In the humor unit, we read “Rhinoceros” by Eugène Ionesco, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, in order to learn about comedic techniques. We then had to write a humor performance, using those techniques. We could choose to perform live or recorded. I partnered with Mahika to write a comedic narrative about a woman who goes to a medium, in order to get advice from her ancestors. However, her ancestors are not as wise as she was hoping, because they have ideas and opinions influenced by their time, that are not applicable today. It was fun to watch everyone’s humor projects, to see what they came up with, and support them. Working together with Mahika was also a valuable experience, because we were combining comedic ideas, and developing characters together.

 

Humor Proposal/Humor Analysis

Before we started our humor script, we were required to analyze two humorists, and write up a proposal for our project. This is what I submitted

The two comedians I chose to study were SNL and the Nihilist Arby’s twitter, which is run by a comedian/musician named Brendan Kelly. Since SNL is so varied, I chose one skit that is kind of similar to what Mahika and I want to do in our humor project. In the SNL skit, a tour at a museum go to a reenactment of a conversation between a couple living in 1913. At first, they sympathize with and admire them, as pioneers of their country, however the couple quickly reveals that they are horribly racist, and the admiration the tour felt quickly evaporates, being replaced with discomfort. SNL is using this setup to satirize our romanization/interpretation of the past, where we often imagine that our ancestors had a similar moral code to us, which allows to form the warm fuzzy view we have with a lot of our historical idols/who we imagine to be our forefathers. Nihilist Arby’s also satirizes different views of morality and the world, by applying a specific way of viewing the world to something absurd, that being fast food advertising, and showing how ridiculous it is. The SNL sketch uses incongruity, because the two characters who are meant to represent the people from the past keep saying wildly inappropriate things, even though the visitors are trying to encourage them to say things that align with their modern values. Nihilist Arby’s also uses incongruity, by starting with an advert for Arby’s food, but inserting inappropriately grim sentiments, which is the source of its comedy. Both use black humor, because they both go against the most common views of morality. The couple from 1913 is extremely racist which is something we consider to be immoral. The source of taboo for Nihilist Arby’s is that the character of the Arby’s Nihilist believes that all meaning that we, the audience, derives from our lives is ridiculous, arbitrary, and false. Nihilist Arby’s relies on defusing anxiety, it is a fundamental part of their entire “schtick.” The “nihilist” statements, which are dealing with profound subjects in an extremely dismal way, are only funny, because they are paired with something as ridiculous as Arby’s curly fries. As well, the character of the Arby’s Nihilist is a caricature of people who might challenge what most people believe about what is valuable in their lives, to enhance the absurdity. However in the SNL skit, what the couple says is absurd, but the idea is that it’s only absurd to us, but that to them, it’s just normal, and not at all taboo or strange. This is how the comedic writing communicates the message that what people thought in the past was often absurd by our moral standards, so we shouldn’t glorify them as an example of what we should follow and admire. However exaggerated, both comedic pieces present a way of viewing the world, and make fun of it by presenting it in situational humor. They take two morally absurd characters, (at least morally absurd from the audience’s perspective) and put them in a situation where their beliefs can come through in a way that fuels the comedic narrative, either by causing discomfort to other characters, or just through the strangeness of the statements when read in context.

