THOSE WHO MAKE US LAUGH MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE
“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.”
- Peter Ustinov
When I was a school boy (St. Aloysius), there
was no Television in our country. Our school had a small auditorium, where, every
now and then, they used to show us a nice English film, mostly a comedy. My
favourites were Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Buster Keaton. They were
all B & W films. All Charlie Chaplin films used to be without dialogues. There
was only one theatre in our hometown, Mangalore, which showed English films. I
don’t remember watching a single film over there till I landed in college… There
was no money to watch. Thus, we kids made the most of every film shown to us in
school.
Now, almost fifty years later, thanks to the
internet boom – particularly the Social Media – we get to watch many of those old
English comedies (or their best scenes) on our mobile and computer screens. Every
night, before going to bed, I make it a point to watch some funny scenes from
Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Buster
Keaton… They bring alive the kid in me and make me laugh effortlessly… And,
yes, they help me shed off my stress and seriousness, and sleep well!
For some time now, there has been a boom in
the comedy space. There are several comedy programmes on TV. Besides, young
boys and girls, flock to watch live stand-up acts… That’s a nice thing to note.
Personally, I love every comedy show as long as it is not crude and vulgar. Anyone,
who can tickle my funny bone, by whatever funny act, is welcome. I think, a
comedian does a great service to the society… which is, otherwise, too serious.
News, politics, wars, gang rapes, terror attacks and even too much of ghyan
(including Blogs such as mine) add to this seriousness. Yes, I know, most of us
are serious bunch of people… We need to loosen up… laugh a lot more!
Yesterday, one of the videos I got to watch on
Social Media was a comedy act from Darlene Davenport AKA Nancy Cartwright. Some
years ago, I had watched the original version of this act. Victor Borge had an enviable
style of making his audience laugh through a unique combination of music and
comedy. It is said, that comedy is all about the sense of timing… and Victor
Borge was blessed with loads of it. I had particularly loved one of his popular
acts, where he would present simple punctuation marks - such as the Period, the Comma, the Semi-colon, the Colon, the Exclamation Mark, the Question Mark, the Dash etc - with his own
sound effects. Darlene (Nancy Cartwright) recreated this act with her own brilliance.
Watch them…
Many of us spend too much time on Social
Media. A lot of it is not necessary… and, yes, harmful, too, for our mental and
family health. But, a lot of it is good and does make us feel better, if we can
learn to use it wisely… Videos of pets and babies are priceless. Some memes can
make our day… And, those old English
comedies… A Charlie Chaplin, a Laurel and Hardy and a Buster Keaton… They are ageless… Irreplaceable!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Internet
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