Captain Outrageous, 9/13

The Lyotard reading was definitely a warning of things to come in terms of how difficult our readings are going to get. After our class, though, I feel somewhat more confident in my understanding of Lyotard.

What stood out to me the most was the concept of how "capitalism derealizes familiar objects" and how reality only "offers an occasion for rating and experiments". Our discussions in class really opened these topics to me by comparing it to comedy or television. I have always heard the term "You can't write that sort of stuff" but I never understood the depth to how disturbing it truly is. Reality, as Dr. Casey explained, is the most ridiculous thing, not comedy. Realistic representations evoke reality no further than mockery. When Dr. Casey first started to explain this, I wasn't very shocked. In a Sociology class I took we learned that comedy is a system of pointing out the obvious in the real world. We laugh at a comedian for daring to point out the obvious. What I realized, however, is that we are laughing at ourselves (in a general way), at our reality. Yes we can hear a joke and say "oh that's so true!" but the question must be asked should it be funny that the truthfulness of reality is a mockery?

On the one hand I have to answer yes partly because life would get too miserable without the tragic irony. Then again, we may go on oblivious as we already do. On the other hand I have to answer no. It shouldn't be funny that our lawmakers are the constant chumps of Saturday Night Live. It shouldn't be funny that comedy writers "can't write that kind of stuff" because even the stupidest of comedy movies can't compare to everyday human behavior.

Reality has become a commodified mockery. SNL and YouTube and the like bank off of the stupid things humans do every day. I suppose we can keep on laughing as long as we keep in mind its no laughing matter.