Witty remarks and =3

=3 (equals three) is a YouTube show by Ray William Johnson that reviews viral videos in a comical manner. Ray takes viral videos and adds his own humorous comments and witty remarks to make his shows quite funny. I think that his shows are funny to me because I also like to make witty remarks in all sorts of situations. However, I tend to keep them to myself if I am not with someone I get along with very well. I usually only share my remarks and jokes with my closest brother and sister. Therefore, I am greatly amused when I hear others making witty remarks. I also feel more comfortable because I share something in common with the other person. When it comes to Ray William Johnson, I don't really relate to him much because I am just watching a video but I find it nice to listen to someone else make funny remarks. Like I stated before, Ray William Johnson reviews viral videos in a comical manner. Most of the videos are funny before he reviews them, but they really get funny when he reviews them. He adds witty comments and funny voice overs to make his remarks funnier. I think they are funny just because the are. I also like to make witty remarks and its nice to hear them from other people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX8dMYFSLPE

The Office

The office is a staged reality show that follows the day-to-day activities of a group of workers at their workspace. The comedy has a very dry humor that some people like my father find to be stupid. However I find everything about it hilarious. This particular scene shows the office going through a fire drill much different from standard fire drills. Dwight, the office’s “safety officer”, is trying to demonstrate fire safety after a failed PowerPoint demonstration. Dwight takes the liberty of breaking off all the keys in the office doors and then heating the door handles to make it appear that the fire is on the outside of the door. He then creates a lot of smoke to make it appear that the office has caught on fire. The office workers search throughout the office for an exit only to find out that they are locked in what appears to be a burning building. What follows is complete havoc as the workers believe they are going to die.
I think the reason I find this so funny is why is because of the fact that this is supposed to be a fire drill. When I was in high school we had fire drills every few months and each time we had a drill we calmly got up from our desks and wandered into the mass of students slowly filing out the small doors actually happy to get out of class for a few minutes. It was a common joke between my friends and I that if there really was a fire in the school everyone’s reactions would be completely different. Everyone would taking their stuff, pushing and shoving to exit and for the most part going crazy due to the fact that they thought they were going to die. I think the reason I find this clip so funny is because this is exactly what we thought would happen and laughed about but never got to actually see. I find this clip funny because it lets us see exactly how we would act.

Blake Ogden

Rocketman

The movie is Rocketman. The main character is Harlen Williams and he plays a man named Fred Randall. Randall is computer genius who is assisting in the design of the equipment for a space mission to Mars. This mission is the first manned mission to Mars and the original crew consists of two men, a monkey, and a woman. One of the men gets hurt, though, so Randall and another man compete to be the additional man on the crew. Randall is not qualified physically, as it would seem, but actually breaks many records during his training. This is only one of the comic effects found in this movie. It is funny because to be able to go to space there are many physical tests that must be passed, which are of high difficulty. Randall passes all of the tests because they are designed to test your physical requirements, and also your mental stability. As a result of his mental stability, and also instability, he is able to pass the tests with ease. He does not take the tests serious enough to realize how tough they are so he can handle the mental stress presented. In the clip presented, Randall is a room similar to what would be found on a spaceship. He has to stay in the room by himself for a set amount of time. It is supposed to test the mental ability to not go crazy when there is nothing to entertain or occupy his mind. He starts singing different songs, like children rhymes, and it occupies him long enough to pass the time. This is funny because he is a very smart man, but he acts very childish. Another reason this movie is so funny is because the other people are taking the whole training sessions very serious, which is how it is supposed to be observed. Randall, however, thinks it is a game, and it is hilarious to see the contrast in amount of care.

