This evening's readings from The 50 Funniest American Writers was enjoyable but unremarkable. I was going to start questioning Andy Borowitz's sense of humor but I have a feeling that some of the stories he chose for the book are a bit over my head in the realm of literacy, wit, history, and intellectuality. However, as a whole, I have found at least one of the stories from each assignment to be significantly more entertaining than its companions. This evening that story happens to be Nora Ephron's "A Few Words about Breasts." I think I tend to find many of the stories relating more specifically to women to be the most funny. Perhaps it is because, as a woman, I find them very relatable. It is one of those instances where the surprising truth and honesty of something is what makes it so laughable.
Specifically in this story I found myself relating to the turmoils of womanhood and growing up as a female. This story was spot on, from first bras, to the competition of "developing," to sharing experiences with a mother who is in a completely different realm of thinking. Although many of my personal experiences differ from the author, there were many moments of truth. Like the author I had a best friend during my youth who "developed" faster than I did and made everything a competition, growing up included. Laughably, unlike the author, I was terrified of bras growing up and it was my mother doing the encouraging while I was usually grimacing in discomfort. Despite my many different experiences from the ones in this story I think it still holds a bit of truth for every girl.
I really appreciate the variety the book has to offer overall. Politics, gender, culture, satire, irony, and many other forms of humor all play into the different stories this book holds. For every dry or confusing story I am still able to find one that amuses me. In reading this book I have found that often the stories that make me laugh the most are not those that involve incredible cognitive shifts, but rather those that surprise me with their total honesty and relatability - the stories that break social courtesy and talk about the unspoken taboo of real experience. This relatability is what makes me laugh because I can not only understand the joke or humor, but I can completely get it because I have experienced something similar. As I apply this to my own life I find this true in listening to comedians also. The jokes that really get me are usually the ones that point out some unrealized or unspoken truth. That being said I think that knowing this can perhaps be a way for me to find humor in every day situations, by addressing the human qualities of my struggles.
On a bit of a last note in the story by Ephron she goes to visit a city known as Palos Verdes Estates which is where I went to school and I lived in the neighboring city right on the edge of PVE known as Rancho Palos Verdes, small world...
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteThought it's been a while since we read "50 Funniest," your post moved me to reconsider it as a text. As you mentioned, the anthology provides a variety of topics, such as genders, politics, and culture. Upon closer inspection, I have found that the anthology reveals many of the values and notable characteristics of American culture.
For example, gender roles and sexuality are covered in Ephron's "A Few Words about Breasts." Consumerism, materialism, and conformity are critiqued in "Buddy, Can You Spare a Time?" by David Sedaris. Furthermore, the stories also make statements about other facets and icons of American society, such as politics ("A Presidential Candidate," "Imperial Purple," and "Tough as Bob War and Other Stuff"), family dynamics ("Vacation '58"), relationships and communication ("Tips for Women: How to Have a Relationship with a Guy," "The House of Mirth," and "The Waltz"), the media ("The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved," "If I Was in Charge of the Networks," "Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia," and "The Tip-Top Club"), and crime ("The Ransom of Red Chief"). I feel that as Americans we are more receptive to the messages of these American writers, more so than persons of another nationality would be. All of these are satirical or comedic works, of course; so, they cause us to laugh at ourselves.
And I think that your assertion about relating to a story rings true, especially in this case: Many of these stories are not laugh out loud funny, but they are certainly relatable in most cases, which makes them more amusing.