Comedy:Written by Nick R.

Imagine yourself, for just one moment, standing backstage of a gigantic theater,

preparing for the show of the century. As you walk up onto the stage, the immense mass of

people crowding the seats cheer and holler wildly, and the sun-like spotlights nearly blind you as

they shroud your body. After long enough, the crowd settles down in silence and waits eagerly in

anticipation to see what you have to offer. That is the kind of empowering feeling many great

comedians such as writer and filmmaker Jerry Seinfeld, actor and producer Kevin Hart, and the

late legend George Carlin himself, among many other great ones, feel whenever they arrive upon

their stages. They are all different in their own respects, but they all have one thing in common;

the need and ability to make people laugh and be happy. Each and every comedian uses many

different jokes and skits, such as this one, “One can conclude with reasonable certainty that

while hard work and knowledge will get you close, and attitude will get you there, it’s the

bullshit and ass kissing that will put you over the top.” This is one of very many jokes a

comedian can use, and surprisingly enough, jokes are the groundwork for comedy. That one in

particular is a satire joke based on how to achieve success, and usually these make fun of society

and life with frighteningly accurate remarks. This is a key concept in jokes as it allows people to

relate to society and come together as a unified people. Comedy as a whole is one of the most

important parts of society and comes in many different varieties, ranging from stand-up comedy

performed by professional stand-up comedians, to basic and simple humour in the form of

dad-jokes. Comedy is important in society because it gives people an escape and lets them just

be happy by laughing. What I mean by that is it allows people to be themselves regardless of

more comfortable as it gives them some connections and shared ideals with others that are

usually tucked away in their minds. I have a particular fondness for stand-up comedy, because it

is such a huge part of my life making people laugh and smile. To me, there is no greater feeling

than lifting the spirits of those around you, and comedy does just that. It also seems to grant me

the ability to be more relaxed and sociable around other people. Ever since I’ve been introduced

to certain comedians informally through watching acts online, I’ve been truly inspired to try my

own hand at the comedic arts. I try to crack any and all types of jokes I can think of when they

pop in my head, either based on the situation or just general jokes. I like to think of myself in

my friend group the “aspiring comedian” although we all are funny in our own respects.

Although, unfortunately for me, it seems the most effective way I get laughs is when I make a

fool of myself on accident, but as long as people laugh, it’s good enough for me. At some point

in the future, I would hope to conquer my minor stage fright through the method of doing

stand-up and be as socially functional as other popular comedians. Being funny and entertaining

can be so uplifting to yourself, can bolster confidence in many social conventions such as simple

small talk, and can also make other people like and respect you as a person. This can be a

powerful tool in transforming yourself from the unpopular person to the person everyone talks

about in a positive way. Another thing is that it allows the person performing to express

themselves and share information about themselves in a way that makes them feel a lot more

comfortable than other means, such as one on one conversation that you’re pressured to take part

in. Even more, there are many ways a person can demonstrate this freedom in the different forms

of comedy.
 There are many different varieties of comedy, and the one that seems to be the most

effective at conveying humour is stand up comedy, according to the mass amounts of people that

go to watch these shows.. This is likely for many reasons. One major reason is that stand up

comedy is very popular among all varieties of audiences. Anyone from across the globe can

enjoy comedy, because humour is not associated or restricted to any specific stereotype, although

different cultures do have different perceptions of certain jokes. The only social structure humour

can relate to at all is the natural human characteristic to enjoy yourself and laugh without much

penalty. This comes from the production of dopamine in the brain, which makes people happy

upon production, as explained at ​Yale scientific​ on how laughter can have may positive effects on

the body.. The article describes how “​The results of many scientific studies on the effects of

laughter have led most experts to agree that laughter can be remarkably therapeutic.​” Anyone

can be a comedian if they are willing to spend the time and effort to try to develop certain skills.