I'm a Bubble

Though the entire movie Just Friends makes me laugh hysterically, the scene where Samantha James is high on Vicodin is especially humorous to me in three ways. The scene depicts a childlike sibling fight, Chris trying to ignore the chaos around him when his boss calls, and a famous singer in her twenties incapacitated by drugs. First, I need to explain a little background information about the clip. Samantha James is the most popular pop artist on the charts, and she is under Chris Brander's care. When he leaves her with his younger brother, she is accidentally tasered and falls off of a balcony. We begin watching as Chris first encounters her in that pitiful state. Obviously, if your job depended upon the welfare of a client, a client whom your brother had severely injured, the frustration and anger released from an already stressful situation would be so great it would likely revert you to instinctual rage. Unfortunately, I know that feeling. When I was young, my brother and I used to fight all of the time, often physically. That was our pattern, the norm, and even though now we are older and more mature, there are times when those tendencies reemerge. The way I would handle my anger around someone I have only known a few years would be much more calm and resolute than with my brother because I understood a mature way of handling conflict by the time I met the person. However, with someone like my brother that I knew prior to understanding social niceties, uncontrollable anger takes me back to our most basic form of working problems out, physical contact and cruel antics. Just Friends shows this adolescent transformation at an extreme that exceeds most families, certainly my brother and myself, and thus enables me to laugh at such a silly representation of brotherhood... and at my own lasting immaturity.

While Chris has his brother pinned to the floor, his boss calls. Chris tries to act cool and composed, yet when his brother is flailing around and he has toothpaste running down his face, there is only so much tranquility he can present. As a fellow perfectionist, I can relate to Chris' dilemma. It always seems like, at the most inopportune moment, the person you are working for (in whatever capacity that may be) wants to check in on you. Then, panic sets in and all you can do is hold everything together for a few, short seconds and put on a smile. True, I have never had something so devastating happen that a lawsuit could be a consequence, but the scene allows me a release of all the daily anxiety I put myself through, trying to make everything perfect when in reality, sometimes things just get messed up regardless.

Lastly, and most universally funny in this scene, Samantha James is the physical embodiment of the fears people have about drugs and how they will affect them. She can barely speak except in short, confused phrases, her head is wrapped in cloth and her mouth is overflowing with minty toothpaste. Once again, I have a bit of personal experience on the subject. When I had my wisdom teeth removed, my cheeks swelled up so much that not even my mother could look at me without laughing in that sort of horrified manner people do when they cannot believe what they are seeing. Yet, I was too far gone in my fantasies to notice. All I wanted to do was color and watch superman, which my friends make fun of me for to this day. It makes me feel better to see someone like Samantha James in a worse condition than I was. Now, I can laugh at some miserable person because I understand her helplessness and can also see the reasons why it was so funny to my friends and family to see me puffy and drugged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEqBSpTMBRE

"It's like I have ESPN or something..."

As an 18 year old girl, my life is full of needless drama; most of it laughable, as well. Therefore, watching someone else’s needless drama is humorous. The movie that is the epitome of high school drama is “Mean Girls.” This film represents the many cliques in high school and all the problems that come along with them. Obviously, I have been through many of these experiences or at least observed them happening, and therefore, it is “funny because it is true.” I went to a high school where I graduated with 350 people; a small amount. News traveled fast, and everyone knew everyone. Then, after high school, I am attending a college with 750 students. It might as well be “Young Harris High School.” “Mean Girls” is still relatable, even while in college, and it remains funny.
One scene in particular that makes me laugh and reminds me of everyone at Young Harris is 4:08 minutes into the YouTube video. The “plastics” are walking down the hall and there are clips of many different people talking about them, including the principal of the school. One girl claims, “I saw Cady Heron wearing army pants and flip flops, so I bought army pants and flip flops.” This represents the obsession to be cool in high school. While in school, being popular seems like the most important thing in the world, when it is miniscule in the scheme of life. Gossip abounds in this clip of the movie, including who is dating whom, and who is the hottest girl in the school.
This film never ceases to make me laugh. Not only is the sarcasm in the movie endless, but the way any high school student or sometimes even a college student can relate to the movie can make any one laugh. “Mean Girls” is definitely one of my favorite movies, and one of my favorite comedies that can make me laugh no matter what.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX0ncMR1XKc

Buddy the Elf. What's your favorite color?!

