We had the luxury of hearing a professional comedian in school on Friday. Give examples of how "Bubba Bradley" used the four elements of satire in his routine. Some were more obvious than others. Do your best to analyze his routine using those elements. He also talked about using humor to advance your ideas and opportunities. I might argue that writing satire is one of the most difficult genres and requires a lot of discipline as well as creativity. End your post with a joke. It can be original or borrowed, but it must be clean.
Q: What do you say when you are comforting an English teacher?
A: There, Their, They're
Bubba Bradley was a great comedian and an even better speaker. He used his own life experiences over the last fifteen years to influence his work, while they may have been tough to live with at the time he has turned them into an enjoyable story for his viewers. His act focused on the four different elements of satire each in turn.
ReplyDeleteThe first element of satire Brad used was exaggeration. Exaggeration is to enlargen something way out of proportion to how it actually is. Brad's opening line contained this element, he spoke about how much he LOVED speaking in front of a forced audience. The exaggeration was the word "loved", no one cares to speak in front of an audience who did not choose to be there because usually they are not as attentive as an audience who wanted to be. Another time he used exaggeration was when he talked about how lazy he is. Two examples he gave was of him waiting for an escalator to be fixed instead of walking up it and not shaving his goatee. The second technique he used was incongruity.
Incongruity is the presentation of things which are absurd in their surroundings. My favorite example of this was when he spoke of his trip to Reno, Nevada. While Brad was there he came across a man preaching the good news according to Kid Rock. Though Reno is a place of eccentricities the fact that the man was "preaching the good news" makes people think of the Christian faith in such a place. A second example was when Brad said he ate three or four meals a week and still did not lose any weight. To us that is absurd because if you eat that little you are bound to lose at least a little weight but he did not. Brad had other jokes involving incongruity but they lined up with parody also.
A parody is an imitation of a certain person or place. Brad's act was full of parodies, each skit had a certain amount laced into it. The most obvious parody he did was of the "high speed" chase announcer during the joke about being pulled over pushing a hot dog cart. Another very noticeable example was during the time he spoke about working at Yellowstone National Park and a guest was asking him questions. Brad had imitated the woman who was asking him the questions. The last element Brad used was reversal.
Reversal is the fourth and the last element of satire. Reversal is the presentation of certain things in their opposite order. Right away Brad hit this element on the head when he said that sophomores and the freshmen are the worst classes with their manners and seniors were the best behaved. Usually-even in our school- the seniors are the worst class because they are beyond caring what is thought of them. Freshmen are usually very well behaved because they are trying to make a good impression. All four of these elements worked together to deliver his act with the greatest amount of enjoyment for the audience.
Now I will leave you with one last joke
Q: Did you hear about the race between the lettuce and the tomato?
A: The lettuce was a "head" and the tomato was trying to "ketchup"!
Erin, good job with all of your examples.! We agreed on two of the four examples that he gave! I agree that he used the four elements together making it enjoyable for the audience. Great job and your joke made me laugh ! Good work Erin!
DeleteErin, you did a great job of finding examples for our blog. I enjoyed reading it and it was very informative! Good work!
DeleteP.S. I loved your joke.
Your joke was adorable! Loved it, and your blog was really good, too. Good examples and explanations, Erin. A job well done!
DeleteErin, I liked all your examples, but I especially liked your reversal example. I did not even think about how he identified each class. When I think about it now it does seem out of order and out of the norm. Seniors are normally rowdy, not freshman and sophomores. I also really enjoyed your joke, I am a sucker for a good pun! Nice job Erin!
DeleteBubba Bradley, class of 1999, was a great speaker to have at our Academic Assembly. He was very funny and also highly inspirational. It was really easy to listen, pay attention, and understand what he was saying. I was really excited when I found out we had a comedian speaking to us I was very excited. Bubba Bradley was really good at what he did especially because of his talent of using the four elements of satire.
ReplyDeleteThe first element of satire use exaggeration which means to enlarge or increase something beyond its normality. Bubba used different examples of exaggeration throughout his act. One example was when he talked about working at the bar, and he said "If you're as big as the door, you make a pretty good one." This was a funny way of saying he was big and tough. He made a lot of "fat" jokes that I thought could have been considered very exaggerated, but made his act even better.
