17 October 2011
It's no joke, it's funny cos it's true!
Comedy is something i love dearly. So why am i irritated by classmates getting giddy about going to see Peter Kay? Peter Kay is a very funny man, as is his kindred, Michael McIntyre. Many times have i seen their performances (recorded) and laughed and been entertained. I've enjoyed conversations about their gags and catchphrases, but the overarching thing they leave me with is an emptiness.
People have a go at these funny men, as much as they're revered as national treasures, claiming them 'unfunny'. It's not that they're unfunny, it's that they have aligned themselves with some of the more vacuous elements of our contemporary culture. And this is root of my disdain.
Comedy is an incredibly powerful thing. Both McIntyre and Kay have understood and run with the principle of the truth being a funny thing, but the truths they highlight are so inane and safe that it is almost without point, save the simple value of laughter. But with so much injustice, hypocrisy and oppression around, and it all so ripe for being addressed and ridiculed, i get angry that they participate in the status quo. They serve to make the satisfied smile, and then sell short, with great enormity, the real power, privilege, and potential of their artform.
People have a go at these funny men, as much as they're revered as national treasures, claiming them 'unfunny'. It's not that they're unfunny, it's that they have aligned themselves with some of the more vacuous elements of our contemporary culture. And this is root of my disdain.
Comedy is an incredibly powerful thing. Both McIntyre and Kay have understood and run with the principle of the truth being a funny thing, but the truths they highlight are so inane and safe that it is almost without point, save the simple value of laughter. But with so much injustice, hypocrisy and oppression around, and it all so ripe for being addressed and ridiculed, i get angry that they participate in the status quo. They serve to make the satisfied smile, and then sell short, with great enormity, the real power, privilege, and potential of their artform.
grand slam.
RWC '11.
Sam Warburton sending off costs Wales a chance at winning the title. That the referee was an Irish (Ireland having been knocked out by Wales in the previous round) francophile who speaks the language, regularly visits, has family who live there and, indeed, whose father IS French, had no bearing whatsoever on that infamous split second decision i'm sure. Check his name for goodness sake: Alain Colm Pierre Rolland.
Bitter? Devastated.
Proud? Abso-leeking-lutely!!!
Sam Warburton sending off costs Wales a chance at winning the title. That the referee was an Irish (Ireland having been knocked out by Wales in the previous round) francophile who speaks the language, regularly visits, has family who live there and, indeed, whose father IS French, had no bearing whatsoever on that infamous split second decision i'm sure. Check his name for goodness sake: Alain Colm Pierre Rolland.
Bitter? Devastated.
Proud? Abso-leeking-lutely!!!
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