Middle Classy on Netflix is a celebration and critique of the American dream

Cristela Alonzo is a powerhouse. She might not make you laugh till your tummy hurts but her comedy will certainly brighten up your day. It has a healing quality that is perhaps easier to feel than communicate in words. Alonzo’s satire is sharp but not caustic, hard-hitting but not mean-spirited. Her work as a performer is deeply aligned with the kind of world that she wants to live in. She believes in the power of humour to change minds and transform hearts.

If you have not witnessed her magic yet, check out Middle Classy. That is the title of her new stand-up comedy special on Netflix. A lot of the material in her script is drawn from her own life experiences as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in the United States. She talks about being a proud Latina woman who grew up in a border town in South Texas. Though she got American citizenship by virtue of being born in the US, almost half of her family members were undocumented. They had to live without health insurance and in fear of the law.

On an episode of the Good One podcast that released on June 30, Alonzo said, “A lot of people who aren’t familiar with certain minorities can easily vilify them for certain shortcomings, but we can’t deny that the ultimate problem is the struggle. For a long time, my mom was undocumented, and people would treat her so bad…It always goes back to money and to struggle and to class.” Alonzo’s mother was as a cook at a restaurant.

Middle Classy is a celebration and a critique of the American dream. While the US offers a new life to numerous people escaping poverty, persecution and political turmoil, it also subjects many of them to the worst of indignities in the name of security and surveillance. By telling her family’s story, Alonzo is also honouring the stories of other people of colour who struggle to belong in a country where white supremacists see them as eternal outsiders.

Racism is strongly ingrained, and it shows up even in situations where people seem to mean well. When Alonzo went to college, a white classmate’s mother took her out to dinner. Though this lady knew from first-hand experience that Alonzo was fluent in English, she acted as if Alonzo had limited proficiency in the language. Alonzo was taken aback by the fact that her friend’s mother was using additional non-verbal cues to explain what needed no explanation. Back then, Alonzo saw this behaviour as inappropriate rather than racist. When she revisits the incident now, she is surprised that she let it pass without calling it out.

Those who complain about not being able to use words and expressions that are seen as politically incorrect are gently reprimanded by Alonzo. The comedian is of the opinion that societies need to evolve by rectifying their mistakes. Just because something was not called out earlier – whether it was racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, ableism – does not mean that it did not hurt people or humiliate them. They had to suppress their true feelings because speaking out could have meant putting themselves or others in physical danger. Perhaps they kept quiet because there were no legal frameworks to protect them against discrimination. They needed to choose their battles because of their precarious situation.

When Alonzo was on the Good One podcast, she said, “Because of the circumstances that my family grew up in, because they were so extreme, I have sympathy for everybody that has had a similar struggle.” She spoke specifically about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme in the US, which makes it possible for a section of “undocumented Americans…who were born within a certain number of years…to have a permit to be able to work and go to school”. Those who want to apply for the DACA programme have to shell out $495. Unfortunately, this steep application fee does not guarantee that they get approved.

Having grown up in a household with meagre resources, Alonzo knows that it is challenging for undocumented people to put together so much money. On the podcast, she revealed that she did shows to raise money for DACA recipients who needed it for the application fees. She said that she “could survive without it” but it “could change (other) people’s trajectory for a while”. It is rare for stand-up comedians to be involved in advocacy work. Alonzo has skin in the game. She does not use past distress or deprivation to elicit sympathy. She considers it her responsibility to care about others who are facing the hardships she has faced.

Alonzo does not hide the fact that her newfound wealth enables her to enjoy comforts that she had no access to as a child. At the same time, she also acknowledges how hard it is to learn to take care of oneself. People who have seen their parents save every penny or paisa they can will readily identify with this. She talks, for instance, about the American practice of going for regular health check-ups. Seeing a doctor when one is not sick seems absurd to her because she was raised in a family where they tried to fix every ailment with Vicks. They tried to avoid seeking medical care because it was too expensive without health insurance.

Middle Classy works because Alonzo is able to laugh at herself with a great sense of ease. Her jokes about her first appointment with a gynaecologist, learning English from television shows, testing positive for COVID on her birthday, and bantering with Los Angeles Police Department officers, land effortlessly. She is witty, intelligent, and thought-provoking. She is not trying to be palatable to white audiences. She is confident about her material. It comes from her heart, and is consistent with her political beliefs. Alonzo is amazing. Watch her.

Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based journalist.

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