Final Reflection

Michael Feeney

Reflection

           

            For my final project, Finding Humor in Life and Death, I did a lot of research on comedy, specifically stand up. Listening to different perspectives on life and death itself from a number of different comedians gave me some insight into the way that some people view these acts. The humor that each comedian instills into these serious subjects allows for the audience to remain comfortable and relaxed while dealing with issues such as race, sex, politics, and general observations of daily life. I think that their job is an important one, because they ease tension while at the same time, talking about a lot of things that usually go undiscussed in our society. Social issues that affect us all need to be talked about and better understood, and comedians attempt to explore the different facets of these issues through humor.

            During the beginning of my project, I began researching different famous comedians and the type of humor they used. I’m a fan of observational comedy and dark comedy, and found that many big name comedians fit both of these categories. Each comedian saw life through a unique set of eyes, and used their distinct perspectives to create onstage characters and sets that relate to their everyday life and how they viewed the people and things occurring around them. I found that a lot of their humor had seemingly came from some type of anger over a particular issue, and that they used this anger to create comedy. Most of these comedians were able to pick apart issues and get down to the brass tax. The central idea or focus of their jokes often revolved around them trying to get their point across to their audience over a certain issue. By using humor, they are able to ease their audience into their concepts or viewpoints. Although they all have different styles and perspectives on everything, they all share one thing, they are all human. Comedy at its core is human, and it’s how we can easily relate to comedians and understand where their humor is coming from.

            Louis C.K. had originally been the comedian that had sparked my interest, and this influenced me to learn more about the beginnings of comedy and how other comedians had a made a name for themselves. I found that a lot of early American humor was far too simple, and instead started looking at comics that revolutionized comedy and helped turn it into what it is today. Comedians like George Carlin and Richard Pryor showed me that they these people were more than just laugh machines. They had interesting and unique viewpoints of the world and the problems that exist in it. I saw that a lot of them seemed angry at the state of society and how it restricted them. These revelations grabbed my attention, as I myself have always seemed to go against the grain in a lot of ways. I saw that these people weren’t afraid to talk about difficult subjects, while being completely honest and true to their audience at the same time. I began to see how people could be positively affected by talking about and laughing at serious subjects and issues in our culture. I began to draw the parallels between what I had been reading and learning in this class, and started to see comedy in an entirely new light.

            After reading Success Built to Last, I realized that people’s definitions of success varied from person to person. One man’s dream is often another man’s nightmare. Money within itself does not create happiness. Working for purely material gain is futile and delusional. I realized that these comedians I looked up to often felt the same way as I did. They saw through the bullshit and wanted others to see the same. I felt as if they had the golden ticket, they knew the meaning of life. As much as I wanted to believe that these comedians had all the answers, I soon realized that this simply was not true. These comedians were the same as me, you, anybody, and everybody. They deal with the same problems the average person deals with, but instead of getting worked up over things that are out of their control, they add humor to it and try to understand it to the best of their ability. This outlook on life is astounding to me, to be able to find humor in every little thing. Obviously some things in life need to be taken seriously, and comedy is all timing, but without it we would be a seriously depressed people. We need to laugh, we need to get angry, and we need to be sad. Comedians often offend people with their blunt statements on things they feel strongly about, and they try to bring out emotion in the audience, they want people to feel something. Comedians are often open with their emotions and thoughts and have no problem expressing themselves. I find this to be an amazing human quality and hope to retain it within myself.

            We do not have all that much time to waste, if any at all. This life is short, so I believe that while we’re here we should try to experience a vast amount of different things. I think that a lot of people in our society suppress and bury their emotions inside themselves, in fear of what others may think. People are too caught up in the daily bullshit that they forget to stop and smell the flowers. Comedians are able to bring people back down to earth in the sense that they bring out emotion and force you to deal with things that you may not want to actively think about. They can make us laugh, angry, and sometimes even sad. They remind us that we’re human, every single one of us. They bring us together with laughs and make us seriously think about serious issues that need to be talked about.

