Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin
When the email came in inviting us to review the Heath Franklin’s Chopper, whom I used to watch on Seven Days as a teenager, I became jittery. Oh my god, I thought, doesn’t this guy make low-key problematic jokes? This Boomer-Bogan persona makes me nervous in this day and age. Maybe I’ve just spent too much time voting Green in woke Wellington that I’m afraid of revisiting an icon. They say you should never meet your heroes… and the chance of finding something disappointing when revisiting old male comedians has never been greater.
Shuffling into the Opera House on Courtenay Place in the throng of hundreds of 40+ year olds, I am again reminded that the comedians I know, watch and work with, are a different generation to the likes of Chopper, Ben Hurley, and Urzula Carlson. I walk in prepared to put on a smile even if I hate the content. I have a nightmare of having Chopper accost me if I look unhappy. Hey! Why do you look so fuckin’ sour down there in the second row?
Chopper has come back from the future to warn us about the impending end of the world, “The Soft-cockalypse”, where people are pink slugs who complain all the time and can’t do anything for themselves. The boomers slurp and gobble this up like pigs at a trough. Here we go, I think to myself, just what the audience wants to hear. Having spent so long in the game, around two decades, Franklin has honed his tone for his audience and knows how to please them.
He also seems relaxed during an interaction with the crowd that is absolutely wild. It's during a section where he explains how to catch certain groups of people. All jokes punching down on stereotypes. One was influencers, one was vegans. The scene that followed plays out in my head again and again:
Chopper: Now, who else do you want to know how to catch?
Various Audience Members: Yes! [whoops and hollers]
Pause.
Chopper: Okay Wellington, I asked you who you want to know how to catch so you have to tell me. Let’s try that a second fuckin’ time, shall we? Call ‘em out.
Pause.
A man stands up in the third row back, up in the balcony seats. A silhouette in front of the dim theatre house lights hanging on the walls.
Standing Man: It’s a pleasure to see you, Chopper!
Chopper (confused): What the fuck? Come on, Wellington, just shout them out!
Standing Man: I’m just trying to be respectful, Chopper!
Chopper (getting impatient): Call it out then! Tell me who you want to know how to catch!
Standing Man: How do you get an Australian girl pregnant?
The room felt like it stopped moving. I turn to my friend who was with me with an eyebrow raised; it was the look between friends that says what the fuck is going on?
Chopper is stunned. We all are.
Standing Man: You come on her feet and let the flies do the rest!
The opera house audience shared a single recoil altogether as the comment wafted its way across the crowd.
Chopper: Oh mate-
The Entire Audience: BOO!
Echoes of Sit down! Shut the fuck up! Fuck off! Are bandied about by anyone who feels strong enough. Chopper is cool, calm and collected.
Chopper: Mate, you can’t start with I’m trying to be respectful and then say THAT joke.
Standing Man: I’m just saying that there are a lot of flies in Australia-
Chopper: Nope, you’re done. Sit the fuck down. You had your chance and you fucked it. Sit down.
He sits down and the evening continues.
Chopper seems to be familiar with randoms yelling stuff at him. At multiple points during the show people incongruously roar one or two-syllables, unintelligible from my point of view facing the stage, and Chopper continues on and ignores them. I’m sure it’s just drunk fellas hoping to be a part of the show and Franklin may well be used to the people he attracts with his famous character.
One moment where I grip my leg in stress is when Franklin mentions people with autism. This is it, I’m worrying, this is where the bubble bursts and my worst fears are confirmed: Franklin's character is problematic. But the yarn is positive. He frames people with autism as extremely refreshing since they tell you immediately whether they like or don’t like something. He frames it against the frustrating scenario of taking “your lady” somewhere nice and she can’t choose/wants to be surprised.
In another riff against America he brings up China and the Chinese. This part of the show is bashing the incompetence of white America by outlining briefly and comedically a history of how Chinese immigrants built the American railroads and set up their own hubs so that they wouldn’t have to dine on the shitty American food.
Chopper definitely has his punch-downs, and how annoying is my wife?! is a strong vibe I get from the performance, but I’m fascinated at the way he gave roses to people who have recently been made fun of.
Hate-crimes against Asian peoples had a surge after Covid-19 spread from China. The conversation about autism may well be present in these audience members' lives; perhaps children or grandchildren becoming diagnosed, discussing how to best compensate for neurodivergence.
I went and read up about Heath Franklin and learnt a lot about how he writes Chopper. Franklin is a massive leftist that uses his platform and persona to talk about key issues to an audience that may not be open or willing to understand a different point of view without it sounding a lot like what they already listen to. His tone is what was scaring me, he sounds like someone who would say a slur on a construction site, but his messages are progressive and left-leaning.