The next element is incongruity. Incongruity is when thing are out of place according to their surroundings. The main example I found that he used incongruity was one of his first jokes when he said they preached the gospel according to Kid Rock. When people think of Kid Rock they do not normally think of Catholics and Jesus, but rather partying and such. This is why Kid Rock's role in this act was completely out of place in relation to the Bible.
The third element of satire is reversal. Reversal, for me, is the most difficult element to pick out or realize it is being used. Reversal is the opposite of the normal order. I feel like an example of this may have been when he said to take a deep breath before driving into Johnsonburg. When people enter Burg they do not inhale and enjoy the scent; they usually hate the smell and plug their noses. This is why I feel the subject was opposite of what the normal would have been done.
The fourth and final element is a parody. A parody is like an imitation or mockery of something previously done. The one example of parody I really noticed was the story or him being chased by the police. An original story may be a robber or thief riding away from the police at really fast speeds. Bubba said he was a at the high speed chase of 2 miles per hour. This was similar to a mockery or parody.
Bubba Bradley was very talented. I wish we would've had more time for him to talk. I went home and told my parents and found out my dad coached him in football. My dad said he was a really funny guy back in the day too. Bubba was a very good speaker and comedian and I really enjoyed his speech.
Here is my joke!
Q: Did you hear about the hungry clock?
A: It went back four seconds.
Jolene, you did a very good job with this blog. Your examples were very intuitive and I love how you explained them. Your joke was especially funny too. Great work!
DeleteJolene, I laughed out loud when I read your joke, it was really funny. I think your examples were spot on as well. Nice job!
DeleteJolene, your examples were really good! I did not pick up on the joke at Johnsonburg until you mentioned it. I also agree with the rest of your examples for the other elements of satire too and enjoyed the joke.
DeleteWhen I first heard we were having an academic assembly, I started dreading it immediately. Normally, the speakers that are invited to relate their post- high school experiences are not very exciting. As any nosy high schooler would do, I asked around to find out who our speaker was. The answer I received was not what I was expecting. Bubba Bradley, a famous comedian, was coming to our school. When he was starting his talk in the auditorium, I had the four types of satire in my brain, waiting to identify each of them in his talk.
ReplyDeleteMy least favorite one to identify was reversal. Reversal is showing something the opposite way of which it has been seen normally. Reversal is hard to realize, but there was definitely an example of it in Bubba's speech. I though that an example of reversal was when he told the story about getting chased by a nun at the school. He told us that the nun's habit was quite "aerodynamic" and that he could have used a polo to be a little quicker. This is reversal because a nun's habit is most likely very slow for running with the way the skirts would wrap around their legs. Also, the most common idea of a nun is a demure woman with her head bowed in prayer. The woman that came to my mind was a crazy-eyed nun running wildly across the convent yard. It was a very silly image though, and I really enjoyed that tale.
Another type of satire is parody. A parody is a mockery of something. Bubba used parody when he told the story about the tourists he had to deal with at Yellowstone National park. He imitated the tourists and their silly questions. He had another parody, which was the story of his "high speed chase" as he got pulled over walking home his hot dog cart late at night. Both of these stories were entertaining and added to his talk with their wittiness.
Exaggeration was another type of satire that appeared in Bubba's comedy. To exaggerate is to blow things out of proportion. One great example of this was when he talked about the girl who ate couch cushions on television. He seemed to exaggerate the story a little but by saying that she was thought by now to have eaten "three couches and an ottoman". He then kept making the story seem larger by saying that she was working on a footstool and some other various furniture items. This, of course, made everyone laugh and kept things interesting even when he was not doing his routine.
His final use of satire was use of incongruity. If something is incongruent, it is out of place or incompatible with its surroundings. He had one example of this when he talked about being a starving artist. Looking at him, you wouldn't think he'd ever been starving in his life, but he joked about how people would look at him asking for money and just snicker. They probably though he was a very bad con artist.
