Final Humour Assignment - Kyle and Rachael

Part 1: Our Funny Creation!
Collingwood School Promo Video Parody

Part 2: What is funny? What makes our creation funny?

What is considered funny? In order for something to be funny it has to either do something outrageous, poke fun at somebody or something, comedy of manners (confusion), or in other words, just make you laugh. 


Lots of things can make something funny. For example, in the sitcom The Office, Michael Scott is a manager of a paper company.  The things he does and the way he handles conflicts and other situations are completely random and make no sense, but this is done in a manner that makes people laugh!

All comedy shows have done parodies one time or another (parodies are when you make fun of something, usually in a sarcastic way. This is our personal favourite).  One example is a parody on James Bond movies, called Austin Powers. Austin Powers is a movie about a spy who is very energetic and clumsy (the complete opposite of James Bond), but he always ends up with the ladies. This is a parody because his personality and physical traits are opposite of James Bond,  but he always gets the ladies; which is one of James Bonds defining traits.  We chose to do a parody because we think they are the funniest type of humour.

To define what is funny is hard because everybody finds different things funny. The vast opinions that are out there means there are different types of comedy for different people. You just need to find a type of comedy you enjoy.


Our creation is funny because it is a parody of our school's promotional video. Instead of showing all the good things about the school that would make you want to enrol, we showed all the bad things that they try to hide from the public.


Part 3: Reflection on this process:
 Creating something funny is a very challenging yet rewarding task. Getting started was the hardest part of this process.  Thinking of an idea of something comedic that would be viewed as funny by you as well as your audience is harder than it seems.   In the end, we decided to create a parody of the school’s promotional video.  Once we had decided on this idea, the actual making of the video was relatively easy.

Although it was tough starting out, once we got stated brainstorming what we would film the ideas kept on coming! We filmed the cafeteria microwaves, the wires in the grade 9 hallway, and the gym change rooms. Once we collected all the footage it was just a matter of putting it al together and adding voiceover. Overall, this was a very rewarding experience and a great learning opportunity for us.

CURRENT EVENTS SATIRE

Satirical article based on: "Apple is the Most Valuable Brand" in the World


Microsoft has now taken over Apple as the most valuable brand in the world. Windows 7 is the newest and best in technology innovation and more people have opted out of the fast-paced glamorous world that is Apple.  Microsoft has now taken over 100% of Apples' customers.  The "Mac vs PC" war is officially over. Long Live Bill Gates.

FOURTH SATIRE POST

1. Obama Resists Urge to Launch ALL U.S. Nuclear Weapons at Once is a satirical article because it is a huge exaggeration. In reality, Barack Obama does not have a legitimate urge to launch all the U.S. nuclear weapons at once. That would be absurd and would put the entire world in grave danger.

2.  "Teenage Affluenza is Spreading Fast." Is a satirical video because it uses incongruity to make the "problems" of Erin's life seem so big. When we compare the things that seem so huge and life-ending in Erin's life to the hurdles that children in third world countries face like getting fresh food and clean water, they seem insignificant. At one point in the video the narrator makes us feel bad for Erin because her family has run out of milk even though they live so close to the market. This is an example of how the video maker uses incongruity to show how little her problems are.  Children in other ares of the world have to scavenge for their food and Erin is complaining that she has to eat her cereal with a shortage of milk

SECOND SATIRICAL POST

1. The Onion Article - Hundreds of Horrified Onlookers Gather Around Wreckage of Area Man. This article is satirical because it is a parody of a car crash. It states "All we know is that a white male in his mid-30s lost control of his life and, after a series of wrong turns, completely fell apart, coming to a stop where you see him now." (James Hodges) which is a parody of how a car would have lost control after a series of wrong turns, became a wreck, and came to a stop after the crash.  


2. Mother Gets Grounded After Sneaking Out


Last friday evening Jane Bergen, mother of 2 teenage girls, snuck out for an evening with her friends at the local Cactus Club. When she returned home her oldest daughter, Margaret, was waiting up for her. Jane claimed "I knew you would be mad honey, but I just haven't seen Lucy and Donna in such a long time! Can't you forgive me?" Margaret has now punished Jane with a 2 month sentence of grounding.  


It has now surfaced that Jane had, despite Margaret's rules, BEEN DRINKING!
An extra month has now been added to Jane's sentence. 

A SOMEWHAT MODEST PROPOSAL

A Somewhat Modest Proposal:

1. The subject of the satire is how abortion should be allowed even in the adulthood of the fetus.  It describes how a fetus is no more human in it's mothers womb than it is as an adult, therefore the mother should be able to terminate the fetus any any point in it's life.
2. The criticism being made is regarding the debate about the time up until birth that a mother can have an abortion.  Colin Cohen is showing that he thinks the dispute is silly by writing this essay.  He satirically makes fun of the worldwide problem in his essay by saying that if a mother can have an abortion when the fetus in is her womb, she may as well be able to have one at any time in the "fetus'" life!
3. "Proud Latina" 's Personal Opinion on Abortion :
"Proud Latina" thinks abortion is wrong at any time or in any situation. She thinks if you have an abortion, you are your own child's murderer.
4. I believe abortion is OK under the right circumstances. If the child you are bringing into this world has a disability that has been previously detected that would make their life hard or miserable, maybe abortion is the right choice for that particular situation. If the mother simply has an unwanted pregnancy and they just don't want to settle down, abortion is not the right thing to do since there are other options out there like adoption.