Response to Noah

This was a creative, but also confusing way of explaining how religion and nerds and fakes all came together but it makes sense. The thing that bothers me though is how a lot of religious people can be viewed as fake, because they try to hold themselves to something more strict than those who are religious do not. You couldn't be fake if you weren't trying to behave in a certain way, but because some people have faith to do so, they can be pointed out as fake when they mess up. And it is very easy to call religious people fake because everyone messes up. We sin every single day, so basically every believer is "fake. But what should not be fake is your personal relationship with Jesus. Only He can determine who is fake and who is not, not us.

Mocking Racism

Mocking racism is something that I find extremely funny. "Mocking racism is when you aren't actually a racist, but you just make fun of the idea and throw in jokes just to make people laugh"- Chadwick Word. 

I only know one person that has grown up in my generation that I can truly say is a racist: Dave Brown. So I interviewed him.

"Dave, how do you feel about African Americans?" 

"They are no good."

"Dave, why do you say this?"

"The thirteenth amendment was bullsh*t"

"Dave, if you can create another amendment, what would it do?"

"Prisons should only be made for black people."

"Thank you, Dave."

That interview never actually happened. I was mocking racism along with my other friend whose name I can not reveal.

Two of my favorite comedy shows are based on mocking racism: Key and Peele and Tosh.O. Both comedians target the race of African Americans, but there is one difference being that Key and Peele are both black where as Daniel Tosh is white. So this causes some problems because people feel like it is OK for Key and Peele to make fun of black people because they are black, but will think it is inappropriate for Daniel Tosh to do so because he is white. 

Here is a clip from Key and Peele making fun of black people: http://youtu.be/gODZzSOelss

Here is a clip from Tosh.O making fun of black people:

http://on.cc.com/QJhiAJ

Do you think that mocking racism is appropriate? How much do you hate Tosh.O?

Response to Alex Post

I think that vines are very funny. Vines are able to not waste peoples time because the videos are less than 30 seconds long. It is weird today when a friend tells you to watch a funny video and the video is like 5 minutes long. Times have definitely changed.

 I think that racist jokes can be very funny, depending on the person that says them. When Tosh.O says them, many people can get very offended. But when Key and Peele make them, they are hilarious. It is probably because it is not appropriate for Daniel Tosh to make them because they are never about white people, but if you make fun of yourself, like Key and Peele, then it is hysterical.

I really enjoyed watching that video as well. Unfortunately, my parents would chase me around with a belt when I was younger and scream at me, but hey they only did that cause they loved me right.
I use to think that I had it bad until I watched my friend Demarcus get beat in his car by his mom. I will never forget that day.

Response to Elizabeth's Blog

I am a fan of comic relief as well, but I do not think that it is necessary in order for the film to be successful. It takes the seriousness out of the movie, and for that reason, it should not be used in serious kind of movies. But, for comedic movies, I think that it is a good idea to an extent. If you overuse it, not many people will find it funny anymore.

A good example is from the movie Hot Fuzz, which I am a big fan of. It makes fun of serious movies, and there is that one person that always breaks the tension in every big scene. It is something that I think more immature people get into, and yes I am saying that I am immature. For this reason is why it is a good fit for Disney movies, because for the most part, little kids watch Disney movies. In almost every Disney movie there is that one character or two that break the tension.

Response to Keyu

Honestly, the only Chinese humor that I am familiar with are the Rush Hour movies and the karate kid movies. Those movies are a mixture between action and comedy though. But, I still find them very funny. One thing that I notice in Rush Hour is that the main guy, Jackie Chan, is a more mature kind of funny where as his partner, who is American, is more of an immature kind of funny. Its the same way in Karate Kid. So based on that, I would assume that Hollywood believes that Chinese people are more mature than Americans.

Stephen Chow reminds me of Jim Carey because both are very talented actors where they are almost different in every movie that they have been in. I love Will Ferrell and think he is one of the funniest people alive, but in every movie that he is in, he is basically the same character. Many comedians are like that as well including Seth Rogen, but I admire Jim Carey for being a true actor and comedian and I thank Keyu for introducing me to another like him, Stephen Chow!

Response to KKs

I love Vine. Normally, I am against new social media because change isn't something that excites me. But there are so many funny vines out, they are nearly impossible not to find funny. Some of the funniest people on social media now are from vines, where they can make short videos of them acting like idiots or just making fun of people. One of my good friends, Jake, describes Vine as "I watch videos endlessly on vine and they all make me laugh. Vine is cool." Mary, on the other hand, does not use vine and says "It is a sad way to express yourself, you should express yourself in person." I agree that a lot of the funny people out there hide behind computer screens, but quite honestly I am ok with that. Some people don't mind it either, but people, including Mary, feel very strongly toward that topic. 

KK also mentioned how she loved animal vines, and videos of animals are things in life that keep me going. Especially cute animals like puppies or squirrels. This is an example of innocent humor where the animals, unless they are possessed, have no idea that they are being funny and that is why we find them funny. They are just so innocent :/ 

Response to Jessica

A lot of people find the Brady Bunch and I Love Lucy very funny, but sadly for me I just don't find that funny at all. I know this doesn't necessarily sound good, but I couldn't be more biased on shows that are old. I refuse to watch movies that were made before 1984. I don't care how good people say they are, Im not watching them. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the same goes for TV shows as well. Black and white movies/shows make me go insane. I can't imagine living in a time where TV was in black and white. Its not a thing against racism because I have many black friends, but its more of a "this quality sucks" kind of thing. I think the acting was terrible back then and the humor was a**. I personally think that I can be more creative and broadcast better shows then they did back in those days. After just growing up with the dry sick humor that I hear today, along with the amazing graphics and edits, I just don't appreciate some of the older displays. Thats just me though.

