Surreal humour - Citizendia

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Surreal humour is a form of humour, stylistically related to the artistic ambitions of the surrealists, based on bizarre juxtapositions, absurd situations and nonsense logic. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members Surrealist music is Music which uses unexpected Juxtapositions and other Surrealist techniques. Surrealist Films include Un chien andalou and L'Âge d'Or by Luis Buñuel and Dalí; Buñuel went Two Surrealist Manifestos (Le Manifeste du Surréalisme were issued by the Surrealist movement, in 1924 and 1929 respectively Surrealism in Art, Poetry, and Literature utilizes numerous unique techniques and games to provide inspiration Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members Nonsense is a verbal communication or Written text which appears to be a Human language or other Symbolic system, but in fact does not carry any identifiable A common element of surreal humor is the non-sequitur, in which one statement is followed by another with no logical progression. A non sequitur (ˌnɒnˈsɛkwɨtɚ is a conversational and literary device often used for comical purposes (as opposed to its use in formal logic)

History of surreal humour

Humour which that might be considered surreal has been around at least since the nineteenth century. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass both use illogic and absurdity for humorous effect. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (ˈdɒdsən (27 January 1832 &ndash 14 January 1898 better known by the Pen name Lewis Carroll (/ˈkærəl/ was an English Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865 is a novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known under the Pseudonym Lewis Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There ( 1871) is a work of Children's literature by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Many of Edward Lear's nonsense stories and poems are also basically surreal in approach; for example, The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Round the World is filled with contradictory statements and odd images intended to provoke amusement, such as the following:

"After a time they saw some land at a distance; and when they came to it, they found it was an island made of water quite surrounded by earth. Edward Lear ( 12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English Artist, Illustrator and Writer known Besides that, it was bordered by evanescent isthmuses with a great Gulf-stream running about all over it, so that it was perfectly beautiful, and contained only a single tree, 503 feet high. "

Despite such precursors, the name "surreal" first began to be used to describe a type of aesthetic in the early 20th century. At that time, several avant-garde movements including Dadaists, surrealists, and futurists began to argue for an art that was random, jarring and illogical. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard For other meanings see Dada (disambiguation DaDa is a Concept album by Alice Cooper, released Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members Futurism was an Art movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century The goals of these movements were in some sense serious, yet they were also committed to undermining the solemnity and self-satisfaction of the contemporary artistic establishment. As a result, much of their art was intentionally amusing. One famous example is Marcel Duchamp's inverted urinal of 1917, entitled Fountain and signed "R. Marcel Duchamp (maʀsɛl dyˈʃɑ̃ (28 July 1887 &ndash 2 October 1968 was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist Mutt. " This became one of the most famous and influential pieces of art in history — it is also, however, a joke, relying on the inversion of the item's function as expressed by its title as well as its incongruous presence in an art exhibition. Duchamp's attitude to conventional art was echoed in Paris in 2006 when "protesters" milled around an outdoor pissoir to express their disgust that "works of art" were being used to collect urine.

In addition to the avant-garde art movements, early surrealist comedy is found in the satirical and comedic elements of works of modern authors, who, like Lear and Carroll, wrote stories which dispensed with the normal rules of logic. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Examples of this include the dark comedy of Kafka, the stream of consciousness-style writings of James Joyce (and later stream-of-consciousness authors like Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson), or the whimsical poetry of Dylan Thomas and E. E. Cummings. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the Jack Kerouac ( March 12 1922 &ndash October 21 1969) was an American Novelist, Writer, Poet, and William Seward Burroughs II ( – ˈbʌroʊz was an American Novelist, Essayist, Social critic, painter and Spoken word Hunter Stockton Thompson ( July 18, 1937 &ndash February 20, 2005) was an American Journalist and Author, most Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953 was a Welsh poet who wrote exclusively in English Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14 1894 &ndash September 3 1962 popularly known as E Surrealist humour is also found frequently in avant-garde theatre such as the droll Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters wait for someone named Godot who never arrives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existentialist Tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Humour in the avant-garde arts continues to this day. Artists like Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol, Donald Barthelme, Italo Calvino, John Hodgman and many others have relied on this technique in their work. born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. For the song by David Bowie, see Andy Warhol (song. Andrew Warhola (August 6 1928 &ndash February 22 1987 known as Andy Warhol Donald Barthelme ( April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American author of short fiction and Novels He also Italo Calvino ( October 15, 1923 &ndash September 19, 1985) (ˈiːtalo kalˈviːno was an Italian journalist and writer of short John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author and humorist

Surrealist humour has played an important role in popular culture, especially since the radio show, The Goon Show and The Firesign Theater. The Goon Show was a British Radio comedy programme originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960 The Firesign Theatre is a Comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Philip Proctor. In the 1960s, surrealist humour was combined with counter-culture in movements such as the Youth International Party, Situationism, and the religion of Discordianism, as well as in the work of psychedelic musicians such as The Beatles, Frank Zappa, The Residents, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Pink Floyd and Captain Beefheart. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a highly theatrical and Anti-authoritarian Political party established in The Situationist International ( SI) was a small group of international political and artistic Agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the Discordianism is a modern Religion centered on the idea that Chaos is as important as order. Psychedelic music is a term that refers to a broad set of popular music styles genres and scenes that may include Psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, Psychedelic The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director The Residents is an American Avant-garde music and Visual arts collective who have created over sixty albums created numerous musical short films The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band, The Bonzo Dog Dada Band and colloquially as " The Bonzos " are a band created by Pink Floyd are Don Van Vliet (born Donald Glen Vliet on January 15 1941, in Glendale California, U

