I think it’s so fascinating that people can create comedy without having to say anything—when I think about the word “comedy,” I always imagine people getting in front of an audience and doing stand-up. That’s why these four videos struck me so much: being funny or providing some sort of comedic relief doesn’t merely have to be with words, it can be through stunts and silence.
One of Arbuckle’s stunts in particular ties back to what we’ve learned in class. He gets hit by a large gavel and falls down, and others around him (including himself) start to laugh. This links back to the superiority theory, which basically says that we laugh in situations where we feel ‘higher’ than others, especially during moments when the object of the laughter is caught in a misfortune. Arbuckle experienced an embarrassing moment, thereby exemplifying the Superiority theory. A lot of what Arbuckle was doing in the video was sort of emasculating in a way, especially when he was shown wearing a wig and a dress and dancing with girls or running away from another man, or even when he’s shown with two pots over his chest area. With that being said, I wasn’t blown away by these scenes and didn’t find any of them to be particularly funny. He didn’t depict himself in a strong way, but rather in an inferior way (from what I saw). His stunts weren’t physical or eye-catching as the other videos/characters.
I was pleasantly surprised by Harold Lloyd’s compilation of stunts. I enjoyed how he portrayed himself in these videos. In one scene, he quickly runs through what seems like a Ferris wheel seat right before people who were chasing him get trapped—genius! I thought the scene where him and another man hang themselves on a wall by the tops of their jackets was so ingenuous and something that I’ve never seen before, something that truly made me laugh. I was drawn to his more dangerous stunts, like scaling a building, hanging from a building (while a bucket falls on his head), or dangling from a clock over a street. I think these scenes get the attention of an audience more than what Arbuckle was doing in his scenes. From what I gathered through the videos, he created a screen character as much like the average man as possible: no outsize costume or face makeup—just a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and the occasional straw hat. His comedy came from taking this man who might pass us on the street and walking him one plausible step at a time into a world of outrageous misfortune.
Out of the four comedians, I recognized Chaplin’s name the most because he’s referenced a lot in popular culture. Just from what I watched, I can tell that he represented the destitute everyman. He turned laziness and the feeling of being unwanted into comedy. I was drawn into everything he did, and I couldn’t deny the way he could indirectly interact with the camera and audience. I really enjoyed the scene from The Gold Rush where he made wooden “feet” dance—I thought its humor was subtle but very effective. I think his characterization and the way he’s portrayed is quite memorable. The physical attributes of the "Tramp" include a pair of baggy pants, a tight coat, a small bowler hat, a large pair of shoes, a springy and flexible cane and a mustache. I think I connected with this character because of how seemingly well-meaning he is. Unlike the daredevil that’s associated with Lloyd, I see more subtleties with Chaplin—I think that’s what makes him so great.
The thing I noticed with Keaton is that he seemed to maneuver through surreal and complex situations. I liked how there was one scene that showed him getting into a car tire connected to the back of the car, but the car drives away without the tire…and without Keaton. There are a lot of stunts where Keaton falls down a lot, which I think shows his style of comedy. I also noticed his facial expressions—he can be seen with a constant deadpan facial expression. His style was quite similar to Lloyd’s, as both showed a lot of dangerous stunts and emphasized the act of danger. A lot of comedy today focuses on crude humor, and I think there’s a lost art in the silent comedy film. It adds a visual style and an element that just can’t be found in today’s comedy.
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