WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — EJ Masicampo knew he was destined to be in front of a crowd.
He says when he was a kid, he thought he was going to be the new Magic Johnson. Instead, he found audiences in the classroom as an associate professor of psychology at Wake Forest University and in comedy venues where he performed stand-up.
What you need to know
- May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
- Roles for Asians and Asian Americans in movies have increased over the years
- Comedian EJ Masikampo takes the stage to represent the community and is excited to see the growth of the Asian American community in the media
- He was named North Carolina's Most Interesting Person in 2022
“There's a whole field where we can conduct experiments, collect data, and conduct experiments on human subjects to learn about important everyday questions about how we relate to each other. “I was very excited to find out,” he said. Happy? What makes relationships work? What leads to a meaningful life? ”
He has participated in and conducted numerous experiments in his field.
“We seek to understand how people manage their behavior, make decisions, and interact with other people. And we design experiments and engage students in They look at their ideas, they form their own hypotheses, and we test them and carry out the research,” he said. I didn't know that before. And that's very exciting. ”
Through our lectures, we help students see the world from a new perspective. Psychology is a very complex subject, so he always tries to engage the class with jokes.
“I think one of the connections between psychology and comedy is a lot of introspection and looking at people and humanity in a new light,” Masicampo said.
“I think the goal of every psychologist is to help people understand themselves better,” he says. “And I think good comedy does that too. My favorite comics are the ones that make me see myself and people in new and more accurate ways.”
After class, he tests this theory and takes his own jokes on stage as a comedian. This was something he never thought he would do.
“I teach in front of large classes, and in the evenings I do stand-up comedy in front of large groups of people. Some people are living out their childhood dreams. Some people are living out their childhood nightmares. I feel alive,” Masicampo said.
He has performed at venues throughout the state and country, including Fayetteville's Cameo Art House Theater hosted by The Locals Comedy. With every set, he brings Asian Americans to the light in comedy, something he rarely saw growing up.
“That was incredibly unusual. You know, even if there were Asians in comedy, they were always the butt of jokes. They weren't the funny ones. And what they said and did… “I was always making fun of these terrible stereotypes, like not being able to understand what people are doing, being awkward, or being super nerdy,” Masicampo said.
He said this community had never been represented the way he wanted it to be, but by getting on stage, he was able to give himself and others a voice they probably wouldn't have had the chance to have before. He said he could give.
“It's great to be a part of something that I feel is more representative of Asia, and honestly, I like that part. I want people to like me and respect me. I like being in a space where it's obvious that I care, I can be myself, I have a voice, and other young Asian people can see me,” Masikampo said.
The comedian was also named North Carolina's funniest person in 2022 through a contest at Raleigh's Goodnight Comedy Club.
“We are very happy for this great honor because North Carolina has a lot of interesting people who participate in the competition,” Masicampo said.
The 2023 Diversity Report released by USC Annenberg analyzed 1,600 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2022, featuring approximately 70,000 characters. According to the study, the percentage of Asian characters in speaking roles has jumped from about 3% to nearly 16%.
“I just want to see more diversity of voices represented. And I want people to understand more that there's a lot of diversity in the Asian community.” He says, “I talk about it a lot on stage because people think of the Asian community as kind of a group, but it's so diverse.”
When “Crazy Rich Asians'' was released in 2018, it was the first movie in 25 years to feature an all-Asian and Asian-American cast. It ranks 721st on IMBD's list of top-grossing movies of all time, with lifetime earnings of approximately $240 million.
As a father, he's excited about more representation in the entertainment field and hopes it continues to grow.
“I love seeing the audience come out and relate to what I’m saying,” Masicampo said. Please talk to me after the performance. I love connecting with people and talking about my experiences and culture, so let's do more of that. ”