What is funny? (1,000th post!)

Do you like to laugh? Sure, we all do. When people discuss what makes them laugh the word "subjective" tends to appear, as though comedy were the most subjective of all forms of entertainment. We don't all agree on what is sad, frightening or thrilling either, but comedy is the whipping boy. Perhaps this is because if you don't believe that, say, a ghost story is scary you might still be entertained by it in some other way; but when comedy is not funny it is considered less than worthless.

I have come to realize I am a particularly prickly person where comedy is concerned. I like what I like; I don't put much effort into discovering new comedies, whereas I do place some effort into exploring new horror stories, adventure stories, etc. I have seen maybe 1.5 episodes of Saturday Night Live; I've never gone to a live comedy show; I haven't watched sitcoms for a decade; I very seldom watch comedy films in the cinema.

Recently I was browsing Netflix to find something to watch - I wanted something light and enjoyable, so I browsed through comedy. I couldn't find anything that I thought I would enjoy except for those shows I had seen before. That got me thinking: what about all the things I do like? What do they have in common? Come with me and we'll see.

Self-Deprecation

I've mentioned before that when I first became interested in old-time radio I listened for the science fiction/horror shows and skipped over the comedies, believing they would be old-fashioned and unfunny. And yet, I soon found one program which made me laugh: The Jack Benny Program. Jack Benny was a comic who knew his limitations - he couldn't master snappy patter. Thus, Jack's character was the schmuck instead of the wit; Jack's program constantly featured his supporting characters puncturing his ego, frequently to observe he was not as handsome, smart, funny or likeable as he believed himself to be - and I laughed because it seemed as though it were true and Jack deserved to be humiliated.

The wonderful, intangible part of Jack's routine was that his audience knew he was putting on an act, that "Jack Benny" was a false persona, yet he didn't break character (even Jack's ad-libs were very much on-point). I have found few other comedians so willing to put themselves down; to some extent, this is also what I enjoy about Robert Benchley's articles and short films; he would project an image of a dignified, urbane gentleman, but really he was another schmuck.

The Non Sequitur

How best to describe it... I like the snappy, witty remark, particularly when it is in stark contrast to the other party's statement ("the stooge"), and especially when it's surprising, totally unexpected; "non sequitur" seems to be the term which best describes it. I enjoy how authors such as P. G. Wodehouse & Damon Runyon would subvert genre expectations through clever dialogue and situations. I see this humour in my love for Groucho Marx's retorts:

This kind of humour tends to be heavily sarcastic or sardonic. The first party has come to play chess, but the second party arrives to play tennis - with a pogo stick - and demands the first party explain why he isn't similarly prepared. I was late in discovering Mystery Science Theater 3000, but its format of witty remarks and put-downs mixed with affectionate chiding truly spoke to me.

I've since come to learn, however, that one should not abuse their "witty" humour in public as it quickly becomes intolerable to friends. I've also learned how my idol Alfred Hitchcock used such remarks to disguise his own shyness; these remarks are basically a form of self-defense.

Satire

Over time I've learned I have low tolerance for the all-encompassing statement. I am the one who picks holes in every broad remark, noting the exceptions to each and every rule. I am similarly quick to note the cliches which infuse popular culture and when a masterpiece of satire appears - say, Stan Freberg, Cerebus, Monty Python, the Tick, Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker, Batton Lash - I nod in approval. The object being satirized need not be obvious; some of Bob & Ray's satire is best enjoyed when you are aware of their target (listen to at least one episode of Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy before listening to one of their "Jack Headstrong, the All-American American" skits) and yet, even in this instance, a parody of a children's science show which I'm not familiar with, I recognize they were satirizing a particular format and style of programming; the satire is specific in its target but broad in its humour:

I've never read a Nancy Drew book in my life, but Kate Beaton has had great fun writing her own comics based on the covers of Nancy Drew novels:

Edgar Wright is perhaps the best currently-working film satirist, mocking the sitcom (Spaced), zombie genre (Shaun of the Dead) and crime story (Hot Fuzz).

