Analysis Of Different Types Of Humor In The Movie Tropical Thunder
Humor can be taken in many different ways, not everyone has the same perspective on things. Something people see as funny others can see it as offensive or going too far. The movie Tropical Thunder by Ben Stiller which released in August 13, 2008 depicts a movie set with a director placing 5 actor in a real like war situations. The movie uses different types of comedy to be funny but specifically Dark humor, outrageous/ ridiculous situations, and the actors who are playing the roles play a big key factor. With humor, people do seem to build up boundaries. Humans have this thing of always trying to be socially correct even though the ones who get out of that box are the ones who succeed most of the time. “The laughter that follows is understood as catharsis: the sudden release of tension… The theory is that we can get away with making all sorts of insulting, aggressive, or sexual remarks so long as they are delivered in a humorous fashion”.
Since people always want to put their best foot forward they might hide something they actually think is funny to them because they are scared to be seen differently. Personally, I do the same thing, especially now in college. I've noticed that I watch what I say and pick my words more thoughtfully since my type of humor can be seen as hurtful, unthoughtful, and dumb. The movie seems to use really exaggerated and impractical scenes to have a sense of enjoyment but at the same time uses violence on what happens. For Example the first one that comes into mind definitely has to be early in the movie where a soldier begins to talk on the phone and an enemy runs toward him and starts stabbing him with the end of his gun taking out every single organ in the body and having a waterfall of blood. In the scene it's clear that it was a sausage links with some type of stringy material. This is a joke against the Hollywood industry, of agents, filmmakers and insecure actors who make any type of sacrifice to get whatever type of credibility except they don't want to give up what they call is their TiVos.
The first thing in actors and how they play a role in which character they play is really important in understanding how the film’s use the famous actors. Robert Downey Jr. and Brandon Jackson to are displayed as the stereotypical black image in the majority of acting films. Kirk Lazarus, is used throughout the film by director to question the stereotypical African American that is often shown differently by hollywood. He is exaggerating how loud he has to be, outspoken, and is using “hip” terms or slang and metaphor to talk to his fellow cast members. Lazarus, being one of the white actors is shown as a black man who allows the audience to identify when Lazarus is trying to be or act black. When he begins every sentence he will start with “A yes uh” and when he talks about collard greens. Now the actor, Brandon Jackson, also helps this topic since he points out the stereotypical black role used by directors in Hollywood.
Throughout the movie Jackson’s Character an over masculine, womanizing, rapper named Alpa Chino. At the beginning of the film, Stiller introduces Jackson surrounded by shaking woman, singing, and selling his beverage “booty sweat”. Jackson’s character as a points out, in a funny way, how Hollywood portrays black men. But the film is already "a month behind schedule five days into shooting. " for which the egoistic movie actors all want the spotlight and a new/scared director who seems to know nothing about war. Tugg Speedman is an action hero who was normally successful in past films is now struggling and losing popularity as they have the same story over and over again within each movie. Kirk Lazarus is a multi-Oscar-winning Australian method actor who exaggerates the fact that he doesn't drop his role or character until after the DVD commentary is out. The character in the film is even shown undergoing skin pigmentation surgery so that he can play an African American soldier.
Finally there's Jeff Portnoy who is played by the famous actor, Jack Black, he is shown as a drug-addicted comic. best known for fart gags. But he wants to try and expand his range by doing a war drama that is considered violent content. Drug material as well as the violence doesn't always use the bad jokes so they never linger. The film looks like a dumb comedy but it has shown to have some corrosive idea underneath. Stiller the director succeeds in making fun of an industry that he knows well. Another way of comedy that seems to be portrayed has to be the dark humor which is a type of joking that can come off or seems offensive and harsh. The comic style normally makes fun of serious topics or problems which socially might not be accepting but can be found funny to people.
The use of dark comedy in a movie can cause controversy if done incorrectly. For Example in the movie caused controversy with the viewers with the use of the word “retarded”. People with disability and others who previewed the film made it very clear that the offensive treatment of individuals with mental disabilities was disrespected and was shown throughout the film's plot. Disability advocates didn’t want people to see the film, claiming it is morally wrong and bad to individuals with mental disabilities and would encourage bullying against them. The deeper message behind the flawed characters in the movie was not very clear at first. However, when considering the proposed themes and ideas, It’s shown that this ridiculous movie did in fact have deeper, relevant meaning. The movie takes place in Southeast Asia, where a crew of successful Hollywood stars set out to make a movie about the Vietnam War. Not specified to the actors and the film's director. Who was extremely unhappy with the movie's progress, plants the actors into and actual Vietnam war zone. The stars continue to act out their scenes completely unaware that they are in the mists of genuine drug lords and real gunfire. But it makes a comedy that people like and the risk is something so much better.
Humor can be taken in many different ways, not everyone has the same perspective on things. Something people see as funny others can see it as offensive or going too far. It’s important with humor to know the boundaries since words can affect someone without you meaning too. Comedy is a big factor since having the same comedic view as someone else can make the friendship or relationship stronger. The event really helped me understand that a laid-back approach is the best possible way to find humor.
