We had the luxury of hearing a professional comedian in school on Friday. Give examples of how "Bubba Bradley" used some or all of the four elements of satire in his routine. Some were more obvious than others. Do your best to analyze his routine using those elements. He also talked about using humor to advance your ideas and opportunities. I might argue that writing satire is one of the most difficult genres and requires a lot of discipline as well as creativity. End your post with a joke. It can be original or borrowed, but it must be clean.
Q: What do you say when you are comforting an English teacher?
A: There, Their, They're
HEY KRAUS! GUESS WHO POSTED FIRST!
ReplyDeleteBest academic assembly ever! Bubba Bradley was rocking the ECC auditorium Friday with his inspirational comedy act. If I had not have had English before his talk, I would have never even thought that a comedian, such as Bubba, uses satire. My mindset was narrowed so that I only thought satire occurred in Mark Twain works and other literature pieces. It was really neat to see satire used in a real-life situation that caused a laugh or two.
The following are examples of how Bubba Bradley used the four elements of satire:
Exaggeration: “I lost seventy pounds.” *applause* “But you know you’re fat when you lost half a person and you’re still big.” This is an exaggeration because Bubba overstated (or possibly understated) the amount of weight he lost as “half a person”, but truthfully, every person is unique when it comes to his or her weight. Either way, seventy pounds could be more or less of half a person, therefore, it is an exaggeration.
Reverse: The only kind of reverse satire I detected in Bubba’s talk is his life story. The man who talked to the student body today was voted “class clown” in high school and had one year of a college education for cooking, and now he is a famous comedian who has been on television channels, such as NBC and A&E, and travels with renowned country singers. That in itself is comical in a way, and an example of reverse satire.
Incongruity: “That’s like having a sign in Johnsonburg that says ‘take a deep breath’.” This was one of the lines that I found the funniest in Bubba’s presentation, and I would have never thought before that it would have been incongruity satire. Bubba wittily used something that does not belong in its surroundings to make a hilarious statement – the perfect example of incongruity.
Parody: “Breaking news! Man with a hot dog cart being chased down by the cops, reaching breaking speeds of two miles per hour.” I know these are not Bubba’s exact words, but you get the picture. Bubba impersonated a newscaster broadcasting a police chase of him being chased by the police while pushing a hot dog stand. This is a parody of an actual news channel reporting a police chase. And it served its purpose as Bubba had the entire auditorium erupting into laughter.
Who knew that Bubba’s talk included all of the types of satire in it? I bet he does not even know that! I think Mrs. Messineo said that satire is hard to use sometimes because it takes discipline and if it is not used correctly it could out to be disastrous instead of funny. Bubba sure knew how to utilize satire and make people laugh. Whether he is aware or not, he is the satire king! Thanks, Bubba, for making my blog so easy! Haha!
And now it is joke time! In honor of the two authors who have so far contributed to our AP English Lit adventure…
Mark Twain: Give me a brandy.
Bartender: So Charles Dickens came in the other day and ordered a martini.
Mark Twain: Did he take an olive or twist? Ha ha ha!
Rachel,
DeleteI also found the assembly to be very good, it was the most entertaining one that we had so far. I think that you found some good examples of satire in the presentation. I was extremely impressed that you were able to remember the jokes almost word for word! I think that your joke was very fitting, it thought that it was very good. Great job!
Rachel,
DeleteGosh, I'm so jealous of your joke. I know you told me it earlier but I can't get over how perfect it is.
Anyways, as I know I've said to you before, and I mentioned in my blog, your thoughts for reversal were very creative and very true. Fits the bill perfectly! I totally agree with your thoughts on parody, thought we did categorize the Johnsonburg joke differently. However, both make sense.
Nice job, Rach!
This was a really great assembly in my opinion. I was laughing like crazy when he told his jokes about Johnsonburg, the hot dog cart, and about his "it's like selling cake to kids at fat camp" rant. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to incorporate those into my satire blog. So here it is: Bubba Bradley's four uses of satire in his presentation. Oh, and just a warning that you will probably see at least 5jokes at the end of this blog that are really stupid and pointless.
ReplyDeleteExaggeration: I thought one of many exaggerations throughout the act was when he claimed he grew his beard to hide his 5 chins. Obviously, he has one chin and maybe two "chins" at most. He probably has a different reason for growing his beard, because that obviously isn't it. It was a funny joke, but he exaggerated.
