U7 - Final Reflection

I was unaware when I began this class of how much I was going to enjoy it. The idea of reading and writing about comedy seemed interesting and I was eager to be entertained, but I didn’t think much about how the interpretation of the texts (of course, using that term lightly in this class) would impact my feelings about comedy and the how the art itself has has developed over time. I have a deeper respect for comedy and comedians in general, now.

I guess one aspect of this class that really impacted me was the exploration of the dark side of comedy and how humor, whether we like it or not, can also be a way of masking or dealing with unresolved pain. Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special, Nanette, really left me feeling as though I had been punched in the gut. I just thought it was so brilliant of her to begin by making her audience laugh only to end with them practically speechless in the second half of show. It mirrored her life experiences, I suppose, as she lived out this roller coaster of coping with her shame in an unhealthy way, eventually to come to the conclusion that she was going to be honest and tell her story, as she said “properly”. Her show really left an impression on me and to be honest, I was thrilled with her truth and in awe of her courage to speak so candidly about her feelings, but I was also quite sad when it was over.

It made me think of comedians we’ve lost over the years and how they must have felt so similar to Gadsby and how hopeless that must have left them. My daughters were watching the Disney version of Aladdin the other day and I overheard the voice of Robin Williams (as the Genie) and a wave of sadness washed over me as I remembered him from other films when I was growing up and the true joy that he brought to his audiences. I was even more sad to think about how my girls would never get to experience him the way that I did. But also because it's scary, you know? To learn when it's too late that there was a problem, that's scary and unsettling and how do we change that?

But I suppose the most important thing that I learned while taking this class is that there is always a silver lining to what seems impossible or unfair. And that as much as comedy has it's dark side, when used as a way to conceal pain, in truth, the ability to laugh at our circumstances and the world around us can also function as a way to restore and heal the human mind and uplift our spirits.

So that's what I take away from this class, you know? The ability to discern comedy in a healthy way and to enjoy it while also keeping in mind that there's a distinct, raw honesty that comes from it.

Unit 7 - Remix

So my final paper topic was centered on the modern female comedian and her ability to take part in the world of comedy, without concern for approval of the patriarchy. I explored how there is no longer a need to apologize for being a woman in a man’s arena, as it was never a “man’s arena” in the first place and the platform of comedy has always belonged to everyone. It was a fun topic to explore but it lead to other questions that I had about the role of comedians throughout history, like who was the first comedian?

A friend suggested that it was obviously the court jesters of Tudor England that became the world’s first funny people in the industry, but comedy was much engrained in the stratosphere of society well before then. In fact, “comedy was a popular and influential form of theatre performed across ancient Greece from the 6th century” on (Cartwright).

Either way, the thought of the jester in England’s royal court was particularly intriguing to me and I couldn’t help but wonder what life must have been like for these “fools” of the court? We, as a modern society, have become emboldened throughout time and understand the importance of equal rights and the value of independent thought. But how did that work out for the so-called clowns that mingled within the courts of the kings?

Although typically referred to as a fool, or a buffoon, the European meaning of the word “jester” refers to an entertainer or actor of sorts. They were people who came from all walks of life, usually from the lower classes in the community, attempting to make a living and they used, “humor to mock and joke… speak without causing offense, and…. had the ability to sing or dance” (Otto). And although they were often given certain privileges within the court, these privileges were dependent on his or her ability to perform and they not only performed at court, but they were also taken to battle to entertain and boost morale for the troops. Some jesters, “juggled swords or lances in front of the enemy, taunting and baiting them until those with a hottest tempers broke” (Maitland). Unfortunately for the jesters, they often became targets during battle because of these acts, many of them losing their lives.

One has to wonder, though, how much the jester was actually taken advantage of by the powerful classes in society and how much of their entertainment was a way into society? By the twelfth century these “fools” were being awarded land and goods by kings in order that they continue to amuse the people of the courts. In fact, a jester named, “Roland le Pettour was given 30 acres of land by King Henry II, probably when he retired, on condition that Roland returned to the royal court every year on Christmas Day to ‘leap, whistle and fart’”(Maitland). In fact, it seems only natural that some jesters came to understand the benefit to their art and their own power to keep it going.

Like many comedians experience today, there was a dark side to performing comedy and belittling the self in order to do so could be dangerous. However there was also a power that came with creating laughter, as the jester understood. They were aware that whoever controlled the laughter in the room was also the one who held the ability to influence and transform minds.

Reflection

The best part about this class was the readings. I never would’ve picked up a “comedy book” without this class. I was particularly struck by Fey’s “Rules of Improvisation.” This was interesting to me because it spoke to female empowerment as a whole. It also forced me to consider conversation from a new perspective. It never occurred to me that in order to be successful one must have an aggressive stance towards the concept of conversation.

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I loved hearing my peer’s feedback. Not only did it make me reexamine my work, but having their work on display gave me insights I wouldn’t have had access to in a normal “on campus” class. The forum postings in particular, were enlightening. The online aspect of the public forum postings made me think about the structure of on campus classes all together. We would all have so much to gain by having a public “collection bank” of all of our classmates’ work. By sharing our work with everyone else I think everyone’s writing would get better. The comparing and contrasting of my peer’s work definitely had a large impact on me this summer. 

