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Comedian John Mulaney brutally roasts SF techies at Dreamforce

60 points by carabiner 2y ago

aestetix 2y ago
Please say there was a recording of this that will be posted online.
archildress 2y ago
I hope all the self proclaimed tech libertarians in the audience who hate so called "cancel culture" loved a little laugh at their expense. :)
- nickpinkston 2y ago
  Totally 100%
- tayo42 2y ago
  It needs to be funny though, and the quotes in the article were a miss for me...
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - bilbo0s 2y ago
    Huh? They were a little funny. I mean the guy's right. 45,000 "trailblazers"? Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's like, what? 40-45 Marine Corps battalions?
    - tayo42 2y ago
      I guess part of it not being funny is it feels alittle over done. I can't imagine it's the first time you've heard that sentiment.
      - cholantesh 2y ago
        I quite like John Mulaney but I do kind of agree, these are rather contrived insights. That being said, I also think that delivery is part of what makes a joke land and we're just reading a few select bits after the fact as opposed to watching Mulaney deliver them onstage. I remember being introduced to some Mitch Hedberg bits over IM some years back, followed the next day by them reciting those bits, and it didn't click at all until they popped in a VHS tape (yes it was that long ago) and I saw Hedberg anxiously weaving back and forth, heard him mumbling and elongating his phrases. I wouldn't say Mulaney's in the same league, but I don't think it's unfair to say this contributes.
    - lupusreal 2y ago
      Being right doesn't mean it's funny though... Call me old fashioned but isn't the point of comedy to be funny, not correct? What do I know though, it's been years since I've found any standup comic very funny, and most comedy movies just make me groan. I'm no expert on what is or isn't funny, I just find it odd that you defend the humor here by pointing out its correctness. FWIW I've never heard of this guy nor heard any of his jokes.
      - dole 2y ago
        There's a shred of truth in every joke.
        lupusreal 2y ago
        Sure, but "fire is hot" isn't much of a joke.
        dole 2y ago
        Only if I’m the one on fire, then it’s relative.
        rkhassen9 2y ago
        I was there. It was so funny! Somehow the articles make it so serious and less funny. Being there in the room, it felt like it was needed. Like a relief valve for what people were thinking but not able to say. To laugh together…as a huge group makes community and in a sense some sort of catharsis. Healing perhaps.
    - djkivi 2y ago
      Well, 40 Marine Corps battalions could probably blaze a few trails...
  - unsupp0rted 2y ago
    How could reading one-sentence snippets out of a standup comedian’s set inside a news article a few mornings later not retain the original humor?
- lupusreal 2y ago
  Does not laughing constitute "cancelation"?
  - smegsicle 2y ago
    worse if someone identifies as funny and you don't laugh you are literally denying their existence
- renewiltord 2y ago
  Dreamforce is mostly sales guys. They’ll be happy to laugh at the nerds but for what it’s worth people usually enjoy this kind of thing in tech. It’s mostly in delivery. We had a comedian around once and he was doing a bit. Asked for volunteers and I went up obviously. He asks me what I do and I’m like “software haha like most people here I suppose” and he goes “yeah, but specifically how does your thing work” which is a transparent frame up job but what are you gonna do so I have to explain freaking ad tech in front of the audience and he roasts me proper. Pretty hilarious. We got a kick out of it. Loads of fun.
- golergka 2y ago
  The fact that you don't think people should not be cancelled for saying something stupid doesn't mean that you have to love their jokes or even agree with what they are saying.
- krapp 2y ago
  Yes, if any group is known for their good humored nature it's anti-woke libertarian tech-bros.
nickpinkston 2y ago
Anyone get the video of this? Also, if you like tech roasts, check out: https://sociallyinept.io https://sociallyinept.io I've heard good things.
theGnuMe 2y ago
lol.. well deserved.
yieldcrv 2y ago
> “The fact that there are 45,000 ‘trailblazers’ here couldn’t devalue the title any more.” ahaha perfect and San Francisco needs to be roasted inside of San Francisco more often, try saying anything that the rest of the country thinks about that place on Nextdoor and you’ll be kicked off the app entirely, by neighbors