Bubba Bradley's whole set was very entertaining, and his talk about his actual experiences were very interesting and informative. I really enjoyed him, and I wish we have more speakers like him in the future.
Now it' time for a joke.
If you are ever cold, go stand in a corner.
Why?
Corners are ninety degrees.
Hannah, I think that you did a very good job with all your examples, and your joke was really funny nice job!
DeleteCute joke! You did a nice job with your elements of satire and examples. Good work!
DeleteHannah, I totally agree with your thought that Bubba Bradley was entertaining and his speech on life was very interesting too. You did a great job with your examples of the four elements of satire. I liked your joke too! Great effort!
DeleteGetting Bubba Bradley to speak during our academic assembly on Friday was a great idea by our school. Bringing someone into the school who was famous and a good speaker attracted attention in a great way. The knowledge that Bubba Bradley had of the four elements of satire helped him very much in getting us students motivated. Bubba Bradley is very good at his job.
ReplyDeleteThe first element of satire is exaggeration. Exaggeration is when something is made bigger or blown up out proportion. Bubba used this element many times throughout his presentation. One of the major ways I picked up on him using it was in the story about the hot dog cart. I think that he exaggerated some of the things he said to the cop and probably did not say all the things to the police officer that he said to us. Using this exaggeration in his stories really grabbed everyone's attention.
The second element of satire is incongruity. Incongruity is when something does not belong with its surroundings. Bubba Bradley also used this element a couple times in his act. One of the ways he used incongruity is when he talked about the signs outside cities. When he said that Johnsonburg should have a sign that read "take a deep breath" that would have been so out of place there because Johnson burgh smells absolutely terrible.
The third element of satire is reversal. Reversal is when something is not in the normal order. I thought that this element was the hardest to find in Bubba Bradley's performance. One way that Bubba Bradley used reversal in his performance was by saying that you should never go to Reno. I feel that this is reversal because many people throughout the world do actually want to go to Reno so it was out of the ordinary.
The fourth and last element of satire is parody. A parody is the imitation of a person, place, or thing. One of Bubba Bradley's parodies was the story with the "low speed chase" with the hotdog cart. Many of the other parodies that were like this one were parodies because they made fat jokes. The fat joke in the hotdog cart story is that he told the cop that he thought that Bubba stole the hotdog cart because he was fat.
Bubba Bradley's talk to our school was extremely entertaining. I wish that our school would bring people in like Bubba to talk to the school more often. I think that Bubba's performance at the academic assembly was the best I have been to yet and may be the best I will ever go to.
My final joke is:
Q: What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back?
A: A stick.
Austin, likewise I feel that Bubba was a great speaker for our school. So many times the administration has had clean-cut, straight-out-of-school successful person come in to talk. It was nice to see a successful graduate who took an alternate route after high school. Anyways, I liked your examples of each of the elements of satire and your joke. Overall good job!
DeleteAustin, great analysis of Bubba's presentation. Agreeing with you and Erin as well, it would be a great idea for our school to bring in more people like to Bubba for Academic Assemblies. He was so something new and fresh, and didn't bore us endless talking. I also loved your joke!
DeleteI really enjoyed listening to what all Bubba Bradley had to say during the Academic Assembly on Friday, it was a great way to start the weekend. Through his comedy and jokes, he used the four different elements of satire: exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and parody.
ReplyDeleteThe first element is exaggeration. That is when an object or person is described larger or beyond normal bounds than what it is traditionally is. Bubba used exaggeration when he said that he owned a restaurant right outside of a bar. In reality, it wasn't a restaurant at all. Instead, it was a measly little hot dog stand. He was clearly making the hot dog stand seem bigger than it actually was.
The next element of satire is incongruity. Incongruity is when things seem our of place compared to their surroundings. Bubba used incongruity when he was talking about Reno, NV. He said there was a sign that said 'Biggest little city in the world!' This seemed out of place because many people know of and have been to Reno; therefore, it is not a little city.
