Charlie Chaplin, (above painting) once upon a time was a world
wide known movie star.
Through dark times during the Depression, World War I and II,
he managed to find a way of allowing mankind some respite
from despair and heartache through his uncanny and wonderful
knack of making us laugh.
What I find so masterful and insightful about his art is that
he managed to (and still does) make us laugh at ourselves and all our
idiosyncrasies without any undertones of sarcasm or cynicism.
How often do you laugh?
What would you consider to be ''funny''?
Do you think there is a difference between laughing at verses
laughing with?
There is a theory that suggests that often what we find
to be funny involves an element of surprise.
(We think we know what will happen next, but then something
else happens instead.)
There seem to be a general consensus that ''laughter is the
best medicine''.
Why?
Well, some say that:
it's good for our blood vessels, our emotional well-being,
it helps with social bonding, makes us more attractive,
lowers our stress and anxiety levels, strengthens our immune
and respiratory systems.
I read somewhere that laughter is about bonding/relationships
rather than a bunch of jokes.
Have you noticed that watching a ''funny'' something together
with others somehow makes it easier to laugh than when
you're on your own?
Actually, if you are sitting alone in a coffee shop, food court, etc.
reading a book, or watching something funny on your
i-Thingy and laughing out loud,
I'm pretty sure that people will deem you a ''nutter''.
But if there were two of you looking at something,
meh, nothing weird at all.
In 1980, a movie by the title of ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'',
was released and much to the surprise of
critics, audiences world over loved it.
Synopsis: A Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane
raises havoc among a tribe of peaceful African bushmen
who believe the bottle to be a utensil of the Gods.
There is very little talking through the movie,
just a lot of un-expected occurrences taking place,
occurrences that most folks regardless of nationality
found to be hilarious.
(Including me)
Coming back to laughing with or laughing at, I find
that laughing at is very different from laughing with.
Laughing at often seem to me to be done at someone else's expense.
Laughing with on the other hand, seem to involve the sharing
with someone/others the many absurdities and inconsistencies
that constitutes human behaviours.
What we may find ''funny'' changes as we age.
Farting is funny when you're 5 years old, embarrassing
when your 17, uncouth when you're 35, bad form
when you're 54, but then funny again when you're 98.
Ooopsie!!!
When I was a kid, I was made ''fun'' of for years by
others at school.
I remember one thing in particular.
For some reason, it was cool to have a large
birthmark. During an inspection by the school nurse
we were stripped down to our underwear. The nurse would then
mark down who had what marks or freckles.
I had none. Nada, zilch, nothing.
So the ''new song'' the bullies chanted was:
''You're not even born, coz you have no mark of birth.''
Funny? Not so much.
Which is why I love much of Charlie Chaplin's
work. Funny, without being sarcastic or demeaning.
Always infusing his comedy with intelligence,
reflection, and a meaningful message.
If in order to be funny a person feels he/she needs to
''lace'' his/her humor with sarcasm, shame, or criticism,
perhaps he/she may benefit from watching a few
Charlie Chaplin movies.........
and learn a trick or two from the Master.
''Research has shown that laughing for 2 minutes is just
as healthy as a 20 minute jog. So now I'm sitting in
the park laughing at all the joggers.'' (coolfunnyquotes)
about painting: large canvas, acrylic....
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