Humor

WHAT IS THE HUMOR PROJECT?

By first analyzing two humorists, we draw inspiration from them and research specific techniques (otherwise known as tools of comedy) they employ in their routines. Afterwards, we were to draft a project proposal that outlined what our comedy subject was and what kind of techniques we were going to use ourselves. Originally, we would produce our own comedic work of our choice to present to the class in a live performance. However, we instead delivered our works via recordings.

MY HUMOR STUDY

ANALYSIS OF CARLIN AND WILLIAMS

George Carlin is an American stand-up comedian and well-known social critic. His comedic routines often included black humor, satire to further his comedic messages. Carlin is considered to be one of the best American comedians of all time, with his main appeal to his audiences having to do with counterculture in America and critiques on American culture. His influences included Danny Kaye, Richard Pryor, and many more. From them, he drew inspiration in how best to transform typical storytelling into true comedy on stage. His utilization of unspoken truths were his most common, and commonly most appealing, specialties. By using humor that draws attention to simple, everyday truths everyone experiences but nobody will openly admit, Carlin is able to reach very large audiences. This technique is a straightforward way to also incorporate other comedic tools, such as black humor. Carlin is especially talented in using black humor, and even blue humor, in his routines to provoke reactions from his audiences. In his monologue, for example, “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television”, he examines words seen as taboo and to be censored on the US public airwaves. These are rather offensive even in everyday life, but Carlin, in an interview with NPR in 2004, says “You’ll see some newspapers print ‘f blank blank k’. Some print ‘f asterisk asterisk k’. Some blank— Some put ‘f blank blank blank‘. Some put the word ‘bleep’. Some put, um … ‘expletive deleted’. It’s a notion that they have and it’s superstitious. These words have no power. We give them this power by refusing to be free and easy with them. We give them great power over us. They really, in themselves, have no power. It’s the thrust of the sentence that makes them either good or bad.” When trying to define one technique to best encapsulate Carlin’s themes, style, and subject matter, it would be his use of unspoken truth.

When bringing his style into comparison with another famous comedian, Robin Williams, one can find both numerous similarities but key differences as well. Robin Williams, not only an American comedian but a renowned actor, shared a similar enthusiastic manner of delivering his routines. While both were energetic, it is crucial to point out that while both Carlin and Williams could appear very excited, Williams’s style of comedy, and specifically his monologues, would have a manic and intense manner that surpassed the fanaticism Carlin had. With this, Williams could employ tool 8 of comedy, a comic premise. Not just limited to one routine, he would identify the main character, the main conflict, and the main plot premise. Typically following the flow that Steve Kaplan describes, Williams would be successful in making his audience respond positively to his comical premises. 

REFLECTION OF SUBJECTS & THEMES FOUND INSPIRATIONAL

Overall, I value the comedic style of both George Carlin and Robin Williams. Their humor is overly dramatic just when it needs to be, and each one is very skilled at making everyday parts of the culture I have experienced within America a lot less intimidating than I once viewed it. Although both Carlin and Williams poke fun, to say the least, at the extreme parts of this culture, I am able to relate to their exaggerated perspective while still finding it quite hilarious. While both comedians use a rather large amount of offensive language, I notice that this technique was necessary to draw out the desired reaction from both the comedian himself and his audience. Williams, specifically, relied on this kind of natural reaction because his comedy commonly was improvisational. I appreciate the American culture, but I do sympathize with the critiques that George Carlin, for example, points out regularly in his routines. Whether it’s referring to the archetypes of patriotic army men or what kinds of drivers are on the road around us, the subjects Carlin references are always familiar enough for me to understand exactly what he is trying to critique, and why I would agree with him. Carlin’s technique of pointing out unspoken truths makes his character seem brave, if not a bit strange, to be talking about such things on stage. This bravery to call out either people for their ignorant behavior, synonymous with an extreme that’s normalized in stereotypical American culture, or to speak of taboo subjects in a manner that can seem rather vulgar, is a part of the delivery in a performance I find valuable in considering my own project. 

WORKS CITED

Gross, Terry. “Comedian and Actor George Carlin”. National Public Radio (Interview). 

Linder, Doug (ed.). Carlin, George. “Filthy Words by George Carlin”. Exploring 

Constitutional Conflicts. University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. 

Archived from the original on 2011-01-23. Retrieved 2017-03-11.

MY HUMOR PROPOSAL

Which form of humor are you planning to develop?

• Situational Humor or Satire. 

What is the subject (or, in the case of satire, the target)? Why did you do it? 

