Physical And Slapstick Comedy Film Studies Essay

Physical And Slapstick Comedy Film Studies Essay Early film comedy certainly focuses more on physical comedy-the slap in the face, the anvil falling on a head kind of stuff. With film being silent, you had to focus on body language to convey meaning. Plots were usually ridiculous and as one punch was being set up, another was being knocked-down. When we finally put sound to film, everything changed. Not only did plot improve, but sound effects added to the mood and tone of a piece. In October, 1927, The Jazz Singer, the first talkie by Warner Brothers, introduced some limited audio. It included the music and some background and sound effects, but no dialogue. It would be another year before dialogue would be included. For one, the technology hadnt been created and many filmmakers and critics, who worried that a focus on dialogue would subvert the unique aesthetic virtues of soundless cinema, (wiki 1). The first feature film to include dialogue was also a Warner Brothers film, The Tenderloin, though only 15 of its 88 minutes actually had dialogue, (wiki). Unfortunately for those comedians who made a career in the world of silent film, such as Charlie Chaplin and, Anny Ondra, didnt fair well in the talkies. The few who did make the transition flourished. Martin Sills and Al Jolson continued their success, while the Marx Brothers finally found their niche. Having found fame in Vaudeville, the Marx Brothers came to the silver screen in their first motion picture Cocoanuts (1929). The Brothers always played the same characters, Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo and was instantly recognized because of their avant-garde personas. There comedy style was very slap-stick (even violent) and sometimes non-sensical. The fact is, slap-stick comedy is often violent and not equally funny. If you filled a room full of a hundred people and showed them old-comedy reels, not everyone would laugh. At times, I was the person not laughing. I discovered that the humor had a lot to do with context and background. In One Week, a couple is crossing a train track and narrowly misses being hit by a train. Then, on key, a train hits their stuff from the other direction. Funny stuff, right? Perhaps not if you recently had a friend killed by a train. I paid more attention this semester when watching popular television shows such as Americas Funniest Home Videos. I discovered that I often gasped in disbelief, not laughter. A middle-aged-man acting like a monkey on a trampoline is funny, but Im not sure how him falling off, face first, doesnt make more people think of the life time of medical bills or rehabilitation he might have to endure. I assume that my background in caring for someone injured and the struggles Ive had with injury have tarnished my ability to find humor in dangerous situations. The humor might be lost on the few who look at these situational comedies differently. These films (Duck Soup and Slapstick Masters) also pioneered some of the situational comedy that is still popular today. Some of these examples include: the anvil on the head, the near-miss train, sawing the wrong end of beam, etc. When these films were popular, it was the first time people saw these skits and stunts. I would imagine that audiences were in stitches. And, when you look at the seriousness of their lives, war, depression, and economic collapse, this type of humor was a welcome break from factory life. They needed that release. My generation grew up watching full-color, full-access cable and weve seen hundreds of these skits time and time again. I found the old Charlie Chaplin and Marx Brothers routines to be predictable. Basically, Ive seen it before. The mirror routine that the Marx Brothers perform in Duck Soup, Ive seen at least twice, in The Parent Trap and Strictly Business. I have thousands of hours of cartoons catalogued in my brain. The Road Runner and Wylie Coyote used a lot of these slap-stick techniques such as the classic stick of TNT, with a faulty fuse, that explodes on the initiator. We also have some modern slapstick heros such as Jim Carey and Chevy Chase. And Saturday Night Live is full of physical comedy and off-color humor. It appears the older I get the more I prefer satire or intellectual comedy. I dont want to be handed the joke I want to work for it. I think the Cohen Brothers share my philosophy and tend to produce dark comedies. The Big Lebowski, one of the few Cohen films I was not familiar with, definitely uses satire. The Dude gets roped into a scheme to save Bunny, a near-broke millionaires trophy wife from kidnappers. The Dude was originally mistaken for the millionaire when a group of thugs came to collect a debt from him. They ruined his rug and the Dude sought out the real Lebowski for restitution. He takes a rug and returns to his humdrum life, bowling with his inept friends and smoking pot. The film has a huge cast of characters, and each one adds some twist to the plot. In the end, we find that Bunny returns from holiday (unbeknownst to her husband) and Mr. Lebowski turns out to be as crooked as his fake kidnappers. The Dude returns to his normal life and continues to bowl, albeit one friend less. This is the kind of irony-ridden, plot twisting, ridiculousness, I just love and it makes you laugh. Its absurd. We certainly saw a wide-range of comedic works this semester. I was introduced to works Ive never seen, a few I never heard of, and several I would have never watched on my own. I understand a bit more about why people find some thing things humorous while others do not. I also learned more about early American film, and how actors of the day, especially from Vaudeville struggled to make the shift from a live audience to that of paid-patrons of the silver-screen. Comedy is perhaps the hardest type of writing to produce and perhaps the hardest to perform because of the endless variables of the audience. Humor is fickle, but if you find it, laughter can be timeless.