Traditionally, extroverted people are much more likely to be comedians than more introverted

people, and this is likely because extroverts are more comfortable and creative when it comes to

social interactions. Although, there are plenty of cases where introverts can grow to be more

comfortable when they share jokes or funny stories in front of people, as it allows them to relax

better than just talking using other not-so comforting means. This can also just transfer the

introvert into a more extroverted role entirely. Being able to get up in front of a crowd of people

and act as you would in regular conversation is a skill that is necessary in order to become a

successful comedian. Alongside that is the ability to appeal to certain groups of people’s

interests, because they vary from group to group. Doing this is also bit tricky, especially in more

diverse crowds, and to make the best show for everyone, the comic needs to make several
different types of jokes, but not so different that they leap out of their comfort zone or natural

shtick. A comic needs to be able to maintain the diversity and uniqueness of their bits to stay

popular and universal throughout their audiences and fanbases. Comics that use the exact same

type of joke multiple times throughout their careers often grow stale and are labeled as boring by

those who go to see them, and comics that never maintain a theme for their humour are seen as

sporadic, inconsistent, and random. However, very few comedians can actually make a living off

their randomness, such as comedian and current filmmaker Bo Burnham, whose acts consisted of

making strange poems, deep songs, funny songs, satirical jokes, sudden acrobatics to a point, just

to name a few. His acts are enjoyable to the point of choking from laughing to hard, although

some people are just stricken with confusion after witnessing them. He posts most of his skits

and songs on his youtube account ​boburnham​, which he created July 6, 2006. He glues most of

his acts together and keeps it flowing well by his use of one liners, which is one of the most

common types of humour.

Almost every comedian ever has started their careers with simple little jokes such as

these. Anyone with any hope of becoming funny must master or at least utilise this kind of

laughing-promoter in their lives. They are so popular because they take little to no time at all to

come up with, and even less time to actually release the joke from your vocal cords, as should be

expected. They can be used as a buffer for conversation, and in that respect eases up peoples

nerves. It takes no effort at all to crack the joke and is a quick solution to many types of social

tension such as awkward silence. There are infinite possibilities for the formation and structuring

of one liners, and the topic of the jokes can vary very much. They can be about essentially

anything, from politics to pets, and anyone, literally anyone can find them funny. One liners can
be about sensitive subjects if you’re fearless enough, and if people do laugh they tend to have a

full outburst of laughter or get some priceless looks on their faces. Or, they can be about more

family friendly topics if all you want is to be a simpleton and get a few smiles at most. Even with

the name,and it may be strange, but many one liners aren’t actually just one line, but usually just

a short statement or series of sentences ranging from one to five of them. To put it simply, a one

liner is just a short joke or witty remark on some sort of event. One negative about one liners is

that they aren’t that creative most of the time and don't get as much laughs as a planned skit

would, but that is a trade off for how quick on the draw you can be with them. Another drawback

is that they grow stale swiftly. A person can get away with only one or maybe two jokes of this

variety without seeming tacky, as if you have no other sources of humour. Even with those

negatives, they can still be humorous. Here is but a few of some examples from a book that I

bought at a bookstore titled simply as “Hilarious one liners” edited by Marcia Kamien: “I am a

nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore, I am perfect.”, “Condoms don’t guarantee safe sex

anymore. A friend of mine was wearing one when he was shot by the woman’s husband.”,

“Sometimes in the morning while drinking coffee, I think about all the people I’m going to piss

off today and I smile.” This book can be ordered off of the internet if you are so inclined.These

jokes are just some of a whole archive’s worth of them, and even though they’re not the best,

they can still be used in a setting that matches their punchline. I’m absolutely sure there are much

more out there that do just as well at getting laughs or better. Sometimes, however, the ability to

get more laughs may come with a risk of crossing certain lines in society.

Comedic venues like comedy clubs or theaters with famous comics going on tour are

great places to get a good laugh and have an enjoyable time. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean
that the comedic environment is entirely safe from criticisms. Stand up comedy is great to listen

to or watch as an audience member, and can be a fun thing to do as a comedian, but it has the

possibility to incite stress in the comedian’s mindset for several reasons. One such reason is that

many comedians out there rely on jokes or acts that may be considered blue humour. These types

of jokes usually involve touchy subjects such as dark humour, sexual themes, or just making fun

of certain things, among other controversial topics. One of the best examples of these comedians

and one who I personally find to be a great source of laughter is Josh Wolf, a southerner who

drinks alcohol and does drugs, yet he is a great father and husband in his family. He is very

