Humour Assignment Reflection/Analysis

               For me, inventing my own humorous creation was extremely difficult, and most of the times, very frustrating. I had no idea what type of comedy my peers would be amused by, let alone Ms. Piovesan. But as I continued to brainstorm, I decided to create something in which adolescents of my age are familiar with, and something that they can relate to with their own experience. However, since I am not a girl obviously, I had to approach it from a boy’s point of view. But still, there were hundreds of different methods for me to approach this assignment. Knowing that a vast majority of the boy’s population in Collingwood like to play video games, and that they play these video games that are often rated Teen or Mature excessively, I decided that violent video games would be my topic for my “humorous” creation. And as a teenager who plays video games myself, I was able to relate back to my own life, and was knowledgeable of how detrimental video games can be in a student’s life, and how worse it can get when the game involves violent content, like shooting zombies. Deciding to take a satirical approach at this assignment, I wrote a satire of how video games benefit the lives of children and adolescents, resulting in my creation of VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES; POSSIBLE SURVIVAL GUIDES TO A POST-APOCALYPTIC FUTURE.

              

               In my satire, I say that the type of comedy I used is comedy of ideas. I regarded the whole paper as a comedy of ideas for it is an argument between the so-called professionals of how video games benefit the lives of young children. I satirized the opinions of the professionals and their thoughts on violent video games, by exaggerating the advantages of the video games that will possibly help adolescents survive a post-apocalypse future. The listing of the advantages is also an example of comedy of ideas, as everyone knows that playing video games is harmful to people’s health, and that it often downgrades the children’s potentials to do good in school.

               My creation is funny because of the nonsensical supporting arguments of the professionals, like the fact that violent video games will teach young children important survival skills, such as finding gun ammunitions inside buildings. To further develop this into a comedy, the satire takes an issue concerning many families of the 21^st century, that is, children playing too much violent video games, and presents the opposite of what really should be said. For instance, most readers will expect a full-out lecture from a Harvard professor on why video games are bad. However, what is displayed to them is rather the opposite: the professor encouraging violent video games among children, for they will supposedly help the youths brace themselves for a post-apocalypse future. Mainly, the extensive use of reversal that is included in every argument is what makes this satire so comedic. The fact that the professionals are just a group of ordinary people, who in reality, should not be asked how violent video games benefit the lives of children, is something to smile about. Take the Harvard professor for example. He may be a teacher at one of the most prestigious schools in the world, but still he states nonsense arguments, and thinks that violent video games will one day help teenagers lead a squad of super soldiers against terminator robots. Lastly, the exaggeration that is incorporated in the ending, saying that playing video games alone all day long is the best way to prepare children for their future, is the ultimate reversal of this satire. When parents are scolding their children for playing video games too much and not getting many activities done, these so-called professionals are inspiring adolescents to continue playing video games friendless, and lonely. All these factors contribute to making my creation a funny comedy. 

Humour Assignment

VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES; POSSIBLE SURVIVAL GUIDES TO A POST-APOCALYPTIC FUTURE

By MICHAEL YOO

              

               Many of the most popular video games today take place in extreme, dangerous settings such as war frontiers, and often in post-apocalyptic landscapes. In a society where research has proven that in the near future, there will be possibilities of the world experiencing a catastrophic apocalypse, whether it may be zombies, aliens, or an all-out war against robotic machines, these violent video games are suggested to be the key to survival. But the question is; are these video games violent and real enough to prepare young children for a post-apocalyptic future? To answer this, we have gathered the most knowledgeable professionals of this category.

               “I definitely think that these video games are enough to prepare our kids for what’s to come in the future. Our children will need to learn beforehand the important skills of survival that are necessary during any type apocalypse, such as finding machine gun ammo in an abandoned mansion, and leading a squadron of soldiers against heavily armed robots. And the violent video games offer a chance for children to visualize and learn these skills crucial for survival,” explained Tel Evision, a former professor in the Harvard studies of media and politics.  

               “But those are the skills that might not even come in handy during an apocalypse of any sort,” argued Bob Hasel, a history teacher in Cleveland Elementary school. “Our children need more sophisticated expertise, like how to build shelters in the middle of nowhere and being able to gather firewood in places like Manhattan.”

               “Your arguments are weak Mr. Hasel. It is true that our kids should learn how to build shelters, but skills like that can be taught in many places outside of the media world. But on the contrary, where else do children get the opportunity of discovering the most efficient way of killing a zombie? Also, the violent, gory, and the explicit content displayed when a zombie or an enemy is killed in a video game will mentally benefit the children, and allow them to practice not being frightened in these cataclysmic situations.”

