Comedy for Thought

It never fails to refresh me to witness a piece of comedic entertainment that serves the purpose of amusing but also makes you think at the same time. I recently stumpled upon a piece of standup by the name of "Randy Writes a Novel" and was nothing short of immensely entertained. When I saw the cover, showing a purple puppet at a desk, I will admit that I didn't have the highest expectations. After all, I haven't witnessed many pieces of comedy involving puppetry that were particularly witty, deep, or thought provoking, but this was vastly different. While of course it was crass at many points, most comedy these days is, it became increasingly apparent that I was witnessing a piece of artistic expression developed by an intelligent and deeply thoughtful individual. I won't spoil any more about this example (I'd highly recommend looking it up) but that brings me to the topic of comedy being used as a means of provoking thought. Far too much comedy that's out there seeks to entertain and do nothing else. I'm not saying there's anything that's intrinsically wrong with that, after all, people seek out comedy to take them away from the stress of the trials and tribulations of life. Most people don't walk into comedy clubs with the expectation of having an educational experience. However, I'll never cease to have a profound appreciation for the rare happy instances when someone is able to walk a line with a balance of thought provocation and entertainment. Comedy in and of itself is a craft that requires an apptitude for enthusiasm, story telling, and personality. That alone is a difficult enough of a trade to master, but to be able to take those talents and combine them with an ability to truly make people think is nothing short of astounding. It truly takes unique individuals to be able to do that and I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't possess those capabilities, just as neither do most average people in the general population. I'll finish by passing on the key question that was proposed in this most recent piece I witnessed. For just a little bit of context, in the special Ernest Hemingway is discussed a fair amount and that's very relevant to the question; "Is it better to be a forgettable but fundamentally good person, or to be a memorable individual with horrible character flaws?" That really made me think. It made me wonder if being well known at the cost of being hated or looked down upon by many would be better than being known by few but as a truly good person. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever truly know the answer to that question. I think I'm destined to live a life in a sort of middle ground between those two scenarios as a man, flawed, but generally good. Certainly not history making, but hopefully having at least something to offer the world. I think that's what everyone wants on some level. They want to leave something behind in this world to be remembered by. They want to be able to die with the knowledge that they had at least some kind of impact, which, sadly, countless individuals have failed to attain in the past, and countless more will fail to attain in the future to come. A freaking comedy show made me think all that and that is truly amazing.