Did anyone actually find those cartoons by Don Hertzfeldt funny? More to the point, did he actually expect anyone to use those cartoons to promote and advertise their product? What I saw was maybe suitable for commercial breaks during Cartoon Network's adult swim program, but certainly not for anything else.
The fact that some of these are considered funny by a significant portion of the community makes me cry. I checked. About half the people I showed those cartoons to laughed. I am disappointed in America. I realized that we aren't stuck up snobs like the French, nor do we have the whole iron rod for a spine like the British, but I was under the impression that we had more class than that.
Granted, a balloon hitting a kid in the head is kind of funny. But when the whole scene degenerates into mass chaos and death, it stops being funny. Now I am not saying I was offended or anything else really. Perhaps that was the problem. I felt nothing for that piece of so-called comedy. I chuckled the first time the kid got hit. That was it. Nothing else.
In order to create laughter, some other emotion must first be involved. Very rarely is anything funny just because it is. When a guy gets hit in the groinular region, it's funny to any other male watching because somebody got hurt, and it wasn't you. When you laugh at a racist joke, it's not because the joke is funny, it's because you flat out cannot believe that what you just heard, someone said. In public. Where other people might hear them. Idiot.
I guess the main bullet point of this post is that comedy requires emotion. Not good emotions necessarily, but emotions nonetheless. Without emotion, the audience doesn't respond. If the audience doesn't respond, it might as well be non-fiction. Which is boring. Just so we're clear.
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2 comments:
First off, I found them funny. They were just random and sometimes that can be pretty hilarious. Check ytmnd.com for more randomness.
I also found your post funny. Humor isn't absolute. Everyone has different tastes; yeah it sounds tired but it's true (again, it's been said before). And being disappointed in America for finding something funny that you don't? Seems pretty serious for a comedy blog. Do you think this is the beginning of a moral decline? Or could this all be ironic? If it's the latter, good job.
But the best part was when you were talking about offensive racist jokes after using a French stereotype.
Sorry if this seems harsh, but come on, lighten up.
I truly did not find the cartoons funny. But yes, the rest of it is ironic. And thank you. If I had a top hat, I would pull on the brim slightly. Not enough to raise it of my head in a formal-type gesture of gratitude. More like a old-fashioned, "Here's to you."
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