Comedy Defies

I found Sarah Ruden’s translation of Lysistrata quite entertaining! I actually got to page 12 and had to put the book down to call a friend and giggle about all the bawdy humor going on.
A few of my favorite lines are:

“We’ve even lost those six-inch substitutes,
Those dinky dildos for emergencies.” (109-110)

“From now on, no more penises for you.” (124)

“ANYTHING else for me. I’d walk through fire,
But do without a dick? Be serious!
There’s nothing, Lysistrata, like a dick.” (133-135)

“Sit in our quarters, powdered daintily,
As good as nude in those imported slips,
And-just-slink by, with crotches nicely groomed,
The men will swell right up and want to boink,
But we won’t let them near us, we’ll refuse-
Trust me, they’ll make a treaty at a dash.” (149-154)

“For them, there’s just one place a dildo fits.” (158)

“…They’ll give up-you’ll see
How fast. No husband’s going to like to screw
Unless he knows his woman likes it too.” (164-166)

Now, who wouldn’t find that funny? Aristophanes might be my new hero.

The humor in Lysistrata can even be connected way back to the Homeric Hymns to Hermes. While not as sexual, Hermes did have the first fart joke and he was a devious little thing. He had fun in stealing Apollo’s cattle and we had fun reading it. Therefore…Comedy!

Something else kind of clicked in my head, too. Comedy defies what is “proper”. It’s funny because it goes against the norm and against some of the values we should be upholding. Fart jokes, pranks, sexual humor, etc. really isn’t appropriate in certain settings, but when they do make an appearance at, let’s say, a formal dinner party, would absolutely everyone be able to stifle their laughter? Sometimes, we like to think that we can be “grown up” and “mature” but, truth is, we’re all just as vulgar and comedic as the next guy.

I can only wish I was as funny as Dane Cook, though. =P
I definitely think some of his humor would not be appreciated by "proper" society in certain settings. Here's a few vids to check out.

Dane Cook "B & E"
The sound is a little off with the video, but it's still funny. And sadly, edited.


Dane Cook "One Night Stand"


Dane Cook "Public Restrooms"


Dane Cook "Burger King"
A fan made, animated video.