Trevor Noah exists as part of a long and storied history of South African comedians. It's just that, until apartheid finally crumbled, that was a mostly cloying white scene. The 2012 documentary You Laugh But It's True is mostly a document of the build up to his first one man show in South Africa, The Daywalker, but it also sees Noah talking about his personal and professional history. Part of that history is his place in comedy history. He's obviously aware of his current peers and contemporaries in South Africa and beyond, such as Kagiso Lediga and David Kau, and about how he fits in and sometimes doesn't fit in amongst his fellow comics. He has a self-awareness that borders on the uncanny. He has a respect for the past and present of his art, but not an unquestioning reverence. The same film sees a parade of white comedians complaining about black South African stand-ups. Because they're big old racist dinosaurs (and some younger dinosaurs). That sort of approach to comedy is good for the likes of The Daily Show a healthy respect for the past, but he won't be repeating the same old thing.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