I have an odd sense of humor that my close friends would define as leaning toward the corny side. I believe that the reason that I find certain things to be funnier than others stems from my family and my upbringing. My parents are conservative and I grew up “sheltered”, as some of my friends like to point out. Cursing and crude talk was and still is not allowed in the Sawley house. Although I find humor of this type to be comedic at times, it is not what I grew up laughing at so there is a certain point at which it ceases to be funny. My dad is probably one of the funniest people that I know because he is not afraid to make a fool of himself. To make a short story long, I believe that the reason that I find the movie Elf to be so hilarious is because Will Ferrel cleanly makes a fool of himself the whole movie without any regards to what the people around him think. From his ridiculous costume of bright yellow tights to his sending his father the gift of lingerie because he is “someone special”, Buddy the Elf is sincerely funny. One reason that he doesn’t care about making a fool of himself is because he is oblivious to the fact that his acting abnormally. It always annoys me when people do stupid things on purpose to try and elicit laughter. Buddy does stupid things because he has a childlike ignorance of his surroundings that one does not expect to find in a man of his age. This movie is one of the very few that I can watch over and over again and still laugh as hard as I did the first time that I saw it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02572EyOIzQ

Girl With A Bad Laugh

I never realized my laugh was obnoxiously loud until I came to college. I knew that my laugh could be funny since my mom used to ask me if I had laid my egg yet because I sounded like a cackling chicken but I did not know it was so noisy. I was enlightened as to the loudness of my laughter one night when I was watching America’s Funniest Videos and my roommate started to make fun of me after a particularly boisterous outburst. Family Guy is known for having random cutaway scenes that make fun of awkward situations like a pretty girl having a manly laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ot6ZIzaXtg&feature=related. So, characteristically, what makes this Family Guy clip funny to me is that Peter says “Hang on to something, this ride is about to get rougher than dating a hot girl with a bad laugh” and the “hot girl’ starts to laugh with a deep voice that would not be expected. Not only does the girl’s laugh make me laugh, it makes me realize what other people must experience when I laugh really loud. This reminds me of my life because I am usually a quiet person, but apparently I get LOUD when I really get into laughing. While my laugh is not bad, well at least I do not think it is bad, it can definitely be loud. I picked another clip that is not a cutaway scene but still makes fun of laughter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSKRfbzqLqc&feature=relatedThis clip also pertains to my laugh because this must be what it sounds like when I get going. Stewie does not mean to obnoxious but that is what makes the clip even funnier. My friends all laugh when I start laughing because I, like Stewie, do not mean to be obnoxious but I apparently really am much louder than I think. Family Guy has so many random funny scenes that there is probably at least one clip that can pertain to every person.

What is love?

Carmen Solis

I choose an animation piece called “what is love?” This piece is really funny, entertaining, and ironic. I saw this animation while I was in my room. It caught my attention because of the cartoons and the title of the animation. After I saw the whole piece of work, I could not stop laughing because of the irony of love and hatred between two people. It has a background song which is really catchy and hilarious so combine with the effects of the cartoon, the piece of work becomes more amazing. I laugh at this because somehow I can relate to it. I know that when one is in love, one would do anything to get what they want. But in here, there is stalking and over exaggeration which it takes it to another different level. I have myself try to make someone like me or love me but I only have done silly things such as writing letters, watching them from far away, and trying to help them. I know that kind of is wrong in a way but I never did harm. But with this cartoon, I can see that sometimes those things can get a little too dramatic and funny.

First, the animation starts serious with dramatic actions depict in it. Then it gets sad because the guy is missing the love of his life which is a real life experience since one always wish to have the one by their side. Last, the guy would do anything to get the girl but she is not interested in him. In here, it is where all the actions and battles begin. The guy in the piano is epic because he can give tools to turn love into hate and hate into love.

I guess I find this ironic and at the same time hilarious because I can see how one is becoming crazy over love. It makes me think of all the little things I had done.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh2dcwui2-k

400 Babies!

Some of you have seen the video known as “Powerthirst,” an advertisement for a pretend energy drink. I think this is one of the funniest videos I’ve ever seen, regardless how stupid it is. Why does it make me laugh, though? The reason I find this funny all stems from my friends from home, who are actually who I first watched this with. This video is so energetic and stupid I couldn’t help but laugh. After first seeing it, we spent the next two or three months quoting the video every time we saw each other.