Mahika and I also want to parody absurd morality, using a comedic narrative and situational humor. The basic premise we are working with is that a curious young woman seeks advice from her ancestors, who have vastly different moral ideas than her. In my opinion, it is funny to apply past moral codes and rules to present day situations, because the context is so different it becomes incredibly absurd to try to apply the same moral logic. This is where the situational humor comes in, because the situation is modern, but the reaction from the comedic character is archaic and absolutely the wrong reaction for that context. This is why we need characters, or rather caricatures, who represent past morality, people who lived in that time and subscribed to its popular beliefs. However to react to and play off of that, there also needs to be a character who represents modern morality. Sort of a historical Berenger, an every man who reacts to a situation in a way the audience is meant to sympathize with, who is surrounded by people making absurd decisions and saying absurd things. So our character’s original decision to contact her deceased relatives is a positive action, because she thinks she is going to get advice that is full of wisdom, but instead she gets advice based on a time when people were more ignorant, and defined morality based off of that ignorance. To fully show the conflict between the modern and ancient characters, they will probably have to have some banter between them, where they express their disagreements and dissimilarities. The premise of someone from modern times talking to people from the past who have long since been deceased is also a comedic premise, the curious young woman is the main character, and the presence of ghosts that can be contacted by a medium is the impossibility that drives the plot. Otherwise, the world in the comedy sketch is the same as the modern world, by necessity. Like my two humorists, the premise only works with a large dose of incongruity. The whole point is that the ancestor’s answers are inappropriate, and irrelevant, because the main character cannot apply any of their proposed solutions to her problem, because they are so misguided. Like the SNL skit, the main character original admires, and looks up to these people from the past, only to have that admiration crushed by the reality of the unfortunate views they hold. Additionally, similar to the Nihilist Arby’s twitter, I plan on applying moral codes and ideas to a context where they are not applicable, resulting in something absurd and hopefully funny.

Works Cited
Arby’s, Nihilist. “Nihilist Arby’s (@nihilist_arbys).” Twitter, Twitter, 6 Mar. 2017, twitter.com/nihilist_arbys?lang=en.
Chris_Heine. “Meet the Twisted, Brilliant Copywriter Behind Twitter’s Nihilist Arby’s.” – Adweek, Adweek, 13 Aug. 2015, www.adweek.com/digital/true-story-behind-twitter-sensation-nihilist-arbys-every-marketer-should-read-166362/.
Live, Saturday Night. “Tenement Museum – SNL.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jaqg-NMz9A.

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Part 2 – Description of Proposed Project

Provide a detailed description of your project, including what you intend to develop (the form of humor, topic/content, techniques you plan to use, how many people you’ll need to deliver the performance, visual aids/props, time, and any other details that will help to give me a picture of what you’re performing. This section is worth 25% of the grade for this assignment.

The premise of our project is that a young woman is confused, and looking for answers (played by Mahika), so she goes to a medium who says that she can contact the woman’s ancestors (played by me). The medium does so, however, all of her ancestors are influenced by the moral compasses of their times, causing them to give horrible advice to the young woman, much to her dismay. I will probably dress up a little, to get into the character of a medium, and probably have a crystal ball to gaze into. So, what the actual ancestors say will probably be a satire of the moral code they are influenced by, which might lead them to be caricatures. I’m guessing that as the act goes on, the ancestors will get more and more depraved, and give worse and worse advice, resulting in some dark humor.

 

Are you working with a group? Yes* or No

Yes, I am working with Mahika. She will be playing the part of someone who wants to communicate with her ancestors, and I will be the medium who answers her questions in the words of her ancestors.

 

Which form of humor are you planning to develop? (See menu.) Will it be a LIVE or pre-recorded performance?

Overall, it will be summed up in a comedic narrative/dialogue between the young woman and all of the ghosts. We think we’re going to do live, but we may end up recording it.

 

What is the subject (or, in the case of satire, the target)? Why did your choose this subject?
The subject is flawed human morality. Mahika was interested in this topic, because she has studied it a lot, and I also thought it was interesting, and funny, especially since people tend to romanticise the past, even though it was not great for most people, due to the different moral standards.

Which comedic tools/techniques do you plan to use, and why? (List at least 3 main ones):
We’ll probably use a lot of exaggerism, because we want to show the worst, and most ridiculous beliefs of each of the time periods our various characters represent. The depiction of each character/time period the character represents will be satirical, and there will possibly be some understatements from the medium and the young woman, as they reflect on each ghost. I’m hoping that when I deliver a horrible line from the perspective of an ignorant misinformed ghost, we can get some active emotion from Mahika. And finally I think that the medium and the young woman are definitely somewhat of a straight and wavy line. The medium quotes the ghosts verbatim, without concern with the distress she is causing the young woman, whereas the young woman really had faith in the wisdom of her ancestors, and is now helpless as she finds out they’re all not that wise, and in fact the opposite.

