Tati and sound

Tati in shooting Playtime entirely in long shot uses sound as colour, texture and a navigational tool in the film.  The article by at the link below  discusses Tati's use of sound.

Dan North-Life is Noisy

Bertrand Russell-There is too much work done in the world

The philosopher Bertrand Russell took the view that society ought to take a very careful look at the nature of work.  "Good Nature" in Russell's opinion was the moral virtue most required by the modern world.  Industrialisation and the politics of the industrial world were inimical to pleasurable living.

http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html

St Monday- attitudes prior to industrialisation

The movies we have been looking at have the theme of work in common.  Tati, Sykes, Barker and indeed Chaplin have well developed attitudes to work.  It is an activity best done in moderation.  The comics' perception of the workers condition are not just those of individual talents.  They are also an expression of members of the working class to conditioning of individual behaviour that was a concomitant part of industrialisation.  An example of workers attitudes is given in the Wikipedia article on St. Monday at the link below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Monday

Viktor Frankl- in his own words

Take a little time to review the interview with Viktor Fankl at the link below.  As you listen pay particular attention to the portion of the interview in which Frankl describes the conditional nature of Man's freedom.  Note also that freedom for Frankl lies in the capacity to make decisions in response to a situation.  You will see that comedy, more specifically clowning, requires action within difficult circumstances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EIxGrIc_6g&feature=related

Viktor Frankl

The last chapter in the 2004 edition of Man's Search for Meaning is titled "The Case for Tragic Optimism" . In this chapter Frankl speaks of  optimism in the face of tragedy.  This disposition

• turns suffering into achievement
• uses guilt an opportunity to be better
• sees the transitory nature of life an incentive for responsible action

A human being is not in search of happiness but rather in search of a reason to be happy. Frankl compares the pursuit of  happiness to laughter.  Laughter cannot come about without a cause. This is the condition of all the clowns we have studied. They do not set out to be funny.  They are rather in search of happiness or fulfilment. Their aim is to give meaning to their existence.  You will have noted that optimism despite the evidence of his failings is the contribution of the clown to theatre.



(Frankl, Viktor E. Man's Search for Meaning, pp 137-154, Rider, London 2004)

Aristotle on Comedy

The Movies of Sykes, Barker, Tati and Chaplin have all been comedies.  We did not set out to find comedies but movies telling their stories without significant quantities of dialogue.  They have turned out to be comedies and while not remotely constituting a genre have threads in common. Before discussing those threads it would be useful to consider what comedy itself might be.  The link below makes a number of observations about comedy.  That

1.  Traditionally, comedy has to do with the concerns and exploits of ordinary people. And
2. Again, the true hallmark of comedy isn't always laughter. More often, it's the simple satisfaction we feel when we witness deserving people succeed. (David L Simon  De Paul University Chicago 1998)

Read the link and consider how this relates to the work of Sykes et al.
http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/tlove/comic-tragic.html

Kurt Vonnegut on the reasons for laughter

Kurt Vonnegut was a very distinguished writer of science fiction stories.   In this interview with the Christian Century website he discusses the nature of humour.  In the body of the interview he observes that humour introduces something troubling to the audience.  He then observes that Laurel and Hardy are particularly funny because they have a sweetness that it is too sweet to survive

http://www.vonnegutweb.com/vonnegutia/interviews/int_xiancentury.html