It isn’t just about me watching it with them that makes it humorous to me, and the effects after. The thing that gets me is that I could very easily see this entire video be the brainchild of just and everyday conversation between me and and a few of my friends. It’s nothing special, but I love the fact that I can sit there and think “we could have totally come up with that.” But we didn’t. Regardless though, I love the creativity of it. Who sits around and comes up with the term “shocolates: chocolate added to an electrical storm”...besides us?

It makes me wonder whether or not they sat around and came up with “shocolate” and “rawberry” or if those words and ideas just sort of came to them out of nowhere. I know it’s possible to just think of random things like that off the top of the head, my best friend Stephen and I have done it one day on a car ride down I-16, aka the most boring highway in America. A song came on the radio, Bad Day by Daniel Powter, and Stephen and I spontaneously rewrote the song as it was playing as if Eminem was singing it. I know that sounds retarded and insane, but the things we said, which I can’t even remember, were so funny that I laughed the majority of the time I tried to sing it. Reflecting on that moment in the car as I watch this video makes me love the (possible) spontaneity of it, thus I laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs

Last Blog: Your Humor, Your History

Dear All,


For next week, you will prepare a write-up about how your personal history/experience makes a piece of your choosing particularly funny to you.  POST BY MONDAY. 

You may choose a cartoon, a joke, a book, a poem, a commercial, a scene from a movie, a stand-up sketch... anything!  Why does it make YOU -- the person who you are -- laugh? Think about how Ralph Ellison uses his experience to explain his extravance of laughter at the Erskine Caldwell play.



If you can provide a link to your humorous piece in your blog, do so.  You could also bring in a handout, or a dvd... whatever!  Just be ready to help your classmates understand what you're talking about -- either by showing some of it to them, or by summarizing it -- because you'll present your favorite piece of humor and your write-up to the class on either MONDAY or WEDNESDAY next week!

Have fun with this assignment, be thoughtful and deep, and write your blog with care! It's your last one!

Best,
Jennifer

An Unusual Talent

Jeff Dunham is a stand-up comedian, but he uses a technique that is quite uncommon. He is a ventriloquist, which is where a person can produce sounds from that mouth that sound like they are coming from another origin. In Jeff Dunham's skit, he uses several different puppets, but the example I am using involves two of the puppets whose names are Peanut and Jose the Jalepeno. Peanut is a purple, spastic, very energetic puppet, while Jose the Jalepeno is on a stick and has a strong Spanish accent, is quite relaxed and also can speak Spanish at times. Dunham uses his uncommon abilities to be comic. He talks for three different characters at the stage all in consecutive sentences, and he does not loose the different styles of talking each character has, including himself. For example, Dunham is asking Peanut and Jose questions and they are both replying. He switches voices very fluently without making it obvious he is the one talking for the puppets. This is very humorous to watch because the two puppets are not real, yet Dunham talks for them so fluently the audience gets caught in the speech for the puppets and the acting. I personally forget he is speaking for the puppets for periods of time when the skit is being performed. One of the funniest aspects of Dunham's skit is when he is arguing for the two puppets and they start talking in Spanish. Dunham then tells them to stop talking in Spanish and they both turn and look at him in a very questioning tone. This is really humorous because everyone knows he is talking for the puppets but he tries to act like he is not. Dunham is a great performer because he can talk in so many different accents at consecutive times. It is just as amazing to watch him do his skits as it is funny.

"It is 'God bless you' but it kinda sounded like 'Cover you f*ckin' mouth'"

Like many other comedians, Dane Cook jokes about simple things that happen every day using tons of exaggeration, whether it is a dryer, a car accident, or a childhood memory, like a slip-and-slide. However, Dane Cook is one of my favorite comedians. What characteristics make him different from the rest? Other than just telling jokes, Cook is more of a “storyteller.” Most of his skits have to do with his experiences, and countless skits start with the words, “When I was a little kid. . .” One of my favorite skits by Cook is titled “The Atheist” and appears in his “Vicious Circle” Tour. Throughout this one skit, he talks about multiple different topics, including Windex, the word snarky, and the atheist in the elevator. The only taboo subject that Dane Cook discusses in this performance is religion. However, he receives positive feedback because in America, Christianity is much more accepted than Atheism. He also implements his usual technique of lots of movement, crazy sound effects, and bizarre exaggerations. For example, when the Atheist sneezes, Cook demonstrates the “robot-like” movement he made, the loud, obnoxious sneezing sound, and the “debris” that came out of the mouth of the Atheist. As Cook and the Atheist get in an argument about theories of life and death pertaining to their religious beliefs, many other funny comments are made, but the skit also takes a kind of serious turn. As the skit nears the end, Dane Cook poses as a tree (what the Atheist believes he will become when he dies) and then comes up with a long speech about how the Atheist will eventually turn into paper and the Bible will be printed on him. Dane Cook definitely had the last word in this argument and the whole skit is so entertaining. Cook makes it seem like you are there with him as the story is told and the whole audience is aware of this feeling and extremely interactive throughout the show.

