 Comedy: October 21, 2009 Issue [#3347] |
  Comedy
This week: Edited by: Waltz Invictus  
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"I had thought — I had been told — that a 'funny' thing is a thing of a goodness. It isn't. Not ever is it funny to the person it happens to. Like that sheriff without his pants. The goodness is in the laughing itself. I grok it is a bravery... and a sharing... against pain and sorrow and defeat."
- Valentine Michael Smith
(Robert Heinlein,
Stranger in a Strange Land) |
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Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them
My wife and I went to see The Invention of Lying over the weekend. It's one of those movies that some people will like and some won't, but I'm not here to discuss its artistic merits (or lack thereof), but to make a few comments on the theme.
For those of you who haven't seen it and plan to, I'm going to try not to spoil it for you. The basic premise is narrated at the beginning of the movie: essentially, there's a parallel world where humans have built up a modern civilization while being unable to utter falsehoods. More, people tend to say whatever is on their minds, unable to construct even fiction, flattery and white lies. In the film, one dude gains the ability to lie, and the rest of the movie (which I'm not going to spoil) revolves around that.
As was probably intended, this is rather thought-provoking. After all, honesty is a good thing, right? I mean, it's an ideal toward which we strive, and certainly most of us try to be as honest as possible in our daily interactions without going overboard. ("Does this dress make my ass look fat?" "Everything makes your ass look fat, because your ass is fat.")
But, being a Comedy writer and newsletter editor, I got to thinking how this would affect comedy. (I'm also a Fantasy newsletter editor, as most of you know, but it's pretty damn obvious how total honesty would affect the Fantasy genre; i.e., would completely obliterate it.)
The movie's (arguably) a comedy, though, so maybe you'd think that complete and utter honesty wouldn't have much of an effect on comedy - I mean, you couldn't tell the limerick about the man from Nantucket, but is that really a big loss? However, upon reflection, I began to understand how vital dishonesty is to comedy.
That sounds a bit harsh, doesn't it? Dishonesty is, after all, a thing to be avoided. In comedy, there's a tacit agreement between comedian and audience that truth is optional. Sure, sometimes we tell stories that are true and are intended to be funny, like that time you thought you were dreaming about showing up to class naked and then realized you weren't dreaming. Okay, maybe that's not the best example. But it would be if it'd happened to you.
But really, most of comedy is outright fiction, embellishment of facts, or hyperbole.
In truth, I'd go so far as to say that without the ability to Make Stuff Up (MSU), very, very little would be funny.
I mean, okay, say you're at a bar and a duck walks in. Okay, scratch that. Say you're at a bar and a fisherman walks in. He sits down next to you and proceeds to talk about the 100 lb. catfish he just caught. In a world where no one can tell a lie, embellish, or exaggerate, you're going to go, "Whoa, that's pretty big." It wouldn't be funny. But in our world, you'd prepare yourself for a great fish story, one which doesn't depend on the honesty of the fisherman to be enjoyed. After all, a 100 pound catfish isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility, and the enjoyment relies on either telling a plausible tale well, or MSU creatively. (Some dude in Thailand caught a Mekong catfish that weighed 650 pounds. Don't believe me? I don't blame you. Just don't ask me about the prehistoric, toothy monster they pull out of the Niger from time to time.)
In other words, I assert that part of our enjoyment of true-story humor lies (pun intended) in the knowledge that the comedian could be MSU. To support my hypothesis, listen to what people say when someone tells a "true" funny story. "Unbelievable," they'll say. Every damn time. To the point where I don't even bother telling true stories anymore and just MSU.
So here's to lying! Without it, we wouldn't have much to talk about.
Except the size of other peoples' asses.
All this talk about fish reminds me of a joke:
This guy's coming back from the fishin' hole with two buckets of crappies, when who does he run into but the game warden!
"That's an awful lot of fish you got there," sez the game warden. "In fact, looks to me like you're over the limit."
Thinking fast, the fisherman goes, "Oh, these? No, no, I didn't catch these. In fact, they're my pet fish."
"Pet... fish?" The game warden's obviously not believing this.
"Yup! Every mornin' I bring 'em out to the lake, and then every evenin' I come back with these here buckets, call 'em, and they just hop right in."
"Yeah... right. You got any proof? 'Cuz otherwise I'm gonna have to cite you."
"Follow me." So the guy leads the game warden back to the lake shore, where he pours the fish out, saying, "Now, this is just for a few minutes, ok? Y'all come right back."
So he stands there waiting by the edge of the lake. After a few minutes, the game warden goes, "Okay, aren't you going to call them back?"
"Call who back?" sez the fisherman.
"The fish!"
"What fish?" |
Some fish stories for your reading pleasure - believing is optional!
And from the mailbox:
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Last time, I wrote about Autumn, or Fall, or whatevertheheck it's called.
Annette  : Well, I'm not a comedy writer. It seems nobody would find my jokes funny. But I had some good chuckles from reading your newsletter. Thank you for making my night brighter. On the West Coast, by the way. The only time zone that really matters... to me... except on the days when I try to call my mom in Germany, then that time zone suddenly becomes important. Uh, did you know that Florida has parts in the Central and Eastern time zones? Now I've told you every last little bit I know about time zones. Mind boggling.
Fun fact: It is possible for someone in Florida to call someone in Oregon when it's the same time for both of them.
billwilcox: Robear,
I had to laugh at your remark about Republicans lying in the health care debate. Liberals own the health care debate, my friend; it's just that once they start lying (which is all the time) they can't stop. No problem though, they've been doing it since, I don't know, FOREVER! 
All politicians lie; it's what they do. I think it's because they mostly start out as lawyers, which sounds a lot like liars, don't you think?
sarahreed: hahaha! Thanks for the laughs about Fall. I doubt I'll think of Fall without thinking of Thor again! 
I know I'm Thor from raking all them damn leaves.
drjim: Waltzy, I think Fall is that season after Summer, which follows after Spring. I think the Good Lord intended that the Spring had to be loaded with Summer to Fall...well...never mind. MSU is quite an acronym tho', and you truly have a good NL going here! Keep on writing!
Which still fails to explain Winter. I'm sticking with the Persephone theory.
Mavis Moog  : Great to see a black case line up. I will enjoy reading them.
Honestly, I don't even notice case color when I do my picks - everyone has a shot at a spot.
And that's it for now. Have a great Halloween! Tune in next month for the Thanksgiving special. Or maybe it'll be about NaNoWriMo. Or I may get a jump on the Christmas season. You just never know! Until then,
LAUGH ON! |
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