Barry Kirkey Comedy Lesson #6: Why It’s Funny

Hey man -

Before I hand the how to get a girlfriend blog over to Barry (aka Extramask/26), I wanted to tell you WHY you should do everything you can to get good with women.

Yesterday, I went to the beach with my girlfriend and a few other friends. We had a total BLAST.

For years I used to go out socially, and was single or, on the prowl…well, I gotta say, being with my girl makes it SO MUCH BETTER.

I had the best time. I didn’t have to impress anyone, out-alpha anyone, sarge anyone…man, am I glad those days are behind me.

So, let me URGE you to focus on this area of your life and get it handled. BUT, be smart about it, OK?

Be wary of who you get advice from, of who’s newsletters you read, who’s products you buy, and who you listen to as “trusted”.

There are a lot of charlatans out there…and, guess what? They are SINGLE.

Enuff said.

Barry, tell us why it’s funny man!

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Why it’s Funny – Part 1

Some people are born funny, and can generate laughter in almost any situation. However, this is not true for everybody, and is not always necessary to actually be naturally funny to a certain degree.

As I’ve written in various other articles, the best way to develop a sense of humor is exposure to different forms of comedy. A large part of this is through movies and television – the reason for this is because it actually uses both your sense of sight and hearing.

Seeing and hearing comedy increases your ability to both retain and absorb the materials you’re watching. While live experience (i.e. with friends or going to a stand-up event) might be the best overall, movies and television shows are a close second.

I’m not suggesting you become a couch potato, but if you’re anti-television then this article might not be for you – either that or stop pretending you’re cooler than everyone else and watch some fucking TV.

So when you’re watching TV, or downloading shows or going on YouTube, here are some things you should take a look at, and I’ll explain why they’re funny:

Seinfeld

This might be the show that got me, Stefan and Greg started. This is a classic take on situational comedy to its most ridiculous level. It takes portions of Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up material and puts them in real life situation. The deal with this show is exaggeration – nothing in real life actually happens the way it does on the show, but sometimes it’s damn close. This is a brilliant take on how ridiculous people can really be.
When watching this show, try to pay close attention to some of the side characters. In my opinion, this is what makes the show stand on top of others. The side characters are what the main characters talk and complain about. If you can connect the dots, you might notice that it comes damn close to every day life.

Conan O’Brien

Conan O’Brien is another real pioneer for modern comedy. He and his writers have pretty much mastered “arbitrary” humor. This is humor based on situations that make absolutely no sense in the real world. He exploits situations that are socially: awkward, pointless and/or inappropriate. This is another founding concept that myself, Stefan and Greg have adopted.

Another great thing about Conan is that he and his writers all understand why something is “lame,” and will use it as a new form of joke. For example, the “Walker Texas Ranger” lever that he had for countless episodes in a row. When he pulled the lever, the screen would flip to a random clip of Walker Texas Ranger – this show had some of the worst acting around in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. In other words, Conan knew that this was the right time to actually use the awful Chuck Norris show as the epitome of lame. This caught on like wildfire, and “Chuck Norris” jokes actually became a common joke in popular culture. Once that happened, they were not funny anymore – in fact, it became lame.

The Office – US Series

Steve Carell might be the top bill star for this show, but it has enough ridiculousness all over the map to entertain almost anyone. If you haven’t seen this show, start watching it – it’s not only ahead of it’s time, it will keep you laughing almost throughout the episode.

This one takes the same unique approach as its British counterpart, and is filmed as a quasi-documentary. Meaning, the characters are always (sort-of) aware that there is a camera on them. At certain intervals they will even talk directly to the camera as if being interviewed.

This show is especially funny if you’ve worked in an office environment. It exploits each personality types we’ve all had to deal with and takes it to the ultimate extreme, such as:

• The nerdy guy 3 cubicles down (Dwight) who doesn’t have friends, and if you’re nice to him, he will turn on you in a flash and douche you out – given the first opportunity.

• The idiot/asshole boss (Michael), who is really over his head in his position of power, but still manages to hold on to it, despite everything he does wrong.

These are only a couple of examples. The show is filled with different personality types that you’re bound to find something you relate to in this show. Why is this show funny? Because, like Seinfeld (but in a different setting), it’s taking examples or regular personalities and pushing them to their worst level – you just can’t help but relate to each and every person, because it’s so close to real life. The more you can relate, the more you can absorb and adopt the pieces you want into your own style of humor.

Alright, my keyboard hurts. Next week I’ll talk about other shows that are less popular but just as funny – or more.

In the meantime, get your ass in gear and start exposing your brain to funnier things. If you’re not making an effort to do that, you don’t have any right to bitch about why people think you aren’t funny.

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Thanks to Barry for his how to get a girlfriend blog submission this week…much obliged man.

Want to learn more about Barry? Here’s where to go:

http://www.revolution31.com/blog/

More vids to come this week…as well as other stuff too man. THANKS for tuning in.

Sn.

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