Margaret Cho

It is interesting to examine the difference between Margaret Cho's early stand-up routines such as the one we saw in class and her more recent acts. There has definitely been a persona change for starters. In her early stand-up, she wore typical feminine clothing while now she sports more exotic garments with the addition of tattoos on her bodies. Furthermore, the content and nature of her routine as evolved drastically. Whereas she used to speak about the circumstances of being Korean in America with a little bit of emphasis on her dating life, now her act is overly explicit in regards to topics such as sexuality and politics. 

I wonder why she changed her image in such a way. It seems to me that she probably has a more universal appeal to the mass public with her original stand-up routine seeing as some people might be offended by the content now. In addition, the topics of sexuality can be very specific to certain demographics while many others are excluded. However, as long as she is not worried about appealing to the greatest amount of people, the image change is probably a good choice. First, it makes her an identifiable face. Instead of getting painted in with all the other comics which talk about race and relationships, she is now known because of the brutal honesty of her routine. So, in that sense, she is able to reach greater fame even if she doesn't have as wide of an appeal. Yet, by broadcasting her outspoken views in her comedy act, the sympathizers of cause are able to have a comedienne to call their own. Something like that would result in a larger audience perhaps than if she stuck with her original act. Whether or not such comedians are well-received by the public aside, people remember the ones that stand out (Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinneson) because they were so in-your-face and in some cases obnoxious that they are difficult to forget and easy to recognize.