Humorous Wedding Speech †Two Best Men -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speech

Humorous Wedding Speech – Two Best Men Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. For those of you that are wondering why there are two best men standing up here, it’s perfectly simple. Arthur wanted to appoint a best man for the occasion, but sadly couldn’t find one, so he got two barely competent ones instead. So before I start, let me clarify the ‘role’ situation. Dennis, Arthur’s university friend and very trustworthy, was responsible for carrying the rings in church. I am Steve, Arthur’s childhood friend and very good with lager (beer). I was responsible for organizing the stag weekend (bachelor’s party). We both had the responsibility of getting him to the church on time, smartly dressed and sober†¦ but neither of us could achieve that last part. And, regrettably, we have both been asked to give a short speech. So why does it take two of us to describe the bridegroom? Well, as the man in Moss Bros said, 'There's a lot to fit in'. But you can rest assured that I’ll be keeping my part brief†¦ as I know the other bloke (guy) can drone on for hours! So what can I tell you about Arthur Wilson? He is my oldest friend and I’m convinced that without his guiding hand while we were growing up I would have been half the man I am today†¦ and certainly twice as popular. From an early age we lived a few doors away from each other, so not only did we become great friends we also became great rivals, and obviously ... ...y became trapped in the sticky beer socked carpet, the music was too loud for a conversation and it was pretty dark as well. Everything was in Arthur's favour! Playing hard to get though, Linda tells me it was months before she fell for Arthur. But having witnessed how quickly they progressed to a cat and five kittens, I'm not so sure. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening to Steve and myself. If you’re having a fantastic time today - which I’m sure you all are - that’s a direct result of the months of hard work and meticulous planning by Arthur and Linda. They have done an incredible job to make this a truly wonderful wedding, so please all stand as I propose this toast – to the bride and groom.

