Humor

Introduction

In our English class, we were given the assignment to create a humorous project after studying different types of humor and comedy in class. We were given a lot of freedom for this project, so me and my classmates Alec and Sofia decided to do ours together and create a short animatic based around the animation experience.

Project

Day in the Life of an Animation Student: A Family Friendly Informative TV Show

Inspiration

For our humor project, we were inspired by the YouTubers JelloApocalypse and ColeyDoesThings. More specifically, we focused on JelloApocalypse’s So This Is Basically series, in which he does an overview of what happens in a show/game in an animatic-style video. His humor utilizes parody and caricature of what the show/game is about, often exaggerating the mannerisms and actions of the characters in the series. He also uses verbal irony to highlight certain parts of the characters’ actions. ColeyDoesThings also uses parody and exaggeration in her videos, but she records herself instead of doing animatics. Her content is also satire about the tendencies of fandoms and groups of people within them, rather than the series itself. While a large part of the appeal in both creator’s humor is that their audience usually has some context from the actual series they’re parodying to go off of and can view the videos as kind of like an inside joke, you don’t need to know what they’re talking about to enjoy their content. In fact, sometimes it’s more fun to get out-of-context jokes, and it makes you wonder about what the actual series/fandom is like.

In our humor project, you can see the inspiration from both JelloApocalypse and ColeyDoesThings’s style. We made our video animatic-style like JelloApocalypse, but went more with Coley’s style of exaggerating a concept, rather than a series. Our project focused a lot on caricature through Timmy, and exaggerating aspects like the computer acting up and the wrist stretching. We also used a bit of irony throughout the animatic as well, with the contrast between what is being shown and what the narration/music is like. Similar to both of our inspirations, our project has a little more appeal to the animation kids, but ultimately it’s for everyone to enjoy and hopefully get people a little interested in what it’s like to actually be an animator, (assuming watching Timmy’s struggling didn’t terrify you all a little). Lastly, thanks for watching, and we hope you all have a nice day!

Process

We began by writing the script, and then drew pictures of Timmy using Photoshop. We also gathered pictures and clips from online to use in the background. Afterwards, we used After Effects to put it all together.

Behind the Scenes: Photoshop
Behind the Scenes: After Effects

English Honors: Humor Comparison

In our English Honors class, we were given the assignment of comparing two satirical works and explaining why they’re significant. For my study, I chose to compare The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco.

The Importance of Comedy

While comedy is often used solely as a source of entertainment, it can often be used to reveal interesting aspects about human nature, such as the desire to conform versus the desire to be unique. For example, the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde targets conformity through satirizing upper class Victorian society. On the other hand, Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco targets conformity through absurdism. Both plays utilize various humorous techniques in order to satirize and ridicule societal norms to expose the dangers of conformity. 

To begin, both works of literature have a heavy use of triviality in order to highlight how people will often focus on insignificance while ignoring the important parts of their lives that could make a huge difference. In the Importance of Being Earnest, when Jack was asking Gwendolen if she would still like him if his name wasn’t Earnest,  Gwendolen explains that “there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations…” (11) Gwendolen is basing whether or not she wants to marry someone solely off of something as trivial as a name. Her lack of focus on things such as personality, exemplifies how much their society relies on appearances. The name Earnest is appealing, so it’s more important than whether or not she will be truly happy living with Jack. Gwendolen’s priorities express how people value appearances, and conforming to what is appealing over what will truly make them happy. In Rhinoceros, after the first rhino runs by, Berenger and the others seem very unbothered by it after the initial shock. Jean states “But you must see it’s fantastic! A rhinoceros loose in the town, and you don’t bat an eyelid! It shouldn’t be allowed! [Berenger yawns]” (13)  Although a rhinoceros just ran through town, Berenger’s lack of feeling towards it makes it seem like it wasn’t worth noting even though it’s an extremely unlikely event. Later in the story when another rhino passes by, the characters become fixated on how many horns each rhino had, rather than trying to figure out why there are rhinoceroses running through their town in the first place. Berenger’s reaction demonstrates how people are quick to trivialize large events, yet will focus on the small details that ultimately don’t matter. Through Gwendolen’s fixation on a name, and Berenger’s lack of reaction towards the rhinoceros, both authors reveal how people will focus on small inconsequential details at the price of compromising their own well-being in the process. 