The Art Of Imitation

While Robin Williams is not the most popular comedian today, he is still a very funny comedian to watch. A majority of Williams’s comedy emerges by him mocking others. I believe this is where his humor seems to draw from. In one of his funniest sketches, Williams mocks alcoholics, pot smokers, and cocaine addicts. What is hilarious about the sketch is how he mocks these people. He mocks them by imitating people. He recreates fictional scenes of how these characters act when they are under the influences of these drugs. However, he not only imitates these intoxicated characters but also all the characters they might encounter and interact with. With each character he creates a new voice as well as new gestures. His creativity is hilarious and entertaining at the same time. He is able to create completely fictional characters, yet you know exactly what type of person he is talking about. Part of the humor seems to come from the fact that you identify the fictional character he has created with a real person you actually know. He is able to very effectively create characters by playing off of stereotypes, but he also adds his own flavor to each stereotype as well. One strong example of his ability to create a scene and imitate characters is when he portrays someone smoking pot. Throughout this hilarious scene Williams clearly portrays someone smoking pot as he attempts to drive as well as a cop who pulls him over. Each character is uniquely created with his own different accent and movements which adds to the hilarity. It is this funny portrayal of characters that seems to serve as the foundation for his comedy. He uses a lot of movement and very loud comedy which keeps the audience engaged and entertained. Throughout the short comedy sketch, Williams portrays multiple characters each one uniquely developed. He jumps very quickly from each character never taking a break which seems to build the humor. Using these tactics of imitation Williams is able to create a very humorous sketch.

Dirty Cartoons

Dave Chapelle's Kid's Cartoons stand up draws humor from the very well known fact that some kid's cartoon shows have hidden messages. We do not notice these messages as children, but as adults, we notice how obvious and adult oriented they were. Dave Chapelle pulls several examples from the well known program Sesame Street. He points out that Oscar the Grouch lives in a trashcan and people judge him to his face. He makes it funny by concluding that this character teaches children to jump over the homeless and judge them. Chappelle also points out that the Cookie Monster has his eyes popping out while screaming for cookies. Chappelle notes that chocolate chips do not have those effects on people, thus suggesting that the Cookie Monster is hooked on something other than the average cookie. Chappelle also observes that there is a pimp on Sesame Street. He declares that the Count is a pimp with “a cape and everything” like other known pimps. This observation increases the humor because it is true that the Count has a cape like a pimp therefore he must be a pimp. Chappelle makes up a situation were the Count is pimping and the woman is late paying the Count the money. The Count states that she has been late four times and that he knows because he has been counting. He then slaps her and counts the slaps, ending with his pimp laugh. This situation makes people laugh because it shows that Chappelle's conclusion about the Count being a pimp is credible. The Count counts the number of late payments and the slaps because he is supposed to count. He talks like a pimp and he laughs like a pimp. If he looks like a pimp, acts like a pimp, and sounds like a pimp, he must be a pimp.
In conclusion, Dave Chappelle draws humor from the messages embedded in children's cartoons in the Kid's Cartoons stand up. He pulls examples from the show Sesame Street to illustrate some of the messages. He then adds some commentary to show how these messages are applied in real life. By pointing out the messages, he gets the audience's attention and some laughs. The audience laughs because they acknowledge that he's saying the truth. By applying the messages in a real life scenario, Chappelle increases the humor of the messages.

