|
|
|
|||
Tom Cutts Staff Northern CA 5931 Posts 
|
It is said a pun is the lowest form of humor, so why do we use it in magic so readily? What do we think it does to our magical presentations?
|
L Trunk Loyal user Australia 207 Posts
|
Puns are not the lowest form of humour! That's why I use it so readily. Of course, there are bad puns, but 90% of everything ... etc.
|
|
R.S. Regular user CT one day I'll have 188 Posts
|
Sounds like a question for Pun & Teller.
Ron
"It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry." Thomas Paine
|
Josh Riel Inner circle of hell 1995 Posts
|
This site is interesting and all about puns.
If you know how to use something, you can make it work well. If you don't, you can't. Of course that's just me.
Magic is doing improbable things with odd items that, under normal circumstances, would be unnessecary and quite often undesirable.
|
|
Turk Inner circle Portland, OR 3546 Posts
|
Quote:
On 2007-12-03 05:21, L Trunk wrote: Well stated. As Cleopatra said to Marc Antony: "I'm not prone to argue"---Except in the case where she criticized my apartment so I knocked her flat. Badda-boom!! Mike
Magic is a vanishing Art.
This must not be Kansas anymore, Toto. Eschew obfuscation. |
|
KyletheGreat Special user Georgia 560 Posts
|
We us puns because they are so easy to make. Most puns aren't laugh out loud funny, ...that is unless they are use at the perfect moment. Puns tend to be more of the "Roll your eyes and smile on the inside" funny.
|
|
Tom Cutts Staff Northern CA 5931 Posts
|
Hmmmm... I see puns as Ambrose Bierce put it from the link above:
'A form of wit, to which wise men stoop and fools aspire.' Ambrose Bierce Just like a card trick. You see the pun leads you down the garden path and then turns the sprinklers on you. It's effect is more 'I saw something coming and if I had known your little trick of the word, I would have caught it before you finished.' A foolish little trick of wordplay. And so it may telegraph to your audience that your "magical entertainments" are much the same... foolish little tricks to be groaned at and roll one's eyes at. More importantly it sets up the paradigm that what you think you are experiencing is totally false, so why give any merit to this false reality, be it word structure or card trick. |
|
EdgarWilde Regular user 120 Posts
|
A good pun is it's own reword
|
daver Elite user Jupiter, FL 436 Posts
|
I've read a number of places where it is said that puns are one of the highest forms of humor, and the ability to come up with good puns (not just repeat those memorized) is an indicator of higher intelligence.
Also, I value the ability to come up with bad ones off the cuff, because in performance, it's a great way to (re)engage audience participation: "Awww, come on gang, can't I at least get a good groan for such a bad pun???"
Dave
What's the difference between a magician and a deck of cards? A deck of cards has FOUR suits... |
|
tom_stamm Loyal user Los Angeles 248 Posts
|
A pun is two-thirds of a joke.
What is two-thirds of a pun? P.U. I'm really, really sorry. No Really!
Just Some Guy.
"For Seven Tons of the King's Tea, Six Fine Ladies to Fight a Great Jackass -- me." |
|
cmnipper Loyal user 205 Posts
|
No puns for 7 days makes one week
Chad Nipper
|
|
Lawrence O Inner circle French Riviera 6811 Posts
|
In a good magic show there is a dramatic aspect. There are moments to create tension and moments to release tension. This variation in the focus by the audience is part of the entertainment. Puns are useful and they are not there to make the show "politically correct" or not. A "decent" joke may pull an elegant smile, a big one might get a laugh. The same pun with different performers in different circumstances can be great or embarrassing. It's rarely linked to the pun itself but to the experience or tlent of the performer.
The question of puns is whether they are audience oriented (aiming at really entertaining the audience) or self centered with the performer (it's a pun that makes HIM feel good). Exactly like magic what is audience oriented gets improved over time, what is self centered dammages the reputation of the magician further and further.
Magic is the art of emotionally sharing live impossible situations
|
|
brody Inner circle Omaha 1313 Posts
|
Actually, the original quote might be wrong.
Per Issac Asimov, in his book, "ISSAC ASIMOV'S TREASURY OF HUMOR, Quote:
"I suspect that by the time you readers will have reached this far in this section, I personally like puns if they're fresh and appropos. I once was attending a work "pot-luck" luncheon, and the guest of honor picked up a soup ladle and held it like a microphone and started thanking everyone. Someone in the back yelled for him to speak up. The speaker looked confused and said, "What?". I quickly said..."Speak a ladle louder". Huge laugh, many groans. I'm still waiting to use this one again. |
MiketheMagicDude Loyal user CT 270 Posts
|
I'm a huge fan of puns. good ones though
|
Father Photius Grammar Host El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo) 17161 Posts
|
I believe the original intent of the statement "puns are the lowest form of humor" was that it was the lowest common denominator across cultures in humor. Personally I love them.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
|
Flying Magus Loyal user 286 Posts
|
Puns are NOT the lowest form of wit. Flatualance is.
Magically yours,
Michel Fouché Believe in the Impossible |
|
Lawrence O Inner circle French Riviera 6811 Posts
|
Quote:
On 2007-12-02 14:03, Tom Cutts wrote: Humour in magic has to remain a collateral otherwise the audience looses the plot of the effect or doesn't remember the card. We're after a fugitive smile not after a big center stage laugh which would push the magical effect into the wings. Thus puns are convenient and, mind you, there are some subtle ones.
Magic is the art of emotionally sharing live impossible situations
|
montymagi Special user Slidell La 752 Posts
|
Lawrence, well said. Some people have the personality to pull off puns quit well. Some do not. I see puns as the fairy folk of the comedy world. They can be mischievous and sly and quite amusing. To say they are the lowest kind of humor is to say that ground beef is the lowest type of beef. Ever eat a poorly cooked steak or an incredible hamburger?
|
| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The words we use » » Something punny... (0 Likes) | |
Posted: Dec 2, 2007 07:03 pm 
| [ Top of Page ] |
|
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
|
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < 
|