Bubba used reversal in during comedy act too. Reversal definitely seems to be the hardest element of satire to pick out and understand. It is when things are presented opposite of the normal order. I feel like reversal was used when Bubba talked about visiting Johnsonburg. First of all, Johnsonburg isn't what you call a tourist flocking town, it is really built upon the paper mill. Also, when people would go through Johnsonburg they would not enjoy the smell at all.
Finally, parody is when the ways or techniques of something or someone is imitated. This was present when he spoke of the police chase with the hotdog cart. In my head, I was totally picturing the cop car's lights flashing, just like a real police chase.
Overall, I liked listening to Bubba. Bradley. He had some good points. One thing that I took away from him is that the only failure in life is to never try; always try. Also, to never have any regrets. Bubba has lived his life to the fullest so far, and he doesn't seem to have any regrets, that is a great way to live.
Here is my joke!
Q: What does a nosy pepper do?
A: Gets jalapeño business!!
Tori, great job with your examples of satire. You did a great job of explaining them. I really enjoyed your last paragraph! Your joke was also very funny:) Great work!
DeleteTori, I think you understand every example of satire. I liked your example of reversal. I thought that when he was talking about Johnsonburg it pointed towards incongruity, but now that I read your explanation I realized that it could be used as an example of a reversal as well. Your joke was pretty hilarious too! Nice job!
DeleteI really enjoyed having Bubba Bradley come speak and preform for us. He was very funny, it was a nice break to be able to get some laughs in to end a week of school. I enjoyed how he used his own life as an example of how small, everyday choices certainly effect the rest of our lives. I liked how while giving us that message he made us laugh as well. He used all types of satire in his skit, which really shows how good of a comedian he is.
ReplyDeleteThe first type of satire he used was exaggeration. He used this when he was telling about his encounter pushing his hot dog cart home. He exaggerated how when the cop pulled him over. He said that the cop pulled him over because he was a fat guy pushing a hot dog cart and the cop thought he stole it. He is exaggerating showed how judgmental people are.
Next he used incongruity. When he used this he was talking about the sign outside of Johnsonburg that said "Hey, Take a deep breath!". This is using incongruity because anyone who lives around here knows that Johnsonburg smells really bad because if the paper mills.
After that used a parody. The parody he used was of the show "America's Wildest Police Videos ". He gave many examples of how the episode would have gone if he was on there with his hot dog cart running down the road.
The last type of satire he used was reversal. He told us how his parents got him a wii fitness for Christmas. He explained when he was trying to use it for the first time, after he put all of his vital information in, it told him to sit down. This is reversal because obviously the wii fitness is supposed to promote active living.
Overall I really enjoyed Bubba Bradley's performance, now here's a joke for you.
Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation towards
the local swimming pool. I gave him a glass of water.... :)
Erin, you did a nice job with your examples of satire. I especially thought your example of reversal, was good. Your joke is very funny and entertaining as well. Overall, terrific work!!
DeleteBubba Bradley's performance had a great use of satire. It was very funny, and he was able to make jokes while still conveying the important message. It was a very encouraging performance since he shared his experiences of constantly forging ahead. Bubba Bradley used all four elements of satire in his performance.
ReplyDeleteThe first element he used was exaggeration. Exaggeration is enlarging, increasing, or representing something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen. He used exaggeration when he told the story about getting pulled over with a hot dog cart. The conversation he had with the police officer probably differed greatly from the one he described, but it just added to the humor.
The second element was incongruity. Incongruity is presenting things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings. He used this when talking about signs out of cities. He talked about there being a sign outside of Johnsonburgh saying to "take a deep breath". You wouldn't take a deep breath in Johnsonburgh since it smells bad.
The third element was reversal. Reversal is presenting the opposite of the normal order. Reversal is the hardest for me to identify. Bubba used it when he talked about the nun being fast. In reality she was probably the opposite of that, and the thought that ditching a sweater vest would make you go faster is kind of illogical. But, that's why it's so funny.
The fourth element is parody. Parody is imitating the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing. He used several parodies throughout the performance, but one of them was when he was describing his "high speed" police chase.
The performance was great to listen to, and it was by far the most interesting academic assembly I've been to. I took away a lot from his talk. Even if you fall, get back up. Always do your best. As Babe Ruth said, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."
