https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q_pwxZccMtnw5kHn-iyPRScIO0O9fSt6/view?usp=sharing

Reflection:

Genre Hybridisation

• Genre hybridization involves the blending of elements from different genres to create a unique and engaging experience. This approach allows creators to subvert audience expectations, mix different styles, and explore new comedic possibilities. Looking at incongruity theory, it sheds light on how genre hybridization can enhance comedic impact by creating unexpected juxtapositions and contrasts such as ‘Abrupt cuts’. In particular, they have emphasised the importance of timing, pacing, and tone in genre hybridization. By combining elements from multiple genres, creators can create rich, multi-layered comedic experiences that resonate with diverse audiences.
• The sketch about a student news piece on a dangerous brain-eating amoeba in Australian waters demonstrates the power of genre hybridization in comedy. By blending serious elements of news reporting with comedic timing and irony, the sketch creates a humorous commentary on sensationalist media coverage and public hysteria.
• The sketch responds to the constraints and concepts of genre hybridization by seamlessly blending serious news reporting peppered with comedic elements. The use of abrupt cuts after certain words, such as “quite frankly can kill any one of us in seconds,” creates comedic tension by exaggerating the severity of the situation before deflating it with humour. This technique plays on the incongruity between the serious subject matter and the exaggerated presentation, highlighting the absurdity of media sensationalism.
• Furthermore, the buildup of tension throughout the sketch, as the journalist and expert discuss the dangers of the brain-eating amoeba, serves to heighten the comedic payoff at the end when it is revealed that only three people have died from the organism since 1980. This sudden reversal subverts audience expectations and creates a humorous contrast between the exaggerated threat and the actual level of danger.
• Overall, the sketch effectively utilises genre hybridization as a comedic form to critique media sensationalism and public hysteria, employing irony, exaggeration, and abrupt cuts to create a humorous and thought-provoking narrative. By blending elements from different genres, the sketch offers a fresh and innovative take on comedic storytelling, demonstrating the creative possibilities of genre hybridization in comedy.

Reflection:

Satire

• Understanding satire as a comedic form involves recognizing its power to critique societal norms, behaviours, and institutions through humour and irony. Satire often employs exaggeration, parody, and ridicule to expose hypocrisy, illogicality, or injustices, aiming to provoke thought and incite change. This provides insight into how satire functions to challenge and subvert established conventions.
• In particular, our discussions have highlighted the role of satire in offering commentary on contemporary issues, from politics and culture to interpersonal relationships. Satirical comedy serves as a mirror to society, reflecting its flaws and contradictions in a humorous and often exaggerated manner. By skewering societal norms and behaviours, satire encourages audiences to question the status quo and consider alternative perspectives.
• The sketch about online dating, specifically focusing on the Hinge app and its many issues, embodies the essence of satire by humorously critiquing the modern dating landscape. Through the character of Nia and her therapy session, the sketch explores the frustrations of online dating, from corny pickup lines to deceptive catfishing tactics.
• The sketch responds to the constraints and concepts of satire by employing irony, exaggeration, and parody to highlight the irrationality of online dating culture. The montage of guys using terrible pickup lines serves as a humorous commentary on the superficiality and insincerity often found in online interactions. Similarly, the depiction of a romantic date with a man leading Nia on, only to reveal his disinterest in anything serious, satirises the disconnect between online personas and real-life intentions. Additionally the sketch employs irony in its resolution, as Nia refuses to delete the Hinge app despite her therapist’s advice, indicating a perpetuation of the cycle of online dating disillusionment and the difficulty of breaking free from their grip as well. Once Nia then leaves the therapy session, she discovers the therapist’s dating profile on hinge. This ironic twist serves as a commentary on the addictive nature of online dating platforms, indicating the inter-relational connection between the real world and the digital.
• In conclusion, the sketch effectively utilises satire as a comedic form to critique the pitfalls of online dating culture, employing irony, exaggeration, and parody to provoke laughter and reflection. By highlighting the contradictions inherent in modern dating practices, the sketch offers a humorous yet thought-provoking commentary on the challenges of finding love in the digital age.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NkD9FDMVxMzy7uMj4fr4iYLjv4tS5jlU/view?usp=sharing

Reflection:

Parody

• In exploring parody as a comedic form, one dives into the art of imitation and exaggeration to highlight absurdities or contrast within a subject matter. Parody often relies on subverting expectations, twisting tropes, and exploiting language or conceptual vagueness to evoke laughter. This week’s readings and discussions have emphasised the importance of context, timing, and cultural references in creating effective parodies.
• In particular, our exploration of theories of humour, such as incongruity theory and superiority theory, sheds light on how parody functions to disrupt expectations and highlight the absurdities present in everyday life. Parody can also allow creators to satirise serious topics or societal norms, providing a lens in which audiences can reflect on and critique the world around them.
• The sketch of ‘The Group Presentation’ on a Zoom call embodies the core of parody by taking a serious topic, euthanasia, and twisting it into a misunderstanding about “Youth In Asia.” This play on words sets the stage for comedic confusion as one member of the group mistakenly presents information about euthanasia instead of the intended topic. The incongruity between the intended subject matter and the actual presentation creates a comedic tension that is further heightened by the virtual setting of the Zoom call. Moreover, the sketch responds to the constraints and concepts of parody by exaggerating the misunderstanding to ridiculous proportions. As the individual presents their segment on euthanasia, regardless of the error, the audience witnesses the escalation of comedic misunderstandings and awkwardness. This exaggeration serves to highlight the miscommunication and the pitfalls of group collaboration, tapping into the superiority theory of humour as the audience laughs at the characters’ misfortune.
• The use of the Zoom call as the setting adds an additional layer of parody by satirising the challenges of remote communication and virtual teamwork that everyone experienced during covid lockdown. The awkward pauses and miscommunications inherent in online meetings are exaggerated for comedic effect, resonating with audiences familiar with the frustrations of virtual collaboration.
• In conclusion, the sketch effectively employs parody as a comedic form to highlight the absurdities of miscommunication, linguistic ambiguity, and virtual teamwork. By subverting expectations and exaggerating the misunderstandings inherent in group presentations, the sketch provides a humorous commentary on the pitfalls of human interaction in the digital age.