Larry David vs. Louis C.K.: The Jewish Asshole vs. the Catholic one

Tossers are back. We always come back. This time we compare the "comedy" stylings of Larry David and Louis C.K. The frame for this comparison is that they are both assholes, but they are assholes of a different color: one is Jewish and the other is Catholic. This introduces a discussion on the different way that they interact with the law and also the different way that they make us (or fail to make us) laugh.

Jake dangles throughout the episode a complex thesis inspired by the work of Alenka Zupancic: the thesis, still undeveloped, is that because the Jew and the Catholic have a different relation to enjoyment (jouissance), they also have a different relation to comedy. Zupancic makes an interesting distinction between the joke and the comic sequence. The difference  is one of temporality. But it is not essential that the comic sequence be longer than the joke (thought it usually is). The temporal distinction concerns the time of satisfaction. A comic sequence carries satisfaction through its whole duration whereas the joke always comes to an end with satisfaction. This distinction allows us to consider  why Curb Your Enthusiasm is a much funnier show than Louie, whereas Louis C.K. is a better standup comedian than Larry David.  The idea here is that there is something about the humiliating Catholic position towards jouissance that ensures that Louis can only ever experience satisfaction as an end. Larry the Jew, on the other hand, can keep satisfaction alive.

Sagi distinguishes Larry and Louis at the level of the law by describing Larry's relation as that of a wall, and Louis's as that of a hook. Sagi also helps us think about Louis C.K.'s cancel-worthy transgressions as behaviors that are deeply imbedded in the confessional exposure of Louie the show.

Perhaps the most exciting element of this episode is the number of jokes we have to tell to get our point across.