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Another thing was Nanette. What a thing. I had no idea going into this class on “funny women,” that I would be basing my final project on a lesbian comic. But she really was that phenomenal. I heard her message, and upon hearing it, I wanted more. So I based my major multi-modal project on her special.

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Another thing that was fun was the formatting of the class. I never had a day without some kind of prep work. I find that most other classes provide large gaps with little work to be done just to throw people off their game. This class on the other hand was rigorous and kept me on my game. At the start, I didn’t think I would turn in all my work for this class. I thought I would lag behind and forget this or that but after I got into the swing of things I really started to improve. I also feel as through the rigorous nature of this class has made my writing that much more clear for my reader.
Not to mention Harris. I will keep his book around when I write essays for the plethora of English classes awaiting my next year at Shepherd. “Countering” was my favorite of his ideas.

Another thing th

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at struck me was Wanda Sykes’s Not Normal. Not Normal was my second favorite part of the class. I loved hearing her well-formulated railings against Trump. She delivered very well thought out criticisms of “southern pride” and “Trump supporters.” Such lines as “Your heritage is trash” and “You’ve got to let the bachelor go” stuck with me. Two other lines that stuck with me were “You need a black friend” and “We’re not all the same, we’re different, but we’re equal.”

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The material from class had me invested in the way I spent my time. There are so many classes that make you just go through the motions. They feel more like shoveling the walk than adding color to a canvas. This class felt like the latter. 372 really was both fun and interesting. Most professors and most classes can’t reach the point of student interest I reached just by reading and typing miles away. 

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Writing About Writing

The hardest part of writing for me is getting started. As I open up Word on my laptop and sit down to begin my document, I suddenly feel as though I need to do the dishes… or wash my dog… or perhaps the toilets are due for a good cleaning.

Is it really that bad? How can something that I love so much be so arduous at the same time? It’s odd because leading up to it I truly enjoy the “getting ready process”. I like to get my cup of coffee and lay out my notebook with all of my random scribbles and then nestle into a good, upright chair as I get started.

I enjoy working in a peaceful, creatively charged space because I find that, for me, a pleasant environment helps to bring my words to the surface. The setting is not a deal breaker, but it helps. When I’m at home that usually means I’m on my screened-in porch that overlooks the woods behind our house or if I’m somewhere else that may mean I’m sitting outside a café, enjoying a cup of coffee while people watching and writing my thoughts out. It’s funny, people and movement and the sounds of nature don’t bother me at all. As a matter of fact, sometimes the daydreaming that I do while watching the folks walk by or hearing the chirping of the birds gets my creative juices flowing.

Ironically, it’s music that annoys me when I’m writing anything academic.

I sometimes find myself at Panera Bread wondering if I can possibly bring myself to ask the staff to turn the music down because, “can’t you see I’ve been trying to finish this paragraph for the last hour but I can’t stop singing the catchy tunes playing over the speakers?” Sometimes I feel like it’s a conspiracy.

Either way, that pretty much sums up my ideal scenery for writing.

However, that’s not always the reality.

More often than not, I end up at my kitchen table attempting to concentrate on my work, as random children (okay, maybe not so random) come up to me every few moments to explain how vital it is that they have a snack at once, for fear that they could starve to death or that their sister stole their Barbie and they demand immediate retribution or how it's necessary that I come outside and build a tree house for them right away (because I carry a drill in my back pocket, of course).

That last one is an actual request that I received while trying to complete my final project last week. But I digress…

As I begin the writing process, I immediately set up my document to MLA standards, adjusting margins, font, headers and page numbers. I just don’t feel like I can begin until the document is formatted correctly.

I am then faced with the task of trying to come up with a sentence that doesn’t sound like the opening line to a Star Wars movie. And trust me, that’s not easy. But I make it work.

The introduction is usually the hardest part for me but once I get that done, the rest seems to flow at a somewhat steady pace… unless I get distracted. Again. And every time I get distracted or something else takes precedence, only to come back to my writing, it takes some time to get my mind back in the game. 

I approach the writing process in a few different ways to keep the momentum going. I work my thoughts into the text as I’m thinking through them, even if I’m not exactly sure how all of my ideas correlate to the thesis, I get everything onto paper so I can see it in front of me. Then, when I’ve finished a paragraph, I go back through and read it aloud to see how it sounds, editing and revising before I go on to the next one.

I also tend to keep a running list of ideas or random sentences at the bottom of my document so I can come back to them later and either insert them somewhere or get rid of them altogether. Warning: doing this will sometimes make it appear that you have achieved the minimum page requirement, making you want to jump up and down with joy, when in fact, you haven’t.

Also, instead of going straight through the document, I find myself going back and forth through the paper to revise different areas as I’m writing because the continuation of writing brings others thoughts to mind that expand or elaborate on previous ideas.

In the end, my conclusion tends to be a summary of my paper with a bang! Or perhaps a thud. Either way, this is when I have drink. Or take a nap, one of the two.

All kidding aside, I do find it interesting how something that I truly enjoy can be so difficult at times but it’s also really neat to see the development and growth that the text goes through as I move through the revising and editing process. The satisfaction that I feel when doing the final read through at the end is rewarding and makes it all worth it, right?