Cunningham Muffins Commercial

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

I suspect Ionesco would not likely appeal to you now, either. Absurdism is a love-it-or-hate-it thing, I think, and likely a lifelong opinion. I asked because I was wondering if your distaste for this had to do with your general preference for high art - and Ionesco is one of the few absurdists who is given that distinction.

Though... I've always thought Arrested Development hinged a little bit on absurdism from time to time. (30 Rock certainly does, and though I was thinking of suggesting it to you, my understanding now of your preference for absurdity causes me to retract any previous suggestion. No 30 Rock for you! )

It's not a blanket thin with me at all. I LOVE Dada and Surrealism. Duchamp was a master of the absurd. I think what doesn't appeal to me with "Muffins" (as well as Python, et all) is the lack of subtly. Humor is a great deal more enjoyable for me if you have to be fully engaged to comprehend it (or you may miss it). When it is "in your face" I just don't find it amusing or engaging.

My recent experience with "Sweeny" is a good example. Cohen's in your face, over the top character was completely distracting and took me out of the experience of the film as a whole. I felt like I was watching a fine film with a commercial for Cohen's "talent" inserted into the midst of it.

I have similar issues with Jim Carrey in his comedic roles. "Unfortunante Events" would have been MUCH more enjoyable if Carrey was a part of the ensemble and not a "look at me" character. (Jerry Lewis was probably the first hatred I developed for this type of humor.)

But, as will all things I like or dislike, there are always exceptions. For every album of quirky pop music I don't like (TMBG, etc) there's a Belle and Sebastian in the mix that I adore.

As for Ionesco, it might be interesting to see if it appeals to me at this point in life when my preferences are much more developed and my knowledge base quite a bit greater than it was a 17 or even 23.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Alex (in another thread)

Really, I don't understand why you're so damn eager to flaunt your offensiveness.

To which I might retort - I don't understand why (in this thread) you're so damn eager to flaunt your lack of sense of humor (pretty ironic considering the above-quoted remark of your's from that other thread was apparently a result of the same lack).

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Alex

Ok, what am I missing? It was pretty stupid after the third absurd muffin type. Is this making fun of something I'm unaware of?

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

I never get from nonsensical and stupid to funny. I go straight to irritated instead.

Yes, comedy is very subjective.

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Um, well, we all love Lisa .... but, psssst ... she finds no humor in either Mel Brooks or Monty Python. She's missing a gene.

I didn't find the muffin thing amusing - to me it was too much a one trick pony. I know some people like absurdism; it would appear that NA, Alex, and I (and probably others) do not. Although I do love me some Monty Python and Mel Brooks, so maybe I do love absurdism - who knows.

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

To which I might retort - I don't understand why (in this thread) you're so damn eager to flaunt your lack of sense of humor (pretty ironic considering the above-quoted remark of your's from that other thread was apparently a result of the same lack).

Unless, this was an attempt at humour, I find statement comparing apples and carburetors. In the thread that you linked to, you specifically made a racist statement and declared yourself a racist. Unless I missed something, Alex never once stated that he completely lacked a sense of humour. And to be honest, I love his dry, albeit sometimes hard to follow, sense of humour.

[innerSpaceman]

Hmmm, I didn't find the Slate article to be very revealing about the (previously unbenownst to me) drag king culture ... but I did love this quote from the gal who was experimenting with it for the purpose of writing the article:

Originally Posted by Johnson Manly

In the 20th lecture in A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud writes, "Of little girls we know that they feel themselves heavily handicapped by the absence of a large visible penis and envy the boy's possession of it; from this source primarily springs the wish to be a man. …" I don't want to say the much-maligned Herr Doktor was right, but there was something revelatory about walking around with this cotton appendage. I suddenly felt I wasn't alone in the world. I now had a secret friend nestled by my leg, giving me strength and encouragement.

[innerSpaceman]

And yes, Kevy, you missed something.





Because I'm not a racist ... i just play one on the LoT.



Um, for laughs.




Not funny, you say? Well, humor is very subjective.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Any excuse to watch "Shoes" again is good enough for me.

For the record, I got what he was trying to do in "Muffins", but I only actually laughed briefly. I did get it, though.

Drag is funny to me in comedy due to the "imposter" aspect discussed above. The more ridiculous the better. I don't get drag queens at all though.

[3894]

From a theoretical standpoint, are drag queens and drag kings really two sides of the same coin?

I'm guessing that drag kings are mostly politically motivated, whereas drag queens just want to dress like Cher.

[Alex]

First, if you consider racist slurs to be funny, then yes, I don't have your sense of humor.

Second, I certainly do have a sense of humor. The above mentioned Arrested Development and 30 Rock are frequently hilarious. In a similar vein so is The Office, Flight of the Conchords and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

I wouldn't have said anything in this thread at all about whether I found this muffin video funny and why/why not (and in fact, did not for almost a day after the conversation started) except that the talking had already moved into that realm with NA's and 3894's posts.

So, to recap:

This video, not funny to me.
The shoes video, not funny but still interesting.
You "playing" a racist ass, not funny.
Other things, funny.

[Alex]

For insights into the examination of what is funny I strongly recommend Steve Martin's new autobiography.

For what was essentially comedy of the stupid, he put a lot of examination and thought into what is funny, why it is funny, and how to reduce everything to that essence (whether you agree or disagree with the quality of the output). Plus it only takes about 3 hours to read and has some good stories from early Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm days.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I support Alex and Kevy in their assertion that Alex has a sense of humor. He's very funny. And yes, we keep saying this, but it's true: humor is subjective.

While we're on this litmus-test jaunt, will some of you watch this Murakami short film and tell me what you think? Warning, mildly NSFW and more than mildly creepy.