AP Free Response 2
Taylor Endsley
November 22nd 2014
Period 5 AP Free Response In Alain de Botton’s book Status Anxiety he argues that the main purpose for humorist is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” He proposes that humorists are allowed by society to say things an individual may deny or believe to be false, therefore serving an important role in society.
However he fails to realize the major difference between the humorists themselves and the purposes for which they are conveying these messages. This is the biggest factor that distinguishes the two. There are two types of humorists; the entertainer and the enlightener. These two people although in the same line of work serve two completely different purposes. The entertainer and the enlightener may give two speeches of the same topic but fundamentally they may be completely different and therefore their effect on society changes. The goal of the entertainer is to do exactly that entertain, their goal is to make people laugh and be amused and on a larger scale; make money. The goal of the enlightener is to make people realize the failures of society and on a large scale; to bring about change. They also present their topics in different ways since the entertainer’s main end goal is humor while in the enlightener’s case humor is normally a
biproduct that is produced because the enlightener’s claims are so ridiculous. So, it often confuses people why a humorist whose goal is to make people laugh is unable to get his or her point across. The main reason is the stereotype associated with comedians. Typically a comedian is a light hearted individual who likes to entertain people. Therefore anything the individual says will be viewed as such and will not be taken to heart. For example if we take a famous comedian like Kevin Hart, or Jeff Dunham and say they perform a skit in which they talk about beating one’s child
November 22nd 2014
Period 5 AP Free Response In Alain de Botton’s book Status Anxiety he argues that the main purpose for humorist is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” He proposes that humorists are allowed by society to say things an individual may deny or believe to be false, therefore serving an important role in society.
However he fails to realize the major difference between the humorists themselves and the purposes for which they are conveying these messages. This is the biggest factor that distinguishes the two. There are two types of humorists; the entertainer and the enlightener. These two people although in the same line of work serve two completely different purposes. The entertainer and the enlightener may give two speeches of the same topic but fundamentally they may be completely different and therefore their effect on society changes. The goal of the entertainer is to do exactly that entertain, their goal is to make people laugh and be amused and on a larger scale; make money. The goal of the enlightener is to make people realize the failures of society and on a large scale; to bring about change. They also present their topics in different ways since the entertainer’s main end goal is humor while in the enlightener’s case humor is normally a
biproduct that is produced because the enlightener’s claims are so ridiculous. So, it often confuses people why a humorist whose goal is to make people laugh is unable to get his or her point across. The main reason is the stereotype associated with comedians. Typically a comedian is a light hearted individual who likes to entertain people. Therefore anything the individual says will be viewed as such and will not be taken to heart. For example if we take a famous comedian like Kevin Hart, or Jeff Dunham and say they perform a skit in which they talk about beating one’s child