147: The Ludicrous

[Russ Pitts]

The Ludicrous

"They say comedy is subjective, that a sense of humor personal, indefinable, unique like a snowflake. That's bullshit. Comedy is universal. Everyone laughs and everyone is funny. Some jokes (and people) are funnier than others, some jokes are funnier to certain people than others and some jokes are funnier when certain other people aren't around, but everybody laughs at something. Usually, we're laughing at each other."

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[Cousin_IT]

bah, those Fine brother lost things just remind me of Action League, Now! [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_League_Now!] but less funny. Ill stick to Harry Potter Pals [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqTHmzMk0Cw] for my crude Youtube parody jollies

Interesting read though. Im not convinced of the "new" comedy as being that radically different from its historical counterparts. Comedic characters work when we can empathise & relate to them while remaining aloof & not personally identifying ourselves with them. David Brent is hilarious when he represents a overexagerated parody of your boss, but when someone says "hey, hes just like you" suddenly the joke isnt so funny anymore. Simularly when the character-audience connection isnt there, you get something like The Worst Week of My Life, where the jokes would be hilarious if in The Office, but made this show just feel like an awkward version of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.

 

[KreacherOfbloodandRank]

Of course, no one picks up on a key difference.

The Guild, unlike Assyrians, is not funny.

I swear that I have given this show numerous chances, but i cannot crack a smile at it. I do not see how Day can critisize hollywood's portrayal of gamer culture when she buys into it too. The male gamers of the guild are similarly stereotypes that mainstream culture reinforces. They are:

-The teenager obsessed with scatological humor.
-The twenty something who psychotically stalks a woman because she "might" like him.
-the forty something that obsesses over game interaction to Aspergeran levels of obsession.

I don't see how she can claim she's parodying these figures when she really has not done anything to make them funny.

 

[Playbahnosh]

Reading ABOUT comedians and comedy shows is not as funny as watching or reading the comedians' productions themselves. I though this article would be funny, but it was rather boring. Sorry.

 

[sharp_as_a_cork]

Like beauty, Comedy is in the eye of the beholder. I recently re-viewed some old (10-20 years ago) TV shows I found funny at the time, but while some still make me laugh (Monty Python), other just make me go "huh"?

A lot of comedy is situational and/or based on current events...which is not funny when the events aren't current.