{"id":853,"date":"2020-05-01T05:34:57","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T05:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/?page_id=853"},"modified":"2020-05-02T06:19:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T06:19:13","slug":"humor-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/humor-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Humor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Humor is truth + pain, as Mr. Greco says. In the humor project we studied absurd theatre and Kurt Vonnegut. I can confidently say that what I valued the most during the humor unit was all the laughs we shared and continue to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“Rhinoceros” \u2013 written by Eugene Ionesco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shit. with Katherine Sun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Youtube Video is coming soon.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Script<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Katherine Sun<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are in a small bathroom. A closed toilet is seen, a porta-squatty, and a roll of toilet paper.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A title card appears. Slowly, the words emerge on the screen: \u201cSHIT.\u201d (beat) \u201cWith Katherine Sun\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katherine sits seated on top of a toilet \u2013 don\u2019t worry, the lid is closed. If she chooses so, she will also be wrapped in a blanket. (This may serve some comedic purpose for its absurdity, but it also serves to help her be more comfortable in front of the camera).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: Welcome! Thank you for coming, thank you for coming. Tonight, I want to get serious. Let\u2019s talk about something quite relevant: our mother-figures. Biological or not, I mean they feed us, house us, clothes us.. Pay our phone bills until we\u2019re 30… Point is they give us a lot of shit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: But you know what they also give? A. lot. Of. shit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: I mean, shit! I\u2019ll just be minding my own business. I\u2019ll be facetiming my friends and my mom will pop in like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom\u201d cracks open a door <\/em>(Mom is katherine with a purple scarf). From the sliver between the cracked door and the wall her face is visible.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Are you having a party?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: and then a few minutes later\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom\u201d opens the door again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: (Ni wei she me) have zoom party so late?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The door opens again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Stop zoom party. It\u2019s late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The door shuts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: My mom asks a lot of what I like to call \u201cstupid questions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom\u201d appears on screen. She holds her phone up upright.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Katherine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacqueline furrows her eyebrows.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J<\/strong>: Jacqueline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Oh. (beat) Did we order beets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J<\/strong>: Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Good. I like beets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom\u201d is sorting through the fridge.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: (listing vegetables in chinese and english). JACQUELINE?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacqueline appears from corner<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J:<\/strong> What.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Did you order beets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J<\/strong>: Yes, you just asked me 15 minutes ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Good, i like beets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to katherine on the toilet.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: True story, actually, my mom accidentally ordered 5 lbs of carrots. That night we had carrot cake\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A picture of carrot cake flashes on screen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: \u2013the next night we had carrot soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom\u201d is focused taking a picture of her soup. A picture of carrot soup flashes on screen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom\u201d swiping at the photos on her screen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Good for my digestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone else at the dinner table eats glancing at mom. Mom continues to swipe at her photos, not eating.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: Now you might just be thinking, that\u2019s just your mom man. She orders a lot of groceries, She asks a lot of questions. She\u2019s forgetful. No you\u2019re not getting it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: This food talk is incessant. And better yet she likes to discuss every aspect, every journey<\/em> (Katherine make circles around my stomach) food has in her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All four of the Sun family (Katherine dressed as all 4 and possibly Jacqueline as herself) at the dinner table. They\u2019re all silently eating. Mom is not eating, but leaning against the couch on her phone. Music plays from her phone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J<\/strong>: can you sit down and eat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom sits down at the table. She gives her phone a last glance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Ahh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence. Mom starts scooping food.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Oo more carrots, good for digestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D<\/strong>: Don\u2019t start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: (Jing tian wo) poo poo (hen hao).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katherine makes a face.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: (Zhe luo bo) make (wo du zi) happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: It\u2019s very important you (da bien) at least once a day. This morning\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: Stop!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(beat)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: This morning I-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D<\/strong>: Ann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: This morning I-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D<\/strong>: Ann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacqueline stops chewing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/strong>: Hahahah ok! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: Katherine why are you on your phone. Katherine did you feed chico. Yes, I did. An hour later, Katherine did you feed chico. Yes, I did. (faster) Katherine, Katherine, Katherine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: Shit! How am I supposed to work my ass off, if you\u2019re always up my ass!