popular and very welcomed among bars and the comedy clubs in them, because he knows how to

do a show and handle the alcoholic audience at the venues. He jokes about his several

experiences, most often weird, because according to him, weird makes good jokes. These include

stories such as eating a whole blueberry cupcake edible, explaining to his daughter about why his

then-girlfriend was sleeping in the closet, and teaching explicit details to his son about the birds

and the bees. One of my favorite skits of his is called “They Lie!”, which is a short bit from one

of his many shows that he put on his youtube channel. His jokes are often as dark and blue as

they are out of the ordinary; let’s not forget we’re talking about a southern drugee, but they are

still funny. Although generally not good subjects to joke about, I believe there is a line that

exists for viewing those jokes, and that line is different for each and every person. Jerry Seinfeld,

who I mentioned earlier, did an interview explaining about he didn't use blue humour in his skits

not because they were to controversial, but because they were too easy to get laughs, that they

offered no challenge to him. He shared on ​The Guardian ​his secrets on how to be funny without

the use of blue jokes.

types of jokes the most, and then there are also the type that are super sensitive and get very

offended easily. As surprising as it seems, the type of people that laugh at those kinds of jokes

are often more chill and, in general, just much more friendly than those of the super sensitive

side. There are even the kinds of people that dislike certain comedians acts so intensely that they

may interrupt or sabotage the show. Although everyone has a right to their opinions, it is just

downright rude and not appreciated by anyone to ruin a show that people go to see on their own

prerogative. If a certain person doesn’t want to be exposed to that kind of humour, they are fully

capable of not going to that show or leaving during it. It’s not the comedians fault if an audience

member doesn't take kindly to the joke, it’s the person who went to the event fully expecting and

aware of that kind of comedy. People usually go to these events to relax after a long day or to

just spend a period of time laughing and just overall have a good time either on their own or with

friends and family, and these hecklers can make an event that is supposed to be enjoyable into a

place where everyone feels uncomfortable. On the plus side, a good comedian can endure the

hail of negative impacts towards them by turning the heckler into a role as a part of their joke

and make fun of them, which is great at recovering the funny environment while also deterring

them from ruining the show anymore.

Another strife of comedians is the resourcefulness and creativity of their jokes, and this is

what cripples many comedians. One such comedian who struggled immensely from this is

comedian Dane Cook, who was a Hollywood actor, and quite a famous one at that. He was

accused of stealing jokes from several other comedians, and as such received a lot of negativity

from others, so much so that he quit his career as an actor. An interview was recorded between
himself and Louis CK, the victim of his stealing about the circumstance on the website ​The

Comic’s Comic.​ Many times, one comedian’s jokes will infringe on another’s, and most people

don't appreciate when something of theirs gets stolen to be used for another person’s gain.

Sometimes, this is just plain stealing, and mostly occurs when the one comic is unable to come

up with their own jokes. Other times, the matter of using someone else’s material is pure

coincidence. This occurs likely because there are only so many jokes in the world, and

sometimes things that are funny are viewed as such by many different people. One helpful way

to combat this is to focus more on events that the comedian can actually relate to, such as past

situations they experience on their own. First of all, this allows the comic to be more creative and

unique, while also acting as a relatable figure in many people’s eyes. These are also recognized

as big positives from a comedic standpoint and can make the comic much more respected among

several other comedians. However, sometimes it may not be possible to do that as there may not

be enough material to work with in a person’s life. This is one of the reasons that being a more

active and extroverted person makes it easier to get material, because those kinds of people

usually do a lot of things in their life that can be used in their acts as past experiences to joke

about. They are also used to build the respected character of a famous comedian.

There are many attributes of jokes that make them funny, but the majority of those

attributes are qualities found in the person telling the joke. A few attributes of jokes within the

actual joke include but are not limited to the creativity and resourcefulness of the joke, the

targeted audience, and the joke’s topic. A creative joke is one where the comic comes up with it

on their own and not directly from someone else. While it sometimes works well to take

someone's joke and modify or enhance it to fit the scenario, under most circumstances it is the
absolute best to create a new joke that has never been used before, because it gives a sense of

unpredictability and uniqueness. The comedian’s target audience is the group of people to whom

the joke was directed towards. Although many jokes are universal and can be laughed at by

anyone, those types of jokes typically aren't as funny as jokes that are more focused down and

aimed towards certain people. These jokes usually appeal to those group’s interests and their

level of humour. Whenever a joke is meant for one type of person or group of people, it feels

relatable for them and allows them to understand the punchline of the joke. On the contrary,

many people who cannot relate to the joke kind of get the short end of the stick in multiple ways.

