Philosophy
My Fellow Comedists,
This week, good brother YKW sent me a link to Gilbert Godfried's Twitter feed full of Japan earthquake/tsunami jokes.
On the one hand, jokes make light of a situation. Being the subject of a joke makes one often feel like you are being laughed at. In a situation in which empathy is appropriate, joking seems uncaring.
On the other hand, Gilbert Gottfried is one of the last of an old breed, joke writers. Contemporary comics tend to be more narrative, allowing their delivery to get the laughs. But Gilbert Gottfried writes jokes in the classic style. There is a technique to writing a joke, you need to find an unbalanced ambiguity, create a set-up that uses the stronger interpretation of the ambiguity and then twist it for a tightly worded punchline. For someone as experienced in the craft as Gilbert Gottfried, any event provides material and it is a simple technical exercise to write a joke about it, it has nothing to do with a lack of empathy any more than finding rhymes for "tsunami" does.
So, too soon? If you think so, please express it in a civil manner...don't have a meltdown.
Live, love, and laugh,
Irreverend Steve
- The Most Classic Jokes In History
My Fellow Comedists, I am working on my contribution to this year's Lighthearted Philosophers' Society gathering. Part of my argument involves distinguishing between those jokes that are merely funny and those that are truly sublime. So, please...
- Butts And Subjects
My Fellow Comedists, A technical question this weekend. Is there a difference between being the subject of a joke and the butt of a joke? If a joke turns on an ambiguity about a property associated with a group, does that joke necessarily make fun of...
- Knock-knock Jokes And Limericks
My Fellow Comedists, More theology this weekend. I'm considering why knock-knock jokes are not funny, but limericks are. Good brother Rob, many years ago, worked on a paper with me about knock-knock jokes and whether Raskin and Attardo's script...
- Joke Theft
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend, I am giving a paper at the 4th annual conference of the Lighthearted Philosophers Society. My topic is joke theft. The cardinal sin amongst stand-up comics is stealing someone else's material. But to define joke...
- What Counts As A Joke?
My Comedist Brethren and Sistren, I have a theological question for everyone this weekend. In Comedism, nothing is as holy as the joke. but the question is what counts as a joke. The standard structure of a joke has two parts. First is the set up. Set...
Philosophy
How Soon Is Too Soon?
My Fellow Comedists,
This week, good brother YKW sent me a link to Gilbert Godfried's Twitter feed full of Japan earthquake/tsunami jokes.
What does Japanese Jews like to eat? Hebrew National Tsunami.YKW's question was "too soon?"
What does every Japanese person have in their apartment? Flood lights.
On the one hand, jokes make light of a situation. Being the subject of a joke makes one often feel like you are being laughed at. In a situation in which empathy is appropriate, joking seems uncaring.
On the other hand, Gilbert Gottfried is one of the last of an old breed, joke writers. Contemporary comics tend to be more narrative, allowing their delivery to get the laughs. But Gilbert Gottfried writes jokes in the classic style. There is a technique to writing a joke, you need to find an unbalanced ambiguity, create a set-up that uses the stronger interpretation of the ambiguity and then twist it for a tightly worded punchline. For someone as experienced in the craft as Gilbert Gottfried, any event provides material and it is a simple technical exercise to write a joke about it, it has nothing to do with a lack of empathy any more than finding rhymes for "tsunami" does.
So, too soon? If you think so, please express it in a civil manner...don't have a meltdown.
Live, love, and laugh,
Irreverend Steve
- The Most Classic Jokes In History
My Fellow Comedists, I am working on my contribution to this year's Lighthearted Philosophers' Society gathering. Part of my argument involves distinguishing between those jokes that are merely funny and those that are truly sublime. So, please...
- Butts And Subjects
My Fellow Comedists, A technical question this weekend. Is there a difference between being the subject of a joke and the butt of a joke? If a joke turns on an ambiguity about a property associated with a group, does that joke necessarily make fun of...
- Knock-knock Jokes And Limericks
My Fellow Comedists, More theology this weekend. I'm considering why knock-knock jokes are not funny, but limericks are. Good brother Rob, many years ago, worked on a paper with me about knock-knock jokes and whether Raskin and Attardo's script...
- Joke Theft
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend, I am giving a paper at the 4th annual conference of the Lighthearted Philosophers Society. My topic is joke theft. The cardinal sin amongst stand-up comics is stealing someone else's material. But to define joke...
- What Counts As A Joke?
My Comedist Brethren and Sistren, I have a theological question for everyone this weekend. In Comedism, nothing is as holy as the joke. but the question is what counts as a joke. The standard structure of a joke has two parts. First is the set up. Set...