The Senses Novels, all of them, contain scenes that some would call comedic. They are put there on purpose as they follow real life and life isn’t all doom-and-gloom, even in a pre and post-apocalyptic world. There are things about comedy that you should probably learn.
Most comedy is born of pain. Scratch the surface of a comedian and you, will likely find someone that is dealing with some kind of sadness or depression. Comedy is a defense mechanism. That isn’t to say that the comedian doesn’t find things funny, it’s simply to say that almost all of that funny stuff is coming from a place that isn’t so much fun.
Charlie Chaplin once said: “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” In a Psychology Today article by Judy Carter from April 4, 2016, I extracted this, “After Robin Williams’ death to suicide, John Belushi’s overdoses or Richard Jeni’s suicide, there were people who couldn’t believe it and said, “But, they were SO funny!” Comics, however, understood. We know that the funniest people are surrounded by darkness. The deeper the black hole, the more humor you need to dig yourself out of it. Comedy and tragedy are a team. When Stephen Colbert was 10, his dad and two brothers died in a plane crash. Tina Fey’s face was slashed by a stranger when she was little.”
I’m not telling you these things to elicit sympathy for the comedian. That is the last thing that they want from the people that they entertain. I am trying to explain where the humor comes from and why, even in as horrible a tragedy as a world shattered by our own hand, we would find things that were funny.
Most of the world will laugh at what we would call ‘crude humor’ and slap-stick. The Three Stooges made people laugh for many years and continue to do so in re-runs when you can find them. I have a daughter, who, when she was much younger, thought that they were the funniest thing on the planet. Even animals will laugh at this kind of crude humor and play practical jokes on others, just watch a bunch of young chimpanzees sometime.
There are a couple of fascinating quotes in the Bible:
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The reality is, the two are tied together. Reality isn’t always what you think it is.
I just got back from a long trip which is why I haven’t written more. But I have some exciting news for you:
AURA is now available on the Google Play store! If you have an android device, you can download AURA and read it!
KM
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