Introduction

The humor project was an assignment that challenged us to use comedy tools and find inspirations to create our own comedy routine, whether it was a stand-up routine, a sketch, or a speech. We did this project in order to understand the elements of humor. What I valued most from this project was being able to break down why things are funny to me, and try to apply them to my own project. As an Honors student, I also had to take what we had read in class and write a satire comparison essay. For my essay I chose to read an extra book, “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut and compare it to the play “Rhinoceros” by Eugene Ionesco.

Humor Proposal

Humorist Analysis

Both Conan O’Brien and Daniel Sloss both use a lot of wit, irony, and jokes throughout all of their works. As a late night show host, Conan O’Brien’s content typically includes observational humor and a lot of banter with his guests. His comedy style can be described as “smart”, something that is widely loved by many viewers of his show. On the other hand, Daniel Sloss also has a very “smart” kind of humor, but plays it off with hyperbole and some blue humor. While Daniel Sloss and Conan O’Brien may seem to be very different, O’Brien being a late night show host while Sloss exclusively does stand-up, their styles of humor and some of their themes are very similar. 

While Sloss is most famous for his show Jigsaw being cited in over 157 divorces, I believe that his comedy special Dark is a more accurate depiction of Sloss’ style. Dark is aptly named after it’s theme of dark or “black” humor, which he uses to discuss political and social issues, as well as the purpose of comedy itself. For O’Brien, his 2011 Dartmouth Commencement Speech is a great example of his style of humor, because he covers most of the aspects of his style throughout the speech. During these 23 minutes, O’Brien covers topics from how the world isn’t fair to how you will face fear and failure in the future. He does all of this while maintaining a light approach throughout the speech. This is the main similarity between Daniel Sloss and Conan O’Brien. They both tend to focus on more serious themes in their comedy, to impart their ideas onto others while also maintaining a humorous and entertaining air. 

Both of their comedy styles work in these respective pieces because they are both able to diffuse anxiety throughout their sets. In Dark, Sloss discusses how his sister has cerebral palsy, as laughs slowly simmer out. He combats this by pointing out that the audience isn’t laughing anymore and assures them that he loves his sister. While this is a much more serious topic than what O’Brien discusses, he uses the same tactic of diffusing anxiety when he is referring to the certainty of failure saying, “I once sat where you sit. No literally, I came out here late last night and sat in every single one of these seats.”  Diffusing anxiety “warms up” the audience, and allows them to connect to the serious topics that you are talking about, because most people experience things like failure and funny moments with their siblings. 

The main place where O’Brien and Sloss differ is their intent with their comedy. While Sloss makes more traditional jokes as a stand up comic, his intent is to make people uncomfortable and laugh at the same time with his use of black humor. The subjects that Sloss talks about are extremely taboo, but he maintains the topic’s seriousness while also respecting the views and opinions of others. O’Brien’s intent, especially in his Commencement Speech, is to make others laugh while delivering a more uplifting message and inspiring the graduates. While both of these intentions are fairly different, because they are focused around one central message or universal experiences, their jokes have longevity.

Although their comedic mediums are very different, both Daniel Sloss and Conan O’Brien have very similar themes that they focus on throughout their jokes. They also both use the comedic techniques of wit, irony, jokes, and black humor throughout their work. 

For my own project, I want to write a commencement speech using similar techniques that Daniel Sloss and Conan O’Brien use in their comedy. I think that their techniques of diffusing anxiety, a bit of black humor, and wit will work well together in order to create an effective Humor project. 

Some of the overall themes that I am thinking of discussing in my comedy are finding our purpose as well as looking toward the future. I think that these topics would work really well for me because I have been reading a lot of Kurt Vonnegut for Honors English and he talks a lot about humanism and truth. Because of these ideas I am becoming very familiar with the philosophies of humans needing to find their own purpose and how those philosophies look toward the future. These themes inspire me because I think that everyone, including myself, is in constant search for their purpose or constantly trying to make their own purpose. It is an idea that everyone can relate to, and the more relatable a topic is, the funnier it becomes. By using the shared experiences of many as a focal point for a joke, it will be easier to connect to the audience and make them laugh. 

