Graham ([info]tao_) wrote,
@ 2006-11-06 16:08:00
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Good Old Simpsons


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A bigger, longer and UNCUT version
(Anonymous)
2006-11-06 05:51 pm UTC (link)
There is an uncut version of the end of the episode here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS4VFf3rvfE

Maybe implying is better than overstating...

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[info]dives
2006-11-06 06:02 pm UTC (link)
Hi Graham,
I apologize in advance because this is a long comment that doesn't have anything to do directly with the Simpsons clip.

The clip did remind me of something, though. Reading your blog has got me thinking about the differences American comedy today and American comedy five or ten years ago. This is a subject that, I'm sure, has been talked about a lot before, but eh. It appears that the future trend of American comedy is towards a sort of surrealistic, random bent. When I say this, I mean that looking at what 20, 21-year-old comedians are doing, I think stuff that people will laugh in 5 or 10 years will be more like a random collection of weird ideas thrown together than something more structured, like a sitcom.
Example: Kelly Likes Shoes1, which is huge on high school/college campuses. The clip relies more on saying things in a funny voice than actually saying funny things. Or, actually, making any sort of comment on anything, other than wanting some shoes, and making fun of bitchy valley girls. I think it's unlikely that anyone over the age of 24 finding Shoes funny. It's something like Shoes that makes me wonder-- in ten years, what will American comedy have to say? How will it be defined? Will it actually try to make a point about anything, or will it just get its laughs from saying "Those shoes are mine, betch" in a valley girl voice? Something like the Simpsons is of course funny, yes, but it's funny because of the allusions it makes, or the wordplay, or something like that. It's not funny because of some random juxtaposition one didn't expect to see, or because it says the same word over and over and over.

Sometimes just saying random things kinda works, as in George Washington2. But I feel the humor of that comes from the old idea of talking about "serious" subjects (here, history/the generally highly esteemed founding father) in a goofy manner (saying Washington did all of these random, absurdly badass things).

One could mention The Daily Show or Colbert Report to counter this argument, but the thing is that both of those shows (in their current incarnation) were not created by very young people, and so I don't think they serve as predictions of a trend very well.

I don't know if this trend towards randomness is also present in current British comedy, since it's a little difficult for me to watch full episodes of new (two-year-old or younger) British TV shows. I wonder if it is.

Again, sorry for writing an essay on your blog, and cheers for the video.


1Contains a bit of strong language near the end.
2Also contains a bit of cursing.

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[info]citrusfreak12
2006-11-06 08:10 pm UTC (link)
Although not pertaining to the posted you tube video, I really enjoyed reading this comment. It made me think.

I'll be sure to present this question to my friends the next chance I get. I think it could generate some interesting conversation.

Thanks for the read!

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[info]dives
2006-11-06 08:37 pm UTC (link)
No problem :-)

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[info]tao_
2006-11-07 02:56 pm UTC (link)
I don't want to linger too long because if I start replying to comments on the blog, man, the second series of my show will NEVER come out (others will hopefully understand if I leave some questions hanging).

Anyway, i just don't think you're right. i think the difference between American comedy then and now is that ten years ago, teenagers (and young twentysomethings) didn't have access to things like You Tube. If anyone wanted to get something seen by the public, they had to hand it in to older people, who would have passed on something like 'Washington'.

Teenagers have always likde cruelty, stupidity, silly voices etc etc. I don't think anything's changed except their access to various forms of media.

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[info]dives
2006-11-07 04:53 pm UTC (link)
Fair enough-- I never thought about the distribution idea, actually. I do wonder, since teenage/early 20s comedy is simply more visible on the internet, if networks notice internet popularity and attempt to pick up on the goofy trend. But that's just an idle question.


Good luck with the second series!

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