The general argument made by author Alain de Botton in her book, Status anxiety, is that comedians are able to talk about controversial or offending messages, but get away with it because they are humorist. More specifically, Botton argues that humorists serve a vital function in society because they can say things that others cannot or will not say. She writes “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” In this passage, Botton is suggesting that we need humorists to say the offensive things in a humorous way so it is acceptable. In conclusions, Botton’s belief is that we need comedians to say the things that aren’t okay to be said by others.…
Alain de Botton argues in his book, Status Anxiety, that the chief aim of humorists is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that be dangerous or impossible to say directly”. Because of this, he says that humorists play a vital role in society since society allows humorists to communicate things that other people cannot or will not say. I disagree with Alain de Botton’s argument that humorists convey impunity messages because of comedians George Carlin and Lenny Bruce. George Carlin was an extremely influential comedian that got arrested for doing one of his most famous skits, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”. After doing the skit at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, he was arrested for breaking obscenity laws.…
In Alain de Botton’s 2004 book, Status Anxiety, he claimed that the chief aim of humorists is not to just entertain, but also to “convey impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” This statement is true because comedians, cartoonists, and other humarists can change the world with messages that they portray through their works. By using their different techniques, humorists can effectively get a message out to the public that would typically get a person in trouble. Such an example of this would be political cartoonists who, through their works, can show representations of political corruption throughout the government without being target by the mentioned politicians. Political cartoonists have always delivered their messages to the public despite the dangers they may face for it, such as the political cartoonists…
Humorists are people who are skillful in using humor for writing, talking, or acting. Their works bring laughter and elation to people. In Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he believes that humorists not only entertain audience, but also convey important messages that cannot be said directly. Thus, he argues that humorists play a vital role in the society. In most cases, Botton’s claim is justified in that since the early nineteenth century, humorists express their thoughts about the society through humor. Some of these humorists do play important roles in the society by revealing crisis or events happening during that time period to bring awareness from the society.…
“Humor appear’s to help people’s psychological and physical well being.” It says in Peter McGraw’s essay “The Importance of Humor Research.” It has been proven that it is good for your body to react in such a way to a funny situation but the psychological portion of it is hard to understand. When someone laughs, endorphins are released from the brain and are sent throughout the body creating the feeling of pleasure. It is a healthy alternative to any negative situation, whether it be negative or awkward it can be made easier with a joke here or…
Although humor is often used to entertain or lighten one’s mood, it can also change the world, if addressed correctly. In his 2004 novel Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton argues that humorists do not only play a large role in entertainment, but they also represent the people and their true underlying feelings on series topics. I strongly agree with de Botton’s stance on the role of humor and humorists in society because they allow people to discuss and raise awareness for controversial issues without restraint. Humorists are able to give observations on society’s complications in a way that is easy for people to understand. Alain de Botton clearly states that the chief aim of humorists is not only to entertain but "to convey with impunity…
“There are people who can talk sensibly about a controversial issue; they're called humorists.” Alen De Botton states that “the chief aim of humorists is not…
Although some humorists attempt to convey a message about society at large, the main focus of most humorists is to entertain and not effect societal change. The…
By maintaining a sense of humor where possible can encourage an individual to relax and alleviate stress, especially if they are having a difficult home life or experiencing a challenging period of their life. If they are experiencing a difficult time it is important to be considerate.…
Humorists are essential to the function of society. Their ability to challenge authority, encourage thinking, and voice their opinions are the reasons we are characterized as a democracy. They showcase our free speech and freedom of the press as protected under the constitution and remind us of the principles that our great nation was founded…
Vonnegut prescribes laughter for all things, for without laughter life would seem a lot more painful. “Humor is a way of holding off how awful life can be, to protect yourself,” states Vonnegut (129.) To go on and live life you need to be able to laugh at your mistakes, just as to continue believing in a political system you need to be able to laugh at its faults. He also believes that at some point humor becomes less of a shield against the harsh truth of life and politics. He says, “Finally, you get just too tired, and the news is too awful, and humor doesn’t work anymore” (129.) It would seem with age the seriousness of things out-weighs the humor that can be found in them.…
Do you think of yourself as funny, humorous or a joker of sorts? Many people feel they have what it takes to bring humor to different situations. Usually humor is used to lighten a mood or attitude and often makes people feel happy. Understanding that humor can play a very important role in speech enhance the awareness of the proper means and tactics in which to use humor. Persuasion often includes various forms of humor where the person trying to persuade intertwines the humor effect and brings lightness to the situation. Persuasion is the attempt to make others believe or comply with the speaker’s views or actions and adding humor often enables the audience to feel compelled to match their views with the speaker’s own views. Humor is said, on more than one occasion, to be effective in persuasion but with the effectiveness also comes the associated risks.…
In our daily life, we all live with humor. Humor is a very essential part of our life. Nevertheless everyone doesn’t perceive humor in the same way. Man and woman have different views toward humor. That’s why some people say that humor has a connection with gender. In his article Christopher Hitchens has mentioned various reasons for women not being as funny as men. I believe Hitchers has captured most of the fundamental truths about humor and gender. Men are funnier than women because they want to be superior with no regard of the consequences, unlike women who tend to be fair and analyze the consequences of a joke before laughing at it.…
Often taken lightly, comedies are seen as works of literature meant to lift spirits and change the mood of an audience. Although what a passive audience doesn’t realize is that when taken seriously, a comedy can have a very powerful effect on society. It has the ability to teach us through our own laughter. The author of a comedy uses our funny bones against us in a well-thought out scheme to get us to change the way we may think about something. We laugh at what is wrong, correct ourselves, and then attempt to correct the problem in our everyday lives. In this way, comedy can spark a change in a society by altering the way that society’s citizens see what is right and what is wrong based on what an author is trying to teach us.…
It is time for that semi-annual rite of academia known as the term paper to flash across the consciousness of the undergraduate population of the region known as the more or less greater Auraria campus in the city of Denver, Colorado. The rite of passage this year will mark the last time I will be presenting my digital scribbling for the perusal and ultimate thumbs up, or the slightly less than thumbs up letter grade. Therefore, in that spirit it is my most grand privilege to be able to report that I have in fact actually learned something that merits credit during this spring term in the year of our Lord 2013.…