Ketch Thunder

Ketch Thunder!

I wanted to continue my blog on Charlie Chaplin from last week. His character was too intriguing to fit into one blog. Last week I touched on the usage of notecards and music; most importantly, his mannerisms are what had me laughing. At the beginning of the movie he was on an assembly line and the line was moving at an easy pace, but upon increased speed, he would adjust his work speed. At first, he was calm and collected, but towards the end of the skit his feet were flying in all directions and he was making funny mistakes. It got to the point where he was getting in the way of his co-workers and eventually into the machine. The laughter ensued when he got eaten by that machine. He also took a break in the middle of shift to go to the bathroom and he was skipping on the way. His character was very childish, and in a grown up atmosphere, that was funny. It reminds me of the opening scene in Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd peeked out the limo’s window and had a strange conversation with the Australian women. After he got what he was there for he started mocking her even though he was oblivious. Charlie Chaplin has that oblivious attitude to him. He is in a world that he doesn’t belong in. This sort of behavior as a whole is funny to me.

In class we dissected the numerous slapstick humor readings and videos we had for homework. Although we spent majority of our time on the “Silence Dogood Letters,” I did not find them the least bit slapstick. The ideas of the papers were funny in themselves, but Franklin’s writings were more satirical than anything. Especially in the day in which he wrote those, I could not imagine the common man could read that and laugh. I consider myself fairly educated but those did not ring my bell for slapstick humor. Nonetheless, “John Parson’s Lizards” was the most appealing piece of writing to me. Initially, it was difficult to read, which created a major roadblock in my understanding of the material. But after I stepped back and began to read slower, I started to pick up on the simple aneurisms the author was using. Two things were very funny to me. On the surface, the retelling of a story to a friend is an age-old tradition. From the beginning of time, friends have been reminiscing about their previous night’s drinking endeavors or tall tales that accredit some sort of humor. This story is no different. Second, the imagery the author uses is astounding. The paragraph that describes the pastor handling the lizard in his clothes is beyond me. I had to stop and pause more often than not just to catch my breath. This story is simple dumb humor that I know as slapstick. Even though there was the minor obstacle of comprehension, I was able to break through it and laugh to a piece of writing for the first time. Another funny passage is when George asks him if he got caught and Parson’s responds, “Ketch Thunder! No Sir!” And that is how I well end today’s blog.