Chris Bliss talks about comedy:
Now comedy travels along a distinct wavelength from other forms of language. If I had to place it on an arbitrary spectrum, I'd say it falls somewhere between poetry and lies. And I'm not talking about all comedy here, because, clearly, there's plenty of humor that colors safely within the lines of what we already think and feel. What I want to talk about is the unique ability that the best comedy and satire has at circumventing our ingrained perspectives -- comedy as the philosopher's stone.
See:
The Daily Show
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
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| Click here for more on Joel Pett's environmental cartoons |
Final words from Chris Bliss' TED talk:
And this cartoon hit the bull's eye. Shortly after the conference was over, Joel got a request for a signed copy from the head of the EPA in Washington whose wall it now hangs on. And not long after that, he got another request for a copy from the head of the EPA in Californiawho used it as part of her presentation at an international conference on climate change in Sacramento last year. And it didn't stop there. To date, Joel's gotten requests from over 40 environmental groups, in the United States, Canada and Europe. And earlier this year, he got a request from the Green Party in Australia who used it in their campaign where it became part of the debate that resulted in the Australian parliament adopting the most rigorous carbon tax regime of any country in the world. (Applause) That is a lot of punch for 14 words.
So my suggestion to those of you out here who are seriously focused on creating a better world is to take a little bit of time each day and practice thinking funny, because you might just find the question that you've been looking for.
More TED.com quotes.
"I thought that the end was the most interesting part because he spent the duration of the talk discussing the power of comedy and all of the ways that it can affect us, then he gave empirical evidence. Thought it was pretty cool" - Rob
ReplyDelete"I found the concept of our endorphins allowing us to consider a different point of view really interesting! So when we are able to laugh at something, our opinion weakens and we become more open minded." -Andie
Both Bill and I agree that comedy based on facts and comedy that is real has more of an impact because it is relatable, we can experience or have been impacted by something that has been made funny.
ReplyDeleteGriffin Thinks:
ReplyDeleteChris Bliss is spot on with the claim that comedy is an efficient medium for the delivery of information. Although his jokes were not incredible, they were decent enough to understand the point he was gunning for.
Kevin Ly Thinks:
I also agree with Mr. Bliss' idea that comedy is one of the better was to get a message across. Some people reject an idea without even thinking about, bu with comedy, the idea stays in their head longer. People tend to interpret jokes in their own ways. This is draws different opinions from different kinds of people.
Haley thinks: the video was cool because it gave me new ways to think about what laughter is. I didn't consider laughter as viral, or misdirection. I also thought how "comedy falls between poetry and lies" which doesn't seem accurate. Im still trying to think about how that works.
ReplyDeleteMax thinks: It is encouraging for someone interested in comedy as a proffesion because these small simple jokes had such This shows that with comedy you can change the world and the way people.
Brianna & Annie: The science behind humor and when endorphins are released proved to be interesting. We both think that it's good to be funny in order to get your point across, as long as it's appropriate. Chris Bliss relates to his audience and makes his point without being dull in his sense of humor. The climate change cartoon is light humor but addresses greater issues at hand.
ReplyDeleteKevin H. Thinks: The speaker has a very sensible idea, that using comedy to support yourself with factual information is much more effective than just reciting the facts. I actually watch the Daily Show, and I think that I've learned and remembered more about what's going on in the world from John Stuart's comedy than I have from anything else.
ReplyDeleteIn this 16 minute video, I thought the scientific process within the brain that produces endorphins was interesting. I also agree that comedy can change your opinion on a topic by introducing humor into the subject.
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ReplyDeleteComedy: sweeping the nation faster than spanish.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting part of the TED talk in our eyes was the speed in which comedy transfers information especially in his example of the pre-technology era. "Every action of communication is an action of translation."
We loved the idea of gaining in translation and enjoyed the fact that more people are informed through talk shows (i.e. Jimmy Kimmel) than actual news reports because we feel they appeal to a greater audience and deliver a truthful and accurate report of a potentially misdirected piece of information.
Nicky and Maddy
"Humor is one of the most effective ways of conveying an idea and bringing people over to your way of thinking. Unfortunately, Mr. Bliss' doesn't seem to grasp that these things are funny because they are honest, because the world is inherently corrupt and does not always dish out the straight story. It is because of the shady media practices and the polishing of political candidates that comedians such as Tina Fey can make a routine using nothing but actual quotes."-Konrad
ReplyDelete"I have the same sentiments as Konrad, he wraps this up perfectl
y
"- John.
We agreed that the most influential part of the video was how the speaker related the transferal of information through comedy. The speaker made a very valid point that the most humorous kind of comedy is at the expense of someone else. This was colorfully shown with the Sarah Palin.
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