Franklin is a modern, ideological trojan horse. Modelling positive thinking in a rough around the edges, swear word heavy vernacular. The more I think about it the more I like it, and looking back I spent most of the show in genuine stitches.
I found myself loving the comedian, but put off by his crowd. There has been a shift in modern comedy towards being more responsive to social change and having comedians be held to a high standard of accountability for the material they touch on. I can think of multiple male comedians now deemed problematic because they would joke about things without having the socially acceptable amount of lived-experience to make audiences feel safe.
There’s been a big change towards safety and inclusion. We inherit a lot of media from America, part of that is the erosion of trusted news sources. Instead we see comedy talk shows or Late Night with So-and-so becoming a popular source of comedy and news, which has blurred the lines of what typically was a comedian's role- just to be funny. Now it’s common to see people talk about a comedian's responsibility to their platform and what they can/can’t/should/shouldn’t say.
I’m guilty of this. The way I thought about Chopper was framed in trust instead of hilarity. When I was walking down Courtenay Place to get to the Opera House I wasn’t thinking will this be funny I was thinking can I trust this guy, or will he say something problematic? Franklin gets around this because of his framing. Punching up to those who have, more often than not, been punched down onto by people that look and sound like Franklin’s caricature. Unless you count wives, girlfriends, bisexuals, vegans and influencers, who all had a tough time getting ragged on in the show.
Franklin’s not perfect, and he doesn’t have to be. He’s a comedian, he’s a human, he’s got a plan and an agenda and a whole lot of skin in the game so he knows when to give roses and when to punch down in order to keep his crowd on his side. I fear if he gave out too many roses, all the boomers would think he’s gone soft and we’d lose a bird in the hand for the two in the bush.
In my travels to find more about him, I noticed that there was a show he had planned to do in Auckland about him, Heath Franklin, instead of the Chopper persona. The 2023 storm in Auckland got in the way of opening night and I can’t find any info about the others. This makes me wonder… Did it happen?
That blurb of that show is about stepping out from behind the sunnies and moustache and working on himself… was it worth it? Did it work? What made Franklin go back to the sunnies and moustache after a show about working on himself? Was there an element of it not selling as well as his iconic character, and a return would mean paying off the mortgage… Or did it perhaps put into perspective how much Chopper resonates with the crowds of people that Franklin is trying to make an impression on, considering it was the first character he ever did and he may not have known any different?
I went in jittery but I left bubbly and smiling. I have a newfound appreciation for Franklin and what he does. The deep dive into his past was enjoyable, educational and nostalgic. I would encourage anyone to go along and see for themselves how much of this they agree with and how much is leftist-overthink-waffle from a young one in woke Wellington. More info on the show that was, here.
Chopper has come back from the future to warn us about the impending end of the world, “The Soft-cockalypse”, where people are pink slugs who complain all the time and can’t do anything for themselves. The boomers slurp and gobble this up like pigs at a trough. Here we go, I think to myself, just what the audience wants to hear. Having spent so long in the game, around two decades, Franklin has honed his tone for his audience and knows how to please them.
He also seems relaxed during an interaction with the crowd that is absolutely wild. It's during a section where he explains how to catch certain groups of people. All jokes punching down on stereotypes. One was influencers, one was vegans. The scene that followed plays out in my head again and again:
Chopper: Now, who else do you want to know how to catch?
Various Audience Members: Yes! [whoops and hollers]
Pause.
Chopper: Okay Wellington, I asked you who you want to know how to catch so you have to tell me. Let’s try that a second fuckin’ time, shall we? Call ‘em out.
Pause.
A man stands up in the third row back, up in the balcony seats. A silhouette in front of the dim theatre house lights hanging on the walls.
Standing Man: It’s a pleasure to see you, Chopper!
Chopper (confused): What the fuck? Come on, Wellington, just shout them out!
Standing Man: I’m just trying to be respectful, Chopper!
Chopper (getting impatient): Call it out then! Tell me who you want to know how to catch!
Standing Man: How do you get an Australian girl pregnant?
The room felt like it stopped moving. I turn to my friend who was with me with an eyebrow raised; it was the look between friends that says what the fuck is going on?
Chopper is stunned. We all are.
Standing Man: You come on her feet and let the flies do the rest!
The opera house audience shared a single recoil altogether as the comment wafted its way across the crowd.
Chopper: Oh mate-
The Entire Audience: BOO!
Echoes of Sit down! Shut the fuck up! Fuck off! Are bandied about by anyone who feels strong enough. Chopper is cool, calm and collected.
