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Sunday, October 13 |
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Video philo is an event in which a film will be shown and a theme taken from the story to be discussed. It isn’t a ‘critique’ of the film but rather an analysis of a theme evoked in the film. The advantage of this method focuses our discussion on the theme in the ‘context’ of the story of the film. A context that is shared by the group. |
This coming video philo will be on "Humor" as evoked in several film excerpts. What makes us laugh and why? Is humor instinctive or cultural? Laughter begins in early childhood, with games like peek-a-boo and jack in the box. Is it the element of surprise, incongruity or Bergson’s theory of "the mechanical incrusted on the living"? Sometimes humor is untranslatable; sometimes it is universal. What is the difference? We will observe scenes fromp a number of well-known comedies (Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Mel Brooks, Monty Python, Billy Wilder, etc.) which demonstrate various types of humor, including parody, caricature, satire, nonsense, witticism, and impersonation. |