amused What I came up with are the three laws which define
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forestdruid's sense of humor. They are:1) All things that are tragic must be made fun of as soon as possible after the event. Any event that inspires fear, hatred, or grief has power over us until we can treat it like any normal event. This is why September 11 jokes are so necessary, and often so funny.
2) Anything that someone takes far too seriously must be ridiculed. Everyone needs to have their beliefs challenged, especially those beliefs that they refuse to debate. This is why religion is, and will always be, the funniest topic of conversation.
3) Hypocrisy is both the most tragic and funniest thing in all of life. It is also the basis of good satire. Stating a strong belief in one thing and then turning around and doing the exact opposite is the cornerstone for so much of existence. If we can not laugh at the hypocrisy, then it will tear us apart.
July 30 2005, 22:10:06 UTC 6 years ago
Soooo . . .
Judging by this criteria, The Daily Show must be your favorite show of all time, and The Onion your number one source for print.We must have the same sense of humor, since I couldn't agree more with this whole assesment.
I have to add, however, the value in physical/slapstick comedy. That, in and of itself, is its own artform -- and it's actually one of the most difficult things to pull off. It requires such perfect timing. I'd probably label this under 4) "Not So Blissfull Ignorance," cause 9 times out of 10, what makes slapstick most funny is the way in which the person doesn't see it coming.
Total ignorant confidence in one's situation despite the oncoming doom -- this was the secret to all good Tom and Jerry's, Looney Toons, and old Disney Cartoons. Or, if there WAS a realization, it came too late -- literally a last second turn, or a split second double take before the "POW!" And the LESS time spent dwelling on it, the better. In fact, doing a quick edit in the middle of a "splat" is often times more funnier than holding on the scene for suppossed comedic effect. Most modern day directors could learn a LOT from that... since the worst comedic scenes are those that just die on screen and yet just keep going and going and going... waiting for a "cut" to save them.
August 1 2005, 18:09:37 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Soooo . . .
Right now, I can say that the Daily Show is one of my top five favorite shows and along with the Iron Chef, the only ones I actually seek out to watch.The onion is great, but I have grown a bit tired of it for its use of imagery/topics that I can not read at work =)
I know that a lot of people love slapstick comedy and I admit that I can laugh at a good crotch shot, but it seems to be a very fleeting humor - a humor that I can not think about later for a good chuckle. Now, I dig the good pop-culture reference. That would be the 4th rule I guess.