Conan O’Brien’s intent in his commencement speech is most inspirational to me because I have similar intentions as he does when it comes to creating my humor project. While I do love the comedy that comes out of making others uncomfortable, I would rather deliver more lighthearted jokes that hold a strong message that will stick with my audience. This intent in my humor project will work especially well because I want to create my own commencement speech. 

I think that for a commencement speech using some black humor is necessary because most people are uncertain about what will happen in the future, and what their personal future holds so making jokes about it might be able to ease some of the tension around the subject while also creating a message that will last with people for a long time. Speeches that I remember the most are funny and also impart wisdom upon people so I think that creating a speech about going into the future and finding our own purpose has a lot of potential to be really funny. In this sense, I am heavily inspired by Daniel Sloss’ special Dark because he uses black humor in a really effective way to discuss issues that people are scared to talk about, and you get something out of it. 

For opening a commencement speech and warming up the crowd, I think that using the skill of diffusing anxiety is absolutely essential, so that people you are speaking to know what kind of a speech it is going to be and it sets the tone and pace. For this, I want to use the techniques that Conan O’Brien uses in his commencement speech, he introduces himself, the students, and the president of the school in a comedic way, without taking away any of the meaning of the event. 

Another technique that I want to use that isn’t a cornerstone of O’Brien or Sloss’ comedy style is anecdotes. I think that anecdotes are a perfect way to entertain an audience and make them laugh while you are revealing a deeper message. Creating a flow between comedic anecdotes is essential, and it is something that comedian John Mulaney does really well in his various stand-up specials. I take inspiration from his quick anecdotal stories that always draw laughs from his audience.

By combining the techniques of anecdotes, diffusing anxiety, and black humor, I can create a project that is comedic and delivers a message. 

Project Description

I will not be collaborating with others during this project. For my humor project I will write a commencement speech about finding purpose. I want to do this subject because I love watching stand-up routines that teach you something, and feel profound while also making you laugh. For my project I plan to use black humor, situational humor, satire, and wit. I want to use black humor because you don’t really talk about finding your purpose with your peers, making jokes about it doesn’t remove its weight. Situational humor could also work well because most people experience this kind of existentialism, so I want to joke about it a bit.

I think that this is the right project for me because it focuses more heavily on what you write versus how you deliver. I don’t think I’m a very funny person, so I think being able to focus on making the writing funny rather than the delivery will work well for me. It will also give me a chance to improve upon my public speaking skills.

Script of Humor Project

Here we are. At the end of the two year experience that is Freestyle. Welcome to everyone watching this. Students, Mr. Greco grading this, and the random person that got lost on the internet and somehow ended up here. I decided to write a commencement speech because I was feeling overly confident after writing my project proposal how I did many Freestyle projects. Started the day it was due, after watching Raccoon Toons for an hour waiting for divine inspiration, which I’m sure we all do.

Freestyle, we have been through so much together, and have had so many incredible things happen. Freestyle dances, late nights working on projects before exhibition, and what I look forward to the most, the EVO crashing. It’s hard to find the words to describe what Freestyle is. Google describes it as a Communications Arts and Technology program dedicated to project-based learning through media production. But I think the spirit of Freestyle is best encapsulated by what my brother said when I put my name in the raffle. “That’s where all the weird kids are”. I can think of no better way to explain this motley crew than weird. We are weirdly creative, weirdly driven, and weirdly obsessed with singing “I Want It That Way” by The Backstreet Boys. 

Freestyle has been a home away from home, a high school away from high school. Freestyle has taught us many things, how to film, how to animate, how to design, and how to row when there is no wind. Most importantly we have learned how to collaborate and how to fail spectacularly. We don’t have a motto here, but if we did, I think it would be “failure, but make it fun”. Freestyle has taught us to be unafraid of failure, to push our own limits, and to eventually come out successful. Our success and worth isn’t defined by our ability to accomplish, it is defined by our ability to fail and try something new time and time again. And when we have a community supporting us, it makes it that much easier to get up. Another great thing about failing with others is you can always just blame them. 