Time for a funny:
Q: Why is tennis such a loud game?
A: Because each player raises a racquet.
Meaghan, I absolutely loved your blog! All of your examples were grat, and I truly enjoyed the Babe Ruth quote at the end. Awesome job!
Deletep.s. Your joke literally made my morning! :)
Megs, your example you used to describe reversal really made it easier for me to understand just what it really is. I loved it! I also greatly enjoyed the quote from Babe Ruth that you incorporated at the end of your blog. It really reinforced the message that Brad was trying to get across to all of us.
DeleteThat is the best joke ever!!!
DeleteBubba Bradley was a very funny comedian who offered to share his life experiences through his comedy and speech. He took us through his the journey of his life, and how he went from trying to get kicked out of high school to becoming a successful, famous comedian. It is nice when the speaker at the Academic Assembly is easy and fun to listen to, and Bubba Bradley was exactly that. Bubba was great at developing all four techniques used in satire, which made his standup quite comical.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first elements of satire is exaggeration. Exaggeration takes things out of proportional, so far that it seems ridiculous. Bubba really exaggerated his story about the hot dog cart. Firstly, he said that he owned a restaurant outside of a bar, but in all reality it was just his hot dog cart. Then he exaggerated his story about being pulled over by a cop. Now, he probably was not as funny as he sounded when he was talking to the cop in real life, but by exaggerating the story and telling us how he told the cop that he got pulled over because he was fat, the story was funnier and more interesting. Using exaggeration correctly can make stories sound better and capture the audience’s attention.
The next element of satire is incongruity. Incongruity could be another word for irony, or it means when some things seem out of place. I think one of the best examples of Bubba’s incongruity was when he said to “take a deep breath” when in Johnsonburg. It is ironic and out of place because when one would go to Johnsonburg, one would not take a deep breath because of the horrific smell. Johnsonburg does not smell good, and that is why “taking a deep breath” seems so out of place.
The third element of satire is a parody. A parody is when a person imitates the style of someone, something, or someplace in order to ridicule it. Bubba parodied the tourist he met in Yellowstone National Park. He imitated how they pointed and stared, as they asked ridiculous questions. Bubba also parodied the “high speed chase” he was in. The “high speed chase” could really be described as a “low speed chase”. Bubba imitated how the chase would sound on the news. The parody of the high speed chase was very funny.
The last element of satire is reversal. Reversal is arguably the hardest to identify. It is when things are presented in the opposite order of the norm. I thought an example of a reversal was when Bubba talked about being chased by a nun. He said their habits were “aerodynamic”. This seems out of order because nuns do not using run after kids, they normally pray, and their clothes are wide and loose fitting, not tight and “aerodynamic”.
I really enjoyed Bubba’s performance. I liked how he was not afraid to make fun of himself. When people make fun of themselves it makes them seem more humble. He did not come off as an arrogant comedian, but rather a person who was relatable.
Q. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off?
A. He's all right now.
Ian, I truly enjoyed your examples of the elements of satire especially your example of reversal. I forgot about Bubba being chased by a nun, but that was a fantastic representation of reversal. I also thought that your joke was really funny! Good job!
DeleteIan,
DeleteI like how you mentioned what exaggeration could be used for. It makes it easier to understand. Also, when you gave your example of a parody it made me think just how funny the concept of a "low speed chase" really is. Excellent work!
Bubba Bradley was very entertaining when he expressed his ability to be a comedian on Friday in school. He displayed examples of the four elements of satire throughout the time that he was speaking. Bubba Bradley was a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in 1999. He wanted to send the message that every decision that a person makes in their life will affect them later on down the road.
ReplyDeleteThe first element of satire is exaggeration. Exaggeration is when something is enlarged to make it stand out and become more noticeable. Bubba Bradley used exaggeration multiple times during his comedy act. One example of his exaggeration was when he said “I believe that I have about three chins now”. He was obviously not being serious because everyone has one chin, but he said this to make it a joke. Exaggeration can truly change the way that something is told if it is used correctly.
