Comedy Observation Essay

Medieval literature is involved in the school classroom for a very long time. Medieval literature is very important and even though it's old it offers many interesting stories and life lessons. There are many medieval literature works- Beowulf, the author tales, and more. The film of Monty Python and the holy grail combines all the medieval literature and satirises them all. The Monty Python film mocks and satirizes a lot of the important themes in the medieval literature. Among the many themes it satirizes, the theme of Chivalric Code and Knightly Behavior is the most prevalent. Many themes are repeated over and over again and it is easy to draw conclusions from what we read in class to the movie. Through this essay I will show these examples.

Barbara Ehrenreich employed the use of humor multiple times in Nickel and Dimed; it was perhaps her most frequently used rhetorical device. Ehrenreich was trying to portray the tragedy and heartbreak of the situation by using that sort of hopeless, sardonic humor. She also used her humor as a way to camouflage topics that would otherwise be off-limits. Although some of the humor included in the narrative may have seemed distasteful, it all had a purpose and was rarely used inappropriately.

In Pride and Prejudice, humor is used to highlight absurd situations and social blunders. Austen uses humor as a tool to show the readers what behavior is acceptable and what is not. Behaving above your rank is one of these social faux pas. Mr. Collins, Sir William Lucas, and Caroline Bingley are all examples of how not to act. Mr. Collins is constantly trying to improve his social situation by using his connection to Lady Catherine, Sir William takes himself too seriously, and Caroline always tries to elevate herself above Elizabeth, even though they are of the same station. The characters who provide the most humor throughout the book are the ones who act higher in status than they are in reality.

Chapter 25, "Mr. Ara," begins with the gathering of neighborhood boys in front of Ara's market. August Gottlieb, Ulysses, Lionel, and other youths of Ithaca have just taken part in the theft of an apricot from Old Henderson's tree. Standing in front of the store, the boys revere the apricot as an item of sacrament. August, the boy who physically plucks it, is held in high regard for his bravery and efficiency. Although the apricot is hard and green and far from ripe, it has a deeper meaning to the young boys of the small town. The fruit is an item obtained in spite of the possible danger of getting caught by Henderson; it is considered an extremely well earned keepsake. The boys

    The form of communication created by the television is not only a part of how our modern society communicates, but is has changed public discourse to the point that it has completely redefined it, argued Neil Postman in his convincing book Amusing Ourselves to Death. He viewed this as very harmful, and additionally so because our society is ignorant of it as they quickly becomes engulfed in its epistemology. When faced with the question about whether the television shapes or reflects culture, Postman pointed out that it is no longer applicable because "television has gradually become our culture" (79). What kind of culture is this? Postman warned that it is one in which we

Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, is a film that is set in a concentration camp and combines comedy with the seriousness of the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Benigni’s task in making this film was significant, by taking a tremendous risk, making a “comedy about the Holocaust.” And the fact that he pulled it off so well, despite the expected controversy it has aroused in some quarters, is downright miraculous. Benigni initially accesses the emotions of his audience through simple comedy. And the film is a comic attack on Fascism.

The mixture of comedy and satire that is derived from My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki also shines light on somewhat unpredictable truths about the meat industry, Japanese culture, and the characters’ own values. In this case, Jane Takagi-Little, the protagonist, discovers what kind of person she truly is throughout “My Year of Meats.” As the reader dives deeper into Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats, the actions of Jane begin to shift her personality from an opportunistic, job-less, desperate young woman into a full-fledged, meat-industry renegade. We see the transformation of Jane’s character as Ozeki divulges truths about Jane’s professional and personal life while exposing the apparent problems of the meat industry.

he tries to pass himself off as a count to get the attention of a

Research Question: How does His Girl Friday stay within the bounds of the Hays Code while challenging the culture of censorship in United States?

island and they go through the same things as they did in the book or

The light struck the glass windows, blinding those staring around in wonder below. The dirty London street was smothered in a thick coat of glitter, fallen from the mobs costumes. The place was a vibrant discordance of colour; blues as dark as a midnight sky and reds as rich as blood. People swarmed through the plaza, crushing newcomers and small children alike. A gust of wind startled the costumed crowd, many grabbing wigs or loose ornamentation. The day was warm for October, but many of the bustling crowd were considerably underdressed, some donning garments too thin to offer any kind of protection from the elements.

Laughter Out of Place: Race, Class, Violence and Sexuality in a Rio Shantytown- Donna M Goldstein

Satire in The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest is a short play written during the Victorian Era by Oscar Wilde. In his play, Wilde’s use of mockery and irony is meant to publicly ridicule the self-centered attitude of the Victorian upper classes, as well as, to expose their hypocrisy, lack of intelligence, and ridiculous social behaviors. Wilde mocks the Victorian structure of society in Britain and the procedures it followed by satirizing issues such as marriage, money, and death throughout the play with each character.

Manbearpig: Half Man, Half Bear, Half Pig, but All Global Warming? South Park is a popular animated comedy series written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. While the episodes of South Park are always humorous on the surface, each show usually has a deeper, much more profound meaning and moral. One episode of South Park entitled Manbearpig, named after the monster in the episode, has a particularly potent deeper meaning. On the surface, the episode pokes fun at monster stories, politics, and specifically Al Gore. Deeper down, however, this monster story can be read as a national allegory alluding to the dangers of global warming, the problems with the politics behind global warming, and the eventual doom we will all face

Today, comedy news shows are becoming progressively more popular, and in so, becoming a new source of information – which may, or may not, be a positive consequence. Most comedians twist the truth in order to connect to people and make them laugh. The article “A Serious Business: What Can Comedy Do?” suggests some comedians “use logic to make painful things make sense” (O’Hara 108). Satirical comedy acts as a relief mechanism in that it comforts people that may be wary about a certain subject, especially in the realm of politics. Similarly, Peter McGraw and Joel Warner discuss how comedy can act as a coping mechanism. The authors conclude that “activists all over the world have been using comedy as a form of political protest” (McGraw & Warner 147). Iain Ellis writes about how political satirists do more than just deliver jokes, they use satire “to expose, ridicule, and–implicitly–call for action and change” (Ellis 152). Ellis contends that comedy can make a difference by its constant presence in our daily lives. Socrates, Plato, and even shows like South Park believe that humor is a way to persuade others. One of the most effective expressions of humor to affect social change has been the inclusion of satire. Although humor often provides people a welcome escape from the burdens of their daily lives, the satirical comedy deconstructs social issues in various ways as a means to persuade the