Response to Madeline

This paragraph stood out to me for a few reasons: In Bo Burnham’s song, “Sad,” he begins by giving some examples of misfortune, ranging from “a diabetic kid trick-or-treating” to “a giraffe with a short neck.” While these are depressing ideas and would cause most people to become a little gloomy, they do not really have much effect on us. As Burnham continues his song, he begins to focus on darker subjects like “an old man getting hit by a train,” “a mother at her daughter’s funeral,” and even references the Holocaust and 9/11. When I was watching this section of the video, I thought about how intense those situations were. I don’t think it is acceptable to joke around about the worst terrorist attack on our country or about one of the most brutal genocides in history. But, for some reason, I found myself laughing during this section too. So, why do viewers laugh at these types of jokes and find them hysterical?

One thing that I was thinking about, involving the 911 attack is this: If there was an animation of the planes flying into the towers, little kids would find it funny because for some reason crashes are funny to little kids. But if you showed it to anyone that actually knows the attack, they would not find it funny, for the most part. 

Also when it was saying "a diabetic kid trick or treating" and "a giraffe with a short neck" it kind of sounds like a bunch of oxymorons. For example, its like saying the cold fire. It just contradicts itself. When I hear someone talk about a giraffe with a short neck, I don't necessarily find it funny. If I saw a giraffe with a short neck, then I might find it somewhat amusing. But heres whats funny to me: Comparing an image of that giraffe with someone that does not have a neck. It sounds awful but that is just funny to me.

Response to Phebe's post

I agree but also disagree about what Phebe said: laughter cures things. I agree on the part that laughing at things will make it better or more positive, but it doesn't always fix it. I would say that laughing at things is better than not laughing at things because when you laugh, you feel more positive about situations and it just releases good feelings. I can't imagine a world with out humor or laughing, it honestly would suck. But its not about my opinion. Actually it is because this is my blog... so I think that laughter can cure some things but not all things.

Response to Kirby's blog

I agree with what Kirby said about how you laugh at your best friends when they have an accident. Nothing entertains me more than watching people suffer with embarrassment. Even when I myself am embarrassed or have an accident, I still think that it is hilarious. I think that it is true about how if your best friend fell over on his bike then you would laugh, where as if you saw some random person on there bike and fall then you would be sure the person is ok first then laugh about it later on when you are with your good friends and family. Ive learned in my life though, that when your mom falls down that you probably should not laugh at her. I did that one time and it was really awkward because she asked why I would laugh at her for getting hurt.

Response to Sarah's blog

I think Sarah's post about the Try Guys is absolutely stupid. I honestly wasted a good 10 minutes of my life because of her BS post... I am joking:)

I can make responses like this to Sarah and I feel like she will think its somewhat funny because we have the same sense of humor. I think that Try Guys is similar to one of my favorite shows, Impractical Jokers, because both are the characters are about 30 year old men that are just best friends and love making fools of themselves. I love comedy like that because I myself tend to make me look like a complete fool in front of people just to mess around and get some laughs with my friends. The famous saying "a friend will help you up when you fall, but a best friend will point and laugh at you." is very true, but you can tell that the person falling has a good sense of humor if he or she were to laugh at themselves for falling, unless the person is 90 years old because they would probably be hurt if they fell because there bones aren't as strong. Great job Sarah! I will see you in class tomorrow.

Response to Mary's Blog

I am a fan of Mary's post. Not only because I am a fan of Jimmy Fallon, but because everything that she said was accurate and easy to understand (if you have seen the show). What she said about how Fallon is able to bring commonplaces into his jokes was very accurate and never thought of by me. The reason why I enjoy watching the show is mainly because me or my parents get a good laugh because it is extremely relatable, as well as the fact that he makes fun of celebrities, which most of us love to hear. The letters that he writes on his show in my opinion are hysterical because it is similar to my sense of humor: sarcasm. Mary, you are the bomb and nailed it with your blog. 10/10.

Incongruity Theory

Have you ever noticed something very strange, and just thought, "Dang, this is extremely strange and against the norm." and then began to laugh? Well, my friends, you have experienced the most persuasive theory of comedy known as the Incongruity Theory. It basically states that we tend to laugh at things that we are not used to sensing. For example, if we saw a monkey driving a car, we would find it funny because we are not used to seeing monkey driving cars. There are two other theories that describe different types of comedy: Superiority and Relief. But, for this blog, I will show y'all a great video that will force you to always remember the Incongruity Theory, it's nuts.
http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/animal-planet-presents/videos/most-outrageous-water-skiing-squirrel/

Superiority Humor

In almost every movie, a boy attempts to impress a girl. Either he succeeds or fails. When he succeeds, we don't necessarily find it funny, but when he fails, it is hysterical. But why do we laugh when he fails? Is it because we are glad that we were not the one failing? Or because we know how the person failing feels? Or is it because the person is a straight up f*cking dumb *ss?

Rod, for example, is a straight up f*cking dumb *ss. First, he is wearing a cape and barely can call his vehicle a dirt bike, but that is not what separates Rod from the crew; instead, Rod is one of those "determined to do anything" straight up f*cking dumb *ss who is willing to do anything, including jumping over the neighborhood pool (which is SUPER impressive and hot), to impress Denise.

We find this funny because of the Superiority Theory, which basically states that we laugh at people that we are superior over. Is that true for this case? Most likely so unless Rod himself was superior over you, meaning that a straight up f*cking dumb *ss is more superior over you. So if you don't find this video funny, then you may want to think about your true role in society: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3i9zN3M7wQ