Not all of us here are pursuing the arts in the future. But it is undeniable the impact that these past two years involved in the arts have had on our lives. I’m sure you don’t know where you would be today without watching 57 videos on how to animate in 3D in After Effects. I know I don’t. What I do know for sure is that as you go into the world to look for your purpose, you won’t find it. Your purpose is something that you make for yourself. There are no deadlines, and this project is always changing, as you change with the world around you. This actually works really well for us because over the past two years all we’ve done is hit deadlines. Imagine what we can do with no deadlines. The creation of your own purpose is what will make you unique, and although it may be terrifying, it is also freeing. You can choose what your motivations are, who you want to be, how to get there. So, I implore you to continue to be unafraid of failure, to dive head first into risks, because you don’t know where it might take you. And lucky for us, Freestyle has given us the perfect skills to do just that. If you continue into the future with confidence and kindness, you will be an unstoppable force. 

I thank you all for coming on this two year journey with me, for being the reason that I am excited for school and the reason that I am constantly stressed. You are more than a community to me, you are a family and I am so excited to see what you create in the future. And now, to wrap up our experience at Freestyle I will quote The Backstreet Boys: “you are my fire, the one desire, believe when I say, I want it that way.” Thank you.

Humor Video

Here is how the speech was presented. I hope you enjoy :).

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Satire Comparison Essay

What gives life meaning, and what would you do if the world was ending? These are two questions that playwright Eugene Ionesco and author Kurt Vonnegut ask in Rhinoceros and Cat’s Cradle. The story of Rhinoceros follows the protagonist Berenger, a drunk man in search of purpose, as people in his small provincial town turn into rhinoceroses, and the chaos and tragedy that ensues. This play from the Theater of the Absurd is a metaphor for how pressure from others can change moral and ethical choices, specifically those that empathized with Hitler’s message in Nazi Germany. On the other hand, Cat’s Cradle follows the protagonist, Jonah (or John) as he travels to the island of San Lorenzo and the world ends. Vonnegut in his novel successfully portrays man and his madness, through humanity’s dual dependence on both religion and science. Through the use of black humor, wit and absurd humor, Ionesco and Vonnegut both create darkly comedic and satiric tales that warn us of humanity being its own worst enemy, that what we create can destroy us. 

Berenger and Jonah, the protagonists of Rhinoceros and Cat’s Cradle respectively, both are searching for their purpose in a meaningless world. In the beginning of Rhinoceros, Berenger says, “I don’t know exactly. It’s a sort of anguish difficult to describe. I feel out of place in life, among people, and so I take to drink. That calms me down and relaxes me so I can forget” (Ionesco 17). This feeling of helplessness continues throughout the book, and defines Berenger as a character that is looking for purpose in a purposeless world. In Cat’s Cradle, this feeling of living in a purposeless world is advanced through Vonnegut’s satire based on religion. The narrator of the book says from the beginning, “‘All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.’ My Bokonist warning is this: Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either. So be it” (Vonnegut 6). He is directly saying to not take this book at surface level, that it is just a story, but it is the message that he is telling that is important. This search for meaning is a theme that is very common in many post WWII works, as the war left many people feeling helpless in an unavoidably violent world. Both stories are reacting and responding to WWII, and show us that searching for a purpose sometimes leads to great consequences. 

The plots of Rhinoceros and Cat’s Cradle also mirror each other closely, although each teaches us something different about the purpose of man. Both plots follow the main character going through their days as the world ends. As the world ends in Cat’s Cradle Vonnegut bestows upon readers his great knowledge of the purpose of man through Bokononism. One of the books tells the story, “‘In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, ‘Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done.’… Man blinked. ‘What is the purpose of all this?’ he asked politely. ‘Everything must have a purpose?’ asked God. ‘Certainly,’ said man. ‘Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,’ said God. And He went away’” (Vonnegut 265). Through this passage Vonnegut drives home the idea that people are living in a purposeless world, and that to expend your life trying to think of one is useless. It also reflects Vonnegut’s humanist beliefs, that people are the ones that must give their lives purpose, rather than a higher being. In Rhinoceros, Ionesco exemplifies the dangers and importance of individuality in the context of Nazism. At the end of the play, after all members of the town have turned into rhinos, Berenger exclaims, “People who try to hang on to their individuality always come to a bad end! I’ll put up a fight against the lot of them, the whole lot of them! I’m the last man left, and I’m staying that way until the end! I’m not capitulating!” (Ionesco 107). Through these final words in the play, Ionesco is explaining how by following a herd of people, you lose your humanity. However, he also shows how being an individual amongst a herd is dangerous, as it leaves you in solitude. Despite these warnings, it is clear that Ionesco believes that all people should be individuals, to think solely for themselves and not follow in suit of what many people are doing. 

