Week One Submission - From Aristotle to Chaplin to Carlin

Today I capped off the finale for my class openers. The line-up
includes stats, a history course, and English 260. It was no surprise
that my English 404 class had the most fun on opening day. Then again,
I would expect nothing less from a class labeled "Rhetoric and Humor."
I signed up for this class merely based on the course title. They say
to not judge a book by its cover, but in this case, it was a slam
dunk. This class looks like everything I wanted it to be. It looks:
fun, lively, and most of all, entertaining. Those usually aren't
adjectives we use to describe classes in college, but I could tell
this one was different. I hope my decision to stick with this class
pays off. Each assignment looks more fun and wittier than the next.
The culmination of the class is based on a stand-up comedy script for
god sakes. How could this not be fun?
Our second day of class had some excitement in it. I thought we would do a background check on the basics of humor, as any English class might use literary analysis as a foundation. Instead, our class touched on some interesting Aristotle techniques of ancient humor. Then, we got started on the serious business, George Carlin. I have always remembered my parents being big Carlin fans, thus I thought the humor might be a dryer or political. I could have never been more wrong. Jan took full advantage of this fine Jesuit University and approached the seven dirty words. I did some research on the seven dirty words and found out its origin. I was surprised to find out that it did have some political origin. The skit was in response to the 1978 Supreme Court case in which the justices affirmed the government’s power to regulate material on public airwaves. That reminded me of Howard Stern’s removal from the radio into the world of satellite radio.
Carlin’s skit taught me the extent to which comedians will go for a laugh. Although that skit is nationally famous, it went through plenty of turmoil before it got there. He was arrested in 1972 at Summerfest and charged with violating obscenity laws after performing this routine for the first time. Another thing about comedians is that they are persistent. He made this skit a hit after a few years of performing. He’s even being studied in college classrooms. I can now proudly tell my parents that I studied Aristotle and George Carlin in the same lecture.
The homework load for that day was fairly unclear. The one thing I was excited about was watching Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. I was quick to pull it up on Google Video and the movie was just as I expected. The Three Stooges type comedy without words. The comedy was a generic approach to slapstick humor but I found the communication methods interesting. The lack of words and concentration on music caught my attention. The music set the mood for every scene and that was very ‘Fantasia’ like. Whenever Chaplin was in trouble or getting chased the music got a little darker, focusing on brass instruments. On the contrary, when slapstick humor was being committed, the music turned to the flute and clarinet type tones. I was keeping a keen ear for that change of tone. Another thing that caught my attention was the use of note cards. I remember one specific instance where the print came up maybe three times 30 seconds. The substitution of note cards instead of words baffled me. They also enjoyed mouthing words to give the audience some aspect of plot. I hope to touch on Chaplin in my next entry because as far as I can remember he is the first humor I have had been exposed to. He is the foundation for laughter in America and he deserves more attention.