               “Yes I agree with Mr. Evision on this one,” stated David Benstein, an editor of New York Times sports news. “And these games don’t even need to be an accurate depiction of a post-apocalypse. They just need to demonstrate and teach the fundamental aspects of survival, which they do. Studies show that 78% of teenagers know how to cure themselves from gunshot wounds and zombie bites with medical packets, and know that it’s easier to kill terminator robots with grenades than with machine guns.”

               “But kids aren’t going to kill zombies or terminator robots just by pressing on a few buttons on a game controller. They will physically have to go up to them with an axe or any other weapon, and hack and hack and hack.”

               “But Bob, our children are going to have the rest of their lives to get actual experience to fight for survival in extreme situations. What’s important now is that we teach our children the basics of surviving these apocalypses immediately, so that they can be prepared for any type of hellish circumstance that they will find themselves in,” disputed David Benstein. “Playing videogames all day long, alone and friendless is the best way to prepare the adolescents of a post-apocalypse future and a life that is expected to be full of chaos and solitude. It is a chance that all of us will have to take for the sake of humanity.”

Third Satire Blog Post

http://www.theonion.com/articles/guy-who-just-wiped-out-immediately-claims-hes-fine,5134/

            This article is a satire because it incorporates the satirical aspects that a satire should have, such as exaggeration and reversal. For instance, the man in this article loudly states that his injuries, like the deep gash under his knee and the heavy bleedings, are “no biggies”, and assures the witnesses that his situation is “totally under control”. This is an example of exaggeration, for the man’s injuries are represented far beyond what normal wounds should look like after wiping out on a patch of ice. It is rare for someone to gain bloody wounds and gashes on their legs by falling on ice. Furthermore, this satire uses reversal to present the actions opposite to the actions that a man should have after acquiring such big injuries. Rarely do people stand up by straightening their badly twisted-leg without calling for any assistance. Personally I do not think this article is funny because I do not find it amusing to read about people who are able to stand up with badly twisted legs, with big, bloody gashes on their legs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPpzJAzdpTU

            This video is without a doubt a satire. It is a satire for the video is a parody made to imitate and ridicule not only the show Hell’s Kitchen, but also Gordon Ramsay. The parody displays how the show always delays time with unnecessary comments in every judgment time, and also does a great job of mimicking Gordon Ramsay, who is known for his superb abilities as a chef, and his abilities to disgrace others without sympathy. The video also uses reversal many times to display the humor in the chef’s criticisms. For example, the chef declares that Drew’s dish is unbelievable, and that he should go work in the finest restaurant in the world. However, the chef later states that world should be a place where he doesn’t live in. In other words, the chef uses reversal to criticize Drew in a way that makes Drew’s dish satisfactory. The reversal of the chef's comments is mainly the factor in making this video funny. 

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Michael Yoo

Lamb

The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

              The book “Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal” lets the readers know the real story behind how Jesus, or Joshua to those who knew him, came to become the Messiah. While telling this story Christopher Moore uses comedy of ideas and comedy of manners to crack the readers up with dirty jokes and offensive insults towards religions. For example, Joshua travels with his friend Biff to the three Wiseman who teach him about different religions and proper ways of life. Joshua uses this knowledge to help his people, and to later create Christianity. While Moore throws offensive jokes aimed at these religions, suggesting that each of the religions contains major flaws and useless teachings, he insists that Christianity contains a bit of them all. Furthermore, it is an inevitable fact that most of Lamb is composed of dirty gags and sexual jokes. For instance, along their journey Joshua and Biff come across a Yeti, and abominable snowman. Here Moore proposes that a Yeti is the result of a human and a sheep coiling up with each other. In short, you get a yeti when people have sex with sheeps, according to Moore.

             I would without a doubt recommend this book to those seeking humours novels. Lamb is quite possibly the dumbest book ever written in history. Lamb is also the best novel ever. The book introduces to the readers the real, ignored story of Jesus and how Christianity came to be what it is now. It includes abominable snowmen, zombies, kung fu ninjas and even zombies. The twisted plotline and the ironic and satirical jokes will leave the readers cracking up and thinking that they learned something profound that most people in this world are ignorant of. Once again, I consider Lamb as one of the best Moore novels ever written, and it will leave everyone in tears of laughter.