 

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?
I think it will be funny, and I want it to be funny, I don’t just want it to be edgy and shocking and uncomfortable. Obviously, the gross things that were morally justified in the past are shocking, so it’s going to be hard to make them funny. I think especially since we’re focusing on american history, that’s full of racism, so as a white person I want to handle that with extra care, and respect.

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

We need to start writing a script, and decide which characters we are keeping, and which ones we’re not.

 

 

Humor Script

J stands for Jane, the main character who is attempting to contact her ancestors, and MC stands for Madame Clairvoyant, who contacts Jane’s ancestors. We used a timeline to indicate which ancestor was speaking, which is why characters are “moving the timeline” throughout the script.

[aside]
J: So I was at work the other day, you know, doing my thing, grilling the cheese at the Panera Bread. Despite the fact I just got my nails done, my manager put me on cleaning duty, ugh! I wanted to make go things faster, so I started mixing it all together, the febreeze, the soap, the amonia, the bleach… next thing I know, that brat Katy Waters is screaming at me, and my other coworkers, Ryan, Brian and Orion practically tackled me! I heard them talking about me behind my back, being mean and insulting me. I just really needed some advice on how to deal with these idiots. So I was walking through downtown when all of a sudden it hit me! Literally. A door just swung open and smacked me on the head. How rude. Anyways there was a bunch of smoke and some lady came running out, looking a little scared for her life. There was some kind of crystal ball glowing and a sign that said “psychic”. And I thought, who better to get life advice from than my ancestors! Older is wiser, isn’t it?

[aside]
MC: Welcome, I am Madame the Clairvoy–

J: I need my fortune read.

MC: One moment please, I am Madame the C-

J: HELLO?!

MC: Just give me a moment, Welcome, I am M-

J: Excuse me! If you keep ignoring me I’m going to give you a bad review on Yelp!

MC: Just one second! Wel-

J: this is important!

MC: WILL you let me finish?! (stands) I am Madame the Clairvoyant of the astral order, I hold the all seeing eye on my neck, I hold the land of the dead in my crystal ball, I know all things, past and yet to come, I ACCEPT CASH OR CHECK. (lightning sound)

J: I only have my gold card…

MC: (slumps down) I will accept an IOU. I have foreseen why you have come in to my shop! If only I had foreseen how rude you were…

J: (gasp) how did you know people think I’m rude? You really are clairvoyant!

MC: Indeed… You wish to resolve this conflict between you and your coworkers, through the guidance of your ancestors… Very well.

J: Yes!

MC: (Taking a deep breath in) oh yes I see him now… John Waverly, your great, great, great uncle… lived through the reign of Al Capone… (moves timeline to 1920s)

J: Woooow…

MC: (becomes John, dramatic pause) Heeey, bunny!

J: What’s that?

MC: Bunny? Oh it means someone who’s lost, and I hear you’re lost.

J: In a way…

MC: Well if you know the way, then you’re not lost are ya? I’m kidding, it’s all jake, but I’m lost too, in fact I’m the lostest guy I know. I don’t know how I got here, one minute I’m about to take a bite of my sinker, the next I’m in a huge gray void that defies the human understanding of perspective. But hey, now you’re here, what’s the post?

J: (moves timeline to 2019) What did he just say? Wait, he knows he’s dead, right?

MC: They used a lot of weird slang in the 20s. And… no I’m not entirely sure he does… (moves timeline back)

J: Oh… well, my coworkers Ryan, Brian, Orion and Katy keep talking behind my back and spreading rumors, and ugh, they’re just so rude! Just because I don’t do the job the way they do doesn’t mean I don’t do it well…

MC: I mean that Katy sounds like a real cancelled stamp, but you were being a bit of a dumb dora! Sounds like you took some wooden nickels! Look, when you take a job, you gotta know your onions! You know, know what’s going on.

J: It seems like you’re the one who ‘doesn’t know their onions!’ You’re dead! Aren’t there like… demons or something where you are?