Effects of Teenage Smoking

The Effects of Smoking on Adolescent Behavior and Their Ability to Perform Well in School James Grimes Eastern Kentucky University Abstract There is a considerable body of empirical research that has identified adolescent peer relationships as a primary factor involved in adolescent cigarette smoking. Despite this large research base, many questions remain unanswered about the mechanisms by which peers affect youths’ smoking behavior. Understanding these processes of influence is the key to the development of prevention and intervention programs designed to address adolescent smoking as a significant public health concern.In this paper, theoretical frameworks and empirical findings are reviewed critically which inform the current state of knowledge regarding peer influences on teenage smoking. Specifically, social learning theory, primary socialization theory, social identity theory and social network theory are discussed. Empirical findings regarding peer influence and select ion, as well as multiple reference points in adolescent friendships, including best friendships, romantic relationships, peer groups and social crowds, are also reviewed.Review of this work reveals the contribution that peers have in adolescents’ use of tobacco, in some cases promoting use, and in other cases deterring it. The Effects of Smoking on Adolescent Behavior and Their Ability to Perform Well in School Introduction Smoking by adolescents is a social activity and subject to peer pressure. Peers may offer information on where to buy cigarettes and even how to smoke them. Teenagers are often evaluated by the peers as to how cool he or she may be.Popular culture dictates an association between smoking and being a cool kid as much as wearing the right clothes, having a certain haircut, and being friends with the right people. In a since, smoking is a way of reflecting an identity. Knowing this one must ask is smoking by adolescents is really an act they wish to perform. W hether you smoke or not can determine who your friends may be. Kobus (2003) suggests that non smokers tend to befriend non smokers and smokers tend to befriend smokers. Non smokers that do become friends with smokers run a much higher risk at becoming a smoker themselves.Hypothesis In this study, I believe that adolescent who smoke will most likely have friends who smoke. I believe this study will show that 25% of the teenagers polled will be smokers and 80% of them will be friends with other smokers. It will also prove that the non smokers will be less likely to be friends with smokers. Literature Review Kobus (2003) suggests that peer relationships are the primary factor involved in cigarette smoking. Specifically, social learning theory, primary socialization theory, social identity theory and social network theory are discussed.Empirical findings regarding peer influence and selection, as well as multiple reference points in adolescent friendships, including best friendships, ro mantic relationships, peer groups and social crowds, are also reviewed. Patton, Hibbert, Rosier, Carlin, Caust, and Bowes (1996) state that an association of smoking with depression and anxiety has been documented in adult smokers. Subjects reporting high levels of depression and anxiety were twice as likely to be smokers after the potential confounders of year level; sex, alcohol use, and parental smoking were controlled for.Regular smokers were almost twice as likely as occasional smokers to report high levels of depression and anxiety. In trying to determine whether smoking can influence a student's school performance, Te-wei, Zihua, and Keeler (1998) report there’s no direct causation from smoking to school performance, but smoking might have an indirect effect, leading to other delinquency behaviors or drug abuse. These behaviors, in turn, could lead to poor school performance. However, the main argument against this hypothesis is that smoking is a relatively common beha vior relative to other factors that lead to antisocial behaviors.Methodology Population The population I used in this study of sophomore students in Ms. Powell’s math classes at McCreary Central High. I posted a survey to a web site and have asked all that would to take the survey. Instruments I started my survey by asking a yes or no question: â€Å"Do you smoke? † Then I asked all the non smokers the following 5 questions: 1. Are you male or female? 2. Does either of your parents smoke? 3. Do you feel pressure from your friends to smoke? 4. Would you have a best friend that smokes? 5. What is your average grade in school? Then I asked all smokers the following questions: 1.Are you male or female? 2. Does either of your parents smoke? 3. Do you pressure your friends to smoke? 4. Does your best friend smoke? 5. What is your average grade in school? Data Analysis At the time of writing this draft I have not collected any data yet. I will add this on my final draft. Disc ussion At the time I am writing the first draft I haven’t had enough time to collect the data for my paper. I have posted my questions using survey monkey to a web page at McCreary Central High where my wife teaches. She is going to ask student from her class to take the survey. So far I have only had 4 people take the survey.This is hardly enough to come to any conclusions. Conclusions In Conclusion, I plan on collecting the date from my surveys to analyze. Kobus (2003) concludes that adolescent peer relationships contribute to adolescent cigarette smoking. Youth who are friends with smokers have been found to be more likely to smoke themselves than those with only nonsmokers as friends. Best friends, romantic partners, peer groups and social crowds all have been found to contribute to the smoking or non-smoking behavior of teenagers. In some cases, peer influences promote smoking and, in other cases, they deter it.The mechanisms of peer influence appear to be more covert an d subtle than is thought commonly. That is, rather than be the result of direct and coercive pressures, decisions regarding smoking behavior have been found to reflect predetermined choices about fitting in, social approval, popularity and autonomy. Parents and the media have also been found to contribute to the smoking or non-smoking of youth.References Akers, R. L. , Massey, J. , Clarke, W. , ;amp; Lauer, R. M. (1983). Are Self-Reports of Adolescent Deviance Valid? Biochemical Measures, Randomized Response, and the Bogus Pipeline in Smoking Behavior. Social Forces, 62(1), 234-251. Freinkel, S. , Fuerst, M. L. , ;amp; Krieger, E. B. (1999). Teen Smoking: The Longest Drag. Health (Time Inc. Health), 13(6), 18. Kobus, K. (2003). Peers and adolescent smoking. Addiction, 9837-55. doi:10. 1046/j. 1360-0443. 98. s1. 4. x Patton, G. C. , Hibbert, M. , Rosier, M. J. , Carlin, J. B. , Caust, J. , ;amp; Bowes, G. (1996). Is Smoking Associated with Depression and Anxiety in Teenagers?. Americ an Journal Of Public Health, 86(2), 225. Te-wei, H. , Zihua, L. , ;amp; Keeler, T. E. (1998). Teenage Smoking, Attempts to Quit, and School Performance. American Journal Of Public Health, 88(6), 940-943.

California Agriculture The Most Diverse Region Of The...

During the 1870s to 1930, California agriculture had become a most diverse region of the United States. Its wheat, meat, and crop farming, such as grapes, walnuts, almonds, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, plums, etc., became the California’s major export industry, as well as nation’s leading producer. According to The Elusive Eden by Richard B. Rice, William A. Bullough, and Richard J. Orsi, the number of farm in 1925 had grown to more than 136,400 farms, worth than $708 million. Besides the enormous development of the agriculture, California had become the one of the best manufacturing and trading states in America. It dominated the manufacturing industry and trading companies for aircraft factories, lumber factories, steel plants, mining companies, petroleum companies, etc., According to Eric Foner in Give Me Liberty - volume 2, by 1945, California had received one-tenth of all federal spending, and Los Angeles had become the nation’s second largest manufactur ing center (863). 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