Incongruity: I really enjoyed the joke where he made the sign that read "will crack jokes for food" and claimed that he was a hungry fat person. Those two terms contradict each other, making this an incongruity.
Reversal: This one was definitely the hardest to pick out. I was going to use this example for incongruity, but it was the only real example of reversal that I could find. His life story, when he became a cook, worked at Yellowstone, was a bar bouncer in Montana, and became a comedian, and is now working with all these big time people and programs, shows that life itself can take you many places. What's funny is that he grew up in small town Pennsylvania just like most of the people I've met in my life. It is a reversal because his life kept taking really unexpected turns.
Parody: The parody that I picked out, besides the hot dog cart story, was when Bubba imitated the tourists watching for elk. He'd sit there and point, like a real tourist who thought they might have saw something, and attract large numbers of other tourists. "What is it? What is it?" "Oops my bad, it's just a stick." He is mocking the tourists in a really funny and lighthearted way, which is technically what parodies are.
So even though I couldn't incorporate the hot dog cart story, the Johnsonburg story, or a lot of funny things into this satirical analysis, I thought these examples were pretty good too. It was by far the greatest academic assembly ever, and it'd be awesome if we could have another one like it in the future.
I apologize in advance because I probably will not contain myself to writing one joke.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Dog.
Dog who?
Dog house...
Ok for real now.
What's red and might hurt your teeth?
A brick.
Why was 6 afraid of seven?
You see, six hasn't been the same since he left Vietnam. Every time he closes his eyes, he's sees Charlie hiding in the darkness of the forest. Not that you could ever see the enemy, mind you. They were fast and they knew their way around the jungle. He remembers the looks on the boy's faces when they walked into that village and... oh boy. He shouldn't think about that now. Sometimes he still hears Tex's slow southern drawl. He remembers the smell of Brooklyn's cigarettes. He always had a pack of Luckys. But the boys are gone now... he knows that. It's--it's just that he forgets sometimes. And sometimes the way that seven looks at him... it makes him think. Sets him on edge. And he feels like he's back there... In the jungle... In the darkness.
Seven has a hook for a hand as well, which is also very scary.
Matt,
DeleteI think that you pick out some very good examples of satire in the presentation. I especially like your example of incongruity. I didn't even remember that one. I also found the same example of exaggeration. I really enjoyed your multiple jokes at the end of your blog. Overall, great job!
Matt Bobby,
DeleteYour blog made me laugh almost as much as Bubba did! Haha!
You picked out some great examples of satire in Bubba's talk. The one that really stuck out to me was the example of incongruity. The "will crack jokes for food" sign on the fat boy is perfect example of that. And I am so proud of you for finding it to be a paradox too! Your other examples were very good, as well, and I totally agree about the reversal being his life story. Your jokes to top off your blog were silly, and they made me giggle. Thanks for the laughs, Matt Bobby!
Matt Bobby,
DeleteGreat Blog. I thought your example of incongruity was great. I had not thought of that until I saw it in your blog.I also liked the example of parody. I found that joke to be very funny, but I was not sure what type of satire it was. Finally, I liked your joke(s). Nice job Matt Bobby.
Well I thought that this academic assembly was by far the best that we ever had. It was extremely entertaining, which isn't always the case during these academic assemblies. I found myself laughing the whole entire presentation. I personally thought that Bubba was just a naturally funny person, because even during his so called "preaching session" (for lack of a better phrase) I was laughing. Without a doubt Bubba is indeed a very good comedian. However I don't think that he even realized that he used satire to earn some laughs out of his audience.
ReplyDeleteParody is the first example that I can think of right off the bat. This is when Bubba was imitating the tourists at the national park. He said that he got asked, "When do you let the animals out?" In this instance Bubba was making fun of the tourists because they thought that the park was a zoo. He further went on to imitate the tourists and their ridiculous questions
The next obvious example is reversal, this achieved by Bubba describing certain highlights if his life during his routine. In this instance he didn't go in any particular order. But after his routine he went through his life in a chronological order of how he got to be a comedian.
Incongruity was used in the hot dog cart story. Actually I found the hot dog cart to be the example of incongruity. This is because of how absurd it is to push a hot dog cart down a street. Clearly if you do this you are going to draw attention to yourself. I know that if I saw someone walking down the road with a hot dog cart at night I would at least do a double take, just because it something that I don't generally see on a daily basis.
