Everyone goes through their daily routine without much regard to trivial routines or strange yet common happenings. All of us just approach these occurrences as “Things that Happen in Our Life” and do not put too much of their thinking into it. These peculiar incidents is what comedians, who have perfected the art of ‘Observational Comedy’, target and magnify in their comedic acts. Why is observational comedy funny? “It’s funny because it is true!”
Where did that come from?
Comedy before the 70’s was based on comedic sketches, situational comedy, and acts filled with punch-lines. But then, comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, and Larry David ushered in a new era . Comedians decided to change things in the comedy world. Comedy was
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They cancel each other out, so I’m even” . In this joke Henry Cho stereotypes Koreans as smart and people from the south of the United States as dumb.
One topic that is quite popular among observational comedians is about airports. George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld have thrived in this regard. George Carlin is extremely offensive but his bit “Airport Security” is full of observational comedy . Jerry Seinfeld commented on plane safety demonstrations. Quoting him, “They show you how to use the seatbelt, in case you haven’t been in a car since 1965. ‘Oh, you lift up on the buckle! Oh! I was trying to break the metal apart. I thought that’s how it
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Every time the comic begins his/her joke the person listening thinks, “Oh yeah, that happens all the time”. Another reason the audience finds observational comedy funny is because the audience is always left with the thought: “Why didn’t I think of that?” Both these factors combine to form an immediate bond between the performer and the audience. When listening to the performer, because of observational comedy, the audience realises that the performer is just like any other person. The performer goes through life much like the majority of the audience. This is the reason this genre of stand-up comedy is extremely popular. This genre provides the ultimate experience to the
In other words, if one watches the show with an open mind and they try to understand the underlying comedy, rather than just focusing on the satire, they can actually learn a lot about the events happening in today’s
Carlin also uses pathos to connect with his audience emotionally. He often employs humor to make light of serious issues, such as poverty and inequality. By using humor to address these topics, Carlin makes them more accessible and less intimidating, which can help to engage the audience emotionally. For example, in his bit on homelessness, Carlin uses self-deprecating humor to make the audience laugh and then segues into a poignant observation about the dehumanization of people living on the streets. This emotional appeal can help to elicit empathy and support for his arguments.
When people tend to make a angrily joke to someone usually people will find that as comedy within the
In today’s age, there has never been more political correctness in our country. If someone says something that offends anyone, regardless of its factuality or veracity, they will be questioned and challenged. Because of this borderline-censorship, we must still have a way to engage audiences and get our point across. Humor provides this. Humorists are able to dive into topics that can be very polarizing and, with the way they communicate, can bring people together while expressing certain opinions.
According to Kennedy and Gioia, comedy is rooted “from the Greek komos, a reveal, thought to be originated in festivities to celebrate spring, ritual performances in praise of Dionysus” (882). The term comedy can refer to an entire work or simply only parts. Comedy, which can range from romantic (the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after) to satiric, which is when “human weakness or folly is ridiculed from a vantage point of supposedly enlightened superiority” (Kennedy and Gioia 882). There are many other forms that can be found everywhere. High comedy “relies more on wit and wordplay than physical action for its humor”, while Low comedy tends to “explore the opposite extreme of humor”
Comedy has been a form of entertainment since ancient Greece. Comedy often reflects society, so as technology became more advanced it also became more accessible to the public. Leaving the house to see a play transitioned to leaving the house to see a film, which transitioned to staying at home and watching television, and then transitioned to watching videos on an iPhone. Technological accessibility broadened comedy as genre and created notable characters, distinctive styles, and has influenced modern comedians. Bo Burnham began to gain popularity through YouTube.
Humorists, such as cartoonists, satirical writers, and stand-up comics, often base their work on current events and issues. They never fail to put a twist on their subject, making it easier to digest and understand; therefore, they make the subject more appealing to otherwise uninterested or repulsed people. Albeit the fact that a large part of the public may be misinformed in response to the humorist’s twist on the message, humorists are able to state directly what news articles cannot by shedding light on a subject, by talking about controversial issues, or by merely giving busy people the ability to catch up on current eventualities in the short window of time they have. Many humorists shed light on heavy subjects by making them more pleasing and entertaining for the audience; whilst doing so, they can also often provide the audience with valuable information. The cartoonists that work for Charlie Hebdo often use satirical cartoons to convey a deep message.
Humor relates to the Super-Ego through the acknowledgment of oneself being ridiculous. “Superego has gone under ‘maturation’ maturity that comes from learning to laugh at
A humorous tone, achieved through the use of diction, allows Pi to see events in such a way that they become amusing, rather than confusing or frightening. For example, after hearing
The use of humor to alleviate the dull reality of life is used in Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which supports the idea that one's own humor creates happiness in others and relieves stress much like in the critically acclaimed Christmas classic, Elf, starring Will Ferrell. Humor is used by Ken Kesey very prominently especially when the patients do not seem to have the ability to laugh at anything nor find anything funny. The patients live a very dull life in which they repeat their monotonous cycle of life in the ward. They no longer have known what it is like in the norm because of the Big Nurse wears them down with the oppressive nature of the Combine.
Some people find violence amusing, others do not. Amusement through violent action between characters is called slapstick comedy. Happy Gilmore uses an iota amount of slapstick comedy through beating up others, unintentionally hurting others, others hurting him, and hurting himself. Happy Gilmore uses slapstick comedy through beating up characters. He beats up his young caddie. "
It’s hard to understand much else about the why’s and how’s of laughter, but they seem to know, simply, that it works. This means that in order for readers to further understand the reality of things like humor in Kesey’s book, oneself should have to ignore their feelings and sacrifice the pleasure and ask questions that help people to discover what it is about humor that is so powerful. Laughter does not only play a major role in the story, but in life as
Dave Barry In society today, people are becoming more and more easily offended. A simple joke is often times blown way out of proportion instead of being laughed off and taken as just that. Dave Barry, a comedic essayist, understands that idea, which is why he uses self-deprecating humor to distract the readers from the fact that he is making fun of them. Along with the use of sarcasm and hyperboles, this form of humor is, at times, relatable and allows him to get certain points across without offending his readers.
One of the most valuable aspects of personality is humor – we value one’s sense of humor and make friends often based on finding certain things funny. But how and why do we consider things to be funny at all? Human beings have strived to uncover fundamental truths about human nature for centuries – even millennia – but humor itself is still yet to be pinpointed. Henri Bergson is only one of many who has attempted this feat, and his essay Laughter: an essay on the meaning of the comic from 1911 breaks down comedy into what he believes to be its essential forms and origins. While Bergson makes many valid points, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times that was brought to screens only twenty years later seems to contradict many of Bergson’s theories, while Bergson seems to contradict even himself over the course of his essay.
Many audiences of stand up comedy enjoy hearing their favorite comedian entertain them. But what would one think when a comedian cracks a joke about a sensitive topic, for example, a tragedy that affected hundreds of people. Some may argue that, comedians are not supposed to overstep the boundary of controversial jokes. These controversial jokes are linked with political correctness—which is used to describe language, policies, and measures that are taken to avoid offense to certain groups of people. Comedians are not compelled to restrain from controversial topics due to the topic not being sugar-coated, the higher level of contemplation that the joke can reach, and the job of the comedian—to make the current issue manageable.