Typically, those who hear a joke that was not meant for them either don't understand the joke, or

just plain are offended by it. As was discussed earlier, only skilled comedians can deal with

hecklers like those without much of a problem, but more novice comics are not as

knowledgeable in the art of comedic deflection and irony. Nevertheless, there are plenty of ways

to recover from these interactions and make sure to have funny, creative, and universal jokes.

Sometimes, however, universal jokes just aren’t funny enough. Sometimes there needs to

be a more creative, unique, and personal joke in order to achieve some laughs. These types of

jokes are called inside jokes. Inside jokes can be really funny when pulled off correctly, but they

come to some clause that only a few people can understand the actual meaning of the joke. First

of all, the origins of the jokes are from a previous point in time. The experience can only be

shared between a smaller group of people, as they were the only ones present at the time of the

joke. Usually the joke gets funnier over the course of time, and each and every time they get

repeated. Many times, the joke can live on until the later part of the person's life. However, there

are quite a few disadvantages, most of which are concerning the people who are not related to the
joke or weren’t present during the origin of the joke. Almost everyone who wasn’t present

during the joke don't understand the joke, and usually try to have the joke explained to them by

one of the people who were present. This doesn't end well most of the time, as having to explain

a story of the joke can be convoluted and a complicated process, and loses most or all of the

comedic value. Most of the time, the only way to fully understand an inside joke is to be one of

the people who were around when it was created. Another way an inside joke is used is by

referencing it with a short statement, usually in a way that others still don't understand the

meaning of it. This, however, can be a benefit to those who reference the joke, as it adds more

comedic value to the joke. This does so by making the person or people confused about the joke

and having a sense of persisting anonymity to the joke can make them even more frustrated,

which can enhance the humour between the original joke tellers, although it may incite a bad

reputation with them. An example of an inside joke is if someone says to another person that

they “Pulled a John”, which isn’t very descriptive, yet if they know what “pulling a John” means,

it can recall back to the event clearly to those who know. As far as everyone else who doesn’t

know, they haven’t a clue what it means, for all they know it is making a strange face or failing

at something, but likely they won’t understand the joke.

Even with all these jokes that comedians can use, jokes are only one small part of the

entire idea of comedy. Jokes can only get you so far when it comes to being funny. Comedy is

primarily based on character, which can develop quite quickly relating to comedy. Some people

can go from being distant and antisocial to popular and a great person to be around due to the

vector that is comedy. That is one major reason comedy is so popular in the world and so capable

of solving many problems throughout society. It allows many people to come out of their shell
and expand their comfort zones around other people, and can develop the kinds of charismatic

leaders our world will grow to need. Comedy is also just great in general because it makes the air

in a room less tense and have a more positive outlook, and the ability to make others laugh and

be happy is something you can’t buy, and also a characteristic many people envy and look

forward to when socialising with others. It would be wise to mold and form your character based

on what you enjoy and how you convey it, and that is not strictly advice for comedians. It is

advice that can be use for nearly every person and type of person to create an enjoyable life for

everyone. All in all, comedy is one of the few things holding our society together, and we all

need to learn to appreciate the positive things it does for us. Now, take the time once again to

imagine yourself in that same scenario onstage; have your perceptions of it changed at all?

Maybe after all that, you understand a little more about comedy and why it is so revered among

many. A man and his buddy walk into a bar...

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Guardian,​ Guardian News and Media, 5 Jan. 2014,

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burnham, Bo. “Boburnham.” ​YouTube​, YouTube, 11 July 2016,

www.youtube.com/user/boburnham/featured.

Cook, Dane. “Dane Cook Confronts Louis CK in an Honest Way about Joke Theft. Read the

Transcript, Watch the Video!” ​The Comic's Comic​, 5 Aug. 2011,

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