Let me just start out by saying that if you are looking for a quality comedy on Netflix, Afraid of the Dark should be next on your list. Having been a fan of The Daily Show with the Trevor Noah, you can only imagine my excitement when my friend told me that my favorite comedian released a new comedy stand up special.
Afraid of the Dark is just one of many works of Noah’s that simply blows my mind. His use of humor through a wide range of accents and stories identifies casual issues as well as larger social ones. Noah does a superb job of mixing in light-hearted jokes as well as delving into the complexity of more important issues that our world faces today.
Originally from South Africa, Noah has spent his time making people laugh and travelling the world (what could be better than that, honestly?!). His interpretation of Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela’s first time meeting each other, impressions and accents included, was one of the most hilarious skits I’d ever seen. He compares the bizarre concept of colonization with that of conquering and reigns these ideas in with the discussion of how we are all immigrants, it just depends on how far back we go.
Noah also fondly shared his memories from his time in Scotland and jokingly describes when he was offered a “wee-little” drink, a phrase that does not do their alcoholic beverages justice. He critiques the social phenomena that acting “feminine” means acting weak by describing the uncompared power of the vagina, that nobody seems to advertise because women are supposed to be perceived as weak, to that of the feeble penis.
Near the end, Noah expresses how Russian accents provoke fear in others to encompass the bigger picture of how we judge others by the way they speak. This idea was one of many in this special that proved just how fearful we are of those who are different from us. These social norms pop up in our day to day lives, whether we realize it or not, so listening to Noah break them down gives viewers a better idea of why we behave the way we do.
One of the more prominent takeaways for me was when Noah described how traveling is the antidote to ignorance. Noah explained that as we travel more, we are able to better grasp just how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. He describes just how intriguing it is for him to visit countries that do not speak his same language, since it puts things into perspective.
“I’ll go, ‘Travel the world.’ If there’s one thing you will never waste your money on, it’s traveling. Travel the world. See another place. Discover a different point of view. Traveling is the antidote to ignorance, and that’s so true. It changes your mind, your perspective, how you believe, what you believe.” – Trevor Noah, Afraid of the Dark