That Mother F**ker Got Killed By A Tiger

Katt Williams’ performance about the teenage boy who was killed by a tiger in the San Francisco Zoo is one of my absolute favorite stand-up bits because of the way he interprets the actions and the reasoning of the tiger and the reactions and ideas of the public. Like with the Crocodile Hunter bit we watched in class, Katt Williams is taking a sensitive issue and turning it into a successful stand up routine. The points he makes while talking about the tiger attack are completely logical. Why should we feel bad for a teenager who knowingly climbed into a zoo exhibit where there was a real live tiger? How many times are we told throughout our lives that a wild animal will always be a wild animal no matter how tame it seems? Katt appeals to our logic when he asks why he should be sad that the tiger did what tigers are supposed to do. He says that, “If you raise a child at any age who is dumb enough to climb into a tiger’s cage then you ought to tell them the rest of the story… then the tiger eat your asshole out baby, that’s what supposed to happen, that’s the end.” He is sympathizing with the tiger for the rest of the bit which really makes the audience see that the tiger was just reacting naturally. Katt is able to make us look at the situation from the tiger’s point of view. He utilizes the ludicrousness of the entire situation of the fact that someone actually climbed into the tiger exhibit in the zoo and makes us laugh at it because we can see that the real individual who is crazy is the person who went into the cage, not the tiger. The way Katt makes people laugh at such a gruesome instance is what makes this particular bit my favorite.

Brian Regan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBko_3wT44Q

One of my favorite comedians is Brian Regan, who uses ridiculous gestures and actions to make the audience laugh. In this performance, he discusses food and food labels, and throughout the entire routine he does a good job transitioning from one joke to another. Regan begins by saying his doctor told him he needs to read food labels, to try to eat healthier. He begins by reading the label of a Fig Newton box, which to his astonishment the serving size is a whopping two cookies! He then goes on to portray a situation in which an insane person attempts to eat three whole entire cookies, and is sent to the emergency room, and the whole time Regan uses gestures of eating the Fig Newtons, and his methodology of eating with the “newton shavings flying past his face,” and then the doctor having to try to save the three fig newton eater from cardiac arrest.

Regan then talks about eating ice cream, and the half a cup serving size of that. Regan says it was a joke in the factory and then they got sent off like that. Regan’s serving size for ice cream is until the spoon hits the bottom of the box and you can’t scoop anymore, which he demonstrates to comedic effect. After the part about ice cream, he says his doctor told him lay off dairy, which opens up my favorite part of the joke. Regan sadly demonstrates walking through the grocery store, having to avoid the dairy aisle which he says has people “wearing party hats” in it. This leads him to the juice aisle, where Regan remarks at the ridiculous amounts of drinks involve Cranberry, which I find to be absolutely hilarious.

The audience finds this funny because Regan doesn’t mind looking like an idiot on stage, he’s willing to do anything to make everyone laugh. I love Regan’s gestures, but the thing about him is he doesn’t just look like an idiot to make people laugh. His gestures actually apply to his jokes, rather than making random movements that are funny but don’t really make sense like some other comedians do. I think Regan is very funny, and I really like the fact that he is able to make people laugh without cussing or talking about sex or drugs, unlike many other comedians.

Silly People!

This is the first time I have ever heard of Dane Cook and seen his stand-up performance, and I liked it. I have watched a couple of his performances and find it hilarious and amazing. Why? Well, first of all, I think that Dane is been himself; he is not trying to act or be like the other comedians. He has his own thoughts and ideas. Dane uses a lot of gestures whether they are with his hands, legs, or face. His gestures are entertaining and make his performance shine a little bit more. In the performance of “Why women win fights,” Dane does a pose with his leg that catches and brings the laughter of the audience as well as me. It is hysterical to see a guy doing a girl pose and being so feminine.
Another interesting detail about Dane’s performance is that he uses words that no one else has heard of which causes the audience to burst in laughter because of the meaning it has underneath the words. Some of these words he made up are “mental terrorist” and “brain ninjas.” These two words actually make sense by putting it together. By just reading these two words, of course, no one will laugh to the point not to be able to breathe, but by performing a story with the words and saying those words out of nowhere, not been expected, it causes laughter and captures attention.
It is funny to see how sometimes our own reactions can be the laughter of others. For instance in the “Crying” performance, Dane points out the simplest, little thing we do in life which is crying. He showed all the emotions, the gestures, and the responses that one does when crying. And after watching it, I see that what his performance is all based on the real-life experiences. We laugh at what the comedian is doing that looks and is so dumb, but do not notice that we are laughing at ourselves by doing and reacting the same way. We might not think about that when we laugh because if we would, then it would suck up all the fun and the dumb elements.

