Da Doom, Da Doom, Da Doom, Da Doom, Da Doom, Da Doom, Da Dooooooom, Da Da Da Doom!

"There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them." Inspector Clouseau

Here, enjoy this clip from one of my favorite films.

I can't say how big a fan of Peter Sellers I am. He was the best physical comedian of his generation, and was on the same level as greats such as Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd. This is my all-time favorite bits from the Pink Panther films, but I'll sprinkle a few other gems in throughout the blog.

Now, to begin:

*Ahem*

The following is a very serious paper about the concept of humor. It studies the causality of laughter and compares its findings with those off noted laughter researcher Dan O'Shannon. It is not funny. It is far too important to be something as inconsequential as funny. Sure, I could put in some cheap laughs, such as pointing out that O'Shannon is an Irish name and ask just how believable is it getting research on laughter from an Irish guy, the most morbid people on earth. The Irish wouldn't know a good joke if it fell out of the potato bin on them. You know what the Irish think is funny? Going to Mass sober! It would be funny to the Irish, but none of them ever has. I know this because I too am Irish. You might then point out that I would also not be qualified to write about laughter, but I would then say to you... I would say, "Well played, reader... Well played."

But the point is there isn't any such nonsense in this very important and intellectual work. I know that it's important becasue I wrote it for a college course, and the teacher wasn't Irish. He wans't a Mexican either, of course that goes without saying. (At least, I don't think he's Irish.... I mean, I'm sure he's not Mexican, naturally, I mean no one would allow a Mexican to teach a serious course like Humor... I mean, humor in Mexico is probably all about sombreros getting blown off people's heads and expedient cartoon mice... I know this becasue I too am Mexican. And if you were to point out that as a Mexican I wouldn't be qualified to take a course about Humor, I would again say... "Well played, oh, reader... Well played."

So here it is, and remember no laughing. I know this becasue I am an expert on laughter...

And bigotry.

“Humor Is a Serious Thing”

"Trgedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”
Mel Brooks

            Is there anything more sublime than that sense of release that comes from a good laugh? I mean a real, hearty rip-roaring, hoot-until-your-ribs-hurt-in-the-morning belly laugh. A laugh that can’t just be about the topic at hand (because nothing could be that funny), but must tap into something else that we’ve been carrying around for a while.

            The first time I saw that particular scene from the film The Pink Panther Strikes Again I had such a laugh. I was pretty young at the time, maybe 7 or 8 years old. So, my comedic taste wasn’t very refined. But all these years later I haven’t seen anything in any move or show that made me laugh any harder than that sill image of the bumbling inspector taking that tumble down the steps of that mansion. Was it my youth that makes it so powerful in my memory? Or was it something deeper?

            To answer those questions, we need to examine the comedic event that is happening here. Here, the viewer (or receiver) watches the scene unfold (the comedic information) and then laughs or doesn’t (the response. although anyone who sees that and doesn’t laugh at least the first time is one tough cookie if you ask me).

            I was the receiver in this particular event, and like I said I was pretty young. But I understood everything that was unfolding. There was nothing there over a child’s head. It did help that I was quick to suspend my disbelief (Why would anyone put parallel bars by a stairwell in the first place?) And that I had seen Pink Panther movies before and loved them, so I wanted to laugh.

            Then there is the event itself. When the comedic information is broadcast to my still-developing brain, I immediately see the incongruities: He claims to be an expert acrobat, but is really clumsy and awkward. He’s a world famous detective and yet he fails to notice the open stairs on the other side of the bars. He boasts, but is really inept. All these incongruities pile up and create a response.

            Watching this information gives me a sense of superiority to the vanquished braggart. There’s also the shock that comes from seeing his painful fall. Then there’s the sense of identification, we’ve seen these accidents happen to the Inspector before. And then there’s the relief that comes when he leaps back up. Ahhhh… Our hero’s okay.

            And that’s why we laugh, I think, at this painful, embarrassing bit of slapstick. It hurts to watch. But when we laugh, the pain is easier to tolerate. Because as long as you’re laughing, you’re still alive.

            As a post-script, I think I laughed hardest and trues at this moment because for whatever reason, at that moment I needed it. I needed a laugh. I don’t know what was troubling me, or causing that need for release. It isn’t important. But whatever it was it felt so good to laugh I can remember that moment thirty plus years ago like it was yesterday. That’s the power of laughter, and I believe the power of humor as a result. We all have it. I just hope, like the good Inspector Clouseau, we use our powers for good. Or as he would say after a harrowing collapse down a staircase, "Ah! That felt good!"

“Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our greatest earliest natural resources, which must be preserved at all cost.”

James Thurber

Hello, Pleased To Meet You, Can You Guess My Name?

Well, actually, my name is on the blog. But, there is a bonus if you can guess my Dog’s name. I mean it. We’ve had her for years and we still have no idea what to call her…

(That's me up there, by the way... and yes the camera does add 10 pounds on you).

Anyway, welcome to my little home on the Web. I made a similar blog last year for a class project, and while I don’t plan on linking to that one, I really did enjoy making it. I want this to be more accessible than the class project one was (though I may re-edit and put some of the other content on here).

This is all about the funny. That last sentence isn’t a typo. It’s a real honest-to-gosh statement. Hell, it’s a gol’ durned manifesto! If it’s funny, we’ll talk about it. Things that I find funny may take precedence at first… But in no time I’m sure we’ll have lots of hilarious stuff to discuss.

On quick note about me, I'm a stand-up. I don’t have the time to perform as much as I’d like, but I still have a lot of passion for this uniquely American art form. And if you ever see me in concert, you’ll see that I love doing it… Performing that is. Well, don’t we all love doing it, but this, as they say, our first rodeo together.

So come back and check in from time to time. There will always be a lot of new content and text to absorb. And I really do look forward to anything you all have to say about it.

Cheers,

Vic