Humor

Introduction

In the Humor project in English, students study masters of comedy in writing like Kurt Vonnegut, and other comedians or artists of their choice. We read and annotated Slaughterhouse 5, and then did a rhetorical analysis essay on a work of our choosing. I chose to do George Carlin’s “Religion is BS” monologue.

Humor is a powerful tool. This project helped me to explore this skill and learn humor techniques that I can use in future projects.

Humor Proposal

Are you collaborating with others?

Yes, collaborating with Sophie Lam.

Which form of humor are you planning to develop? (See menu.)

We are planning to develop a satire that uses humor to make fun of challenges at Freestyle. We want our cartoon to be funny and relatable, and point out important truths about what its like to be a student at Freestyle.

What is the subject (or, in the case of satire, the target)? Why did you choose this subject?

We plan to make a political cartoon that makes fun of some of the more embarassing moments students experience at Freestyle (ie having to talk into the DM microphones in front of everyone, and having to sing in the music recording studio when you’ve never sung in your life, falling behind in Digital Media, trying to finish your zenith/explorations project the night before your presentation, moving on to the next project when youre not done with your previous project.)

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):

We plan to use caricature, farce, satire, and situational humour. We will use caricature and farce by overexaggerating humorous situations while also pointing out real relatable problems.

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 the right humor project for me because its the type of humor that I like and will be able to create myself. Everyone in my group likes this idea and is invested in this project. I am excited about the fact that this project will be relatable and specifically targeted towards our audience. Potential pitfalls I wish to avoid are challenges with drawing digitally and producing the actual art.

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

To begin drafting ideas for our actual cartoon, choose one idea, and start sketching drafts.

Rhetorical Analysis

Intro

George Carlin is one of the wittiest, sharpest comedians. He’s not afraid to say the truth of what he thinks, but he also remains honest, humble and (relatively) un-insulting. Carlin uses several humor techniques to make fun of religion and its teachings. His body language is about half of the humor, which is why reading the transcript is only half as funny. Below I’ve attached the video of the stand up.

Rhetorical Analysis/Discovery Draft

“I’ve always drawn a great deal of moral comfort from Humpty Dumpty. The part I like the best? ‘All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.’ That’s because there is no Humpty Dumpty, and there is no God. None, not one, no God, never was.”

In his 1999 stand-up act “Religion is Bullshit,” George Carlin uses humor to critique organized religion, pointing out the absurdity in its dogma, and playfully ridiculing its contradictions. He uses techniques like absurd humour, callbacks, black humour, and body language to bring to attention the flaws in religion and how it can be harmful. He remains relatable and vulnerable in a way that invites the audience to connect with what he is saying.

Religion often has many contradicting parts. Carlin uses this to his advantage, pointing out how when you do something that violates his rules, God sends you to “a place full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where you suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time?” He goes on to say one of the best lines in the whole set: “But he loves you.” Carlin contrasts his visual descriptions of hell with these words to point out how contradictory and confusing religion is. Would you do that to someone you love? By explaining the concept of hell in an exaggerated way, Carlin makes the audience realize how ridiculous the idea is to begin with. Who could come up with such an idea but a parent trying to scare their child into behaving?

The transcript of this monologue is funny, but not half as much as the video. This is because a large part of Carlin’s humour is his body language and facial expressions. Carlin makes fun of how the church is always asking for money: “[God is] all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money!” He pops his tongue and snaps his fingers with these words, adding character to his act. He almost acts out his words as if he were the character he is speaking about. Some examples of this are on the line “who watches everything you do, every second of every day,” where he stretches his arms forward and bounces side to side as if he were God watching from above. And after he says “talk about a good bullshit story – Holy shit!” where he proceeds to do a curtsy-like balance on one leg.

Carlin’s act has real meaning and vulnerability behind the jokes. His honesty and sincerity in describing his relationship with religion and God is refreshing, and it’s what makes this monologue relatable and relevant. He says sincerely, “When it comes to believing in God, I really tried.” Carlin isn’t trying to convince the audience of anything; he’s not pushing for an agenda, he’s just sharing his experiences and what he feels.

Carlin uses absurd humor to poke fun at the ridiculousness of religion. He uses incongruity by quickly switching to a new segment or introducing a new idea that is entirely unexpected. He seems to be taking you one direction, and then he’ll surprise you with a connection that seems ridiculous but feels true once he explains it. He talks about how he has taken up sun-worship. “First of all, I can see the sun, okay? Unlike some other gods I could mention, I can actually see the sun.” His claim sounds ridiculous at first. After making fun of Christianity, the audience wonders, how could sun-worship possibly be different? But Carlin makes a sound argument: the sun provides you with heat, light, food, flowers, everything you need, and worshipping it doesn’t include crucifixions or burning humans. A recurring joke in the set is the comparison of Joe Pesci and God, with Pesci winning. “You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci.” He jokes that Joe Pesci can do things that God can’t, like sort out his noisy neighbor. He compares praying to God and praying to Joe Pesci, wishing on four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, wishing wells, and Humpty Dumpty (all with a success rate of about 50%.)

Carlin calls back some of his jokes, for example, ending the act with “may Joe bless you.” The jokes are funny the first time, but when he brings them back, they have a greater effect.

Most comedians and people refrain from talking about God and religion negatively. Oftentimes, the subject of belief in God is seen as taboo because it’s controversial, and people don’t see eye to eye. Part of what makes this piece interesting is how unafraid Carlin is of offending people. Though Carlin criticizes religion, he remains reasonable and relatively personable, not getting overly upset, keeping the tone light. Watching the video of Carlin delivering the monologue, I am amazed at how positively the audience reacts. I find it impossible to believe that there wasn’t a single religious person in the audience who found Carlin’s set offensive. It seems safe to assume that Carlin gave his performance with the understanding that it would offend some people. He said what he thought despite this.

Reflection

George Carlin is a masterful speaker and writer of comedy. He manages to appeal to a large audience even while talking about a subject as controversial as religion. He presents things in a logical manner (but he also talks about far-fetched ideas like Sun-worship and Joe Pesci-worship). He doesn’t take himself too seriously but somehow that makes us resonate with him and accept his ideas.

Chosen Project

For our chosen project, Sophie and I decided to do a cartoon. We were inspired by the “Children Playing” cartoon by Gary Varvel, which shows a drawing of 5 children at a playground except al of them are on their devices instead of playing with each other.

Link to comedic influence: https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/editorial-cartoon-for-students/caution-gary-varvel/