Week #1:

Week #1: Experiment 1 – Sketch

Week #2:

The Game Sketch #2

Week #3:

Week #3 Blogpost

• This week introduces the concept of the comic frame and comedy mechanisms in plot writing, which share similar patterns with previous weeks’ concepts. At first, the comic frame is the interpretation of comedy sense in a suitable context. Simply put, each individual represents solitary symbolic visions (Attardo 2014). Therefore, we will view meanings, and experiences differently. Coincidentally, it overlaps the concept of understanding humor: Different individuals view meanings differently. This is why comic events in comedy forms might not work for all types of audiences. Expandedly, these theories also link to the concept of benign violation. Benign violation speculates that any contradiction to normal norms (violations) if not provoke an actual threat (benign), will trigger humor (Warren and McGraw 2015). By placing perspectives by incongruity, comedy tends to spark comic frames and maybe, an opportunity for a new perspective. In the studio, we watched one Spaced episode, which might be a good example of benign violation. The episode of Kevin Can F Himself was a good example. For example, there is the scene where Allison discusses with Kevin her wish to move to a better house and Kevin dismisses by saying their current house is still in good condition. The violation, both in Kevin’s obliviousness and contradictory to Allison’s mindfulness, is the comic frame.
• This week, I take the idea of a fictional workspace and elevate it to a small chat between two co-workers during a water break. I use the writing technique of creating a comic character in a story sketch: Thinking of a character with exaggerated traits and opposite desires (Toplyn 2014). Therefore, it will be a character who is bluffing about his work achievements while other seems not to care much about it. I will raise the stakes to the last end of the sketch when the uninterested man asks what the hoax one is doing for this job. The focus will be on the dialogue: it has to be consistent in the story, reflecting characters’ traits and as funny as possible
• I received feedback from last week that it would be better if I could extend certain scenes for longer. For example, I made a poker sketch and in some scenes, showcased the poker cards. Inexperienced viewers might not have enough time to deconstruct the scenes. Next time, I will be mindful and considerate of viewers’ perspectives when I do editing for the screen.

Reference:

Attardo S (2014) ‘Comic Frame’, Encyclopedia of Humor Studies, accessed 24 March 2024.

Audissino E (2023) ‘From Dionysia to Hollywood: An Introduction to Comedy’s Long (and Bumpy) Road’, Springer International Publishing AG, accessed 24 March 2024.

Toplyn J (2014) ‘Comedy writing for late-night tv : how to write monologue jokes, desk pieces, sketches, parodies, audience pieces, remotes, and other short-form comedy’, Twenty Lane Media, LLC, accessed 24 March 2024.

• Youtube link:

Reflection:

• This week, I was introduced to new comic theories that lay a foundational base for some of my favorite comedy media. Unlike the incongruity theory, the release theory explains that laughter acts as a relief agent to vent pressure out of the nervous system (Audissino 2023). However, I will concentrate on the benign violation theory, which set up most of the existing comedy forms (gags, silence/visual, slapstick, and so on). In short, benign violation concentrates on two essential factors: the violation of norms and the acceptance of that violation (Warren and McGraw 2015). Violation is not necessarily a negative threat to physical well-being though some successful comedies have used this factor. Violation can be the deviation from any kind of norm (social, cultural, linguistic) which leads to critical appraisal in daily settings (Warren and McGraw 2015). However, that violation has to adapt to the second factor – acceptance. Depending on the segregation in norms, we might feel the acceptance differently to another group of people. That’s why a pun, wordplay, or sarcasm might not be suitable for every circumstance. We can detect the theoretical application in the silent comedy The High Sign by Buster Keaton (1921). The lead character played by Buster has a sense of luck that although he was hit, stumbled, and physically contacted – he seems to go through any obstacle and nothing happens. In the scene where he plays the shooting game, it is absurd that his performance is not feasible, but its absurdity is building up the laughter. Coincidentally, it leads to a new theory which we call the logic of absurdity (Palmer 2018). Every simple comedy action will boil down to a unilateral syllogism, though comic absurdity sometimes does not follow that essence. The unexplained action will build up until it reaches the peripeteia stage – a shock/surprise that changes the narrative (Nick and Matt 2018). Now, what seems implausible will be transposed to the realm of the animate or what I might call: “It is the film anyway so it makes sense”. We independently find a way to explain the contradictory syllogism by picking the logical elements exposed across the comedy. 
• My media artifact responds to the concept of benign violation. Without using language/dialogue, I want to recreate a scene of playing poker. I want to levitate the tension of the silent atmosphere to distract the viewers from the game’s informality. Many easter eggs will stem across the sketch to illustrate the informality by how characters dress, and sign language. The peripeteia will crack up to expose the absurdity as the player thinks he deceives everyone with his cheating but it is too dumb to reveal it.
• I have incorporated peer feedback by reflecting on my artifact again and finding similar media to improve on my sketch. They have given me helpful tips on building up the plot and allocating the desirable punchline to deliver the joke more effectively.

