Cross-Pollination in the Comedy World
Photo: Fernando Trabanco Fotografía via Getty Images In today's divided world, and when looking at a vision of a more unified comedy world, one should acknowledge that the comedy world has never truly been unified. Even prior to the ultra-divisiveness of today, the comedy world has always had its divisions, based on philosophical/practical approaches or even just geographic/ethnic differences. A key division line has been that of the more artistic vs. the more practical approach. Unlike other types of self-expression, there is a very A+B=C aspect to comedy (that being the end result being a laugh/positive response). The practical approach plays to this as a functional approach: “How do I make this audience laugh?”. The more artistic approach examines the self-expression a little more intently, seeking originality within that framework (and sometimes eschewing the framework entirely to varying degrees of success): “How do I stay true to my uniqueness while still making an audience l...