As Funny As A Gold Statue

So I was going to go into a whole thing about the absurdity of soulmates, but then I put on the Golden Globes and derailed my entire train of thought. Maybe I'll save that other one for another time, 'cuz it was gonna be good.

Instead, I'll address the issue of bias in the Performing Arts. I refer of course to the fact that comedy is consistently forced to take a back seat to the dramatic. How many comedies have won an Oscar for Best Picture? Zero. Goose egg. Not a one. The last few years, a few comedies have snuck in and been nominated, but they are usually tempered with lame dramatic schmaltz, like Juno. Comedy can't even get enough respect to get its own category, it has to share one with Musicals or Variety Shows. Imagine being roomates with a German drama major; that's proably what it feels like.

So why no love or critical acclaim for comedy? Why can't we just have straight comedy without the compulsive need to add a bunch of stupid dramatic filler? Every man, woman, and child finds something funny. Humor is universal, isn't it? It is, but it isn't.

I believe that comedy is much more complicated than drama. It's easy to make people cry: let the dog die or have the father finally express the love he feels for his son on his death bed. To make somebody laugh is damned hard; as any stand-up comedian. Although everyone finds something funny, there is a wide range of things that people find funny. Me? I can run the gammut of just about anything. Why just tonight, I was laughing my ass off at some cartoons from the New Yorker, and now I'm watching Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and busting a nut. Whether it's complex, satirical black comedy or dick jokes, I'll at least giggle. Diverse, ain't I?

So it's not that comedy is lower than drama, it's actually the opposite. It's too complicated and too much a part of us to accurately gauge in something as trivial as film awards. Laughter is not some juvenile response to a chimp in a leprechaun outfit *snicker*, it is a complicated response whose exact physiology and purpose are still largely a mystery to us. You know what I say? Fuck the Academy! Comedy doesn't need formal recognition, because I know what I think is funny and don't need anyone else to tell me otherwise. Comedy doesn't need to be broken down and dissected like that. Just let it be and enjoy it. Live and let laugh. I wanted to end on a joke, but I couldn't get one out before I finished. That's what she said!