? Are we just finding more because we're looking harder? Do umbrella diagnoses like spectrums make it easier to be diagnosed than very specific individual disorders? I think all of these things are true. I also don't think it matters. It just helps people understand themselves a bit more and, sometimes, get help if they really need it.

12/7/2017 08:11:28 pm

I suspect the rise in diagnoses is due to a combination of things. Greater awareness in general, sped up a little by a slowly (slowwwllllyyy...) reducing social stigma around acknowledging mental health issues, and more people waiting till later in life to have children, amongst others.

Also the vaccines. Mostly them, obviously.

HOW THE MAN'S DADDY GAVE ME ONE OF THE MOST SURREAL DAYS OF MY LIFe - by Mr Biffo

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