Comedy at its Finest

I remember my seven year old self popping a DVD into the player and plopping on the couch. When it came to my comedic taste, I didn’t need variety. I just needed my daily dose of Mr. Bean. I wasn’t like most kids that spent all waking hours watching the typical cartoons, such as Courage the Cowardly Dog or The Teen Titans. From the first episode of Mr. Bean there was something  that made it remarkably different from all the other humor.

I think his performances are funny and memorable because they brought a funny light to everyday life. He did not go on faraway missions to and encounter strange things in order to do something funny. Instead, he brought strangeness to the way he dealt with his everyday problems. Many of his performances revolved around the simple but real “struggles” in real life. Often times, the laughs didn’t arouse from the problem itself, the true humor lied in his often exaggerated reactions.

Little me easily laughed at the his incoherent mumbling and his moments of rage.

Oh yes Mr. Bean, the rage is real indeed. We can also never forget the facial expressions. Whether it’s because he is stuck in line or he has lost his watch preparing a turkey, his reactions are always suitable and hilarious. They’re the best part.

Fast  forward into the future I’ve watched many other comedies. I still laugh just as easily as I did when I was little. One thing did change though. The elements of humor in popular movies have become less diverse. The performance of the actor has lost some of its original importance. Modern humor in movies often achieves comedic effect by making sexual or simply controversial references.

I realized this when I sat down two months ago and watched Johnny English Reborn. It was a major blast from the past. I had completely forgotten what it was like to watch a movie and laugh without any inappropriate dialogue to cue it. It made me wonder if Rowan Atkinson is some mystical human being because he communicates humor like no other that I’ve seen today.

“I want to express myself in a different way. I have a performing inclination.” -Rowan Atkinson

In my opinion, what makes Rowan Atkinson stand out the most is that he acts in the manner that is outside of social norms in the most carefree manner. We live our lives fighting to not sleep during church, resisting the urge to mess around with dentist tools, and trying not to mess up laboratory experiments. So when Mr. Bean does it on the big screen, it’s a nice relief. For just a while, you forget about what’s socially acceptable and what isn’t. You just laugh because of all the trouble that he gets into for caving.

So that leads me back to my question: Is he a mystical human being? Maybe he is. He’s brought laughter to the biggest and smallest of stages ranging from the 2012 Olympics, Snickers commercials, radio, and my very own home by just being himself.

Yours Truly,

Michelle

Reckless and Breathless

I remember standing before the rocks that piled high as if they were competing with the towering pines. I was already who knows how far up the San Bernardino Mountains; but still, my camp buddies were urging me to climb up the rocks that we found during our walk. In that moment I didn’t know what I feared more: the thought of falling from that height or regret of missing out on something so adventurous.

What’s in a Name?

Photo ©2009 by Emily Rose (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)  / added text from original

I love my name. If you were to ask me how I felt about my name back eight years ago, I’d tell you the complete opposite. At age seven, I hated my name. Hated it with a cold, hard passion. As a child, I constantly questioned why my name was Joanna. To me, It was hideous. The pronunciation of it was like the screeching sound chalk makes on the blackboard, my ears bled every time i heard it. Yep, Joanna “is” a great name. A great six-letter, three-syllable, commonly mispronounced name that rhymes with banana. I swear, for most of my life, I had many of my friends AND teachers who called me “Joanna Banana” every time they saw me.  They STILL do. It was and still is annoying as ever. My seven year-old self dreamt of having the name Jessica, Allison, Lydia, Kylie, Jennifer, Vanessa, Kendall, Arden, Emma, or Kate; just ANYTHING but Joanna.  Even Hermione, I wouldn’t mind being named after one of most amazing characters ever known.  Of all the names in the world, why Joanna? No one else had my name, and that just made me ever more unpopular in school as no one remembered me due to my “unique” name.

Scenario: (may or may not be exaggerated to some extent)

Classmate: Hi! My name is _______. What’s your’s?

Me: My name is Joanna. Nice to meet you.

Classmate: You have a really weird name. I never heard of it.

Me: Well do you want to go play on the swings with me?

Classmate: Nah. I’m gonna go play in the sandbox with Sandra. Bye…Janice.

Me:…Bye.

The Next Day…

Classmate: Hi! My name is _______. What’s your’s?

Me: …My name is Joanna. Nice to meet you.

Classmate: You have a really weird name. I never heard of it.

Me:…Bye.

Well, that girl. We obviously never became friends. I don’t even recall her presence after the incident.  Nonetheless, I still hated my name with much resentment. It wasn’t until middle school when it hit me and when I realize the beauty of a name. In class, there were so many Michelles, Katies, Katherines, Sophies, Jacobs, Kevins, and Brandons, and it constantly became irritating whenever someone asked for a Michelle when there were like five of them. Two of them had the same last time, and everyone soon lost track of who was who. Throughout the whole school, there were only two Joannas. As a result, most people remembered who we were, as there were only two of us. It was then when I appreciated my name. It was different, yet it made me me. I wasn’t another Emma of thousands, I was a Joanna. It was long, but the sound of it on my tongue is like music to my ears. Even, if the the teachers mispronounced my name, long gone were the grimaces and glares. Instead, replaced with smiles and politeness.

A name is more than an identity. It’s a origin, a brand, and a marker of success. Be happy and embrace your name like it’s a superpower. After all, it makes you YOU.

Photo ©2011 by Alan O’Rourke (CC BY 2.0)

Yours Truly,

Joanna

Things That I Hated As A Kid But Love Now

11-12-14

During our class discussion, we talked about things that we used to love doing but no longer enjoy doing. This topic made me think of the opposite. What were things that we did not enjoy as a child that we love now? Here’s my top 7 list of things that I used to hate as a child, but absolutely love now.