Topic Proposal #1

For my first essay I think I would like to write about the power of ridicule. I want to talk about how it is humor but it is done at the expense of someone else. The purpose of this argument is to not necessarily get people to stop ridiculing people but to make them more aware and to realize that it is two sided and does not always benefit you. It may be helpful in war against your enemy but it does not work so well in politics. An example of this would be when troops at war ridicule their enemies to make themselves less scared and to put their minds at ease, or just when you ridicule and authority figure to make yourself feel better. The author of this essay tries to narrow the topic of ridicule down by talking about the US strategy at war. The author tries to get across the idea that ridicule works. Ridicule can tear someone down but help someone on the other side. It can give you leverage or can defeat you. Ridicule is two sided and the author tries to demonstrate that.

Reponse # 2

In chapter three of “Comedy Writing secrets”, it talks about the importance of choosing your audience. It says that the audience you choose needs to be universal and that you should not narrow it down to please a certain group. If your jokes are not universal, then many people will not laugh or found them humorous at all. The best target for jokes is probably you. The audience will not get offended and it lets the audience know that it is ok to laugh. Some other good topics to talk about are sex, celebrities, places (countries, cities and local spots), products, and controversial ideas. As a humorist, you will never be able to get around the controversial issues, because everyone has a different opinion on different issues. Woody Allen said “bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.” That can come off as really offensive to those who are bisexual. That is why I think it is really important to stress the importance of the audience you are delivering to. There will always be one person who is offended, but you should always do your best when you are practicing your jokes. Try and make them as universal as possible.
This chapter gives an acronym to help you remember the six elements of humor. The acronym is THREES. This stands for Target, Hostility, Realism, Exaggeration, Emotion and Surprise. Throughout the chapter, tips are given to help you reach the six elements of humor. There are suggestions and exercises to help you bring out your humor.
I found this chapter very helpful because it gave topics and interesting topics to pull jokes from. It said that it was important to pick universal topics and to focus your attention on what the audience will like. The one part of this chapter that really interested me was when it talked about “ridicruel”. This is the second ingredient in the THREES recipe. It talked about how powerful this element is and that how we always have hostility towards someone or something. This is so true. I can definitely think of a time when I have said a joke on someone that I felt superior too. I think that people do this to make themselves feel better because they feel inadequate. This type of humor can be used to boost your self esteem and put someone else down. There are many topics that can fall under this category. For example there can be sex, race, background, religion, and class. The hard thing about this kind of humor is a lot of times these are the jokes people enjoy the most. These jokes can also be the ones that offend many people. The comedian tells these jokes at his/her own risk and does it at the expense of others. They tell these types of jokes because they think they will get a big laugh, but to some people they are very hurtful. An example of this would be people making fun of fat kids. These types of jokes are easy to laugh at, but for some it can be hurtful. This video is a good example of this.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/fat_kid_successfully_avoids

In the first chapter of “Comedy Writing secrets”, it talks about the importance of humor writing. The first chapter explains that anyone can learn to write humor. Some people are naturally funny and others don’t quite have that talent, but it can be acquired. Within this first chapter, there are a couple of humor exercises to help you find your inner “funny”. There are three benefits of humor writing. They are respect, remembrance and rewards. You have to earn your respect, cause your words to be remembered, and earn great financial and personal rewards. There is also a map to being a successful humorist. The MAP consists of the material, the audience and the performer. You have to make sure the material you are presenting is appropriate for the audience; otherwise you will not get the laughs you are hoping to receive. At the end of the first chapter, a couple of tips are given to help you organize your material. The one that seems to be repeated a lot is to have your material sorted and organizes by your topics.
I found this first chapter very interesting. Before reading this, I was under the impression that you had to be naturally funny to be able to produce humor in your writing. I thought that is was normal to throw one or two jokes into your paper or writings, but to put more than that in there I thought I sounded stupid. After reading this chapter, it kind of put my mind at ease about writing with humor. Just think, this is only the first chapter; I wonder what I will think after reading them all.
I love how the chapter provided exercises to help developing your humor. I actually tried one and it seemed to help. Some of the ones I came up with seemed stupid, but for other ones I actually laughed out loud. I enjoyed reading the part about the MAP. It makes so much sense to focus your material for the audience you are presenting to. It is important to make sure your material is appropriate for your audience. You don’t want to talk vulgar to young kids, because that will make them think some things are ok to say.
Being funny is very rewarding. To have someone laugh at a story or a joke you say is a really cool feeling. It makes you feel better about yourself. Some people say that laughing is a cure to many things. To be able to help someone laugh is awesome. It also allows you to be the center of attention which is good for some people. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this chapter and I think I will really enjoy this class. I love laughing and I think it will be cool to learn how to write to make the audience that is reading it laugh.
The last part of this chapter tells you all about organization and work that has to be put in to be a comedian. I guess it is just like any other activity. Some things take practice and time to develop that skill. Being a comedian is no different.

What are some other activities to help get your imagination going to help you with writing humor?