From: usenet@only.tnx   
      
   On Sun, 25 Oct 2020 18:17:31 +0000 (UTC), Howard    
   wrote:   
   >I saw a bit of a clip of the latest Saturday Night Live Trump bit, and   
   >as always it wasn't funny, and I got to wondering why impressions are   
   >such a big part of comedy at all.   
      
   Nearly all of the SNL skits I've seen, particularly the show openers, are   
   distinctly not funny.  As such, they hardly serve as a good example.   
   I'd look to performers like Rich Little or Vaughn Meader for more skilled   
   impressionists.   
      
   That said, I challenge the premise that impressions are a big part of comedy,   
   or the underlying assumption that impressions are necessarily supposed to be   
   funny.  Sometimes they are just meant to be entertaining; we admire the skill   
   of   
   being able to do different voices or evoking other people by a just a gesture   
   or   
   a twist of their hat.  And trying to dissect why something is funny usually   
   kills the joke.   
      
      
   >There's a transgressive quality, where you see a serious person doing   
   >something ridiculous. But the problem is that the more out of character   
   >they go, the less believable the impression, and it just becomes a   
   >slapstick bit. Except the attempt to make a believable impression always   
   >seems to dampen the ridiculousness to the point where it's not even good   
   >slapstick.   
      
   To the extent that impressions are funny, I think there are established comedic   
   principles in play.  One is exaggeration, particularly of a notable physical   
   feature or behavioral aspect.  If overdone, this does enter the realm of   
   slapstick, as you note.  Another is surprise; the impressionist says something   
   unexpected while in character -- for example, a conservative politician crudely   
   expressing the desire to commit a lewd sexual act.  All the better if another   
   comedic element is present:  a grain of truth, or at least a suspected truth.   
      
   I note that next to impressions is imitation, which is often used to humorous   
   effect when mocking someone, although often that humor is at the expense of the   
   subject and can cross the border into cruelty.   
      
      
   >What am I missing? Why are impressions so popular?   
      
   Are they?  Lots of comedians and entertainers do an impression here and there   
   --   
   often half-heartedly it seems -- but I can't think of any currently who are   
   primarily impressionists as were Little or Meader.   
      
   --   
   This is the movie of the screenplay of the book about a girl who meets a junkie   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)