As any newly (post(yes,showing off))graduated bachelor will tell you, dinner time conversation with friends/(batch-mates) is in part a crib session about their respective jobs. This time, my flat mate was talking about how his company was cost cutting at their annual party by
1. not having booze (99% crib), and
2. (1%) downgrading the entertainment from Parikrama (previous year) to some random standup comedian.
(The cribbing weightage does make sense given that an intoxicated brain happens to be a lot more appreciative, irrespective of the performer.)
Anyways, turns out the audience had a far more entertaining evening thanks to the new option. What, however, was interesting, is the fact that, universally, the audience had expected it to be not-so-good. (Even compared to a rock band which will mostly play covers of songs which most of you have never heard or figured out beyond one line. ("ohhh o o.. sweet child o mine")).
Have attended 3-4 local standup comedy acts, I have a strong admiration for that community. Mostly for the way they manage to delve into details and point out those little funny things, which are a part of our routine, yet which most of us fail to observe. Hence the way the audience tended to initially dismiss off of this mode of entertainment was really surprising to me.
Which brings me to this post. (So much for brevity being the soul of wit and all that shit.. :-s)
Being low budget and all, Funny often seems to be fall-back option.
"Ok, I don't want to win the National Award. So let me make a funny movie (cheap - literally and often figuratively) and rake in the money". (Sajid Khan)
"Ok, I don't want to win the Nobel prize for Literature. I will just write some random book with cheap humor and sell a million copies." (Chetan Bhagat)
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| 'Yup. I type LOL with an unchanged expression.' |
"Ok, I don't want to have any accreditation. I will tie up with foreign universities." (name undisclosed since I don't have the resources to pursue a court case in Gwalior or Guwahati).
Hell, even chicks mostly tend to dig the dark, brooding guy. With the funny one just being pampered to provide some dose of fun.
Of course, all is not lost. There are two places where humor is stronger than ever before. More and more awesomer and awesomer sitcoms are being made. (TBBT, Modern Family are my current favs). And of course, the internet seems to popping with all kinds of humor - right from the geeky xkcd to the sarcastic faking news sites to some really witty blogs to nice plain memes. For now, that should do.
Anyways, here's hoping for a time when Funny gets some serious respect. Till then, I'll think whether to take life with a pinch of salt, or with a dash of humor.