- bilbo0s 2y ago
  It's NextDoor. try saying anything that the rest of the country thinks about [ANY]place on Nextdoor and you’ll be kicked off the app entirely, by neighbors. I'll tell you right now, don't do that in Houston or Dallas. Can't even try it in Spring or Fort Worth. (Heck, even people in Nacogdoches get all bent out of shape these days.)
  - yieldcrv 2y ago
    Never thought about it that way I get the impression some places are more pragmatic about their circumstances, or the deficiencies in their approach to the circumstances
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
mc32 2y ago
That was Awesome! *in Chris Farley* That has to be so much fun to get paid to roast and humiliate a group of people who think so much of themselves. Congratulations, John. I'm envious.
- dragonwriter 2y ago
  > That has to be so much fun to get paid to roast and humiliate a group of people who think so much of themselves. When they are making money hand over first and paying you to roast them, you aren't humiliating them, you are serving as a foil whose whole purpose is to reinforce their ego and sense of triumph against a world that doesn't get what they are doing.
  - satvikpendem 2y ago
    Yeah, the proper analogy would be a king and his court jester. Ultimately the king has the jester to show others that they don't take themselves too seriously, but one should make no mistake as to which of the two are richer and more powerful.
    - mpalmer 2y ago
      I imagine a king wouldn't be likely to let anybody write down all the jokes his jester told about him and share them with the entire kingdom.
theideaofcoffee 2y ago
I am incapable of doing observational humor like John Mulaney can so I’m not even going to try. Just the quotes from the article alone are giving me life. I would have loved to have seen this in person, speaking truth to (lol) power.
ineedaj0b 2y ago
John's a very good comedian and the tech scene deserves more! roasting 'liberal' tech workers is a good chance not getting invited back. And tech events pay well. when i messed around, the most fun were the Jewish clubs in Boca and really any Black club (if you're funny they laugh the hardest). Scotland was also a lot of fun. i got invited to teach an improv session at a large university on behalf of their group (with a friend, like guest instructors) and I had one of the group pull me aside and ask me to refrain from harmful stereotypes. I was asked to play an Indian man and I referenced curry... needless to say this group was extremely boorish. This was 2018ish? the sides have flipped weirdly. you can say wild things to 'conservatives' now and do great but you get someone waiting to speak with you after shows for 'liberal' people. if anyone is trying to get into comedy nowadays i'd suggest youtube/social media skits to build an audience then in person stuff to hone. or give it up and become a real doctor..
- carabiner 2y ago
  The liberals are conservative today and the conservatives are liberal. Old Republicans now support the Democratic party. I fully believe the R's are currently the counter culture and the liberals are staid defenders of "how things should be" like the housewives of the 1950s.
  - cholantesh 2y ago
    If being nakedly reactionary is liberal now, sure, why not?
    - dragonwriter 2y ago
      Yeah, if you think the difference between "liberal" on "conservative" is about "change" vs "status quo" rather about outward distribution of power vs. preserving narrow concentration of power, you would tend to view a genuinely reactionary party as "liberal" and a liberal/progressive party that has drawn conservative support against the reactionaries as just "conservative".
      - 2y ago
Ancapistani 2y ago
That's a comedian's job...
fernandopj 2y ago
Apparently Seth Meyers did similar last year, so it's not like it it was unprecedent: https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/19/john-mulaney-skewers-san-francisco-at-dreamforce https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/19/john-mulaney-skewers-san-f...
- kernal 2y ago
  A Seth Myers roast couldn’t cook a hot dog.
rkhassen9 2y ago
Did anyone record any of it? Please dm me if you did. I’d love a copy.
Lerc 2y ago
Is there any indication that this was poorly received? Some comments seem to be projecting that opinion. Sounds like a comedian doing his job. Without evidence to suggest That he gave a performance That wasn't expected or appreciated, is there a news story here?

