I 'M A Stranger Here Myself And Seinfeld's Funny'

On Two Types of “Funny” Life without comedy is like a picture without color. No matter how interesting the scene may be, a certain element is lacking and excitement tends to stay confined. The same could be said for humor that is written and humor that is acted out on stage right in front of you; one is grey the other has color. It was surprising, however, that after reading Bill Bryson’s collection of newspaper columns I’m a Stranger Here Myself, and watching Seinfeld’s I’m Telling you for the Last Time standup comedy, a definitive victor was not easily distinguishable and the true nit picking began. Is it Bryson’s wit and finely tuned eye for humor that distinguishes him from Seinfeld’s comical boldness and enthusiasm? How do
It is evident in most comedians, who are successful, to have a few things in common. First, a good comedian needs to have a voice, one that you could recognize anywhere. The voice is going to be the defining characteristic for that comedian because, essentially, that is what the audience is going to laugh at. Take Gabriel Iglesias for example; he is extremely good at what he does not solely for the content of his jokes and a timely delivery, but it is how he says them that makes him stand out. His impersonations, more specifically his fluctuations of pitch and volume, alone make you want to cry hysterically out of laughter. Seinfeld, like Gabriel, has a recognizable, nasally voice and consistently plays around with volume whenever there’s a joke, which requires a little extra finesse. In some situations the ordinary sound of a word will simply not do and a deeper union of tone and volume are wanted. Seinfeld shows off his nasally voice and mastery of its tone when he is first talks about the discovery of Halloween and reveals his fantastic appreciation for candy, “…What did you say, who’s giving out candy? EVERYONE THAT WE KNOW IS JUST GIVING OUT CANDY…(Seinfeld)?” Bryson, although his voice has never been availed, has a certain accent that one could pick up on based off the
The skit that Seinfeld does when he is talking about the superman Halloween costume is a great example of how he is literally acting while delivering the punch line. While pretending to be suffocated from his hand over his face, Seinfeld continues on with making it real and making it relevant for the entire audience. Bryson, on the other hand, complains with a passion. Usually, Bryson starts off a complaint by discussing what bothers him, with very clever words, and as the situation that he is describing escalates, the British/American accent slowly does too. Bryson, however, cannot express emotions the same way through his words the way that Seinfeld can on stage acting. This is an extreme disadvantage for Bryson and with such a deficit the large gap separating live comedy from written