My Own Obituary

            Michael Patrick Feeney died peacefully on Saturday, August 7^th 20 2083 after living a long life of 90 years. Son of Thomas Feeney and Michele Feeney, Michael was born July 25^th in Weymouth, MA. He loved and was loved by many. He is survived by his children, and grandchildren. His writing was his passion. He has written four novels, and seven screenplays. His work in the film industry as a screenwriter will be forever appreciated by film lovers. Michael enjoyed hiking with his dog, and a good beer. In his retirement, he traveled with his wife across Europe, and Asia. In these travels he gained further insight into the culture of the world as whole, influencing him to produce an instrumental album of unworldly proportions. The fusion of different music from different cultures all over the world was a sound unlike anybody had heard before. As a music lover, he attended many concerts and even played the drums in his spare time. His personality was big at times, but warm. He could make anybody laugh, joking often (sometimes inappropriately). He is still friends with the people that he grew up with, and meets up with them for a beer at least annually. Known creatively for his surreal imagination, his work in film and literature propelled him into a cult-like status, but when you got to know him, he was a simple man who often enjoyed simple things.

            Michael Feeney 1993-2083. Known for his work in film and literature, but loved for being a husband, father, and grandfather. He enjoyed hiking with his dog, and a good beer. He will be missed by many.

Timothy Plains Cemetery

This cemetery is located on Plain St, Norton, MA. It is around a mile away from my house in Norton, just a short drive down the road. There were approximately 300-400 plots, split up into 5 sections. 4 of these sections have no significance between graves besides that they are all newer plots. The southern most part of the graveyard is where all of the oldest plots reside. Timothy Plains Cemetery is relatively small compared to most decent sized graveyards. This cemetery is owned by the town of Norton, and was first established in 1850.

Aesthetically, this graveyard is slightly unorderly and unkept. The landscaping needs a serious update, and even the walkways seem extremely old and worn, however the fall colors of the trees and leaves do seem to help. There is not much room any more graves, due to the small size of the graveyard. This graveyard is peaceful, and I feel calm as I walk around. There are no buildings, facilities, or even any above ground statues or crypts. Almost all of the stones are marked with a name and date, except around 20 that look absolutely ancient. 

The grave pictured above was covered in the most decorations, in fact most graves had little to no decorations. You can tell that someone has been to this plot recently, as their is a ripe looking couple of pumpkins and some really fresh flowers. This grave belongs to Erin Rodrigues, born August 17th 1990, and died Dec 9th 2013. 23 years old is far too young to have a gravestone.

 This gravestone has my last name on it, which I thought was kind of cool.

 

The grave above is the most recent grave that I was able to find. There are two miniature Adirondack chairs and two angels on this grave. 

The grave above is the oldest grave that I could find. Esther Clapp lived a long 90 years, being born in 1782 and dying in 1872.  

I chose this cemetery because it was the closest one to my house, and because I knew exactly where it was and how to get there. I would not even consider being buried here, as it is not the most well kept cemetery and the grass was mostly dead. Although I don’t think I’d mind all that much, being a rotting corpse and all.

As an anthropologist discovering this cemetery whilst not knowing much about the society of the time, I’m not sure exactly what I would think. I think a small cemetery like this one would make me feel like it’s a testament to family and small town traditions. It would remind me how tightknit people can be with eachother, wanting to be buried in the same plot as their loved ones. Since there were not much decorations, I would be lead to believe that most people bury their loved ones and then never come back to their gravestones. This hints at a certain amount of separation between the living and their view of death.

  Below is a map that I drew of the Timothy Plains Cemetery. Below the map is a couple of other pictures of gravestones that I thought were interesting.

The son of God didn't even get the best gravestone.

This guy likes cars I think.

Nice forest, rural artwork.

Looks to be a man and wife holding hands in front of their house, with their son on a bike in the lawn.


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