60 points by carabiner 2y ago

Please say there was a recording of this that will be posted online.

I hope all the self proclaimed tech libertarians in the audience who hate so called "cancel culture" loved a little laugh at their expense. :)

nickpinkston 2y ago
Totally 100%
tayo42 2y ago
It needs to be funny though, and the quotes in the article were a miss for me...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- bilbo0s 2y ago
  Huh? They were a little funny. I mean the guy's right. 45,000 "trailblazers"? Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's like, what? 40-45 Marine Corps battalions?
  - tayo42 2y ago
    I guess part of it not being funny is it feels alittle over done. I can't imagine it's the first time you've heard that sentiment.
    - cholantesh 2y ago
      I quite like John Mulaney but I do kind of agree, these are rather contrived insights. That being said, I also think that delivery is part of what makes a joke land and we're just reading a few select bits after the fact as opposed to watching Mulaney deliver them onstage. I remember being introduced to some Mitch Hedberg bits over IM some years back, followed the next day by them reciting those bits, and it didn't click at all until they popped in a VHS tape (yes it was that long ago) and I saw Hedberg anxiously weaving back and forth, heard him mumbling and elongating his phrases. I wouldn't say Mulaney's in the same league, but I don't think it's unfair to say this contributes.
  - lupusreal 2y ago
    Being right doesn't mean it's funny though... Call me old fashioned but isn't the point of comedy to be funny, not correct? What do I know though, it's been years since I've found any standup comic very funny, and most comedy movies just make me groan. I'm no expert on what is or isn't funny, I just find it odd that you defend the humor here by pointing out its correctness. FWIW I've never heard of this guy nor heard any of his jokes.
    - dole 2y ago
      There's a shred of truth in every joke.
      - lupusreal 2y ago
        Sure, but "fire is hot" isn't much of a joke.
        dole 2y ago
        Only if I’m the one on fire, then it’s relative.
        rkhassen9 2y ago
        I was there. It was so funny! Somehow the articles make it so serious and less funny. Being there in the room, it felt like it was needed. Like a relief valve for what people were thinking but not able to say. To laugh together…as a huge group makes community and in a sense some sort of catharsis. Healing perhaps.
  - djkivi 2y ago
    Well, 40 Marine Corps battalions could probably blaze a few trails...
- unsupp0rted 2y ago
  How could reading one-sentence snippets out of a standup comedian’s set inside a news article a few mornings later not retain the original humor?
lupusreal 2y ago
Does not laughing constitute "cancelation"?
- smegsicle 2y ago
  worse if someone identifies as funny and you don't laugh you are literally denying their existence
renewiltord 2y ago
Dreamforce is mostly sales guys. They’ll be happy to laugh at the nerds but for what it’s worth people usually enjoy this kind of thing in tech. It’s mostly in delivery. We had a comedian around once and he was doing a bit. Asked for volunteers and I went up obviously. He asks me what I do and I’m like “software haha like most people here I suppose” and he goes “yeah, but specifically how does your thing work” which is a transparent frame up job but what are you gonna do so I have to explain freaking ad tech in front of the audience and he roasts me proper. Pretty hilarious. We got a kick out of it. Loads of fun.
golergka 2y ago
The fact that you don't think people should not be cancelled for saying something stupid doesn't mean that you have to love their jokes or even agree with what they are saying.
krapp 2y ago
Yes, if any group is known for their good humored nature it's anti-woke libertarian tech-bros.

nickpinkston 2y ago

Anyone get the video of this? Also, if you like tech roasts, check out: https://sociallyinept.io https://sociallyinept.io I've heard good things.

theGnuMe 2y ago

lol.. well deserved.

