Tag: humor

You Think This is Funny? Reflecting on Film Writing and Humor

Image: “Comedy and Tragedy Masks” by Booyabazooka; Licensed under CC 3.0

Today I’m going to talk about something specifically related to film writing, and a trend that I’ve seen in movies for a while now.

See the picture above? You’ve seen them around. The twin masks of Comedy and Tragedy. The two always go together. Where there’s laughter, there’s sorrow. Where there’s mourning, there’s merriment. They need each other. Every great work has both working hand-in-hand in the jolly spirit of cooperation.

We need to laugh. But, and this is a big but, we also need to cry. And if you have too much of one and none of the other…

What happens if a story is all jokes and funny business? Well, you might call it a comedy, sure, but do you know what a lot of really good comedies have? Moments of seriousness interspersed with the hilarity. And do you know what the best dramas have? Sprinklings of humor to lift the audience’s spirits.

But writing comedy is tricky. Heck, writing in general is tricky, but writing appealing humor is really tricky because you’re trying to appeal to a broad audience. Why do you think broad humor is synonymous with toilet humor? It’s easy to get a quick laugh out of something dirty. It’s the easy way out and requires little skill. Sorry to all of you out there who enjoy such, but it really is the junk food of comedy. And like junk food, you like it at first, but it leaves you sick in the end.

As a wise man once said: “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”

Humor is more than just jokes. Humor humanizes. People crack jokes under pressure. Their sense of humor makes the audience able to empathize with them. And yet, humor can also de-humanize, funnily enough. What do I mean by that?

Okay, let’s talk about the current state of Hollywood. Yes, I’m going there.

Blockbusters nowadays – not all of them, but a whole lot – rely on quips and wisecracks to carry their characters through the action. A dramatic scene is undercut by a sudden swerve into corny jokes. Everyone is a kidder. Too much humor spoils the plot. If nobody is taking this seriously, why should I? What are the stakes? When you joke about everything, everything becomes a joke. The characters are just walking punchlines, waltzing from gag to gag. They’re defined by how much funny they can deliver per minute. And they cease to be characters: They’re walking satires, exaggerated stereotypes of human behavior.

Well, Arnold Schwarzenegger could pull it off. True, but 1980’s action movies rarely pretended to be anything more than fluff. Watch bad guys get beat up by a hero delivering one-liners after each kill. What happens when modern blockbusters try to pose as something much more meaningful – and then undercut that meaning with a one-liner perfectly timed to be delivered at the most poignant and emotional moment?

Humor is a very powerful tool. It tells us what to take seriously and what to devalue. We laugh at things we don’t treat as important or respectable. Which can backfire if you set up a story where a situation or character is meant to be treated with dignity, respect, confidence, and even fear, and then undermine that intent with a barrage of cheap quips. Humor is like a gun: You don’t wave it around carelessly.

What’s worse, the audience very quickly becomes desensitized to it. A couple of movies with this type of writing, the audience is whooping and hollering. But by the tenth film, it becomes old-hat. Yeah, yeah, this is about the right place for – yup, he did it. He made a corny joke right when I expected him to. Hey, here’s a quiet drama scene. I bet they’re gonna – yup, another cheap joke to ruin the mood.

Predictable, formulaic, and worst of all, boring. Same old, same old.

So, what to do about it?

Well, learn from it, for one. Why doesn’t it work anymore? Analysis of others’ writing, both good and bad, can be useful for improving one’s own skills. Learning from the mistakes and missteps of others is invaluable. Comedy is a rich and complex genre in and of itself, with so many branches. It serves many purposes, and can truly bring light into hopeless situations, and alleviate tension right when the audience needs it. Just don’t overdo it. No need to beat someone over the head to make sure they “get the joke.”

And the joke itself isn’t the point. Everything, even a witty quip, should be in service of the story. The story should never serve the joke.

Enjoying my blog? Don’t want to miss a single post? Subscribe for updates on when I post and follow my writing career, musings on fiction and storytelling, and reflections about life in general!

Sometimes, You Just Have to Laugh

There’s something special about laughter. A good laugh can not only brighten your day, it gives you the strength to get through it.

Life is a jerk. If Life is a person, it would be tall and bulky, with a bad haircut, an unbearably smug grin, and an annoying laugh. That’s certainly the impression one can get when you receive unexpected bills in the mail or your brand-new car that you just brought home two hours ago and haven’t had a chance to take out for a spin won’t start. Or when you’re cleaning the dishes and your favorite plate slips out of your hands and shatters on the floor. Life sure can be petty, can’t it?

So, what’s the deal with laughing it off? You can’t laugh off everything, right? True, but sometimes a good chuckle is good medicine. It takes the edge off your tension and helps you gather yourself to persevere through a tough time. Laughter can help you overcome difficulty. It’s like a shot of coffee – it gives you the pep you need.

There’s humor in our lives if you know where to look. Often, I find you just need to let go of your ego.

Laughing at ourselves. Now THERE’S something that takes Life off-guard. If Life, with its obnoxious grin, sees you laughing at your own antics and not taking things too seriously, it really takes away Life’s thunder, doesn’t it? And there it stands, dumbfounded that you’re not squashed by the difficulties and the trials, being content and joyful for a change, and Life realizes it really is just a big buffoon with a bad haircut. It sulks away and lets you go about your business.

It’ll come back –irritating little problems always do – but you have laughter on your side. Good humor is like good armor. It helps you weather Life’s next shove.

Laughter’s contagious, too. There aren’t enough good things that are contagious. You start laughing, your friends start laughing, you break down in giggles and hysterics. And for a few moments, problems and worries are pushed aside. There’s just the bond of guffawing over what is no doubt a very silly joke.

Let’s face it: a body can only take so much moping before all that angst builds up and you want to explode. A good cry can work wonders, too. I suspect crying and laughing are secret twins separated at birth. And there is a time for crying, don’t get me wrong. There’s a time for everything. But laughter is a good friend, always there for you in a tight spot. Let’s try not to forget that.

Enjoy what you’re reading? Subscribe by email for updates on new posts and follow my writing career, musings on fiction and storytelling, and reflections about life in general.