Rhinoceros and Cat’s Cradle both use absurd humor throughout their stories. By using absurd humor they are bringing attention to the idiocy or the importance of a certain topic in their work. For example, in Cat’s Cradle, Castle and Newt are discussing a painting that Newt had just created. Castle exclaims,“‘So this is a picture of the meaninglessness of it all! I couldn’t agree more.’ ‘Do you really agree?’ I asked. ‘A minute ago you said something about Jesus.’ ‘Who?’ said Castle. ‘Jesus Christ?’ ‘Oh,’ said Castle. ‘Him.’ He shrugged. ‘People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order, so they’ll have good voice boxes in case there’s ever anything really meaningful to say’” (Vonnegut 169). This kind of absurd flip flop from a character talking about purpose regarding religion and then turning around to say that everything is meaningless is extremely humorous. To demonstrate his belief that life is in fact meaningless, Vonnegut has his character claim that if you want to bring forward a new idea, you have to first talk about things that other people care about. In Rhinoceros Ionesco is bringing attention to the chaos that Nazis cause in the beginning of his play. After a rhinoceros runs through the town, people seem to be freaking out, and as dialogue overlaps absurd hilarity ensues. “Berenger: [to Jean] What did I think of what?/ Grocer’s Wife: [to the Grocer] Go and get another bottle!/Jean: [to Berenger] Of the rhinoceros of course! What did you think I meant?” This overlapping of dialogue to give a new meaning to sentences could also show how during chaos, messages can become manipulated and misconstrued. 

While there are many themes that can be found in both Cat’s Cradle and Rhinoceros, the main thread that ties these two stories together is the message that mankind can be his own worst enemy. Throughout Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut continues to warn his audience about the dangers of technology and religion. But hidden under all of that, are his ideas about truth, lies, and free will. Vonnegut claims that we see what we want to see, and that we have the ability to choose what we see. However, it doesn’t change the truth. Newt in the book talks about the game cat’s cradle and says, “‘No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat’s cradle is nothing but a bunch of X’s between somebody’s hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X’s…’ ‘And?’ ‘No damn cat, and no damn cradle’” (Vonnegut 166). This metaphor of the cat’s cradle is essential in order to understand the novel. Vonnegut is telling the reader that some people lie to themselves for happiness, because they enjoy the game. Others see only the X’s because that is what is actually there, even though seeing only X’s might make them crazy. Vonnegut is forcing us to confront whether we think it is better to see the truth or believe in the lie, and to face the fact that the majority of mankind lies to himself for greater happiness. Rhinoceros also tackles this idea of denying your free will and accepting lies in order to have greater happiness. As Jean is turning into a rhinoceros, he begins to deny the absurdity and horrors of no longer being a man and turning into an animal instead. He refuses to see the situation as strange and instead only empathizes with the creatures, saying, “‘How do you know they were wretched?’” (Rhinoceros 59). Through the rejection of truth in order to have greater happiness both Vonnegut and Ionesco show that we are creating danger for ourselves. You can’t see a problem in a different light and magically make it better, it is still happening and ignoring the problem will do nothing to change it. Ultimately, they are warning us that  ignoring what we don’t want to perceive will be our downfall. 

Through their stories Rhinoceros and Cat’s Cradle, Eugene Ionesco and Kurt Vonnegut warn their audience that mankind can be his own worst enemy. They do this through their use of wit, black humor, and absurd humor. While their respective stories have the same overall theme, each respective story teaches us something different about the purpose of man, as well as the effect that the world has on us. Vonnegut and Ionesco force us to ask ourselves, “Do I see the cat’s cradle and beautiful rhinoceroses? Or do I accept that there are only X’s and Nazis in a meaningless world?”