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VISUAL NOTE-TAKING

MAKE ‘EM LAUGH

Sunday, January 25th, 2009 | Permalink

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PBS is running a great six-episode series on the past 100 years of American comedy called MAKE ‘EM LAUGH. I did these two mind maps on the fly during the first two episodes on slapstick and groundbreakers.

slapstick

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6 Comments on “MAKE ‘EM LAUGH”

  1. Django Says:
    January 25th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    Cool! When I think of comedians I think of Bill Hicks. I read somewhere that we laugh when people point out the difference between the way things are and the way they should be. No one pointed out that difference better than he did.

    “TV is a medium to push product. Period.” Right on! Hicks was censored on Letterman ’cause his jokes about pro-lifers killing doctors would potentially offend some CBS (or NBC, I can’t remember) stakeholders/advertisers/something like that.

  2. Austin Kleon Says:
    January 25th, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    I had to live in England to discover Bill Hicks — I was berated by a drunk Englishman one night, who said, “You bloody Americans, you don’t even know your best comic!”

    If someone asked me for a list of my favorite writers, Hicks, Carlin, and Pryor would be on it.

    Here’s a good Hicks quote:

    If comedy is an escape from anything, it is an escape from illusions. The comic, by using the Voice of Reason, reminds us of our True Reality, and in that moment of recognition, we laugh, and the “reality of the daily grind” is shown for what it really is—unreal…a joke. True comedy turns circles into spirals. What before seemed a tiresome, frightening, or frustrating wall, the comic deftly and fearlessly steps through, proving the absurdity of it all. The audience is relieved to know they’re not alone in thinking, “This bullshit we see and hear all day makes no sense. Surely I’m not the only one who thinks so. And surely there must be an answer…” Good comedy helps people know they’re not alone. Great comedy provides an answer.”

    —Bill Hicks, “The Wicked Christians,” in LOVE ALL THE PEOPLE: LETTERS, LYRICS, ROUTINES

    For all you folks who’ve never heard of Bill Hicks, HEAD TO YOUTUBE IMMEDIATELY!

  3. MAKE 'EM LAUGH : mind maps of the PBS series by Austin Kleon Says:
    February 1st, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    [...] You can see my maps of the previous two episodes here. [...]

  4. Django Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 9:08 am

    On Friday 30th January 2009 Letterman finally screened the Hicks routine that was censored in 1993. Bill’s mother Mary was a guest. Letterman apologised and praised the material. Very emotional interview at times and like everything related to Hicks you just get dragged back to Earth, though in a very liberating way.

    In my comment above I got some stuff wrong, which is what happens when I’m slack and quote from memory: Bill joked a fair bit about pro-lifers, but didn’t do his “pro-lifers shooting doctors” bit — instead he did his bit about how if pro-lifers were really committed they would block cemeteries, not med clinics.

    Also, Letterman took blame (on behalf of the production team, though he said the final decision was his) for the routine being cut. It was a while ago that I read “Love All the People”, though I’m pretty sure there were some theories, probably posited by Hicks, as to why the censorship took place, with reference to advertisers, etc. I think there was an apology from Dave in the book too, now that I take the time to think of it.

    So I’m very sorry about the misinformation. I hope the spirit of the comment was accurate, though. Kinda Gonzo blog-commenting. (At best.)

  5. Austin Kleon Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 10:07 am

    No worries!

    I stayed up and watched the Letterman show with Mary Hicks on Friday night. Overall, it was incredibly awkward, with Dave apologizing all over himself.

    Here’s a cut/paste from a Facebook conversation I had:

    Not [Hicks'] best, and I understand why Dave zarched it. But — very cool to air it, especially for his mom. The dead dont’ care. Only the living care. Plus — I think it was the “hunt and kill” bit, not the religious stuff, that made Dave hinky in ‘93 — especially the “put a shotgun in his mouth” part of the Billy Ray bit. The pro life joke really wasn’t that great, but the Easter Bunny and cross routines were top notch.

    I think it’s a matter of tone — in clubs he was fiery and angry. The fact that he was more sarcastic and turned down for the teevee makes for a really weird performance.

    Everybody who missed it can watch it here and decide for themselves:

    http://lateshow.cbs.com/lateni.....6782.phtml

  6. Austin Kleon Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Bill Hicks, quoted in “The Goat Boy Rises,” a 1993 New Yorker article, which starts out with the Letterman controversy:

    To me, the comic is the guy who says ‘Wait a minute’ as the consensus forms…He’s the antithesis of the mob mentality. The comic is a flame—like Shiva the Destroyer, toppling idols no matter what they are. He keeps cutting everything back to the moment.

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