Both texts also use caricature and exaggerism to emphasize how the characters in the book bend to conformity. In the Importance of Being Earnest, there is a woman called Lady Bracknell who exemplifies all the rules people in Victorian society are expected to follow in order to be considered ‘proper’. As Algernon is explaining that he can’t make it to her dinner because his friend is very ill, she replies “I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid (…) I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me.” (9) By making Lady Bracknell’s character exaggerated enough to ask if Algernon’s friend could either just be healthy or not be sick, she becomes a caricature of conformist people in Victorian society. Her character satirizes the nature of society valuing status and appearance over ethics. Wilde shows how ridiculous Victorian society can be through the extreme behavior Lady Bracknell demonstrates in the story. 

In Rhinoceros, Jean is described as dressing very properly, with nothing out of place on him. When Berenger tells him of his struggles, Jean replies by saying “My dear man, everybody has to work. I spend eight hours a day in the office, the same as everyone else.” (7) Ionesco exaggerated Jean’s character to illustrate how he is a representation of conformity in the play. From the way he dresses to the way he speaks, he is what the societal ideal should be. In the middle of the play, Jean has a dramatic transformation into a rhinoceros, demonstrating how susceptible he was to succumbing to the dangers of conformity. Through utilizing caricature, both authors show how a lot of the societal rules people conform to are absurd. Lady Bracknell’s impossible and immoral demands and Jean’s rhinoceros transformation ridicule the rules of society by showing how irrational they can be. The rules that Bracknell and Jean try so hard to conform to do little to nothing to benefit society. In fact, their desire to conform often harms others. The way they follow societal rules exposes how hazardous they are when people go to extreme lengths to conform to them. 

In addition, The Importance of Being Earnest and Rhinoceros use banter to get the audience to think more critically about individuality and identity.  In the Importance of Being Earnest, there is a conversation between Algernon and Cecily in which Algernon declares “‘This world is good enough for me cousin Cecily.’” “Yes, but are you good enough for it?” “I’m afraid I’m not that. That is why I want you to reform me.” (pg 25) Although this scene is mostly just Algernon trying to get closer to Cecily with banter, it exemplifies something very important about the society in this book. If your personality doesn’t conform to what the rules of Victorian society are, then you’re expected to be reformed to fit them anyway. It doesn’t allow room for individuality, which is the whole reason why Jack and Algernon lie about their true personalities throughout the story. This scene accentuates the danger of losing individuality to conformity in order to fit into what the world expects. Furthermore, In Rhinoceros, during a conversation with Jean, Berenger says “‘It would have never entered my mind.’ ‘You have no mind!’ ‘All the more reason why it would never enter it.’ ‘There are certain things that enter the minds of people even without one.’ ‘That’s impossible.’ (15) Jean is characterized as the more “sensible” character in this story, while Berenger is portrayed as being a tired, hungover mess. However, during this interaction, Berenger is the one making sense, while Jean is the one giving illogical reasoning. Switching their roles, even for this brief interaction, makes the audience question if Jean truly knows what he’s talking about and whether there is credibility to what Berenger says for the rest of the book. Since Jean is the representation of conformity, and Berenger represents individuality, by extent it makes the reader think about what is truly correct when it comes to conformity versus individuality.  Through the use of banter, both works make the audience think about the push and pull between individuality and conformity. In The Importance of Being Earnest, it illustrates the pressure of conformity suppressing individuality. In Rhinoceros, it makes the audience question whether or not that pressure to conform is what is truly right. 

Overall, the Importance of Being Earnest and Rhinoceros demonstrate how humor, especially satire, is a powerful tool for revealing dangerous tendencies of society in a way that is meant to be enjoyable. Through laughing at the absurdity of the characters and story, the audience may discover that some parts of life that they conform to are just as ridiculous as those in the plays. Through those realizations, people will be compelled to think more critically about what they choose to conform to. 

Works Cited: 

Ionesco, Eugene. 1960.

Wilde, Oscar. London, 1899.