Latest Articles by Sarah Canice Funke
"...Laughter has the remarkable power of making on object come up close, of drawing it into a zone of crude contact where one can finger it familarly on all sides, turn it upside down, inside out, peer at it from above and below, break open its external shell, look into its center, doubt it, take it apart, dismember it, lay it bare and expose it, examine it freely, and experiment with it...Laughter is a vital factor in laying down that fearlessness without which it would be impossible to approach the world realistically." [Bahktin, "Epic and Novel"]
Comedy and tragedy have an uneasy relationship. Comedy upsets the lesson that tragedy tries to impart; it is the naughty spitballer in the classroom. It exposes the farce that tragedy enacts; we see the emperor without his clothes on. And yet, in the eyes of some, the upstart comic belongs to a lower level of aesthetics. Comedy is for the moment; one laughs and then forgets. Lasting knowledge comes through the tragedy.
Yet I think we take ourselves too seriously because we fail to take God seriously enough. We would not build shrines to ourselves if we fully saw the face of God. Laughter is a path to perspective: flaws are exposed, but the cross stands ready for those who die to gain life.
That mini-manifesto in championship of the comedy aside, enjoy this for the evening:
On the comedy/tragedy thing: did you see Woody Allen's Melinda, Melinda?
It's not a must-see. Downright depressing for most of the time actually. He's definitely done better. But it was an interesting exercise in two sides of the comedy/tragedy line. Though, now that I think about it, I think it could've been better. And now, thinking even more, the movie Sliding Doors was better, though not as intentional in depicting as distinct comedy side/tragedy side.
Posted by: Jeannette at 6.02.06 10:08