Film, Literature, & the Human Condition

Whenever comedians go serious, they tend to give us among the greatest of dramatic performances. Three names in particular come to mind: Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, and Robin Williams. There is a very intense vulnerability in all comedians. It’s an important quality because the greatest comedy is raw, often observational about very awkward and uncomfortable truths. To make us laugh about these things, an individual has to put themselves on the line, to be willing to risk making a fool of oneself. Many of us know what it feels like to be embarrassed, especially in front of a large group of people. It’s usually a traumatic experience and the average person may recoil from ever putting themselves into similar circumstances for quite some time, if ever again. A comedian isn’t perfect overnight. A comedian isn’t perfect at all. To get up on stage and tap into the uncouth segments of an entire audience of people’s personality takes years of practice and failure. Comedians aren’t ordinary people. They need a strong will to fight through all the hopelessness and self-doubt, and these kinds of experiences and feelings, and a comedian’s willingness to confront these feelings head on in an attempt to stave them off, must bring them to a deeper, more intimate understanding of oneself. So it’s no doubt comedians are geniuses of the acting craft. Acting isn’t just about doing an impersonation of a character, it’s about being a translator for the character’s emotions. Who better equipped to make the examination of a personality than those of whom are already experts in the darker side of human nature? (continue reading…)