Comic Relief Shahak Shapira SHAHAK SHAPIRA: MAKING FUN OF OLD WHITE DUDES 14 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>Five</strong>
Shahak Shapira Comic Relief “Wait, are you Shahak Shapira?” Someone stops and asks as we’re about to enter Neukölln’s Ankerklause with the Israeli–German artist, who has received much acclaim for his subversive and often satirical projects. Shahak has worked hard over the last three years to become the internet and media sensation he is today. As we talk, he speaks candidly about his long list of professional accomplishments, which include bestselling books, viral videos, art, political work, advertising, and music. The next step on his career ladder? Stand-up comedy. words by Marlén Jacobshagen photos by Viktor Richardsson Coriander Whereas some experience a refreshing, lemony flavour, others have a strong aversion to the taste and smell of coriander, describing it as soapy or rotten. Studies attribute this to variations in the OR6A2 gene, which is responsible for olfactory receptors that interact with odorant molecules in the nose to trigger smell perception. You came from Israel to Germany when you were a teenager and moved to Laucha an der Unstrut, where the right-wing extremist party NPD earned 13.55% in 2009. How would you describe Laucha at that time? It’s a shithole in the East and it’s full of Nazis. I guess that’s the way you’d sum it up for some, but it wouldn’t be entirely true. Not all of them were neo-Nazis. And some of them were but didn’t think they were. You know, it’s complicated nowadays, you can’t call anybody a Nazi anymore. Because then they’re like: “I’m not a Nazi. I’m just alt-right. I just hate foreigners. You’re a Nazi!” [Laughs] Let’s say it was interesting on many levels. You wrote a book about your experiences and, in response, some newspapers started calling you “the new Jewish voice in Germany.” What do you think of that? I fucking hated that. I’m not Jewish, I’m of Jewish heritage. Judaism is not only a religion, it’s also an ethnic thing. And I became a Jew in Germany, ironically. Because neo-Nazis and crazy Islamists hit me, insulted me or spat on me. They made me the Jew. And at that point I took it and said: “Fuck you, of course I’m Jewish!” Then I got to be a z-list celebrity and I noticed that you can’t even make jokes about it. Because as soon as you make one joke about being a Jew you’re “the Jew.” The Jew that talks about Jewish stuff all day and then all they ask you to do are documentaries about anti-semitism, or they make you read hateful tweets. I fucking hate that. I’ve been semi-successful at getting rid of it. When I did the Yolocaust project, people were denouncing me as a Jewish artist and then with my following projects that disappeared. I was actually recognised for my work, and not for being a Jewish artist. Whatever the fuck that means. In Yolocaust you edited tourist selfies taken at the Holocaust memorial to make them look like they were taken at concentration camps. It received a lot of feedback in the media; were you impressed by the attention it got? That was pretty cool, but it sets the bar really high. When you get a taste of international success, it makes everything else boring; it makes Germany boring. Every time you get a taste of success it’s a big thing. That’s why people make complete fools out of themselves on TV, just to get a little bit of that. They eat worms and show their tits and penises just to get attention. Besides all the media interest and a lot of positive comments, you’ve faced a lot of criticism and abuse. Which of the two counts more for you? Well, I should be glad about positive comments, but being the person that I am, I always pick the negative ones and focus on them. I don’t want to, I’m just like that. I get a tremendous amount of shit every day and lately I’ve been wondering why the fuck I am doing it. It’s not that I post stuff on Twitter and Facebook to make people feel bad. I just try to tell some jokes and that’s it. There’s always a balance to be struck: is it worth getting all the shit you get? Is it worth the people who keep sending you emails, who have your private address and phone number even though it’s not even on the internet? Or your mum’s address, and they’re threatening to hurt your family? It’s a very thin line, but that’s why I’m not showing my tits on TV. I have other options. I don’t have to do this. It’s for fun right now. I could always go back to advertising. Talk us through your use of humour. There are different ways to use it. I guess it’s more defensive than offensive. Nobody makes fun of me the way I do. I’m the best at making fun of myself. After I’ve told all the jokes about myself, nobody can come and insult me, because how can you insult someone who is already insulting himself? Humour helps sometimes, but it’s tough, you always need to have a distance from yourself. When people get into your head, it’s very hard to make fun of yourself because you’re hurting. I guess the secret to humour is in many ways a distance between you and the subject. Whether it’s you that’s the subject or, say, the Middle East conflict, you need to posses a certain nihilism to make fun of something. If you’re too emotionally involved, you’re not funny anymore – unless it’s ridiculous stuff. You can get totally emotional about stuff that is completely ridiculous, like coriander. I fucking hate coriander. It’s worse than Hitler. You’re going on a big comedy tour in 2018 with German Humor. Do you see yourself as part of the German comedy scene? I’m a comedian, but I hope I’m not a part of the comedy scene. [Laughs] It’s difficult right now, I’ve been having a hard time writing jokes. The issue is that I know maybe two comedians who I think are actually funny in Germany: Till Reiners and Moritz Neumeier. All my idols in comedy are from the States and they’re all really good. For comedy you need to be on stage for 10 or 15 years to be good. I actually think comedians in Germany are lazy. I don’t know any comedian here who has been on stage for that amount of time without doing the same thing over and over again. Maybe I just don’t know the right people, but all the people who fill arenas have been doing the same thing for years. They’re not bad comedians, Autumn/Winter 2017 15
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