Sunday, October 27, 2019

Response to elizabeth's blog 10/27

I have mixed feelings about this clip overall. When I first started watching this video, it actually kind of scared me because the guy cleaning the house is pretty aggressive. He just went around yelling and screaming at people, which I did not find funny because I am generally pretty sensitive to people yelling. I can see the comedic appeal to the video, and it definitely can be explored through the different theories, but it also kind of freaked me out. 

I think the lack of comedic appeal for me could be described through the benign-violation theory. When people are yelling, raising their voices, or screaming at others, it is considered a violation. However, we the yelling is not resolved or it does not feel safe, the violation is not benign, and therefore, it will not be considered funny. I usually get freaked out by people yelling, so this did not feel benign to me.

I could also see the way that gender roles and stereotypes played into the comedic elements of the video. The way that the main character was portrayed as a woman, but with opposite qualities of a stereotypical woman such as a lower voice definitely added to the comedic effect. 

I appreciated the exploration that Elizabeth gave into the incongruity theory as well. I thought it was really accurate, and if the yelling was not so intense for me, I think the incongruities throughout the video would have been humorous. I am interested to see how other people interpreted the video in this way and who found it comedically appealing. 

Monday, October 21, 2019

Response to mckenna's blog 10/21

I actually did not find this video funny until close to the very end. I noticed what you said about the actors and actresses trying to keep it together when they wanted to laugh but had to keep a serious face. I thought this was really funny, especially since it is super relatable for almost everybody. Everyone has to have been in a serious situation before where something funny happened, and they wanted to laugh, but they could not because of the atmosphere around them. In this instance, the fact that they were performing is what made it inappropriate for them to laugh in this serious situation, which made it all the funnier.

Additionally, I think the clip was a lot funnier since the laugh track was included in the background. I think without the laugh track, I would have felt super uncomfortable watching the video, and I would not have known when I was supposed to laugh or when something was supposed to be funny or not since the funny part of the clip was the sincerity of it in the comedic situation. The laugh track helped to break the awkward silences and make the awkward instances comedic rather than uncomfortable for the audience.

Overall, I think the incongruity theory is a great theory to describe this clip, as Mckenna mentioned. It does a great job explaining why the situation is funny. Incongruity theory posits that this clip is funny due to a violation of our normal mental patterns. This is due to the fact that the audience expected this situation to not be funny, and furthermore, the audience continually expected another sentence to come out of Debbie's mouth instead of the one that always did. Also, the things she said and the way she kept bringing the group down was pretty unexpected at first.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Response to lauren's blog 10/14

I agree with a lot of what you said analyzing this video. I definitely think the high-pitched, unrealistic voices made the video funny, and it would have just been annoying or kind of creepy if there were real voices with real people. I think it was a bit of an exaggeration picking at gender roles and gender norms, and I am honestly not quite sure how I feel about it. I did not think it was all that hilarious. I thought it definitely had some funny parts, but overall, I thought it was a little boring to be honest.

I agree with the different theories you brought up in your analysis of it. I think the incongruity theory also has a big part to play in this clip because the ending and the conversation as a whole is a little unexpected and out of the ordinary. I am not quite sure what I was expecting from the video, but it was definitely not an argument between Barbie and her boyfriend with an ending of her holding up a chalkboard saying "you're right."

I think the fact that it was picking at Barbie who is supposed to be the "perfect human"... a literal doll... is kind of ironic and adds to the funniness of the video especially as random things like the toilet note and the walk to the fridge are mentioned. I think the comedy of the clip is increased by the perception of Barbie and the fact that it is also a movie and not real life makes it funny when she compares their relationship to Romeo and Juliet.

Overall, it was an interesting clip, and I see how comedy theory can be applied to it, but it does not necessarily fit my taste in comedy.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Response to anna kathleen's blog 10/8

I really enjoyed this blog post video. I agree with Anna Kathleen when she says that it is different than other ones we have watched for class in other blog posts. I found it really funny because it reminded me of my family dynamics and the crazy things my dad sometimes does out of misunderstandings. In that case, it was less of a case of the superiority theory and more of the opposite since I could remember a time when it happened in my life.

I think the fact that the video was more relatable than other videos we have watched in class made it even funnier for me because I could actually imagine this happening in my life. It seems more realistic than something from Key and Peele or The Office for instance.

I really liked the distinction Anna Kathleen made between something being funny and something being comedy. I think it is super accurate since when something is funny in daily life, the intention is not for it to be comedic, but when retelling that story, the comedic elements are exaggerated to make it have a more comedic purpose.

I think this clip is also hilarious due to some incongruities within the story. The fact that she numbered the list specifically to help him out and make sure he could go through the express line, and it wound up having the complete opposite effect is very ironic. The incongruity between the intended outcome and the actual outcome make this hilarious (especially since it didn't happen to me... which is where superiority theory comes in).