Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 19:59:35 -0400
From: Bud Wertheim <bwertheim-AT-zelacom.com>
Subject: Re: PC has no place in humor


No, making fun of human foibles has not become obsolete, or inappropriate.
It has simply metamorphed to a newer more personal form with the interaction
as much between warring parts of the individual, i.e., brain vs groin and
including terminology suppressed through use of a Victorian standard. This
excess will probably give way to softer forms of expression once the initial
shock value has worn off. Though listening to the standards attempting to
pass as acceptable here on this forum, it will be quite a while before the
'Humorists' quit reacting to Momma and Poppa and start wiping normally
instead of spreading it around.

The Olympian mythic mellieu still holds its fascination and would be
extremely interesting using contemporary language and mores. It has been
done on the stage and in film but I haven't seen much of it in contemporary
puppet theater. Almost any major theme has some mythic base but Diogenes
looking for an honest man today would be hard pressed to determine that
using his prior standards. Could be very funny.

The closest I ever came to it was when I choreographed Steel, Bronze and
Copper figures to electronic music for the 1964/65 World's Fair in New York
(The Legend of Longeth). But that is another story.......

At 06:37 PM 5/20/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Well, perhaps this is an interesting topic for a puppetry list.  Puppetry,
>in at least some of its embodiments, has traditionally thrived on observing
>and making fun of human foibles and excesses.  So has this become an obsolete
>and inappropriate activity?  Has it lost its usefulness?  If so, what _was_ its
>usefulness, and whence this loss?  
>
>-malgosia 
>
>
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>

..............Bud



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