- Voltaire (1694-1778)
I thought about that one for a while.
Actually God is not a comedian but He really enjoys comedy. So He split Himself into little parts (that's us) and we are the comedians, and the straight men and He is Vastly Entertained.
"What fools these mortals be"--Puck,
So what's funny? Basically surprise, the unexpected unpredicted punch line after your attention has been directed along a predictable path.
But wait a minute, that could be tragedy as well.
Pompous man slips on a banana peel and falls on his pratt--funny
You slip on a banana peel and end up in traction in the hospital--tragic
So is it comedy when it happens "out there" and tragedy when it happens "in here?"
God as I envision Him has no location in space or time, no wavelength, no mass. Why would he enjoy comedy? My personal opinion is curiousity. God is Curious "I wonder what would happen if-"----and away we go.
Suppose I'm God and I already know All There Is and what's supposed to happen. So I tell all my little Mini-Me"s:
"come on you guys, surprise me". And that's what we do much to His and Our delight
There is a wonderful Star Trek episode in which Data wants to experience humor. He visits the the hologram deck and absorbs a stand-up routine which he tries on the crew and is greeted with groans.Then he makes some inadvertent remark and every one breaks up. He asks "Why is that so funny?"
Recall the last time you had a rolling on the floor belly laugh.
Now recall the last time you had a good cry.
What was the difference? What was similar?
What's so funny?
Love, B
Y
Replies
Back it the 60's I worked in a hotel which featured shows and I was in the dance band so got to see all the great comics of the era in action. Buddy Hackett, Jacky Canon, Jimmy Durante, Totie Fields and then there was Myron Cohen who didn't tell jokes at all but just did told a long story with a really funny Yiddish accent and brought the house down after a half hour with a punch line like "Everybody's gotta be somewhere".
Talking about great straight men, how about Jack Benny--he just kind of stood there and let Rochester and the rest of the cast make him the butt of the joke.
But the comedy teams were the archangels of the era. Burns & Allen, Abbot & Costello, Martin & Lewis and Laurel and Hardy--classic comedian straight man couplings.
I dig what you said about needing black to have white. So it is with all the dichotomies--good/bad, beautiful/ugly, comedian/straight man, winner/loser etc etc. This is a universe of opposites.
What has no opposite?
God is That which has no opposite.
So why is something funny?
Love, B
but as Don Juan said, i choose laughter over crying... cause it makes the body feel better.. ;)