MC: Dead? What do you mean dead? C’mon don’t be such a wurp! And just cause a guy’s got polio doesn’t mean he’s a demon! Look, seems like I’m not the guy you’re looking for, see? There are some guys down the line you might like, see if you can get along with one of them, ya bluenose.

J: (moves timeline to 2019) Madame, I came here for wisdom and knowledge! That guy didn’t even know he was dead, and he thought the demons were just polio patients, how am I supposed to learn anything from him?!

MC: Well… you learned some new words didn’t you?

J: (Sigh) Can you give me someone more modern? Someone enlightened?

MC: Enlightenment is subjective… But I can find someone who thinks they are enlightened.

J: Wha…?

MC: (moves timeline to 1950) (Big sigh) What do you want? I suffered enough in my life trying so hard to do something meaningful but there is no meaning!! Let me rest in PEACE!!!!

J: Who are you?

MC: Does it matter who I am? My name means nothing, I mean nothing, you mean nothing, nothing means anything!! I overheard your problem and I’m just here to tell you my secret in dealing with any quarrel.

J: What? What is it??

MC: Quit.

J: What? I can’t quit! I need the money, my parents cut me off!

MC: You expect money to make you happy and give you meaning??? What naivete. Nothing will give you the feeling of fulfillment and purpose you so desire. Might as well just quit now. Quit everything. You know, if you go to my old house up in the hills, there might still be a Machete buried in the backyard…

J: (moves timeline to 2019) Madame, Madame, stop!

MC: What? What’s wrong?

J: All these people have been crazy, they don’t know anything! (pauses and sighs in exasperation) come on, is there anyone… educated I can talk to?

MC: Educated?

J: Yeah, like a man of science or something?

MC: As you wish. (moves timeline to 1840) Hello love, awfully bricky of you to come round here.

J: Gross, what happened to your accent??

MC: I’m a British man talking through some Church Bell yank, of course I’m going to sound like I’ve been powdering hair. Look, if you’re experiencing stress, get out of those Gas-Pipes and take some mercury tablets.

J: Gas pipes?… Mercury?

MC: Of course, mercury has many healing properties!

J: I don’t think…

MC: Best part is you don’t even have to take it orally, you can just-

J: I don’t want to know, I don’t want to know!

MC: (huff) Well… (gets up and starts measuring Jane’s skull)

J: What are you doing??

MC: You can tell many things about someone’s state of health from the size and shape of their skull!

J: Ummm…

MC: Say, you wouldn’t happen to be a homosexual, would you?

J: I’m sorry, what?! What does that have to do with anything?

MC: Well you see you have a canthal tilt of 15 cm dilated east, and that is generally synonymous with homosexuality.

J: Hey, that’s not real science!

MC: Excuse me, but on the contrary it is quite scientific. Like the treatment of a misbehaving child with a dash of cocaine, or the healing properties of radium, or Boracic acid purifying milk and making it safe to drink.

J: That’s ridiculous! Madame, I don’t want to talk to this guy anymore! (moves timeline back to 2019)

MC: Jane, there is no need to yell.

J: These guys don’t know anything! Are any of my female ancestors willing to speak to me?

MC: Hmm… I… yes, I see her now Cressida of ancient Sparta-aaaaAAAA! (moves timeline to BC)

J: What are you doing?? Are you ok?

MC: If you are so weak that you need the help of those departed, you should have been left to die as a babe! You’re so delicate I could crush you with my thumb!

J: Hey!! My parents called me their porcelain doll!!!

MC: YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY!! BACK IN MY TIME YOU WOULD BE STONED (pause for dramatic effect) TO DEATH!

J: Now I know you’re joking. Weed can’t kill you! (moves timeline to 2019)

MC: You are no expert about what can and can’t kill you, you didn’t realize that mixing ammonia bleach is-

J: (huffs and moves timeline to 1840)

MC: (as Victorian Scientist) YOU IDIOT! Ammonia and Bleach mixed together will KILL YOU! Don’t play around with toxic chemicals!