Incongruity is the second element of satire. Incongruity is the introduction of things that are ridiculous in relation to its environs. Bubba Bradley gave an example of incongruity when he explained that he heard a person talk about the gospel of Kid Rock. Normally we hear about the Gospel of the Lord. Kid Rock does not have much to do with the Bible and the Lord. This is what made the joke hilarious.
Parody is the third element of satire. Parody is the imitation of a method of another person or thing. Bubba Bradley showed an example of parody when he explained his “high speed chase of 2 miles per hour with a hot dog cart”. This was how Bubba Bradley described his experience with the police forcing him to pull over with his cart full of hot dogs. He thought that the police thought that he was a fat kid who most likely stole a rather large amount of food.
Reversal is the last element of satire. Reversal was not as easy to pick out as the other three elements were. Reversal is basically portraying something in the exact opposite order from which it would normally be presented. Bubba Bradley used reversal when he spoke about Johnsonburg being a city to visit. He knew that Johnsonburg smells horrendous and that nobody has the desire to go to Johnsonburg because there is nothing special at all about the town. In fact most people would not want to go anywhere near Johnsonburg.
I thought that the comedy act by Bubba Bradley was really something special. He was absolutely hilarious throughout the entire performance. I also learned a few things when he explained what a few things can do to your life. He explained that just one decision can change your life in many diverse ways. I wish that our school could bring people like Bubba Bradley to speak more frequently. Each of the four elements of satire definitely added to Bubba Bradley’s outstanding show.
This is the joke that I will leave you with!
Q: What do you call a pig that does karate?
A: A pork chop
Drew, I really enjoyed your example of satire! I didn't realize that his joke about Johnsonburg was reversal until I read your explanation. Also, I liked your joke! Overall, you did a great job, Drew.
DeleteDrew, first of all, I loved your joke! You made a very good point in your first paragraph about how "every decision that a person makes in their life will affect them later on down the road." Your examples were spot on! Good job analyzing the four elements of satire, Drew!
DeleteBubba Bradley is an incredible comedian, and he proved that on Friday when he performed for our school. He has this way of using all four elements of satire, exaggeration, incongruity, parody, and reversal, in his shows.
ReplyDeleteBubba Bradley opened his performance up using exaggeration, which is making things seem bigger than what they really are. He talked about loving to perform for a forced audience, emphasizing on the love. A lot of his stories appeared to be exaggerated as well, including the one about the woman from My Strange Addiction and his heart attack scheme with his trainer. To make everything easier to laugh to, Bubba exaggerated on parts. He also exaggerated about his laziness, mentioning how he grows his beard so he doesn't have a double chin.
Incongruity is the type of satire that is absurd. There was one example of incongruity that really struck me as hilarious. Bubba said that when another man asked him why he didn't go to church, he replied he had roll-over minutes from attending a Catholic school for 6 years. Bubba also mentioned that a saw a man preaching the gospel of Kid Rock. Bubba exhibited incongruity quite well in his show.
Parody is another element of satire. A parody is a funny imitation of someone or something. Bubba imitated a few of the people who asked him questions while he worked at Yellowstone National Park. He mimicked one woman who asked, "Well, at what elevation do the deer turn into elk?" Bubba used sort of a country accent when he copied her. Bubba also performed a parody Super Troopers with a high speed chase of a hotdog cart. He voiced the cops and the suspect with the cart. Another imitation was done of the Indian doctor he had when he had a 'heart attack'. Apparently the doctor was going to turn his heart off an then on again. So, Bubba imitated an Indian tech-support man, "Unplug it and plug it back in." I think Bubba enjoys parody the most out of all four elements.
Reversal is the element of satire that is not in the normal order. I found this element to be quite hard to pick out. Bubba often said that if you ever have the chance to go to Reno, don't. This is reversal because normally people encourage others to go to Reno and let loose.
Overall, Bubba Bradley used all four elements with style throughout his performance.
Here is my joke!
Q: There are two cowboys in the kitchen. Which one is the real cowboy?
A: The one on the range.
