Hudson Tye (31) doesn’t experience a huge amount of validation as a postgraduate academic investigating performative masculinity in A Bug’s Life, nor does he receive particular acclaim as a POLS1102 tutor. His halfhearted jokes and rambling nature make him a particularly mediocre tutor.
But today, that all changed. Because at 11.21am Friday morning, Hudson finally landed a joke. And suddenly, the carpeted floor of Michie 201 became his stage, bored students became an audience of comedy enthusiasts, and his voice became a comedy weapon of with incisive power.
Discussing the role of postcolonial analysis in Pixar films, Hudson explained that postcolonial worlds often created difficult implications outside of their colonial history. And then, in an ostensible attempt at humour, he suggested students should be careful their mail is ‘going to the Post Office - not the Postcolonial Office!’
Surprisingly, the comment was met with a light exhale of breath from most of the class, and two students even summoned a half-hearted laugh. Hudson was fucking stoked. He was even more delighted when a cap-wearing young man up the back of the room muttered ‘good one,’ despite its obvious sarcasm.
In an instant, Hudson’s mind switched to stand-up comedy mode. ‘I’ve got them in the palm of my hand,’ he thought. ‘They’re eating it up.’
Prowling the stage, strutting like a 1980s New York stand-up comic, Hudson decided to just go for it, and threw out a joke about ‘A Shark’s Tale’ and ‘Finding Nemo’ being pretty similar.
He ignored the muted reception, and somehow found a microphone. He began to aggressively tap it, asking ‘is this thing on?’ Without missing a beat, he dived into a deeply-misguided bit about how women take a while to get ready. Or in his words, ‘bitches be taking their goddamned time!’
Reports indicate he is still standing in the classroom, trialing new material to dead silence. So let’s take this as a PSA. When your tutor cracks a joke, put your head down. Save them. Save yourself.
Truly hoping there’s no more to come.