![\"Making](\"https:\/\/cdn.evbuc.com\/eventlogos\/1513551\/makinglightposteronesheet-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nComedy seems to me to be an amazing cultural phenomena.\u00a0\u00a0 In what other segment of the natural world do we see “comedy” other then in human beings?\u00a0 Not just that, how far along in cultural development does a culture have to be so that it can support a whole class of specialists whose job it is is to be “funny”?\u00a0 And what is that, exactly — “funny”?<\/p>\n
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So I think the closest endeavour to “comedian” is probably “shaman.”\u00a0 Any culture advanced enough to support shamans can probably support comedians.<\/p>\n
But what about being “funny” — what is that?\u00a0 What was it about the comedians who performed at the “Making Light Comedy Fest”<\/a> that made them funny? I think it’s perspective.<\/p>\n Now my perspective was that I was in the second row and the stage was right in front of me so what I saw when I kept my head neutral was Alicia Dattner’s knees.\u00a0 So that’s my view of Alicia Dattner, she has great knees.\u00a0 Some of the the other performers were taller, so I got familiar with their shins.\u00a0 Of course when I tilted my head a bit I could see a more complete person.\u00a0 That’s kind of funny, isn’t it?<\/p>\n Anyway, perspective: when Swami Beyondananda says that “In the future time will be a thing of the past” the juxtaposition of the rational words and the irrational context is funny.\u00a0 When DJ Blissballs strings together every possible new age clich\u00e9 ever known into one long Wagnerian prayer cycle — it’s funny.\u00a0 Kate Willet’s discussion of the cultural and biological issues of sex at Burning Man — a microcosm of gender relations without the inertia and confines of day-to-day life — is funny.\u00a0 Ann Randolph’s allusions to the business cycle of fellatio as seen by a crack addict, as well as personal hygiene issues that go along with addiction, is funny. \u00a0 When Scott Grace invokes Dr. Suess’s whimsical style as a wisdom-rap-anthology of our angst ridden culture, it’s funny.\u00a0 Just to name a few.<\/p>\n The juxtaposition of the familiar rational with the unexpected irrational — the mixing and juggling of contexts — is funny.\u00a0 Along with the insights, the metaphors and innuendos.\u00a0 We recognize the connections of things that are not usually connected.\u00a0 And it’s funny.<\/p>\n Every one of these people were funny. But not just “funny”, but so out of the ordinary that we need a word that describes a larger magnitude of “funny” — let’s say hilarious.<\/p>\n And when something is “funny,” we laugh.\u00a0 We are lost in the moment, tensions are released, and we feel better.\u00a0 And even after the laughter is over, we can enjoy a sense that we know something more about who we are. We change our perspective, just a little, here and there, and we can see the world differently.<\/p>\n Thanks to all the comedians who performed. It was a great evening.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Comedy seems to me to be an amazing cultural phenomena.\u00a0\u00a0 In what other segment of the natural world do we see “comedy” other then in human beings?\u00a0 Not just that, how far along in cultural development does a culture have … Continue reading