Exaggeration is when Bubba said he grew his beard to hide his chins. He said that he had five which is a bit of an exaggeration because I highly doubt that he had five chins maybe two, but definitely not five. I feel like Bubba used a lot of exaggeration during the presentation but that is the only one that I can recall.
Okay here are a few jokes that I found. I thought that they were pretty funny.....
Q: What do you call a computer that sings?
A: A-Dell
Q: What do you call a dinosaur with a extensive vocabulary?
A: a thesaurus
Michaela,
DeleteI actually kind of forgot about the jokes about the animals and the tourists. It was hilarious though. I also said that Bubba’s life story was a reversal. One thing that was different, however, was the way that you used the hot dog story. I used it as a parody, but I definitely agree that it was an example of incongruity as well. I also think that the jokes on your blog were pretty funny. Good job!
Michaela,
DeleteI enjoyed your blog. I also thought that Bubba did a great job at being funny even whenn he was preaching. I thought your examples were reaally good. I also found the hotdog joke to be funny. Finally, I liked the jokes. Nice blog!
Bubba Bradley preformed a great presentation on Friday. I completely forgot about the topic of the blog so I just listened to the presentation as normal. I thought that this was beneficial because I can look back and understand the elements of satire.
ReplyDeleteThe first and most commonly used form of satire was exaggeration. This was found many times throughout the presentation. One time that stood out to me was his example of the small town in Nevada being the "biggest small town in the world." This stood out to me because I found it to be the funniest joke and it remained in my head. Another example of exaggeration in his presentation was when he said that he had multiple chins. This was an obvious example of exaggeration.
Next, Bubba Bradley used parody. He made a joke regarding the nuns at the convent. He called them "Sister Mary Mow the Lawn" or "Sister Mary Feed the Ducks." These were obvious examples of parody because he was calling the nuns by the jobs they preformed. This made the joke very humorous.
The next form of satire was reversal. He did not actually use reversal in a specific joke, but, as others have said, his entire life story was a reversal. Just by listening to him talk about how his life was hard showed how he turned his life completely around. Most people who are selling hotdogs on the street outside of a bar in their twenties are not going to have a very successful life. He showed that he had tremendous will power to overcome the adversities of life and actually become a famous comedian.
The final example of satire that Bradley used was incongruity. The story of the hotdog cart was a perfect example. He actually talked about how ridiculous it really was. He said that it was crazy for a 300 pound man to be pushing a hotdog cart on an interstate.
Overall Bradley used some great examples of satire to make his jokes more effective. He used all four examples efficiently. My Joke:
Q: Why did the blonde stare at the orange juice container for 15 minutes?
A: It said "concentrate".
Luke Kraus,
DeleteI posted before you. Just so you know. Haha!
But your posted blog was very good! Your examples of satire were well thought out, and I respect that because I totally forgot about the blog when I was watching Bubba's talk as well. I absolutely love your example of parody. I never even thought of that as a parody, but it definitely is! Well done! Your other examples of satire were very solid, too. Your joke to end your blog was goofy, and I enjoyed it thoroughly! Great satire finding, Kraus!
Kraus,
DeleteYou had a really good discussion of the elements used in Bubba’s presentation. I did not have the hot dog cart story as incongruity, as I mentioned on Michaela’s blog, but I think that it is really fitting under that category. I also did not have the parody as the nuns. That was really good thinking on your part, though. I definitely forgot about that joke. I think that all of your points were really well discussed. I also really loved your joke. It was really funny. Good blog!
Luke,
DeleteYour examples for exaggeration and parody were really funny. I completely forgot about the ones with the nuns, and it was really funny. Your exaggeration example about the biggest small town in the world was also one that stuck in my head. Nice job!
I just want to start by saying that Bubba Bradley was hilarious. In my four years of high school that was the best presentation I have ever been a part of. Bubba had a really good command over the four elements of satire. He was able to use them extremely well throughout his entire performance. Bubba used all four elements to increase his humor.
ReplyDeleteThe first element is reversal. Bubba’s whole life is a reversal. Society says that it is the people that work hard that make it big. Bubba defied that, however. He was a trouble maker in school and had problems in class. He almost didn’t graduate. Now, however, he has gotten his break and tours all over the place. He has gotten to work with big name celebrities, and soon he will be working with Martina McBride. That’s a big deal. His life is an example of the fact that sometimes the ones that work hard don’t have as much to offer. Coming from a struggle gives a person more to share with the world.