Keeping It Clean

Stand-up comedy often gets the reputation for being vulgar with its topic choices. Michal Jr. is a unique comedian who keeps his humor clean yet is still very funny. Jr. is a Christian and what is particularly funny to me about him is that he will joke about Christian terminology and actions in church without having the air of superiority like other comedians. Instead he takes on an air of ignorance through questions. In one of my favorite routines by him, “Prayer”, Jr. asks why people feel like they have to “out pray” others. He uses the example of praying in a group in church with a lady who must be “John the Baptist’s little sister” because of her knowledge of the Bible and he goes on to say that he was not going to let her “out pray him”. Michael’s fearlessness of bringing up topics such as this is one reason why he is s good comedian because his main topic is one that many comedians ironically consider taboo: religion. He is able to do this without offence because he is part of the group of which his is making fun. His delivery of the routine is also comedic and is a little similar to that of Dane Cook. In the performance mentioned above, Jr. is able to keep a straight face the whole time. This method encourages the audience to laugh at him rather than with him. Michael’s technique for creating laughter will not appeal to everyone because many people who do not share his faith will not find him funny due to their lack of ability to relate to what he is speaking about. However, he tries to explain many of his biblical references and one sometimes feels as if they are having a humorous Sunday school lesson. Although this is not the type of humor that one might want to listen to all of the time, it is a breath of fresh air when it comes to stand-up comedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkqDpMUu6Yg&NR=1

Neither Ellen Degeneres nor Bill Cosby are known for their outrageous, taboo performances. They do not uses an excessive amount of expletives nor do they describe sexual experiences, most certainly not in graphic detail like many standup comedians. So, why then are they considered to be two of the greatest comedians of our time? Their humor comes from the universally relatable content of their jokes. For example, one of Degeneres' most famous sketches is about the frustrations of flying, and the Bill Cosby bit we watched in class explained why people should, in fact, be weary of the dentist. Ubiquitously present sarcasm and exaggeration are the means by which they evoke our laughter, but this is just a result of a greater reason behind the hilarity. We see a part of ourselves in their jokes. True, a salad so small it only contains two pieces of lettuce or a bottom lip on the ground may not be the extent to which our mind takes our annoyance and discomfort, but the idea that we constantly project the little difficulties of our day to some disastrous event is something that everyone experiences. So, in a way, we are laughing at ourselves by seeing the humor in a magnified aspect of humanity. By seeing the absurdity of Degeneres' and Cosby's interpretations of a flight or a trip to the dentist, we laugh because we see how silly our worry really is; we laugh in relief. Their jokes serve as a sort of social corrector, not because our stresses are inherently wrong, but because it shows that we all have a common bond (even in our frustrations) and that we really shouldn't waste our time on situations that are so trivial.

Blog: Stand-Up Comedy

Dear All,


Go forth and select your own favorite (relatively short) stand-up routine, sketch, or commercial. Feel free to include a link to the sketch! Choose another clip form Katt Williams, George Carlin, Eddie Izzard, Dane Cook, Bill Cosby, Maragret Cho, or other favorites (people who are interesting that come to mind are Sarah Silverman, Robin Williams, Bob Sagot, Gallagher -- he's the watermelon guy -- Jerry Seinfield, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres). Answer one of the questions below:

1. Discuss one aspect or detail of your stand-up comedian's performance and how it makes him or her comic. How does it engage the audience? What makes it unique as a method for causing laughter?

2. Compare two stand-up comedians' uses of a comic technique. How does it set them apart, how does it reflect their talents or approaches to comedy? For example, both Eddie Izzard and Bill Cosby rely on facial gestures to mark moments of absurdity or comic frustration in their sketches. But Eddie's facial gestures are funny in part because he is wearing SO much make-up. What could you say about their faces?