yieldcrv 2y ago

> “The fact that there are 45,000 ‘trailblazers’ here couldn’t devalue the title any more.” ahaha perfect and San Francisco needs to be roasted inside of San Francisco more often, try saying anything that the rest of the country thinks about that place on Nextdoor and you’ll be kicked off the app entirely, by neighbors

bilbo0s 2y ago
It's NextDoor. try saying anything that the rest of the country thinks about [ANY]place on Nextdoor and you’ll be kicked off the app entirely, by neighbors. I'll tell you right now, don't do that in Houston or Dallas. Can't even try it in Spring or Fort Worth. (Heck, even people in Nacogdoches get all bent out of shape these days.)
- yieldcrv 2y ago
  Never thought about it that way I get the impression some places are more pragmatic about their circumstances, or the deficiencies in their approach to the circumstances

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

mc32 2y ago

That was Awesome! *in Chris Farley* That has to be so much fun to get paid to roast and humiliate a group of people who think so much of themselves. Congratulations, John. I'm envious.

dragonwriter 2y ago
> That has to be so much fun to get paid to roast and humiliate a group of people who think so much of themselves. When they are making money hand over first and paying you to roast them, you aren't humiliating them, you are serving as a foil whose whole purpose is to reinforce their ego and sense of triumph against a world that doesn't get what they are doing.
- satvikpendem 2y ago
  Yeah, the proper analogy would be a king and his court jester. Ultimately the king has the jester to show others that they don't take themselves too seriously, but one should make no mistake as to which of the two are richer and more powerful.
  - mpalmer 2y ago
    I imagine a king wouldn't be likely to let anybody write down all the jokes his jester told about him and share them with the entire kingdom.

theideaofcoffee 2y ago

I am incapable of doing observational humor like John Mulaney can so I’m not even going to try. Just the quotes from the article alone are giving me life. I would have loved to have seen this in person, speaking truth to (lol) power.

ineedaj0b 2y ago

John's a very good comedian and the tech scene deserves more! roasting 'liberal' tech workers is a good chance not getting invited back. And tech events pay well. when i messed around, the most fun were the Jewish clubs in Boca and really any Black club (if you're funny they laugh the hardest). Scotland was also a lot of fun. i got invited to teach an improv session at a large university on behalf of their group (with a friend, like guest instructors) and I had one of the group pull me aside and ask me to refrain from harmful stereotypes. I was asked to play an Indian man and I referenced curry... needless to say this group was extremely boorish. This was 2018ish? the sides have flipped weirdly. you can say wild things to 'conservatives' now and do great but you get someone waiting to speak with you after shows for 'liberal' people. if anyone is trying to get into comedy nowadays i'd suggest youtube/social media skits to build an audience then in person stuff to hone. or give it up and become a real doctor..

carabiner 2y ago
The liberals are conservative today and the conservatives are liberal. Old Republicans now support the Democratic party. I fully believe the R's are currently the counter culture and the liberals are staid defenders of "how things should be" like the housewives of the 1950s.
- cholantesh 2y ago
  If being nakedly reactionary is liberal now, sure, why not?
  - dragonwriter 2y ago
    Yeah, if you think the difference between "liberal" on "conservative" is about "change" vs "status quo" rather about outward distribution of power vs. preserving narrow concentration of power, you would tend to view a genuinely reactionary party as "liberal" and a liberal/progressive party that has drawn conservative support against the reactionaries as just "conservative".
    - 2y ago

Ancapistani 2y ago

That's a comedian's job...

fernandopj 2y ago

Apparently Seth Meyers did similar last year, so it's not like it it was unprecedent: https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/19/john-mulaney-skewers-san-francisco-at-dreamforce https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/19/john-mulaney-skewers-san-f...

kernal 2y ago
A Seth Myers roast couldn’t cook a hot dog.

rkhassen9 2y ago

Did anyone record any of it? Please dm me if you did. I’d love a copy.

Lerc 2y ago

Is there any indication that this was poorly received? Some comments seem to be projecting that opinion. Sounds like a comedian doing his job. Without evidence to suggest That he gave a performance That wasn't expected or appreciated, is there a news story here?