J: You want me to shove mercury up my ass! (moves timeline to 1950)

MC: (as Nihilist) You did them all a favor death is a release from this horrid world!

J: You’re dead and you’re still crabby! (moves timeline to BC)

MC: (as Spartan Warrior) Back in my day, we wouldn’t let anything as petty as toxic chemicals stop us! My blood was snake venom!

J: (moves timeline to 1920)

MC: (as John) Ooh. I walked into my house after getting that sinker that day and it smelled kinda nasty and that’s when I saw an empty bottle of ammonia and bleach in our kitchen. Not a great smell lemme tell ya. Anyways it made me pass out and the next thing I knew I woke up in this gray room. Wait a minute…

J: (moves timeline to 2019) Wait… so you’re not supposed to mix ammonia and bleach?

MC: (as herself) Oh, honey, no.

J: Well, I guess that’s my fault. But what about how they’re constantly talking about me behind my back? They think I’m so incompetent. (moves timeline to 1950s)

MC: (as Nihilist) That’s ‘cause you are. I don’t know why you bother.

J: Hey! I make great grilled cheeses! I put the cheese right on the grill so it’s all ooey gooey when I scrape it onto the bread! (moves timeline to BC)

MC: (as Spartan Warrior) I’ve been forced to eat raw bloody rabbit and even I wouldn’t eat that.

J: UGH (moves timeline to 1920s)

MC: (as John) I… am I dead????

Dead silence

MC: NOOOOOOOOO!!!

J: I can’t take this anymore!!! I’m just even more confused! (moves timeline to BC) Oh great spartan warrior please tell me how to win this battle with my coworkers!

MC: (as Cressida) You gotta MARCH ON DOWN THERE AND SHOW THEM YOU ARE STRONG AS A LION!

MC: (moves timeline to 1950s) But what’s the point? The world will just beat you down anyways, there is no hope. Besides, I’m surprised you haven’t been fired already sounds like you are terrible at your job.

J: Excuse me… Did I not just tell you about my great grilled cheese recipe??

MC: (as Nihilist) Oh talk sense!! The best way to make grilled cheese is to sprinkle some oil and butter on the pan, then add BREAD FIRST then cheese, then cover for 1-2 minutes then add the other piece of bread and flip it.

J: What were you, a cook or something?

MC: Oh food was my life! The spices, the flavors, the heat, the cultures combining! I felt truly alive in the kitchen. But I smoked too much and my taste buds died and… I never felt the same again.

J: Hey! I think I think I know why you’re so crabby! You miss the taste of food, don’t you?

MC: (As Nihilist) Well, I mean, yeah… I guess.

J: Hey, maybe I’m clairvoyant!

MC: Hey life is still meaningless! Even with the sweet tastes of chocolate mixed with just a hint of cayenne pepper, the smell of turmeric and black pepper crusted chicken, the potatoes…so many potatoes… food was my purpose in life! Cooking gave me the purpose of spreading culture to everyone I knew.

J: (move timeline to 1920s)

MC: Nice that you’ve found purpose in life now that you’re DEAD. WE’RE ALL JUST WORM FOOD NOW!

J: (moves timeline to 1950s) Wow. I want to feel that passionate about something. All this time, I thought it was just about making money and being rich. But I want to feel alive, like you feel when you’re cooking! You know what, I am gonna take your advice. I think it’s time for me to quit.

MC: What! No, don’t listen to that version of me. He was a depressed maniac who didn’t know what he was saying.

J: No, I mean quit my job and pursue something I’m really excited about, like writing! I could be the next great author.

MC: Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves there.

J: (moves timeline back to present) Thank you, thank you so much!! I think I finally know what I need to do. Sorry for being so rude to you before, it was probably just pent up anger from how much I hated my job.

MC: (Flops down) … Please… if you want to thank me… don’t come here again.

J: But that IOU!

MC: Don’t worry about it, just go! (Sighs)

J: (Leaves)

MC: (looks at watch) 3… 2… 1

[crashing]

MC: It was never going to work out for her anyway. Another one for the collection! (gestures to crystal ball)

 

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