Returning to self-deprecation, some satirists would satirize themselves; witness Edgar Allan Poe and his connected stories "How to Write a Blackwood's Article" & "A Predicament," or Michael Kupperman sending up the entire genre of comics:

Self-deprecation works well with satire - however, I'm not confident that simply doing the opposite of the source material is sufficiently funny. "Dracula, but stupid" is not a solid basis for a film. Great satire digs deeper than the surface and exposes the tired tropes and cliches behind the entire genre; it's Poe making fun of morality tales in "Never Bet the Devil Your Head"; it's Stan Freberg making fun of lawn mower commercials while selling lawn mowers; it's Bob and Ray selling you a suit that will not only save you money, but make you money!

Laugh, won't you?

Great Short Stories Part 8: #71-80

71. "Little Miss Marker" (1932) by Damon Runyon. One of Runyon's best-known stories, although the original is more bleak than its many adaptations. A bookie accepts a young girl as a marker for a bet; when the gambler doesn't pay, abandoning the child, the bookie finds himself responsible for the child. To everyone's amazement, he becomes a better man as he determines to care for her.

"Little Miss Marker" can be found in Guys and Dolls and Other Writings.

72. "Tobias the Terrible" (1932) by Damon Runyon. In my opinion, this was Runyon's funniest story. Small-towner Tobias comes to New York in the hopes of meeting underworld characters so that he can impress his girl; through circumstances, he winds up being mistaken for a gunsel ("Twelve-Gun Tobias") and decides that being mistaken for a crook is even better than meeting one!

"Tobias the Terrible" can be found in Guys and Dolls and Other Writings. You can read the text online here.

73. "Three Skeleton Key" (1937) by George Toudouze. This story is probably best known for the radio adaptation produced on Escape as Toudouze was seldom translated into English. Three men tending a lighthouse near French Guinea spot a derelict coming toward the rocky reefs; aboard the derelict is a vast army of rats! Toudouze captures the constant tension and gradually descent into madness of his characters beautifully.

"Three Skeleton Key" can be read online here.

74. "Leiningen Versus the Ants" (1938) by Carl Stephenson. This is another story I know from Escape, although some may know it for inspiring the 50s film the Naked Jungle. A plantation owner learns that a swarm of army ants is headed toward his property and is advised to pull out. Leiningen refuses and instead prepares his men to wage war with the ants!

"Leiningen Versus the Ants" can be found in Twenty-One Great Stories. You can read the text online here.

75. "Pigeons From Hell" (1938) by Robert E. Howard. You won't find any Lovecraft on my list of 100 favorite short stories, although here I've selected one of his contemporaries. As far as I'm concerned, Lovecraft was simply not a very good writer. Howard, on the other hand, although best known for Conan, turned out an incredible horror story here, one with a following of its own. Two men spend the night in an abandoned plantation manor; by morning, one is dead and the survivor must clear his name by combatting the forces of voodoo!

"Pigeons From Hell" can be found in The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard. You can read the text online here.

76. "Ah, the University!" (1939) by John Collier. A quick and delightful tale; a father brings up his son with glowing tales of life at a university, but he does not intend to send his son there; rather, he wants his son to become a cardsharp and support him by winning poker games. The son complies and after years of studying cards heads out to win a fortune. It comes down to a beautifully funny double cross.

77. "Bottle Party" (1939) by John Collier. One of Collier's best known stories, this concerns a man who picks up a bottle containing a genie. Given the power to have whatever he desires, the man begins conjuring up palaces and beautiful women, but is rather disconcerted when he learns the genie's previous master wished for the same things he did.

"Bottle Party" can be found in Fancies and Goodnights. You can read the text online here.

78. "Evening Primrose" (1940) by John Collier. And this is single best known Collier story, one which has often been imitated. A poet goes to live inside a department store to escape the world outside; within the store, he finds a much more horrible world, a community of people who live in stores and pose as mannequins!

"Evening Primrose" can be found in Fancies and Goodnights.