Chopper: Mate, you can’t start with I’m trying to be respectful and then say THAT joke.
Standing Man: I’m just saying that there are a lot of flies in Australia-
Chopper: Nope, you’re done. Sit the fuck down. You had your chance and you fucked it. Sit down.
He sits down and the evening continues.
Chopper seems to be familiar with randoms yelling stuff at him. At multiple points during the show people incongruously roar one or two-syllables, unintelligible from my point of view facing the stage, and Chopper continues on and ignores them. I’m sure it’s just drunk fellas hoping to be a part of the show and Franklin may well be used to the people he attracts with his famous character.
One moment where I grip my leg in stress is when Franklin mentions people with autism. This is it, I’m worrying, this is where the bubble bursts and my worst fears are confirmed: Franklin's character is problematic. But the yarn is positive. He frames people with autism as extremely refreshing since they tell you immediately whether they like or don’t like something. He frames it against the frustrating scenario of taking “your lady” somewhere nice and she can’t choose/wants to be surprised.
In another riff against America he brings up China and the Chinese. This part of the show is bashing the incompetence of white America by outlining briefly and comedically a history of how Chinese immigrants built the American railroads and set up their own hubs so that they wouldn’t have to dine on the shitty American food.
Chopper definitely has his punch-downs, and how annoying is my wife?! is a strong vibe I get from the performance, but I’m fascinated at the way he gave roses to people who have recently been made fun of.
Hate-crimes against Asian peoples had a surge after Covid-19 spread from China. The conversation about autism may well be present in these audience members' lives; perhaps children or grandchildren becoming diagnosed, discussing how to best compensate for neurodivergence.
I went and read up about Heath Franklin and learnt a lot about how he writes Chopper. Franklin is a massive leftist that uses his platform and persona to talk about key issues to an audience that may not be open or willing to understand a different point of view without it sounding a lot like what they already listen to. His tone is what was scaring me, he sounds like someone who would say a slur on a construction site, but his messages are progressive and left-leaning.
Franklin is a modern, ideological trojan horse. Modelling positive thinking in a rough around the edges, swear word heavy vernacular. The more I think about it the more I like it, and looking back I spent most of the show in genuine stitches.
I found myself loving the comedian, but put off by his crowd. There has been a shift in modern comedy towards being more responsive to social change and having comedians be held to a high standard of accountability for the material they touch on. I can think of multiple male comedians now deemed problematic because they would joke about things without having the socially acceptable amount of lived-experience to make audiences feel safe.
There’s been a big change towards safety and inclusion. We inherit a lot of media from America, part of that is the erosion of trusted news sources. Instead we see comedy talk shows or Late Night with So-and-so becoming a popular source of comedy and news, which has blurred the lines of what typically was a comedian's role- just to be funny. Now it’s common to see people talk about a comedian's responsibility to their platform and what they can/can’t/should/shouldn’t say.
I’m guilty of this. The way I thought about Chopper was framed in trust instead of hilarity. When I was walking down Courtenay Place to get to the Opera House I wasn’t thinking will this be funny I was thinking can I trust this guy, or will he say something problematic? Franklin gets around this because of his framing. Punching up to those who have, more often than not, been punched down onto by people that look and sound like Franklin’s caricature. Unless you count wives, girlfriends, bisexuals, vegans and influencers, who all had a tough time getting ragged on in the show.
Franklin’s not perfect, and he doesn’t have to be. He’s a comedian, he’s a human, he’s got a plan and an agenda and a whole lot of skin in the game so he knows when to give roses and when to punch down in order to keep his crowd on his side. I fear if he gave out too many roses, all the boomers would think he’s gone soft and we’d lose a bird in the hand for the two in the bush.
In my travels to find more about him, I noticed that there was a show he had planned to do in Auckland about him, Heath Franklin, instead of the Chopper persona. The 2023 storm in Auckland got in the way of opening night and I can’t find any info about the others. This makes me wonder… Did it happen?
That blurb of that show is about stepping out from behind the sunnies and moustache and working on himself… was it worth it? Did it work? What made Franklin go back to the sunnies and moustache after a show about working on himself? Was there an element of it not selling as well as his iconic character, and a return would mean paying off the mortgage… Or did it perhaps put into perspective how much Chopper resonates with the crowds of people that Franklin is trying to make an impression on, considering it was the first character he ever did and he may not have known any different?
I went in jittery but I left bubbly and smiling. I have a newfound appreciation for Franklin and what he does. The deep dive into his past was enjoyable, educational and nostalgic. I would encourage anyone to go along and see for themselves how much of this they agree with and how much is leftist-overthink-waffle from a young one in woke Wellington. More info on the show that was, here.