Struggles and Giggles
At some point, fairly recently, I decided/uncovered what humor is. Joking around is a pretty big thing in my house, from puns to pranks and everything in between. The movie 'Man On The Moon' sparked a new obsession with Andy Kaufman (and Tony Clifton) which has been the go-to persona for pretty much everything ridiculous these last six months or so. There's a moment in the movie where Andy (played by Jim Carrey) asks a meditation guru what the key to being funny is, which got me thinking... What is funny? My answer is different than his, so if you haven't seen Man On The Moon, go watch it to find out~ it's fantastic. And weird.
Layered Deduction
Back on track here, I realized that the formula to a joke is simple: make a molehill out of a mountain. Think of something that people feel tension about, and make is seem small and silly. That's it! Different people feel uncomfortable or stressed about different things, so not everyone has the same sense of humor, but that one theme of stress and comic relief runs through all of it. Marriage on the rocks? Take my wife! Trouble communicating? Who's on first? Frustrated teenager? That's what she said! Atheist living in the Bible Belt? Oh boy, do we have memes for you! Political tensions? You have your own section in the newspaper!
Now, I think most people would agree that comedy is one of the greatest pleasures in life. (Either that, or all of those businesses selling signs that say 'live, laugh, love' have made a terrible investment.) Additionally, you could say that a persons sense of humor says a lot about them, and if you can make someone laugh, you have a likeminded connection; humor is a giant inexpensive cog in the social machine, and anyone can jump in. (Please ignore the Pink Floyd's The Wall mental image there...)
Aged Laughter
Necessary Evil
Here's the thing, the major overlooked aspect that no one wants to respect and be grateful for: you have to first have those tensions in order to make fun of them. The best jokes throw people for a loop first, and key on things that a lot of people have in common. Really, comedy is like the light side of commiseration~ a bunch of people making the decision not to take themselves too seriously, together. Not only is humor entertaining, but it's kind of humbling in its own sneaky way~ I think that is just the coolest little thing.
So next time you cross a mountain, do what you need to in order to get past it, sure~ but remember to look back when it's far in the distance, and you'll likely see it as a molehill. Today's struggles are tomorrow's giggles~ and if you need a reminder of that, I paint a lot of clowns.
Cry Me A Winner
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