Another significant influence of surrealist humour on popular culture is Monty Python, most notably in their Goon Show-influenced TV series, Monty Python's Flying Circus, which featured a more lucid and intricate style of show structure and many more absurdities and non-sequiturs than the later show, Saturday Night Live. Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television The Goon Show was a British Radio comedy programme originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960 Monty Python’s Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or during the final series just Monty Python) is a BBC Sketch comedy Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City Since the influence of Monty Python, shows including humour of a primarily surrealistic nature include The Kids in the Hall, Mr. Show, Scrubs, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, the comedy programming of Adult Swim (especially Williams Street shows such as Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman,12 oz. Mouse, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!), Spaced, Late Night, Green Wing, and the comedies of Reeves and Mortimer. The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian Sketch comedy group formed in 1984 consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Mr Show (also known as Mr Show with Bob and David) was a Sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/comedy Scrubs is an Emmy and Peabody Award -winning American Comedy-drama that premiered on October 2 2001 on NBC. The Ren and Stimpy Show is an American / Canadian animated television series created by Canadian Animator John Rocko's Modern Life is an American Animated series created by Joe Murray that aired for four seasons from 1993 to 1996 Adult Swim, (usually stylized swim with its signature square Brackets, is an adult-oriented Television network sharing channel space with Cartoon Williams Street (previously known as Ghost Planet Industries after Space Ghost 's home base studio from 1994 to 1999 is a division of Cartoon Network, which Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an animated spoof talk show The main characters of the show include Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as ATHF) is an American Animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law is a North American Animated television series comedy created by Williams Street that airs on Cartoon Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! is an American Television series, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which Spaced is a British Television Situation comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and Green Wing is an award-winning British television Comedy set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital Trust. Vic Reeves (born 24 January 1959 real name Jim Moir) and Bob Mortimer (born 23 May 1959 more commonly known simply as Vic and Bob In anime, FLCL and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo,are good examples. (anime in Japanese, is an Original video animation series written by Yōji Enokido, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by the FLCL Production Committee which (sometimes known as Bo x 7 or Bo-bobo) is a Manga by Yoshio Sawai, published by Shueisha in Japan and serialized in the Other good examples of more recent surrealist humour can be found in the radio and book series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett's Discworld book series, numerous graphic novels such as Flaming Carrot, and films by such directors as Alejandro Jodorowsky, Fernando Arrabal, Federico Fellini, David Lynch, Matthew Lessner and Peter Greenaway. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948 is an English fantasy, Science fiction, and children's author. Discworld is a comedic Fantasy Book series by the British author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat Flaming Carrot Comics is a Surrealist Comic book by Bob Burden originally published by Aardvark-Vanaheim, then by Renegade Alejandro Jodorowsky (ɑːlɛˈxɑːndrɒ jɒdɒˈrɒvskiː (born February 7 1929 in Tocopilla, Chile, of a Jewish Russian (Ukranian immigrant family Fernando Arrabal Terán (born August 11, 1932 in Melilla, Spain) is a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI ( January 20 1920 &ndash October 31 1993) was an Italian Film David Keith Lynch (born January 20 1946 is an American director, Screenwriter, producer, painter, Cartoonist, Composer Peter Greenaway, CBE (born 5 April 1942) is an English Film director born in Wales. Numerous websites also involve surreal humor, including Something Awful, Buttercup Festival, and Homestar Runner. Something Awful, often abbreviated to Buttercup Festival is a Webcomic authored by England -based poet and author David Troupes Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes Surreal humor with references to 1970s '80s and '90s pop culture The television shows South Park, Family Guy, Futurama, American Dad and The Mighty Boosh all use surrealism as a major part of their appeal. South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and American Dad! is a satirical American animated series produced by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions for 20th Century The Mighty Boosh, colloquially referred to as The Boosh, is the collective name for the creators of the British television situation comedy written by and starring In stand-up comedy, famous exponents of surreal comedy include Ross Noble, Bill Bailey and Eddie Izzard. Ross Markham Noble (born 5 June 1976) is an English Stand-up comedian, raised in Cramlington, Northumberland. Mark Bailey where he was initially an academic pupil winning most of the prizes Edward John "Eddie" Izzard (born February 7, 1962) is a British stand-up comedian and Dramatic Actor. The 2001 animated short Rejected uses surreal humur. Rejected is a 2000 animated short comedy film by Don Hertzfeldt that was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Animated Even the E! talk show The Soup draws from absurdist humour, pointing out absurdities within modern culture. The Soup is an E! Entertainment Television weekly series It is a revamped version of Talk Soup that focuses on recaps of various Pop

History of surreal humour

See also