Reference:

Audissino (2023) From Dionysia to Hollywood: An Introduction to Comedy’s Long (and Bumpy) Road, 1st edn, Springer International Publishing AG, Cham.

Nick and Matt S (2018) The Logic of Absurd, 1st edn, Austin: University of Texas Press, Texas.

Warren C and McGraw A (2015) Benign Violation Theory, Mays Business School Research, Los Angeles.

Link to video

Week #1 Reflection:

• The readings and self-research drew me into a much more anticipated comprehension of what comedy truly means. Comedy is the pursuit of lightness and the formal presentation of humor (Simons 2023). This definition is precedent to the following theories and maybe, assumptions. Should I consider comedy a genre, as serious as tragedy and drama? According to Emilio Audissino (2023), comedy is not properly appraised in high culture, especially if we revisit the critical acclaim it received from the Academy Awards. Comedy can be debatable because of its unseriousness and detachment from moral values which have long time considered to evoke the malicious nature within humans (Audissino 2023). Acclaimed theorists like Plato and Socrates discourage the use of comedy because it “translates hostility, aggressiveness, and violence into more acceptable symbolic forms” (Audissino 2023). Moreover, the attempts to understand humor are obstructed by the stereotypes rooted in racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural aspects. What we feel appropriate in one context might not be suitably ensuite in different contexts, raising questions about “how to reach an equilibrium between freedom of speech and respect for diversity” (Audissino 2023). However, theories of humor have delved into more acceptable explanations. We will focus primarily on the incongruity theory, in which the initiating cause of humor is not the debasement of someone but rather the “detection of some disruptions of expectation” (Audissino 2023). The unfamiliar setting is then subverted by the punchline. When we were asked to identify the definition of humor/comedy, “familiarity, absurdity, build up tensions” were the highlighted keywords. Those are mostly the total characteristics that sum up contemporary comedy forms. However, it raises conflict within me: if a considered drama has these characteristics, then would it be called a comedy? Hence, we should not only categorize comedy as a stand-alone genre, but we can also consider comedy as an aesthetic mode. Emilio interprets the main factors that contribute to the comic film, including oriental style (satire, parody), moments of humor (comic impetus), comedy-writing techniques (specifications of plots), and audiovisual contribution (Audissino 2023). Yet, concerning the transformation of media forms, especially when the boundaries between genres and modes fade, it is debatable how we perceive comedy later on. In conclusion, comedy is the combination of harmonious elements that differentiate yet fusion with other kinds of aesthetic modes and styles.

• My media artifact responds to the concept of deviation from normal norms – the incongruity theory. My idea was to build up the conflict through the imaginative rivalry between the two gangs and then have a turnaround at the climax. The narrative shows the violent nature, combined with the settings, and audiovisual. At the climax, it turns out they have a ridiculous dance battle, thus the film environment changes.

Experiment #1: Sketch: Gangster Battle