Deconstructing Jeff Dunham

Few comedians—never mind ventriloquists—have enjoyed the level of success Jeff Dunham has during the past few years. He has sold millions of DVDs, received astronomical ratings with his Comedy Central specials, and is currently on a massive stateside tour coming to the Bradley Center Thursday. Curiously, Comedy Central recently announced that The Jeff Dunham Show will not be picked up for a second season due to “production costs,” though many argue—however improbable for a network that Mind Of Mencia and Drawn Together call home—that it was the show’s offensive stereotypes and deafening critics that led to its early demise. With his Identity Crisis tour in full swing, The A.V. Club uses some play therapy techniques to examine Dunham’s puppet alter egos, with the hope of better understanding one of America’s most popular funnymen.

Name: Walter
Personality profile: Just as Bill Cosby taught us with children, old people say the darndest things. Walter—with his misguided prejudices, loveless marriage, and inability to censor himself—is an incorrigible geezer who is not afraid to tell it like it is.
What “Walter” says about Dunham: Mr. Dunham demonstrates habits of a traditionalist (see: ventriloquism) and longs for the cynical but good-natured wisdom of someone who values common sense. Through Walter, Mr. Dunham allows himself a grouchy persona to riff on time-honored classics like his old lady’s menstrual cycle (she has one?), her constant nagging, and just how hideous it is to imagine her sexually.
Technique to try: Draw Your Bad Dream, an exercise where the client draws something that scares them. Here, Mr. Dunham will have a safe place to explore scary ideas about growing older, becoming irrelevant, and his apparent fears of modernity. (Also, old-lady boobs.)

Name: Achmed The Dead Terrorist
Personality profile: After the terrorist attacks of 2001, a bruised country wondered if we would ever laugh again. Then we met Achmed, a turban-clad suicide bomber skeleton who leaves them “dying in the aisles.” Voila! A nation healed.
What “Achmed The Dead Terrorist” says about Dunham: Satirical humor can be a powerful and appropriate defense mechanism in response to confounding events, and ventriloquism has been on the forefront of edgy humor since Jay Johnson’s work on Soap. It is peculiar then, when utilizing his dead terrorist, that Mr. Dunham’s statements regarding terrorism are stunted by his doll’s unrecognizable attempt at a Middle Eastern accent and desire to sell bumper stickers with the catchphrase, “I keel you!”  
Technique to try: The Feeling Word Game, a tool often used to help draw out one’s fragile emotions. It is best suited for those unable to label feelings following a difficult event or trauma and, as a rule, does not involve rhyming “dead” with “towel head.”

Name: José Jalapeño On A Stick
Personality profile: José is exactly what his name implies: a talking jalapeño whose exaggerated accent and placement on top of a stick leaves him open to sassy zingers about how he got into this country (and onto a stick).
What "José Jalapeño On A Stick" says about Dunham: Mr. Dunham appears nervous about the large number of illegal immigrants he perceives to have come into his country. When playing with the jalapeño dummy, Mr. Dunham expresses these insecurities by doing his best Cheech Marin and questioning whether his doll is a citizen, and if it enjoys Taco Bell or its “employment” by The Home Depot.
Technique to try: The Mad Game, often used to express normalcy in hurt feelings. Asking Mr. Dunham to share and process what makes him angry. A hypothetical example might be “I am angry and annoyed when I am asked to press 'one' to request English when calling Comcast.”  

Name: Bubba J
Personality profile: Bubba J, with his lazy eye and shit-eating grin, is a red state stereotype writ larger than any Jeff Foxworthy one-liner. Could one possibly still get laughs about “AA being for quitters?” Oh no you didn’t, Bubba J!
What “Bubba J” says about Dunham: Lest he be labeled as insensitive or biased, Mr. Dunham utilizes Bubba J—an exaggerated hillbilly—as a means for justifying his lazy jokes about other ethnicities. This rationalization (known as The Archie Bunker Syndrome) is awaiting approval in the forthcoming DSM-V. Described as “pretty much white-trash trailer park,” Bubba J gives Mr. Dunham a pass to say “I make fun of everyone equally,” along with the added benefit of jokes about NASCAR and inbreeding.
Technique to try: The Worry Can, an activity that gives Mr. Dunham the opportunity to write down all of his perceived self-inadequacies and then discuss them one by one. One such stressor could be “My material is rote even by Blue Collar Comedy Tour standards" and then allowing adequate time for processing.