Humor

At this point in my life, I'm not nearly as sophisticated as I'd like to be. Poop jokes still make me laugh. In comedy, I tend to be an absurdist. What really gets to me is the completely ridiculous and jarringly strange. Unsurprisingly, I thought The Importance of Being Earnest was hilarious; the entire play is one absurd situation/character after the next. Along with the constant comedy of manners, Wilde employs some truly genius sarcasm. One of my favorite scenes is the very last in which Jack bemoans his telling of the truth for his whole life because it perfectly illustrates the false and superfluous nature of the rich people of his time. Though goofball humor is my first love, sarcasm comes in at a close second. I employ sarcasm in my own life constantly and appreciate it immensely when it appears in literary works. One of my favorite comedy acts right now is Amy Schumer, a feminist comedienne who writes and stars in her own show on comedy central. Schumer somehow manages the perfect combination of gross, weird humour and dry, sarcastic social critique that packs a serious message along with some serious laughs. I also love Broad City, another Comedy Central show written and directed by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. Broad City is a (sometimes worryingly) realistic depiction of the everyday lives of two twentysomething New Yorkers. Most of the comedy in the show is fairly low, body humor, funny voices, odd situations, but sometimes, the show really shines with little moments of sarcasm or comedy of manners that mimic and mock society in the best way possible.