Humor
Introduction
The Humor Project is to create original comedy that utilizes various comedic tools. We have read Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” and studied his brilliant use of humor to take us on a fantastical journey. Having learned the many forms of humor, we studied two humorists to study their techniques. This culminated in creating our own comedy.
Research and Study
In preparation for the project, I studied two humorists: Michael Jr and Steven He. Michael Jr is a black comedian known for his clean humor who gets invited to various events to inspire and entertain. Steven is a Chinese-Irish comedy sketch creator and actor who is present across various platforms with a huge following and is known for parodying Asian parents.
Michael Jr’s work has resonated with me. In More Than Funny Comedy Special, Michael takes the audience on a huge journey, living through various points in his life. As the audience gets to know him better, they see a dedicated family man who had life challenges that made him who he is. He is a tall, handsome, fit man who comes across as being sincere but funny. His humor is tender or funny without slandering anyone. He makes commentary on cultural differences between black and white people and the issue of money, which could be a sensitive topic. However, by using an anecdote, caricature and absurd humor, the message is delivered humorously without offending anyone. Michael ends by sharing what a joke is by explaining the buildup and the punchline to give the audience a life lesson on how the audience can use their buildup in life to execute a punchline that gives people joy. It is a good use of shifting point of view to give the audience a heartfelt lesson using the definition of a joke.
Steven He has a series on YouTube called Emotional Damage: Asian Parent Punishments where an Asian dad gives instructions on how to give their kids the most emotional damage. Steven comes across as more of a joker instead of someone sincere like Michael. Steven, similar to Michael, explains and shares about various points in his life to display his childhood and family dynamics through comedy. Steven also pokes fun at his cultural heritage, similar to Michael, but rather than being sincere, uses hyperbole and caricature and slapstick humor. One of his famous phrases is “Emotional damage” spoken with a thick Asian accent. He pokes fun at his heritage using farce and endless banter.
Some of the techniques I can use are having a distinct point of view for a story, mainly my own. As Steven relays the story of his relationship with his dad, we are given an insight into how Steven portrays the father’s expectations for his son. I’m sure that no parent actually wants to cause their child emotional damage, but inevitably, it happens over and over again. The skits are hilarious but those watching and relating to it laugh with tears remembering their own emotional damage while growing up.
My project
I chose to do a short skit about me and my family. Growing up in a STEM family as an artist, I often felt unappreciated. Using similar “Asian parent humor” inspired by Steven He, I created a sort of an autobiography. Using humor to share my painful experiences as a non-STEM child in an Asian household was therapeutic. I decided to add subtitles to make sure that every spoken word was understandable. Some lines were spoken in Korean, some in Chinese, and I thought that subtitles would be very useful. Also having the mom have a thick Korean accent did not help with clarity. My cousins and my siblings are not real actors and they did not enunciate the words very well. Comedy depends a lot on understanding every word that is spoken. Putting in subtitles was a lot of work but it was definitely worth it.
I wanted to accomplish three things.
- To be funny.
- To be original.
- Have a lesson or a bigger message.
I believe I have accomplished all three goals. I used many of the comedic tools I learned to make it funny. This is an original story because it is my personal story. The message is that it is OK to be an artist in an Asian STEM household.
Project Script
Final Project
Reflection
After having created my own comedy, I now appreciate more than ever, the power of comedy and the brilliance required to create good humor. I can now recognize different comedic tools used in other people’s works.