Anatomy of a Joke
I've been thinking lately about funny. The subject of this post may be somewhat misleading. I don't have a desire to dissect what goes into making a joke. In fact, I really would probably be the wrong person to ask about that altogether. No, rather I wanted to say that jokes are funny. Not jokes as in the end result, but the making of a joke. Let me give an example:
You've probably seen, maybe even recently, a photoshopped or drawn picture that was meant to be funny. And maybe it was. But compare your 30 second review and chuckle to the 30 minutes, or more, someone spent preparing it. I enjoy imagining the conception of idea, which I'm sure they found amusing, moving into the actual work entailed to make the joke. Do they stay entertained during the whole process? With each new finished piece do they giggle again at their own humor? Or maybe it becomes work. Maybe the process takes it's toll and by the time they finish they're done with the idea altogether. That is funny.
In essence it's a joke about the joke, not the actual joke. Er... got that? I'll give another more specific example. I'm sitting at my job a couple nights ago when someone behind me, a guy who's cheeky manner I generally enjoy, sneezed. Yet, it was an overblown and purposefully enhanced version of his original sneeze (with comedic intent obviously in mind). Think Monty Python. Think Looney Toons with some round elderly gentleman with a monocle and a jaunty 'stache, whose giant sneeze blows the large stack of papers off his desk and across the room. It was that sort of sneeze. And it just made me laugh... inside. I didn't want to laugh outside so he would think it was funny, because it wasn't. It wasn't really. But to think of him making the conscience decision to elaborate his sneeze in the few seconds before it happens... Perhaps he's even been doing this bit for years. When did this originate? At what age did it just absolutely tickle him to make absurd sneezes to such a degree that it became habit? That, my friends, is funny.
The more I think about it the funnier it gets.
I know I'm not alone here.
[Note: I'm starting to post to myspace as well, mainly because I never give out this blog to anyone new. While there MAY be unique posts to both places, it will generally just be a copy-paste job.]
You've probably seen, maybe even recently, a photoshopped or drawn picture that was meant to be funny. And maybe it was. But compare your 30 second review and chuckle to the 30 minutes, or more, someone spent preparing it. I enjoy imagining the conception of idea, which I'm sure they found amusing, moving into the actual work entailed to make the joke. Do they stay entertained during the whole process? With each new finished piece do they giggle again at their own humor? Or maybe it becomes work. Maybe the process takes it's toll and by the time they finish they're done with the idea altogether. That is funny.
In essence it's a joke about the joke, not the actual joke. Er... got that? I'll give another more specific example. I'm sitting at my job a couple nights ago when someone behind me, a guy who's cheeky manner I generally enjoy, sneezed. Yet, it was an overblown and purposefully enhanced version of his original sneeze (with comedic intent obviously in mind). Think Monty Python. Think Looney Toons with some round elderly gentleman with a monocle and a jaunty 'stache, whose giant sneeze blows the large stack of papers off his desk and across the room. It was that sort of sneeze. And it just made me laugh... inside. I didn't want to laugh outside so he would think it was funny, because it wasn't. It wasn't really. But to think of him making the conscience decision to elaborate his sneeze in the few seconds before it happens... Perhaps he's even been doing this bit for years. When did this originate? At what age did it just absolutely tickle him to make absurd sneezes to such a degree that it became habit? That, my friends, is funny.
The more I think about it the funnier it gets.
I know I'm not alone here.
[Note: I'm starting to post to myspace as well, mainly because I never give out this blog to anyone new. While there MAY be unique posts to both places, it will generally just be a copy-paste job.]