Two weeks ago, in our discussion of humor, we determined that the dictionary resources identify surprise or outrageous “over-the-top” situations as the underlying aspect of what makes something humorous. However, there is another branch of comedy, called observational comedy, that earns our snickers by operating on the axiom- “it’s funny because it’s true!” Observational commentary, the ammunition for most stand-up comedians and many a TV sitcom (think of the careers of Ray Romano, Louis C.K.,...
Any critic of Christians and culture always has his or her pickings of what element within our culture one wants to target as a great threat to the development and purity of the Christian soul. Although I might be wrong to say “friends, here is our greatest threat,” I have long been convicted of deceptive and dangerous nature with which Western Christians indulge in comedy. We are in a golden age of satire, when vulgar...
When I was in junior high, I had aspirations to be a stand-up comedian. I began to write my own jokes (they were terrible), practice my impersonations (I had two, Yoda and Gollum), and read comedy theory (which didn’t make me funnier). My dreams persisted about into high school, partially buoyed by my participation in drama and musical theater. But eventually, reality got the best of me. There wasn’t a specific point when I realized...
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