Natalie, I loved all your examples, especially when you brought up the imitation of the Indian doctor and the "heart attack". I didn't even think about those examples! You did a superb job of analyzing the types of satire used in Bubba Bradley's performance. Good work, as always, Natalie!
DeleteNatalie, I love how you incorporated the part about pulling that prank on his trainer. I forgot about that part until you mentioned it! Your example of incongruity, however, was my favorite. Roll over minutes have to do with cell phones, not going to church. Great job!
DeleteRecently, Bubba Bradley attended our school and spoke to the students. I found it very interesting that he was in the school's class of 1999, and he actually knew what it was like to be sitting there in the same shoes. He explained how his life started out with some issues and obstacles; however, God had a plan for him just like he has a plan for all of us. Bubba Bradley is now a very successful comedian, and he was able to capture the attention of his "forced audience" through four elements of satire.
ReplyDeleteThe first element of satire is exaggeration. Exaggeration is used to enlarge or represent something out of proportion, almost to the point where it may seem ridiculous. Bubba Bradley exaggerated a lot in his routine, and it made his performance very comical. He started out by explaining how he received a pointless present for Christmas -- a belt. He exaggerated by saying that no one would be able to see a belt buckle on him. Bubba Bradley continued to get laughs from his audience when he stated that his goatee covered up about seven chins and that his WiiFit told him just to sit down. My favorite example of exaggeration was when he said he owned a restaurant with his brother at one point in his life. It turns out that he was selling hotdogs from a cart outside of a bar. He continued to take this story out of proportion when he told the story of a policeman pulling him over while he was carting around the hotdog stand. This use of satire was crucial for the success of his routine.
The next element used was incongruity. Incongruity is the ability to present things that may seem extremely out of place or absurd in comparison to the surroundings. He started out by making jokes about Reno, Nevada, and continued by making jokes about a more relatable area, Johnsonburg. He told everyone that Johnsonburg needs a sign that says "take a deep breath". Obviously, since we are familiar with that town, we know that it not good advice. He continued with several other jokes in this type of satire. Bubba Bradley explained how he only ate three or four times in a week and still didn't lose any weight. By using incongruity, he was able to maintain the crowd's focus.
Parody is the third element of satire. It is a way of showing mockery through imitation. Bubba Bradley made a parody of a television show which presents a police officer's high speed chase with a criminal when he told the story of the cop pulling him over while he was pushing his hotdog cart. He cracked jokes about what it would be like if he would have ran, and Bubba Bradley even imitated what the news report would be like. He also mocked the tourists that he encountered while working at Yellowstone National Park. He even told a story about Reno, Nevada, when he saw a man preaching the Good News according to Kid Rock.
Last, but certainly not least, is the element of satire called reversal. Reversal is used when things are presented in the opposite order in relation to the normal order of events. I struggled with this element the most because his examples of reversal did not stand out as clearly as the other satire types did. However, he told a funny story of a nun chasing after him. He wished that he could have just worn a polo because he may have been able to run away faster. Bubba Bradley cracked the comment that the nun's outfit must have been an "aerodynamic habit". That is very different from the way most people picture nuns who are often silent in prayer. Another example of this is when he stated that in high school he tried justifying facial hair on the students because Jesus had a beard. Finally, when you think about students who graduate from a Catholic school, don't words like "mature", "morally sound", and "responsible" come to mind? Bubba Bradley used reversal by saying after six years of a Catholic education, he had roll-over minutes.
Q: What do you get from a pampered cow?
A: Spoiled milk
Bubba Bradley was probably my favorite academic speaker I have listened to in my high school career this far. He admitted that he was not all the great of a student while he was in high school, but admitted that, looking back now, he learned a lot. He used the four types of satire very well.
ReplyDeleteOne of these forms he used was reversal. Like most of my classmates above, this was difficult for me to detect. Reversal is something that does not follow the correct order. I think that he expressed this very well when he spoke of the sophomores being “the hardest, or worst, class”. In all reality, the senior class is usually the grade that teachers have to worry about and push harder because they all come down with a bad case of senioritis. The sophomores typically are still very focused and attentive.