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: I actually said that to my mother one day. And she laughed! Here\u2019s the proof. She even texted the family group chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: Now, I even have a graph I made, documenting the emotions of this occurrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A graph flashes on screen, no labels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: \u2013accurately measured by wiring my brains to the spoons in my kitchen, on the y-axis we have my intolerance to my mother (the quantity of brain activity in the amygdala) and on the x-axis we have time. (beat)<\/em> In seconds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labels appear. The time on the graph is very short.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: But you know what, even though my emotions are like an tachycardia on an EKG, I\u2019ve realized some shit. She gives me shit because she gives a shit. It\u2019s all out of love. Mother\u2019s love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A horizontal graph shows up alongside the other one. The y-axis is mother\u2019s love.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K:<\/strong> Consistent, perpetual, never-ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K<\/strong>: And even though this graph is actually some stonks and this graph could be a flatlined EKG, look, the point is, the people that annoy the shit out of you, are the ones that give a shit about you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the Scenes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Getting frustrated because I am bad at this and it was painful. But it’s okay! Truth + pain = humor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Pretending to be my Dad. I used a boom mic for all audio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making the Pitch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Study the Pros<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My comedic influences were political satirists Bill Maher and Hasan Minhaj. Bill Maher is well known for his monologues on \u201cReal Time with Bill Maher\u201d that almost always will either: criticize Donald Trump or criticize Donald Trump. Hasan Minhaj is known for his show \u201cPatriot Act with Hassan Minhaj\u201d that covers a wide range of topics, including Trump too. I watched \u201cMonologue: Surreal Time\u201d (Real Time with Bill Maher) and \u201cWhy Billionaires Won\u2019t Save Us\u201d (Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both comedians take on a liberal perspective and are well-respected in the genre of political satire. Naturally, Maher and Minhaj have similarities in their humor: The majority of their humor is political satire. But while Maher introduces anecdotes that are exaggerated and generalized, Minhaj will incoporate anecdotes specific to a sitatuation. For example, as Maher talks about COVID-19 he begins to tell a story about people wearing masks at his local 7\/11. In the end of the anecdote he reveals they were robbers. Now did this actually happen? Probably not. But is the idea of robbers in a gas station a general storyline? Yes. Maher takes a general story, exaggerates it, and applies it to his unique monologue. Minhaj not only uses anecdotes more often, but they are more specific and truthful. He talks about Bezos, Nicholas Woodman, various charities and more. Regardless, both like to end the anecdote with a funny punchline like Maher\u2019s story about robbers or how Minhaj ends a list of things billionaires can donate to with, \u201cdivorce settlements\u201d while a photo of Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos flashes up on the screen. Also, both comedians have a message to take away. For Maher\u2019s it\u2019s, \u201cdon\u2019t do stupid shit\u201d in the face of COVID-19. Don\u2019t freak out. For Minhaj, it is, realizes the reality of the situation of wealth disparity and selfishness. They are both hilarious, but insightful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, these two comedians may both be political satirists, but their personal styles are distinct. Bill Maher is known for his use of blue humor. He swears a lot. His opening line is: \u201cWelcome to fucking ridiculous.\u201d More often than not, his monologues include sex jokes and can be found as offensive. He also uses hyperboles much more than Minhaj. On the other hand, Hasan Minhaj uses little blue humor. He does swear occassionally but his jokes aren\u2019t as offensive as Maher\u2019s. His humor is focused more on punchlines and parodies. For example, when talking about Warren Buffett, he jokes he\u2019d like to see Buffet throw cash at people like Drake does in his \u201cGod\u2019s Plan\u201d music video. He then shows a parody of the music video where Buffet\u2019s face is badly masked over Drake\u2019s. Attending to a younger audience, Minhaj is more prone to use meme culture and parodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, both Maher and Minhaj are liberal political satirists who monologue. They often have an underlying message their humor relates back to. Both enjoy anecdotal humor and punchlines. While Maher enjoys blue humor, Minhaj focuses on parody and punchlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Take inspiration from the Pros.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Bill Maher: anecdotes, blue humor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hasan Minhaj: anecdotes, parody, meme culture<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ask yourself: What’s the idea?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The answer? Tough love and the adolescent perspective of parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I chose this subject because in my family I\u2019ve noticed it can all be characterized or related back to \u201cshit\u201d and I think it\u2019d be a funny catch line and way of transitioning between subjects. Also with quarantine I think this has grown increasingly relatable, but the message of realizing all this shit they give us is all out love is increasingly urgent as we are about to leave home for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Write, write, write.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

5. Produce!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

6. Edit<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The magic of the editing process is taking out all my horrendous laughing. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss out on much. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BONUS: Honors Paper<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For English Honors, I wrote a paper comparing two hilariously satiricial, post WWII literary works: “Rhinoceros” by Eugene Ionesco and “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kurt will take you to the essay now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Humor is truth + pain, as Mr. Greco says. In the humor project we studied absurd theatre and Kurt Vonnegut. I can confidently say that what I valued the most during the humor unit was all the laughs we shared and continue to share. Shit. with Katherine Sun Youtube Video is coming soon. The Script […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-853","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":887,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/853\/revisions\/887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~KatherineS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}