Umaia Sheikh Essays - Humour, Entertainment, Film Genres, Humanities

Umaia Sheikh The United States since 1877 HIST 1302-88801 May 5, 2016 The Laugh that Counts America is a great nation, and it is kept as so through the actions of the American people. Being aware, having knowledge about the issues this country has, and welcoming change is the key to keeping this nation at its very top. In America comedy is a very important aspect in our today culture. It creates the laughter that is very much needed. There is a lot to be said for making people laugh, and many people take that for granted. The importance of it is not really noticed and is normally shrugged off as something as a mean of entertainment. But through the times, since the 1950s till now, comedy has been used right, and progressed from just a mean of entertainment. Comedy and the different forms of it assist with the growth of social consciousness and helps to ease into the transitioning of social change. Comedy itself started around the 1950s. It was the new thing that was slowly growing popularity. A muffled explosion happened one late night in December of 1953. A young man by the name of Mort Sahl stood in a small downstairs room in San Francisco and held the daily newspaper and dared to say what was on his mind, in a very humorous manner. This one act started something new, somewhere where people can come have a good time and talk about things on their mind. Great times were spent in that small downstairs room. Countless jokes were made and laughter was brought upon the people faces. But these jokes had eventual lost its magic touch of humor from being said over and over again. Jokes about your wife's lousy cooking, or the mean monster mother in law, or simply insulting the bald guy at the front of the audience had lost its ability to make the small audience grow a wide smile and laugh with delight. Soon the audience wanted something more, something that was a regular concern to people at that time, something more than moldy made-up in law stories. The audience wondered what was on these comedian's minds on political matters, and suggested civil rights etc. Sahl was acknowledged as the rebel leader of the comedians. He was the man who had no fear when it came to these political matters, and stated whatever was on his mind. He roared and blurted what he thought about what was happening in America using extreme satire to do so. The crowd would always approve and roar back with laughter. As comedy was slowly growing popularity it still had a long way to go and nearly every comedian who made it to popularity had something to talk about from the emerging world. From racial harmony to health and sex, or pharmaceutical, and medicine related jokes, to linguistic revolution. These clubs where comedians performed became more than a fun night out with friends drinking, but a social awareness builder of what was happening in the world we live in today. In an odd way this helped build new connections, and helped make the night feel more real and alive. Just as those entertaining nights during the 1950s, comedy is still used as a mean to bring social conscious. Talking about the issues of America was not done in a boring manner or in fear of what authority might think. According to Nachman's book, Seriously Funny, it was done with "political satire, rabid social commentary, and bleak black humor." It brought safety and comfort to people knowing they were allowed to say as they please and laugh about it. It created this awareness and feed the audience new things to think about at home, and easing up to the world changing for the betterment of it. Nowadays most performances have some form of salient political, social, or economic events played within them. Satire is normally used when performing a comedy, and is a sly way to criticize. As quoted in the article, Does Political Humor Matter? by Margaret Duffy, and Janis Terruggi, "Satire is sly criticism, a way to find fault, pass judgment, and ridicule individuals or social practices. It