For this post, I've decided to do something different. Instead of TFLN, I have discovered the site "When Parents Text." It's another website of texting humor, just without the drunkenness.
First of all, beneath the title, the subheading reads "small keypad, old hands." Personally, I find the concept of parents texting is inherently funny, especially when I see my friends' parents who put on reading glasses to text because the lettering on the keypad of their phones are so tiny. But here is my favorite entry:
Dad: where u sleepin ovr?
Me: I’m not sure yet.
Dad: lettuce kno wen u kno fer sure.
On top of my uncontrollable laughter when it comes to parents using instant message abbreviations, the fact that 'let us' became 'lettuce' and actually sounds the same when you read it out loud is hysterical. Just to clarify, when I'm laughing at parents texting, I really don't think it is the same as the 'sucker laughter' since they have to make an effort and sometimes struggles to keep up with the changing times. To me, the humor comes from a more basic source, which is simple incongruity. In a single text conversation, there are numerous incongruities, each contributing to the overall humor. Often times, it is the current generation of youths who are harshly criticized for our use of instant message abbreviations. That and the invention of spell check have helped produce a generation of people who do not know how to spell or even write with proper grammer, or so many think. Yet in this text conversation, there is a complete reversal of rules. The dad is using instant-message-speak (improperly because the goal of those abbreviations is to shorten the text but 'fer' has the same amount of letters as 'for') while the offspring is the one who texts with impeccable spelling and even punctuation. This probably added a streak of triumph to my laughter, which reminds of the American inclination to stick up for the underdog. Now we've showed them! Though to give the dad his just due, even though he was very economical about his words, eliminating unnecessary and silent letters, he punctuates his texts properly, another amusing incongruity.
Lastly, the lettuce is just so funny.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
quick!
Tonight, my friend Rebecca left me a voice mail because she was wondering if I wanted to go the gym with her. Surprisingly, my first reaction was not "no, I went this morning" but why doesn't she just text me? Yet calling someone and texting someone are two wholly different things. Similarly, humor in TFLN is different from a standup routine. Yet I've discovered that there is an element of speech in some of the text of TFLNs.
(734): she peed. on the sidewalk. it is 2 pm. Help.
(619): Lauren she was gnawing on a dresser. Gnawing. On. A. Dresser.
In these texts, the use of the period does not just serve the usual function of signifying the end of a sentence. Instead, they dictate to the reader how they intend for the joke to be read. Each period dictates a pause.
The emphasis subtly created by the periods do not take away from the humor of the texts. In fact, it even adds to the comedy. The emphasis created by these periods exaggerates the effect of the verb. This is especially easy to see in the latter quote which has the sentence without the periodic periods and with the multiple periods. When "gnawing" is a one word sentence, it underscores the absurdity and animal-like action and evokes a more detailed image. It works in a different way for the former text. Now that I think about it, this could just be me. However, as I read the text with periods, for me, the humor from each fragment stacks up as if each "sentence" adds a block to the tower of situational humor. And the "help" was just the cherry on top. This also works for the second text. Gnawing in itself is a vivid verb for an exaggerated action for a person. However, when you add on "dresser," on top of it, the shock humor increases substantially and contributes to the humor. Thus, the elements of speech built in by the periods makes the texts funnier than if they were just words without any punctuation.
Nevertheless, even though the joke in its entirety is lengthened by the pauses the periods dictate, the humor is still in short little nuggets. These examples, just like every other texts in the website, nonetheless adhere to Jessie Bier's idea that "our usual jokes are quick and pointed." Though the medium of the humor certainly has something to do with the length, Jessie Bier wrote The Rise and Fall of American Humor in 1968, a remote world with no texting. So what led to Bier's claim that "it is our speed that typifies us?" Impatience is undoubtly a national characteristic of young America. Perhaps it's because our nation is emphasizes results- after all, we are the nation of fast food chains and drive thru lanes. We don't focus on the delicate process of making food and sitting down to savor every bite with a fork and a knife. We become full, faster, if we grab the paper back and eat out of the wax-paper wrapper.
(734): she peed. on the sidewalk. it is 2 pm. Help.
(619): Lauren she was gnawing on a dresser. Gnawing. On. A. Dresser.
In these texts, the use of the period does not just serve the usual function of signifying the end of a sentence. Instead, they dictate to the reader how they intend for the joke to be read. Each period dictates a pause.
The emphasis subtly created by the periods do not take away from the humor of the texts. In fact, it even adds to the comedy. The emphasis created by these periods exaggerates the effect of the verb. This is especially easy to see in the latter quote which has the sentence without the periodic periods and with the multiple periods. When "gnawing" is a one word sentence, it underscores the absurdity and animal-like action and evokes a more detailed image. It works in a different way for the former text. Now that I think about it, this could just be me. However, as I read the text with periods, for me, the humor from each fragment stacks up as if each "sentence" adds a block to the tower of situational humor. And the "help" was just the cherry on top. This also works for the second text. Gnawing in itself is a vivid verb for an exaggerated action for a person. However, when you add on "dresser," on top of it, the shock humor increases substantially and contributes to the humor. Thus, the elements of speech built in by the periods makes the texts funnier than if they were just words without any punctuation.
Nevertheless, even though the joke in its entirety is lengthened by the pauses the periods dictate, the humor is still in short little nuggets. These examples, just like every other texts in the website, nonetheless adhere to Jessie Bier's idea that "our usual jokes are quick and pointed." Though the medium of the humor certainly has something to do with the length, Jessie Bier wrote The Rise and Fall of American Humor in 1968, a remote world with no texting. So what led to Bier's claim that "it is our speed that typifies us?" Impatience is undoubtly a national characteristic of young America. Perhaps it's because our nation is emphasizes results- after all, we are the nation of fast food chains and drive thru lanes. We don't focus on the delicate process of making food and sitting down to savor every bite with a fork and a knife. We become full, faster, if we grab the paper back and eat out of the wax-paper wrapper.
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