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With her July appearance at the Democratic National Convention, Sarah Silverman slipped back into the conversation. Although her address to the protestors (“Can I just say, to the Bernie or Bust people: You’re being ridiculous.“) came off as a shock to some, her candor is nothing new.
Silverman is known for her bold, blunt attitude and raunchy, deadpan sense of humor. Her bulletproof offense is offending everyone – even fellow women. No one is off limits.
Although her Comedy Central show “The Sarah Silverman Program” has been off the air for over six years, Sarah Silverman is making waves again in the movie and television industries. Reviews of new Netflix hit (“Lady Dynamite”) and announcements of additional seasons for old-school specials (“Curb your Enthusiasm”) both use “The Sarah Silverman Program” as a close point of comparison.
The three-season sitcom – for which Silverman won a Primetime Emmy Award – laid the groundwork for today’s comedic ladies. With current stars like Amy Schumer, Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glaze, Nikki Glaser, Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome, it’s easy to forget that women weren’t always taking center stage on Comedy Central. The emergence of Silverman’s show attacked the all-male standard of the network.
Sure, there were other female comics on the air during this time. There’s no denying that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler freakin’ ruled. Around this time, their TV shows (“30 Rock” and “Parks and Rec,” respectively) skyrocketed in popularity and proved to the male-dominated market that women could be just as funny as men.
Yet the personalities of these comedy queens don’t quite match Silverman’s persona. Fey and Poehler definitely paved the way for women in comedy, but they didn’t pull a Silverman and bulldoze the male standard using the same dirty tricks of those successful men in comedy.
Silverman took a page from the Only Men Can Be Funny playbook, scribbled some aggressive notes and decided to test it out – consequences be damned. Instead of falling back on safe personas of women by women in comedy, she came onto the scene equipped with a crude sense of humor. The result? A female character that was unapologetically filthy, vulgar and cruel.
You don’t have to dig Silverman’s style to honor her contribution to the world of comedy. The Sarah Silverman Program confirmed women could be just as funny as men, jumping onto Comedy Central with an equally impressive foul mouth and fart jokes. Not so ladylike, but definitely quite the badass.