• I’m planning on telling small anecdotes and pointing out small aspects of the culture I grew up in, and finding humor in them. I want to use my experiences as a kid who was raised in more than two different cultures, and the quirks or similarities they had.

Which comedic tools/techniques do you plan to use, and why? (List at least 3 main ones and explain briefly how you plan to use them):

• Anecdotes: provide own example to further message 
• Situational Humor: using myself, which my audience knows better than my father, for example. The situations I’ve also heard about from my mom, which are very funny in my opinion when she explains them in a satirical way
• Incongruity: for example, why one action or part of myself is acceptable or preferable in one “culture” but not in the other? What happens then?

Why do you think this is the right humor project for you? What makes you excited about it?

• I see it as the right humor project because especially in lockdown, I’ve been communicating with my family more and learning about why I was taught to hold myself a certain way, or why my parents wanted me to value certain careers or beliefs over others. Additionally, I want to share what I find absolutely absurd that you can see present in more than one culture, and I’m rather lucky to be able to be in a home that houses a mix of cultures from places like Russia, Korea, Israel, and a lot more. 

If you get approval, what’s your next step?

• With approval, I would plan on brainstorming which anecdotes I would use after I find what specific theme (summarized in one or two sentences) that encapsulates the target. These are my experiences, what I learned from them, and why I find them to either be ridiculous and unrealistic or to be acceptable and reliable. I would also begin forming a script for me to follow to be able to record the satire.

SCRIPT

“Many kids these days are growing up in mixed-race homes. It’s not uncommon to hear of someone who will explain to you that they are 56% Caucasian, 34% Norwegian, 1.7% Native American, and 2% almond milk. They never told me what the missing 6.3% was, especially since their test result from 23andme said “other.” 

But for someone who has grown up in what I can only define as a giant melting pot of cultures, identities, superstitions, and old wives’ tale, I don’t think 23andme can give me the same confusion that my mother does when she will remind me that Koreans typically are fond of paler skin, whereas my dad will interject with how city-born Russians will view tanner skin as healthier. For the next 20 minutes or so, I’ll be standing in the doorway of my house as my swimming goggles begin to peel off my own face. 

The compromise? Sunscreen. 

But sunscreen doesn’t help people remember the ever-growing list of nicknames they have, and each depends on the language used. Starting with Anastasia, you can branch off into Nastya and all its ultra-Slav conjugations. Or you can pull out that handy accent of yours and de-Americanize the name. Don’t get me started on last names though… I still misspell my own occasionally. I justify it by thinking that it just reminds me of how cool I am to be able to write such a complicated last name. Y-A-N-K-O-V-S-K-I-Y. 

That’s until I look at some other Slavic last name that is more than 10 letters long. 

Hет, спасибо. 

But then, when my mother will be suspiciously affectionate and endearing, she will call me out by my Korean name. It sounds adorable in her tone of voice, but it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever heard. Once I step into the kitchen, she’ll either reward me with a soup that looks like it’s made of liquid gold, or she’ll be angrily pointing at the clock with a spatula. More often than not, it’ll be around 2 in the morning at this point. My mistakes unravel, as my mother will shift the spatula in the direction of my bare feet. With a mix between Korean, Russian, English, and maybe even ancient tongues of ancestral mothers, she will say “Eunji, socks? Hоски? 어디에? You’re going to lose your ability to have kids if your feet are too cold!”

Last time I checked, that’s not my priority as a highschooler. And whatever reason my mom has for making soup at 2am still baffles me today. We’re not exactly religious, despite observing certain holidays and upholding similar moral ideals, but I don’t know what is so spiritual about food made that late at night. But I can rest assured the filial duty I owe to my parents will be waiting for me come morning, in the form of dishes to wash. 

Meanwhile, my little brother will be studying. Well, as best as a kindergartner who’s been quarantined for weeks can. But he’s already learning that math is of the utmost importance. Aside from already mastering chess, he’ll receive a bright expression from my dad when he says he wants to study math instead of reading. For Russians, studying and STEM go together the same way it does for Asian cultures. My brother is already getting sick of it, but better to learn now than later. I can only encourage him by shouting over the K-drama my mom is watching, as my dad laughs at my grammatical mistakes. Not my fault you can literally say like 20 different versions of “keep going” in Russian… (Not to scale). “

THE HUMOR VIDEO

REFLECTION

This project was unique in its production process, since everything was done from home. I valued the experience of having such a free project that allowed for me to add my own personal touches and experiences, while still having enough structure to guide me to finish it on my own. This project and the preparation I did for it definitely furthered my learning about humor and what can make things be comical.