Are Curly People Funnier?
Ep. 8 questions why curly hair is used for comedic effect on screen and asks comedians how hair fits into they way they present themselves.
Today’s new episode is very special because it features the first-ever guest we recorded with: Noah Grossman, an actor, writer and comedian who plays himself on the hit YouTube channel Smosh.
Back when we first recorded with Noah nearly a year ago, we were in the earliest stages of developing We Are Spiraling — what each episode would sound like, the themes and stories we wanted to explore.
But I knew I wanted to talk about why movies and TV shows often portray eccentrics as curly and how hair shapes personality. Huge thanks to Noah for sharing his time with us even though we had nothing but ideas yet.
We paired his interview with conversations with Nemma Adeni and Molly Brenner, comics based in LA and New York, respectively, about my hot take: are curly people funnier?
Hollywood often uses curly hair as a trope to indicate someone is eccentric in some way — whether that means they’re a jokester, weirdo or psycho. But reality is always more interesting than fiction.
And I do think there’s something to what Michelle Wolf once said — that her hair reflects her personality. It’s also why I named my haircare line MAYURA. Curly hair is often a core part of who someone is. This whole show revolves around the premise that this piece of our identity is worth exploring.
Three comedians, three perspectives on how the way you look can be both a professional tool and something deeply personal.
In the episode, we reference Nemma’s viral video about how some people aren’t born into the right language for their personality, so we wanted to share it with you here:
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