Humor Analysis :
Part 1 : Analysis: In the first single-spaced page, compare and contrast their subject matter, themes and styles, using terms from the Comedy Toolbox. Focus your analysis on showing how at least one piece of comedy from each humorist works, and explain how and why they are similar/different.
Seinfeld VS. Rudy Ayub
Welcome, to the first ever comedy head to head. Today’s contrast will feature Seinfeld, the show about nothing, facing off against youtube up and comer, Rudy Ayub. Seinfeld is often regarded as the best sitcom to come out of the 80s, far surpassing “Friends”, known as a failure in every regard. Seinfeld, as the word sitcom entails, derives it’s humor from the ridiculous situations that 4 friends often find themselves in. At the start of any given episode, we will be shown a character complaining about any number of situations or slight inconveniences in their life. Example : one particular episode opens with George, one of the main characters, complaining that his girlfriends hands were too “manly” and that he was considering breaking up with her because of it. This is obviously a ridiculous situation and one that hopefully no one finds themselves in, but the beauty comes with the fact that as humans, we can place ourselves into that situation, and appreciate how strange that would sound, as if it was coming from one of our very own friends.
Rudy Ayub on the other hand, delves more into the out of the ordinary sequences of day to day life. Featured in one of my particularly favorite sketches is a mock interview at an institute of learning. The sketch opens with 2 men in a room (they are the same person wearing slightly different clothes, adding to the humor) one reading the resume of the other. As the resume is being read out, it becomes increasingly obvious that the things listed are completely fabricated. As the interviewer continues to compliment the array of fake achievements, the interviewee stares blankly to illustrate just how fabricated his resume is. The sketch then leads to the musical demonstration in order to prove the applicant’s qualifications, he proceeds to pick up a guitar and then completely butcher a song. A couple seconds of silence are followed by the interviewer calling the head office to inform them that they have found an “atonal genius.”
Part 2 : Reflection: Then, in another 1-page, single-spaced page, reflect on which subjects/themes and techniques you find most inspirational and valuable in considering your own project.
These techniques are very different, but are not at all mutually exclusive, and that is exactly why I chose these 2 for comparison, these styles of comedy have some overlap and gray area, for instance, it is obvious that some of the techniques seen in the sketch from Rudy Ayub can also be seen in Seinfeld and vice versa. Such as the awkwardness resulting from a person knowingly lying on their resume, it is a situation that maybe we cannot put ourselves directly in, but we are still able to empathise with the person in that situation, and experience the awkwardness first hand.
This is exactly what I am hoping to capture in my comedy project. I want the audience to maybe not fully be able to place themselves into the sketch, but be able to feel how awkward the situation could be. By putting 2 characters with very different opinions in a situation together, we can illustrate the stark difference between them. And it will further illustrate how ridiculous it is to not be taking the situation at hand seriously. This leads me into a point that I am going to try to make while creating my script. A person in the story for the audience to relate, a person who reacts to things like the average person would. Marvel movies have used this trick for an easy and functioning punchline several times.
Proposal :
For my Humor Project I would like to develop in the style of Rudy Ayub. His humor is very dry and situational, usually in the form of small sketches where he plays every character, with excessive personalities and endings that make no sense. This could be interpreted as absurdist humor, but he prefers to call it “silly.”
- Are you collaborating with others? Yes* or No
Me, as well as me in a different outfit.
- Which form of humor are you planning to develop? (See menu.)
Sensationalist, absurdist, with some satire for good measure.
- What is the subject (or, in the case of satire, the target)? Why did you choose this subject?
People that are not taking the pandemic at hand seriously. I chose this because I am personally affected by it, along with everyone else in the world.
- 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):
Satire : to compare and contrast the world created in my presentation with the one we are living in.
Situational Humor : this will be used because there is no set punchline, like in seinfeld, the joke comes from the absurdity of the surroundings.
Understatement : This will largely be used to illustrate the point of people not taking the situation at hand seriously.
- Why do you think this is the right humor project for you? (If you have a group, can you assure me that everyone is invested in this idea and you won’t have trouble getting everyone to contribute meaningfully?) What makes you excited about this idea? What are some potential pitfalls you wish to avoid?
This is an idea that I have wanted to get off the ground for some time now, and I feel as if, with the metaphorical “fire” under me from English class, it will finally come to be.
- If you get approval, what’s your next step?
To write a script! 🙂 Research has been in process for years with all the videos I’ve wasted hours watching online, and there’s nothing else in my way