Another form of satire used was parody. A parody is simply imitating something or someone. I found it very funny how he spoke of how easy it is to trick tourists into thinking that they are looking at something spectacular, when in all reality it is something as stupid as a stick. He used parody very well here by saying that the people native to an area could randomly pull off to the side of the road, stand and point at nothing, and before long, have a line of cars backed off behind them looking for who knows what.
The third form he spoke of was incongruity. Incongruity is something that is out of place compared to all of its surroundings. Incongruity was used in Bubba’s act when he talked about how stupid the sign in Johnsonburg that said “take a deep breath”. Because Domtar is stationed in Johnsonburg, the smell is usually not very pleasant. Therefore, that sign would be very misleading.
Exaggeration was the easiest to pick out for me. Exaggeration in when something is blown completely out of proportion. Bubba used a lot of exaggerations in his act for us. One example though was when he talked about the women that ate couch cushions that appeared on the one episode of My Strange Addictions”. He made the joke that she ate them so often that she had already eaten “three couches and an ottoman.
Many people enjoy funny things. Without satire, these “funny things” would not be so funny. This is why satire is so important. It takes things out of proportion or their surroundings and turns them into something else.
With that, I will leave you with a joke.
Q. What kind of shoes do mice wear?
A. Squeakers
Jessica, I agree with you that it was really funny when he said that you could trick tourists by pointing at nothing but a stick. It was a really good use of parody. The exaggeration caught my eye also because i had forgotten he had said anything about the girl who ate couch cushions. Very well done!
DeleteJess, great job with the blog. I really enjoyed that you brought up the roadside joke with tourists. I agree with a lot of your post. By the way, your joke..... Really funny :)
DeleteI hate academic assemblies. Usually we have a nice speaker who is really successful and got good grades and just loved school. Its hard to relate. Don't get me wrong, I like school, but I'm ready to get out of high school. When I heard that we were having a comedian for our early academic assembly I wondered what jokes he could possible have that were school appropriate and would make a group of bored teenagers laugh. Alas, Mr. Bubba Bradley reduced us all to giggles with his satire and I was proven wrong.
ReplyDeleteSatire has four elements, and only the best of comedians has all of them mastered as Mr. Bradley does. The first element, exaggeration, was used frequently throughout his talk. I thought the biggest examples of exaggeration were the frequent jokes he made about his weight. It was most obvious when he said he had lost seventy pounds and we clapped. He then said "when you lose a person and a half and still look like this..." This was a HUGE exaggeration! I mean if you know a person weighs around forty five pounds let me know because that would be one person in Mr. Bradley's mind.
The second element, parody, is my absolute favorite! I mean, who doesn't love a good parody? Mr. Bradley created his own parody when he put on the funny accent and pretended he was a commentator on the Wildest Chase cop show. It was pretty funny really, but if you ever need a clear picture of a parody I suggest the Simpson's or the occasional episode of Family Guy. That's some quality stuff.
Reversal is basically taking something normal and flipping it around. For me, that was when he went from being the big bad bouncer at the bar to doing the opening comedy act. Bouncers are intimidating, they huge scary guys! But a comedian? They're hilarious! You would never think that they're on in the same.
Finally, there is the infamous incongruity. I struggled with this one. It had to be something so obviously out of place; the elephant in the room, the stain on the carpet. Something so odd that maybe the police would have to stop to take a better look? That's right! The fat kid pushing this hot dog cart. I hate to say it, I really do, but wouldn't it be a struggle? A hot dog cart has to weigh a couple of pounds, but that's what makes it so funny!
And finally, it's my turn to be the comedian.
Where does Dorian Gray shop for cloths? Forever 21
I guess you'd have to read The Picture of Dorian Gray to get it...but it's really funny if you have read it!!
Ann, I really liked the example you used for exaggeration because he really had me cracking up at that point. You have very good examples, and I have not read The Picture of Dorian Gray, so maybe I should! Great work!
DeleteLoved the blog!!! You made some really good points, and I really enjoyed the paragraph on incongruity. But really, Ann, pick a joke that makes sense! ;P
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