The Comic or the Comedian, The Simple Style of Humor.
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A Reflection on why jokes are funny.
“Simplicity is not stupidity” (Steve Jordan, drummer Saturday Night Live, John Mayer Trio).
I wondered what my problem was with too serious movies and pretentious over-thought plots. I do not tend to enjoy them. I like simple plots that were well thought through. Think: The Great Gatsby, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. As Steve Jordan has said, “Simplicity is not stupidity,” when speaking about his style of playing in Blues music. Listen to his version of I Got a Woman and you will see what I mean. The simple beat speaks to the soul in a unique way, it’s like a heart-beat — we immediately connect with it.
Logical, Nihilistic, Comedic-Genius
I would like to think that this is similar with all art, especially comedy. There is a way for something complicated to be simple. The simple is understood by the viewer only if he understands the complicated nature of the context of the reference in which the joke is being used. The joke isn’t funny if the context isn’t understood. And the joke can’t be comprehended by the too intelligent, because they believe that they are too smart to be amused by something that seems that simple. Yet they do not understand that the process for simplicity is possibly the most difficult and most thought through process that there can be in the creation of art and humor. In comedy we look to make a taboo subject comprehensible. This is why Louis CK is my favorite stand-up comedian. He takes a serious topic that no one wants to talk about and simplifies it, making it easy to think about. In the process he makes us wonder why we couldn’t say that out loud, why we were we afraid to speak the truth about it. He looks at things logically as if they were simple when they clearly are not. And this is what we escape to, this is what we like.
The Sacrificial Clown in the Room, the Truly Humble
My other favorite comedians is Conan O’Brien, the Harvard educated TV host. He is incredibly witty, intelligent, funny, confident, and went through alot of hard things in life that provide inspiration to thousands.
Conan’s style is different from what we regularly tend to see. In one of his interviews (I believe it was on Charlie Rose) he was explaining how he wants to be the fool in the room to make others feel the way they deserve, with more respect that is. He says that in the end this is what brought him joy and fulfillment. This could be one of the most un-selfish and humble ways of providing humorous comments for people on television. This is what wins the crowd over. If a comedian makes fun of himself, such as Conan or Louis CK, we instantly enjoy them. It also helps the guests on the show to alleviate anxiety, stress, and nervousness for speaking in front of so many hypothetical people at home. Conan and Louis do it well because they don’t overly, brutalize, and de-humanize themselves in the process, they keep their confidence and make it seem normal for them to feel that certain way, when making a joke. The joke comes across as a jab from a friend.
Conan also has the upper hand in his humor due to his insecure past. He speaks about having self-image issues and pouring into comedy as a source of release and escape. We tend to see this alot, escapism is the motive for most art, it could be argued. The confidence and wit that he presents on screen, then, is not the awakening of inner charisma but the apparent and repeated practice of making light of that which is common.
Comedies are Most Funny When it is Hard to Associate With Them
Movies are a little bit different than stand-up. I personally enjoy comedies more than dramas and thrillers and romantic movies. We enjoy comedies because we get to laugh and get loose from whatever was happening in the day. We get to escape the responsibilities that our burdensome culture has put on our shoulders. Comedies make fun of that which is regular. They have a way of laughing at that which is pretentious and snobbish.
Comedies however tend to make you think your life is the same as theirs. I do not like that which tries to portray a lifestyle that is normal. Comedies such as New Girl and Chuck and How I Met Your Mother are all somewhat depressing and create sad emotions. My mind tends to deceive me when I am watching their world. That’s why I tend to avoid them now. It makes me think that I am there with them and that they are people I know. It couldn’t be further from the truth. I am my own self and I have my own life-problems that these sit-coms can’t be able to diagnose and expose. This is the problem with them. They portray a reality which is not ours.
That which cures me is a jokester, the clown, someone laughed at: Andy Samberg’s performance in Brooklyn Nine-Nine or already mentioned Conan on his late-night show. The IT Crowd is also filled with characters that are being mocked for their insecurities and introvertedness. Andy makes jokes about being financially irresponsible and all of these make me identify with their humor.
What Does This do for me? A Personal Reflection
I am tired with having to perform in front of people. It’s like people are watching you even though they are not. Completely being yourself can come across as being insensitive. Is this what we should strive for?
It is a burden to live in such a world. I need to reshape the way I think about others. Others go through similar if not mostly the same stuff as I do. They have crushed dreams, they experience trauma, they lose loved ones. But in the end what separates me from them is that I will not dare to take these things seriously. The most important part of my life is my craft. My isolation. And my philosophy. God may not exist. I am guided by an agnostic approach to living. In my art I find the purest form of finding him. I find purpose and guidance. I find direction for the chaos that my upbringing has given me — that this distant land has given me.
The simplicity in comedic art is that which draws me to it. The fact that it is a well thought through commentary on that which seems simple, but in fact is quite certainly not, is what helps with being able to appreciate it even more. The same joke can be listened to a thousand times and is still simple. That is why I have watched every episode of the IT Crowd every other night to fall to sleep to. The intelligence behind the art becomes transparent only when you realize this.
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Thank you for reading. If you liked this blog, be sure to check out my commentary on C. S. Lewis’ A Grief Observed and my latest blog post on Battling Moral Questions Between Religion and Atheism.
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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” (Will Durant).
