Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Closest Yet to That Promised Knock Knock Joke

Back in undergrad, I thought about doing my honors thesis about humor. I am fascinated by what people find funny, where that comes from, how a sense of humor is "installed," for lack of a better term. For myself, I know that no one can make me laugh more than my dad and my sister. Well, that's not entirely accurate; it's just that no one can make me laugh as consistently and as comfortably as my family. We share the same sense of humor, because I learned funny from my parents.

In my family, there is nothing so sacred that it can't be laughed at. The night before my mother's funeral, my dad was telling MOTH and me about a conversation he and my mom had had with a group of friends about dating again after losing a spouse. My dad's response? "I'll see who shows up at the wake."

Lest you think that humor a little too black, I will point out that it wasn't just Dad. Picture this: my mom and I are out shopping for blenders after an appointment with her naturopath, who has advised daily smoothies with various supplements. Mom has started yet another chemo regimen, after yet another earlier medicine worked for a while, then stopped working. There's a short list of chemotherapy drugs that can be used for her, and she's more than halfway through that list. But she's willing to try other things, too, so we're out shopping for blenders. Amid comparing puree speeds and ice crushing capabilities, Mom looks at a couple choices and says, "Well, heck, it's not like I need the lifetime warranty. Where's the one that's only good for a year or so?"

All this is not to say that we didn't all do (and continue to do) our fair share of crying, as well. But what I saw growing up was that if you could laugh, you could survive. And that, if well-timed and witty enough, a snarky comment could form a connection that transcended awkward, sad, or difficult moments. (See also: Tankbaby's birth. I have been pushing for two hours after about nine hours of labor. My friend E smooths my hair away from my face, rubs my back, and gently whispers, "Is there anything you need that you don't have right now?" I whisper back, slighlty less gently, "A fucking baby.")

Henry Rollins does a spoken word piece about music as the great equalizer, basically saying that "If you dig the Ramones, and I dig the Ramones, as far as I'm concerned, there's no problem we can't work out." I agree, but also feel the same way about humor. If you love this, if you can't stop hitting repeat on this, if you are clapping in your own living room during this, and if you walk around quoting this, you're very likely My Kind Of Person. If, on the other hand, you love "Jackass," well...we probably would have to work to find some kind of common ground.

(Am now secretly terrified that all four of my readers are stalwart "Jackass" fans and I have alienated you all.)

So, if you were making a list of "Dat's Some Funny Shit,Yo," what movies/TV/books/blogs/etc. would you include? What has informed (or malformed) your particular brand of humor? What falls in the category of Sorry, I Just Don't Get It? Any deal-breakers (for example, "If I found out you loved/hated __________, you would be dead to me.")?

6 comments:

  1. Hey, the jokes made me cry and smile at the same time. {{{hugs}}} if hugs from strangers over the internet are not too creepy for ya. We are a family of cracking "inappropriate" jokes at "inappropriate" moments also. I eagerly clicked on all 4 YouTube links and realized: I need to spend some time watching them so I can test my love for you! So, I will be back. Also you left us a homework at the end. Maybe we (your loyal readers) need to write posts in response to this question. :-) Promise: I will be back.

    p.s. You are making it very difficult for me to tend to my motherly duty. Your posts all make me think too much and I am now constantly distracted! LOL

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  2. I'm back! Sorry it took so long since I have StumbledUpon almost all of them, and tweeted 2 of them! LOVE Eddie Izzard. (Confession: I only watched him on YouTube. We have no cable. And we don't watch that much TV not because we are snobbish but because we have no time) I was also distracted because I found him pretty... That clip is funny as hell. "We stole countries with the cunning use of flags." Bloody BRILLIANT! I want to go around and say "No flag. No country" now. I love the Strong Bad one too. (Confession: have never really watched the Homestar Runner show EXCEPT the Strong Bad email sections) I actually saw Louis CK when he was on Conan O'Brien. LOVED IT and then told everybody I know that travels frequently. Yes, we bitch about air travel all the time. I did curtail my bitching afterwards. Now I say to myself whenever my flight is delayed: "At least I am not travelling with my kids." Being a parent does give you life-changing perspectives. LOL. I have to confess: I was not laughing at the Muppet Danny Boy clip. Sorry! BTW, I checked my StumbledUpon and saw that I had "favored" a Jackass clip. OH NO! But it's the one where they dressed up as pandas and ran around in Tokyo. I liked it because they were clearly idiots, and the clip shows, at least the way I interpret it, that the Japanese have a great sense of humor and a great deal of tolerance for stupidity as exhibited by foreigners, i.e. they are our guests. We shall not laugh at them, but rather, laugh with them. I told you: I need to write an entire complete post to answer your question. Good one though!

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  3. Submom--See, I knew I was going out on a limb with the "Jackass" thing...I was just trying to come up with an example of something that falls in the "Don't Get It" category for me. I could have also put the Three Stooges, Something About Mary...your explanation for the clip you like makes total sense to me. And 3/4 of my links ain't bad (but, really? Danny Boy? With Animal: "Oh boy, oh boy..." I thought that you, with your recent Muppet-based post, would totally dig that. Huh.).

    We don't have cable either, but own a few Eddie Izzard shows on DVD. If you ever have a few hours to kill though, it's basically all on YouTube. And I will also admit to be occasionally distracted by wondering what amazing brand of lipstick he uses, because it is all slick and shiny and perfect.

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  4. I have the blackest, sickest sense of humor, and so does my mom. I love the stories you just told about the inappropriate humor in your family. They sound like my kinda people.

    Anyone who finds Andrew Dice Clay funny is not my kind of person.

    I love the comedian Russell Peters because he jokes about all things Indian, so I can laugh at/about my in-laws without shame. I miss Mitch Hedberg, may he rest in peace. And early Eddie Murphy makes me cry, he's so funny. Wanda Sykes is brilliant.

    Didn't get There's Something About Mary, either. Or that Focker movie. Both just made me cringe.

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  5. TKW--EXCELLENT example with Andrew Dice Clay. I am unfamiliar with Russell Peters but will definitely check him out. Mitch Hedberg-yes, yes, yes. "Rice is good when you want to eat a million of something."

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  6. "if you could laugh, you could survive" Oh how true this is! My husband always says that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you deal with it. How right he is! It always amazes me how some people who seem to be on the verge of losing it all can still remain so positive and upbeat. I've known many people in my life like this. Always smiling, always laughing and making jokes. Even when everything around them seems to be falling apart. I really admire and respect people like that.

    I love that People Taking Things for Granted clip! I must say, I think that was probably my favorite... well, the Muppets one was hilarious too!

    Thanks for the laughs!
    -Jen

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