I Have Cancer
Essential Question: How do we approach life when we know that death is near?
Title:
Stand Up Comedy bits from Tig Notaro on her experience being diagnosed with Cancer
Text Access / Location:
Audio from Tig Notaro's stand up comedy session the day she was diagnosed with cancer:
Listen to a more complete playlist of Tig Notaro's stand up comedy session the day of her cancer diagnosis: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPBAfB76cjdYqNQBOrmY6ouxp7BxgVHFh
Text Complexity:
Above grade level
Standard:
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
Annotation:
When Tig Notaro was diagnosed with cancer, her immediate inclination, the way she decided to process this diagnosis, was to get on stage and talk about it through her comedy act. The playlist linked above includes audio from Notaro's comedy around living when death is so near.
Potential Use:
Listen to these comedy bits in the context of our essential question.
Discuss with others in class.
What absurdities about living with death does the speaker point out?
What are the conventions of stand up comedy? How does Tig Notaro's focus on death in her comedy act challenge conventions of stand up comedy? How does Tig Notaro's inclusion of her own experience with death contribute to her stand up routine?