The second element is incongruity. This, as we all know, is two things that have nothing in common or do not go together. Bubba made several of these jokes. The first was the sign that said “the biggest small town in the world.” Being a small town and being big are polar opposites of each other. Its almost paradoxical. The second joke that he made that he really enjoyed also involved Nevada. He said that when he got to Reno the first thing he heard was someone say “the Holy Gospel according to Kid Rock.” That is clearly incongruity because when you think of the Bible you either think of God or one of the Gospel writers. Kid Rock would be one of the last people that entered anyone’s mind.
The third element was parody. He told a wonderful story of pushing a hot dog cart along the road. The police officer pulled him over because it looked suspicious. He then proceeded to turn his experience into a parody of Craziest Police Chases. He poked fun at the announcing voice on that show, saying that there were going to be spike strips on the road and the cart was going to reach breakneck speeds of two miles per hour. He used humor to mock the show a little bit while recounting a life experience.
The fourth element is exaggeration. An exaggeration in Bubba’s presentation was when he made jokes about his weight. He said that he lost half a person but was still fat. Saying that he lost half a person is a large exaggeration. There is no way that he lost half a person, but it carries the point across better. He also said that he grew his beard to make it seem like he only has one chin. I doubt that he grew the beard to hide multiple chins, besides each person only has one.
Now for my favorite part of the blog. I love stupid jokes!!!
Q: Why did the cowboy get a wiener dog?
A: Someone told him to get a long little doggy.
Q: Why does a cow have a bell?
A: Because its horns don’t work.
Ok I promise I am done now!
Megan,
DeleteI enjoyed your blog. I totally forgot about the Kid Rock Gospel story, and it was a really good example. I'll have to be honest, your jokes were so stupid that they were hilarious! That's kind of like my jokes. But anyways, your hot dog cart parody example was really good too. Good blog!
Megan,
DeleteNice blog. Nice jokes! Haha!
Anyways, I find it very interesting the way that each of us interpret different jokes to be different forms of satire. It makes sense with multiple explanations. You used the Johnsonburg joke as one of incongruity while I used it as exaggeration. But I certainly see your thought process. I actually almost used it for Parody too! Just goes to show how versatile the forms of satire are.
Good job!
That guy looked like a "Bubbah" didn't he?
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I would say that was one of the more entertaining academic assemblies we have had the pleasure to watch. He was very funny and utilized satire in its various forms. I love satire. It is one of my favorite things we learned about last year, so I'm happy to revisit the topic.
First off is the most obvious form of satire, over-exaggeration. He used this many times throughout his stand-up routine. We use it ourselves rather commonly. Many times a crowd of thirteen becomes "a bajillion" people. I tend to do this a lot.
The joke that stands out to me was the one regarding the sign the sign outside of Rino, Nevada. "The biggest little city in the world". He equated this to Johnsonburg having a sign that says "Take a Deep Breath". Those living around here get it. Johnsonburg smells, it's a fact. However, he is greatly exaggerating the degree of the smell and the vulgarity of it. However, it wouldn't be funny if he didn't.
Secondly, is parody. Parody is a mocking imitation of a particular thing. Immediately I think of the movie "Vampires Suck" which is entirely dedicated to mocking the Twilight movies. However, in Bubbah's routine, he used Parody to mock the show "Wildest Police Chases". He put on a funny accent, imitating what he felt the show would say if they were narrating a police chase after him and his hot dog cart. The announcers on that show are traditionally very cheesy and scripted and Bubbah exploited this through his routine, especially with his closing line "the police will ketchup". Ha. Ha. Ha. How punny.
I could not identify any sort of reversal in his routine. Rachel, above me, makes a good point about his entire life story being one of reversal and I tend to agree.
Last is incongruity. I found this one a little challenging but I think I may have found one. Perhaps it is a stretch, you'll have to let me know. Bubbah made a joke regarding his friends "sick" gift of a monogrammed belt buckle. The joke itself was exaggerating an incongruity which was a belt buckle for someone who is "fat" since it would not be seen.
I personally think comedy is one of the hardest things to write and though, like anything, it is an acquired skill I do believe some people just "have it". In order to be a continually successful comic, they must write constantly and keep up on topics that are relevant to their audience. Additionally, senses of humor are so varied that one cannot possibly please everyone.
So, why did Cinderella get kicked off of the softball team?
Because she ran away from the ball, duh!