Amanda+Cooper+Final+Humor+Project

=HAHA, FUNNY! = Pure Humor: LOL idiotic tendencies, RAD BRAD hilariousness. The funny stupid stuff. Straight up no physical pain (emotional distress is optional), no suffering: just pure stupidity!

Personally, the funniest things to me are satirical situations. For example, this movie clip from Airplane:

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The serious act that Leslie Nielson puts on as he says a completely idiotic response to the soon-to-be new pilot of the plane has to be the funniest thing in the world. It just HAS TO BE. Sarcasm is a common form of comedy because it is popular among most people. Not only does it make people THINK about what is making them laugh, but it gives people a feeling of intelligence when they can understand satire, while the person next to them cannot. A perfect example of this is the Google Onion Article we were given in class. The first sentence gives a clear example of satire, and those who have taken AP English classes can call out that satire right away, while those in regular English classes read the article in shock, worried that Google has an inside view on their lives. "'We would like to extend our deepest apologies to each and every one of you,' announced CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking from the company's Googleplex headquarters. 'Clearly there have been some privacy concerns as of late, and judging by some of the search terms we've seen, along with the tens of thousands of personal e-mail exchanges and Google Chat conversations we've carefully examined, it looks as though it might be a while before we regain your trust'" (Onion, March 2 2010). Making fun of people, especially famous people, is something that makes me laugh until I cry: literally. Nothing is more comical than seeing or hearing a stupid comment made by someone that is rich or "intelligent"; it's one of those things that makes our socks go up and down.

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Eric Kennedy was awesome enough to share this video with our class during the humor unit, and while i was sitting in front of my computer, face in hands watching all of these videos, i ended up on the floor laughing at this video. FTW. Tragic Humor: Tragedy is death, gore, and physical pain. Nastiness is NOT optional, and neither is a hint (or punch) of sadness...or anger. Though found hilarious by some, many kids these days cannot stomach the guts and blood of tragic humor.

From my point of view, tragic comedy has to have two things included in order for it to be legitimately funny...especially if there's gore.

media type="youtube" key="3vk2iAs8xA8" height="390" width="480"Via "Death Proof". These ladies gave him what he deserved!
 * The bad guy has to get beaten up or lose or die in a hilarious way

media type="youtube" key="__7rowA-W9Q" height="390" width="640"(Warning: This video has a large amount of cussing for the 45 seconds that it plays. Whoops. But hey, a midget jumps out of the old man's casket! cool!) Many people, mainly guys, find physical pain (as long as it's involving someone else) comical, like pee your pants funny. Why is this? I, Amanda Cooper, cannot tell you because I definitely cringe when I see peoples' bodies mutilated or hurt. Think about this: how many females do you know that find the movie "Jackass" funny?"No Exit" and "Metamorphosis" are classic (literally) examples of tragic humor. Three people get put into a hell that they create by driving each other crazy. A man gets turned into a bug and then dies because his family stops feeding him and abandons him. The comedy behind this is hard to read, but when people do find the hilarity, it is usually because the struggles that the characters go through are hilarious, because it is not happening to the reader. Now, i know you're asking yourself: "but how do i tell the difference between tragic comedy and pure comedy?!"Let me give you a straight and solid answer.If it's more like Airplane or the picture of a smiling dog, it's pure comedy. BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY FUNNY.If it has blood and cuts and bruises and death, such as "Death at a Funeral" or "Death Proof", it's tragic comedy. BECAUSE IT'S SAD AND GORY! Artist's Statement:I begin by talking about pure comedy, which in my opinion is the best type of comedy because it does not make you cringe or question whether it's funny or sad. Pure comedy is straight up funny with no if's and's or but's. I then give two visuals: the smiling dog, and the clip from Airplane. I describe why these are funny in my opinion, and then i move on to explain why satire is the most popular form of pure comedy. I give an example from the Google Onion Article we were given previously in the unit to outline how satire works. As i moved onto tragic comedy, i gave a cartoon and a brief description of how i think tragic comedy should be portrayed. I then give my two expectations for tragic comedy: these include videos from two tragic comedy movies that are my favorite: Death Proof and Death at a Funeral. (Notice that both of those titles have the word "death" in them, AHAH) I move on to tell what type of people prefer tragic comedy, and then i give examples from No Exit and Metamorphosis to emphasize my point that I do not think tragic comedy is funny, but some people still do think it is funny. Finally, i briefly compare tragic and pure comedy in an easy to understand way. I used pink colored font to explain my opinions, black to give definitions, and green when i used examples from the texts while explaining each form of comedy.
 * If there is death to a loved one of the main character, let a dead midget end up in his casket as well...such as a scene in Death at a Funeral. It's hilarious.