79. "The Crowd" (1943) by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury later became known for science fiction tales and stories of forward looking optimism, but early in his career he wrote stories such as "The Crowd" which were nearer to the pulp horror stories of the day. A journalist narrowly survives a car crash; examining other car crash photos he sees faces in the crowd who were present at his crash. Who are they and what draws them to crash sites?

"The Crowd" can be found in The Stories of Ray Bradbury.

80. "The Scythe" (1943) by Ray Bradbury. An impoverished family chance upon a deserted farm where the previous tenant willed all his property to whoever finds his remains. The property includes a scythe used to cut the wheat. But there's something strange about the wheat, the way it decays immediately after being cut; gradually, the man with the scythe realizes that for every blade he cuts down, someone dies!

"The Scythe" can be found in The Stories of Ray Bradbury.

Great Short Stories: #61-70

61. "The Open Window" (1914) by Saki. This is easily Saki's best-known work. A young woman relates the story of her aunt's open window, the belief her aunt has that one day her lost relatives will return to her. This being Saki, it's all about the cruel tricks people play on each other.

"The Open Window" can be found in Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural. You can read the text online here.

62. "The Metamorphosis" (1915) by Franz Kafka. Another novella, this is the story of poor Gregor Samska, the man who awakens one morning to find he has become an insect. For him, this is the beginning of a terrible series of challenges. To his family, this is the start of new opportunities.

"The Metamorphosis" can be found in The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. You can read the text online here.

63. "The Interlopers" (1919) by Saki. An intense story of two men quarreling over their neighboring lands who find themselves pinned by a tree in the woods; suddenly, they are acutely aware of the futility of their feud, but they also realize that neither of them are the real interlopers; it builds to a final line that changes the whole story with just one word.

"The Interlopers" can be found in The Interlopers. You can read the text online here.

64. "Confession" (1921) by Algernon Blackwood. For my money, this is Blackwood's best tale. A shellshocked veteran wanders the foggy streets of London, trying desperately to overcome his terror, uncertain of whether the people he meets and the things he sees are real. When a woman is murdered, he doesn't know whether he's been framed for a crime or imagined the entire affair!

"Confession" can be found in . You can read the text online here.

65. "The Bamboo Trap" (1923) by Robert S. Lemmon. This obscure tale tells of a hunter sent to find a sample of a rare spider for his employers. After falling into an underground pit, he finds the good news: he's discovered the spiders' home. The bad news: he can't climb out.

66. "The Most Dangerous Game" (1924) by Richard Connell. The original and often-imitated story of the hunter who has tired of all normal game and has decided he needs prey which can think; in other words, he wants to hunt humans!

"The Most Dangerous Game" can be found in The Most Dangerous Game. You can read the text online here.

67. "Action" (1928) by Charles E. Montague. A gripping tale of a man who has lost all hope in living and prepared to die. Rather than suicide, he attempts to scale a sheer ice precipice so that he can go out struggling with nature. However, he's not alone on the wall of ice...

68. "When the World Screamed" (1929) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of Doyle's shorter tales of Professor Challenger, who debuted in the Lost World. Challenger is convinced that the Earth is itself a living organism and constructs a drill to prove his point. His goal? To awaken the Earth and make it acknowledge his existence! What some men will do for validation...

"When the World Screamed" can be found in The Complete Adventures of Professor Challenger. You can read the text online here.

69. "The Lily of St. Pierre" (1930) by Damon Runyon. Like most of Runyon's works, this is both amusing and tragic. After a bootlegger murders another criminal he relates the reasons why, relating a tale of his time in Canada where he befriended a man and his daughter, came to think of them as his own family and the tragedy that took them away.

"The Lily of St. Pierre" can be found in Guys and Dolls and Other Writings. You can read the text online here.

70. "Green Thoughts" (1932) by John Collier. A just plain odd story in which a botany enthusiast finds that his new plant has the ability to digest any living being, including full-grown humans. The botanist becomes his plant's victim, but that's only the beginning of the story!

"Green Thoughts" can be found in Fancies and Goodnights.