Skip to main content

Response to Ryan's Lead Blog

"Substitute Teacher" and "Continental Breakfast" are two Key and Peele skits I could watch on repeat for the rest of my life, and never grow board or tired of the content. I agree with Ryan that the skits produced by the two comedians on comedy-central appeals to audiences predominantly through the use of superiority theory. A theme that can be found within the vast majority of Key and Peele skits is their use of exaggeration and stereotyping the characters and roles they take on. Typically the characters presented can be found in everyday life but their persona is amplified, enabling audience members to identify individuals within their daily lives. The adaptation of these hyperbolic characters increases the humor that is typically found within the type of individual being depicted and portrayed. For example, the skit "Fraternity Branding" is embellishing stereotypical "frat bros"that are obnoxiously obsessed with their fraternity and go to extreme lengths to prove such enthusiasm and loyalty. It is common to hear about college students pushing their bodies too far in order to prove something to a fraternity or during hazing. While stories of fraternity hazing gone wrong usually disturb, watching Key and Peele portray young college students that permanently mark their bodies with their greek symbols is exceedingly entertaining because it capitalizes on the stupidity we often hear about. This stupidity that audience members find humor in is the superiority theory, as the majority of people find the ignorance within branding one's body with greek letters. However, the joke is made even more entertaining as this branding practice goes wrong and one fraternity brother's brand looks more like a penis, a mark that will be permanently on his chest. This foolishness is what entertains audience members as they laugh at the depiction of ignorant college students, attempting to demonstrate loyalty to their fraternity. Through exaggerations like this, Key and Peele appeals to the audience through superiority theory, as their characters often act in ridiculous manners and make regretful decisions. 

Comments

  1. I think you are right that there is an element of superiority since they so often play characters that are just so easy to find idiotic. Peele seems in particular to be the one that is usually being the idiotic one. You also mentioned the exaggeration though and I wonder if that shows incongruity is more important.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found the idea of Key and Peele taking ordinary people and circumstances happening all the time to another degree very interesting, as I had not thought about the skits in this context.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lead Blog, September 7th

Vines That Keep Me From Quitting Life In no particular order: https://youtu.be/hamKHb_JEEg 1).  IT terrifies. IT mercilessly takes children and consumes their souls. Pennywise lures Georgie in with the promise of candy, popcorn, and the circus. We all assumed we would be safe from this deadly trap now that our adolescence is over and our desire for juvenile treats and entertainment has passed. But wait. IT's power has adapted and now we are no longer safe. IT now entices with... No...Can it be? PENIS ENLARMENT PILLS? We are all doomed. https://youtu.be/_U_UytUgnDc 2). The Wii. Let that sink in. A wii is not just another game. Heavens no! The wii aided us in our childhood and provided the content we needed. It was not just another source  of entertainment, it was a lifestyle and we (no pun intended) all lived for it. After a long day of dealing with other small children, we all needed that break from reality; an escape if you will. And the wii was always ther...

Blog 2

I agree the most with Marie Collins Swabey's idea that incongruity is found humorous because the two aspects are irrelevant to one another in a acceptable scenario. Often the humor is found within the topic of discussion because the two concepts are dissimilar. Swabey distinguishes that there are two forms of incongruity, logical and factual, and that the context in which incongruity is utilized may differ. Logical, which infringe on the laws of logic, are usually entertaining because the person utilizing the logical incongruity makes a false statement, which overlaps with the idea of superiority theory. Logical incongruity appeals to our sense of rational form where as factual appeals more to the incompatibility of certain topics. This form of incongruity is demonstrated when the association of said topics are viewed as incompatible or abnormal to the audience. Although Roger Scruton disagrees with the theory that the abnormality of the incongruent pairing of two ideas in not wha...

Blog Post 1

Everything Right With Big Mouth Big Mouth appeals to audiences because of its relatable and raunchy humor that is delivered by the main characters, pubescent teens attempting to navigate their way through middle school. The uncomfortable results of the majority of their misfortunes effectively illustrate the cringe-worthy experience that all members of our society goes through.   The exaggerated stereotypes of middle school students is thoroughly entertaining as they often seek aid from absurd characters around them such as the ghost of Duke Ellington, a hypersexual supernatural force residing in one of the boys' attics, always willing to give advice to the sexually confused and uncomfortable enigmas that are the boys. To make the whole concept of puberty and the raging hormones that we as pre-teens experience, puberty has two characters, the hormone monster and monstress. Because they embody all the emotions that both boys and girls experience while g...