Sam Hyde is the Jungian shadow of contemporary comedy. I didn’t know about him for a long time, but when I found him it felt almost like deja vu. All popular comedians stand in dialogue with, not him specifically, but the archetype that he embodies. Every time a comedian does that thing where they step toward a forbidden opinion and then steer away at the last minute:

“The thing about trans people-” (audience: nervous laughter) “Nah I don’t have a problem with trans, do what you want with your body, it’s just that [clever but harmless jibe about trans people].”

“You ever notice how black people [observation]?” (audience: nervous laughter) “Of course, white people [analogous observation that implies fairness].”

Nearly all popular comedians do some form of this move. “Hey wow I’m a wildcard, I’ll say something really inappropriate, but ahh you know I don’t actually have wrongthink, look, I take shots at everyone equally. I might punch down but then I punch up even more!” And that move only works if the audience can imagine a comedian who DOES have wrongthink and just outright says it. You need that split second when the audience thinks “omg, is he THAT kind of comedian??” And Sam Hyde is that kind of comedian.

He is the comedy world’s Jungian shadow, in that the industry pretends he doesn’t exist, but he’s right there in the subtext of so many popular performances.