Comedy Central

The author Tina Fey in her excerpt Bossypants, uses comic irony, situational irony, and the incongruity theory of humor to reveal that negative experiences can result in positive outcomes. Throughout the story, comic irony was most evident in the people’s dialects. For instance when Tina Fey refers to the people that ask her about her scar just because “ it’s so beautiful” as “disgusting.” Usually when somebody sympathizes with you and calls a mark on your body beautiful you are grateful,…

Sincerity is a trait that is many times lacking. People put on a persona they wish to be seen as, while in reality, they are completely different. In The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, one can clearly see an example of people who lack sincerity. In this play, Jack pretends to have a younger brother named earnest so that he may indulge in pleasures while in the city. In the same way, Algernon pretends to have an ailing friend named Bunbury so he can escape his duties in the city. The…

double crosses, domestic betrayals-the usual comic imbroglios). If not all, then most of these qualities are found in Molière’s works, only to prove the significance of his twelve year apprenticeship. Early examples of farce can be found in the comedies of Aristophanes, Plautus, and Terence. During the fifteenth century, farce became its own genre, originating in France, with such plays as La farce de Maitre Pierre Pathelin dating all the way back to 1470 (www.bartleby.com). Instances of…

The twenty second Hubert Humphrey Presidential campaign ad from 1968 is one of the most simple and memorable ads in American politics. Commonly known as “Laughter”, the ad employs humor to smear the Vice-Presidential candidate Spiro Agnew and Presidential candidate Nixon while also making a serious point. Starting with an image of a blank wall with the words “Political Announcement”, a man is laughing as the camera pans toward a television. As the image on the television screen comes into view,…

In Joan Darling's, The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Chuckles Bites the Dust, Chuckles the clown, a friend of the news team, dies and certain coping methods are criticized by certain members of the team for taking the situation too lightly. Mary played by Mary Richards does not appreciate how Murray and the others are making a joke out of the situation, while they believe that they are just using the jokes as a coping method. The show is greatly influenced by the culture of the time period and certain…

Irony is the use of words in a way to convey a meaning that is opposite from the literal meaning. There are a few types of irony. Situational irony is when something happens that is the opposite of what is expected. Another type of irony is verbal irony is a contrast between the intended meaning of what is spoken and waht the apparent meaning is to the hearer. Lastly, dramatic irony is when the audience knows something a character does not. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, she uses all three…

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night's Dream, he portrays the ideas of comedy [(incongruity, the balance of opposites, exaggeration) SP 7] to argue that all tragedies are actually comedies. The first element of comedy that Shakespeare uses to argue what tragic plays really are is an incongruity. On line 85 of Act 1 scene 2, Bottom states, "We may rehearse most obscenely and courageously " The mix-up of obscenely and obscurely provides amusement and sets up for other examples of bottom…

alike in ways you would expect they would be different. The Importance of Being Earnest set in the 1890's, and Tootsie set in the 1980's. These comedies are set in different times but you can see similarities and differences in their themes, characters, and their treatment of love and women. A common theme in comedies is love conquers all. Both of these comedies portray this theme. For instance, in The Importance of Being Earnest both of the women forgive the men for deceiving them, when they…

Over fall break I went to see one of my favorite comedians, Bo Burnham, at Lincoln Center. I have been a fan of Bo Burnham for a couple years now so I was expecting his normal, crude sense of humor. Although he delivered, he also added in some social issues to his acts in a blunt yet refreshing way. Bo Burnham is known for his satirical songs that focus on touchy subjects such as race, gender, human sexuality, sex, and religion, and this particular performance was full of such comedic songs and…

The funniest internet trends and memes create a community in the comments where the audience can come together to talk about how the posts made them feel. The comment section is a social space where the readers can meet people with similar tastes in humor to them, as well as learn about how a meme can be interpreted by others. For example, in the past week a video surfaced of a young boy yodeling in the isles of a Walmart Supermarket. This video was received with much love and affection. People…