Asian Jim Response

This scene is one of my favorite scenes from The Office.  I agree that The Office’s setting is what makes the show truly special. As millions of Americans push through their dull, dreary corporate jobs, they are able to go home and watch their all too familiar workplace be completely flipped upside down.

Working as a paper salesman in a small branch of a large paper company in small city, sounds like it could be so many average Americans. No one in The Office is overly attractive, well dressed, intelligent, or wealthy. None of the characters placed in shocking circumstances or have impressive responsibilities. They are portrayed to represent the average American which American viewers like me can relate to and appreciate.  The mockumentary style of the show allows us to believe that the people have been randomly chosen to be documented and observed. It could be any of us!

Incongruity begins to play a part in humor of The Office and why millions of people find it so funny. The setting of everyday America transforms into a center of hilarity and chaos with every new episode. A regular place filled with regular people is put in fairly regular situations like CPR training and 5K run fundraisers, but these characters take things to the extremes and and can be so serious that we find it so funny. Jim often works as the straight man of the group as he points out the strange reactions of many characters and often eggs on characters like Dwight.

Sharkeisha No!

After hearing the hilarious descriptions of the Sharkeisha battle in class, I was looking forward to watching this video, and I unfortunately am disappointed. Not only is this video not funny, but it also raises questions as to what our society finds funny within the boundaries of certain genders and racial groups.

This video enforces racist African American and female stereotypes and allows for the viewers to laugh at the struggles and pain of others. Would this video be as funny if it were white men or women fighting? More than likely not. We would probably find the violence more horrifying. As a white viewer, I may feel sense of distance due to my skin color and lack of experience and knowledge in this culture. Even the unique name Sharkeisha can distance many people from the situation by not being able to relate. If her name had been Elizabeth or Kate, this video would not be as funny because these are more relatable names and brings the pain a little closer to home. Due to superiority theory, some viewers may not only be laughing at the actions occurring on screen, but also at the image of others who do not look like them acting aggressive and fighting over something we do not completely understand.

Sharkeisha’s actions portrayed a negative black female stereotype that is far too common nowadays. This image of a young black woman eager to fight is often portrayed in the media. An angry black women are often written in or publicized in televisions shows and films like The Real Housewives of Atlanta. This frequent image of black women in the media and on the internet only makes it harder for African American women to express their opinions of frustration because they can be seen as too aggressive or “sassy” because of this stereotype.

We should condone Sharkeisha’s actions, but we should also not support the people who shared this and made racist and flippant comments about Sharkeisha. Videos like these may only be a few seconds long, but can have a massive impact on our views of the world.

Response to Moseley's Post

I agree with Moseley’s statement that pain is no longer funny when the victim cannot get back up and laugh at himself or herself, but I disagree that the Hangover taser scene is a good example of pain being funny. Rather than the action of the tasing, I believe the circumstances and commentary are the parts of this scene that make it truly funny.

The pain in this scene looks serious, and Phil, Alan, and Stu do not appear like they will be getting up and laughing anytime soon. Personally, I do not find Phil and Stu’s shrieks of pain and the dazed looks in their eyes after being tased very humorous.  And the moment when Zach Galifianakis is shot once and walks around like a zombie is simply horrifying to me. But this does not mean I don’t find this scene hilarious.

We laugh at the position these three men are in because of the incongruity of the situation. Children, more than twenty years younger than them, are in a position of power over these three stooges. A second example of incongruity in the scene is after the whole tasing incident, the officer asks the children “Now who wants to get their fingers printed?!” with the friendly voice of a camp counselor. This sudden change of tone is so unexpected because we just saw him treating the men so poorly. I also found moments in the dialogue that were very funny. For example, I loved when the officer called Galifianakis “Fat Jesus”. Moments like that made the tone much lighter. Without the clever dialogue and incongruity of the situation, this scene would simply be a depressing video of three men getting tased.

The Rule of Three in How I Met Your Mother: Response

The rule of three clearly does not only apply to comedic literature and media and is present in all sorts of literature. It is so common that it almost seems second nature to many writers and readers. I remember freshman year of high school, my English class read the Gettysburg address to see how Lincoln utilizes the rule of three. For example, he says “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate [1] -- we can not consecrate [2] -- we can not hallow [3] -- this ground.” This pattern of three, especially with the pauses in between, creates a beat that sounds rhythmic, poetic, and natural (notice my use of the rule of three).

When I learned about this tactic in high school, it was only in the context of dramatic or solemn texts. I find it interesting how it can also be used in comedy and even helps prove the outlier theory of why we laugh. One of my favorite television shows, Modern Family, also uses the rule of three. In one episode, “Fizbo”, Phil is trying to prove how brave he is, despite being afraid of clowns. He state, “I am brave. Roller coasters? Love ‘em [1]. Scary movies? I’ve seen Ghostbusters, like, seven times [2]. I regularly drive through neighborhoods that have only recently been gentrified [3]. So yeah, I’m pretty much not afraid of anything… Except clowns.”  The first two of these are fairly common things for people to be afraid of, but the third example is especially strange. The final item on this list about gentrified neighborhoods shows how the rule of three can enforce the outlier theory. In comedy, the final item in a list of three may be odd and our acceptance of the difference makes us laugh and enjoy the joke.