Title: Black humour
Description: Post any black humour news here
Description: Post any black humour news here
the oob - November 23, 2005 09:51 AM (GMT)
Post any black humour news links here, the more disturbed the better, and extra points if you can genuinely offend anyone on this forum.
Definition of Black Humour (from here):
Black comedy, also known as black humor, is a subgenre of comedy and satire where topics and events normally treated seriously – death, mass murder, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, etc. – are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Synonyms created to avoid possible racial overtones include dark comedy/humor, morbid comedy/humor and off-color humor (see also color metaphors for race.) A scene in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot demonstrates black comedy well: a man takes off his belt to hang himself, and his trousers fall down.
Black humor is similar to sick humor, such as dead baby jokes. However, in sick humor most of the humor comes from shock and revulsion; black humor usually includes an element of irony, or even fatalism.
In America, black comedy as a literary genre came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Writers such as Terry Southern, Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Harlan Ellison and Eric Nicol have written and published novels, stories and plays where profound or horrific events were portrayed in a comic manner. An anthology edited by Bruce Jay Friedman, titled "Black Humor," assembles many examples of the genre.
The 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb presents one of the most well-known examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is nuclear war and the extinction of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But Dr. Strangelove plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. The film Fail-Safe, produced simultaneously, tells a largely identical story with a distinctly grave tone; the film The Bed-Sitting Room, released six years later, treats post-nuclear English society in an even wilder comic approach.
Definition of Black Humour (from here):
Black comedy, also known as black humor, is a subgenre of comedy and satire where topics and events normally treated seriously – death, mass murder, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, etc. – are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Synonyms created to avoid possible racial overtones include dark comedy/humor, morbid comedy/humor and off-color humor (see also color metaphors for race.) A scene in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot demonstrates black comedy well: a man takes off his belt to hang himself, and his trousers fall down.
Black humor is similar to sick humor, such as dead baby jokes. However, in sick humor most of the humor comes from shock and revulsion; black humor usually includes an element of irony, or even fatalism.
In America, black comedy as a literary genre came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Writers such as Terry Southern, Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Harlan Ellison and Eric Nicol have written and published novels, stories and plays where profound or horrific events were portrayed in a comic manner. An anthology edited by Bruce Jay Friedman, titled "Black Humor," assembles many examples of the genre.
The 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb presents one of the most well-known examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is nuclear war and the extinction of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But Dr. Strangelove plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. The film Fail-Safe, produced simultaneously, tells a largely identical story with a distinctly grave tone; the film The Bed-Sitting Room, released six years later, treats post-nuclear English society in an even wilder comic approach.
the oob - November 23, 2005 09:52 AM (GMT)
I'll get us started.
From here:
Bonita Springs man accidentally hit in genitals by Taser
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. - A naked man was accidentally shocked in the genitals by a Taser after he was found breaking windows and asking women to touch him inappropriately, police said.
Jeremy J. Miljour, 26, of Bonita Springs, attempted to run when approached by Lee County sheriff's deputies Saturday. When he ignored requested to stop, Deputy Daniel Hollywood shot Miljour with a Taser.
One of the Taser prongs accidentally hit Miljour's genitals and got stuck, said Cpl. Matt Chitwood.
Officers are taught to aim for the torso, but it was difficult for officers to aim because Miljour was moving, Chitwood said.
"The Taser is relatively accurate, but when someone is moving like that, it doesn't matter if you have a Taser, or a pistol. (Officers) can't aim," Chitwood said.
Miljour was taken to Lee Memorial HealthPark Medical Center, where he was treated before being taken to the Lee County jail. He is charged with indecent exposure, resisting an officer and criminal damage.
From here:
Bonita Springs man accidentally hit in genitals by Taser
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. - A naked man was accidentally shocked in the genitals by a Taser after he was found breaking windows and asking women to touch him inappropriately, police said.
Jeremy J. Miljour, 26, of Bonita Springs, attempted to run when approached by Lee County sheriff's deputies Saturday. When he ignored requested to stop, Deputy Daniel Hollywood shot Miljour with a Taser.
One of the Taser prongs accidentally hit Miljour's genitals and got stuck, said Cpl. Matt Chitwood.
Officers are taught to aim for the torso, but it was difficult for officers to aim because Miljour was moving, Chitwood said.
"The Taser is relatively accurate, but when someone is moving like that, it doesn't matter if you have a Taser, or a pistol. (Officers) can't aim," Chitwood said.
Miljour was taken to Lee Memorial HealthPark Medical Center, where he was treated before being taken to the Lee County jail. He is charged with indecent exposure, resisting an officer and criminal damage.
Adolf Chiang - November 23, 2005 10:33 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| Water crisis strikes Chinese city Thousands of tons of water are being shipped in by road Emergency measures are in force in the north-eastern Chinese city of Harbin, after water supplies were turned off. The move came amid fears the city's drinking water could be contaminated after an explosion at a chemical factory upstream of the Songhua river. Authorities in Harbin, home to 3.8m people, said the shut-off would last four days - though there are fears it could go on longer.  Schools and many businesses have shut, while flights from Harbin are sold out. "Everyone wants to leave Harbin and it is very difficult to buy tickets," a factory manager told Reuters. The chemical factory processed benzene, a highly poisonous toxin that is also carcinogenic. Fifteen hospitals have been placed on stand-by to cope with possible poisoning victims. More than 16,000 tons of drinking water is being brought in by road, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said - though this is less than Harbin's residents habitually use in a day. The government initially said the stoppage would last four days, but a water company official has told the BBC there is no set timetable for the resumption of supplies. BBC Beijing correspondent Louisa Lim says residents of Harbin are mistrustful of government statements, having originally been told the stoppage was for routine maintenance. Hoarding supplies The initial announcement of water stoppages led to panic buying of water and food, sending prices soaring. Bottled water sold out at supermarkets and other shops in the city, but the China Daily reported that other beverages, including milk, were still available. "All containers are being used to store water, including the bathtub. It will be OK for four days, but not longer than that," a factory manager said. Local media showed pictures of dead fish in the Songhua River There are also reports that some people have been sleeping outside in sub-zero temperatures after rumours of an imminent earthquake. The order to cut off the water comes after a 13 November explosion at a petrochemical plant in Jilin city, about 380km (230 miles) up the Songhua river from Harbin. Five people were reported to have been killed in the blast, and more than 60 injured. The explosion forced the temporary evacuation of some 10,000 residents, but people have since been allowed to return home. The authorities gave no indication in the state media at the time that there were pollution fears. However, the China Daily reported on Tuesday that the government had issued two statements. One simply spoke of water main maintenance and repair, but the other mentioned the Jilin blasts. Harbin Water Supply Company refused to comment, the paper said. The authorities said there was no sign that the city's water supply had been contaminated, but the Beijing News showed pictures of dead fish washed up on the banks of the Songhua river near Jilin city. Harbin is in China's north-east Heilongjiang province, and is one of the country's coldest cities, with overnight temperatures this week falling to -12C. It hosts an ice and snow festival each January. |
Four (up to ten) days without water supply, for 4 million people (not to mention sub-zero tempuratures). Is that black enough?
the oob - November 23, 2005 10:51 AM (GMT)
Black humour isn't simply laughing at death or people getting hurt, there has to be some kind of humourous or twisted component to it. For instance, a little girl falling off a cliff isn't that funny, but it's very funny if she was knocked over the edge by her own father or her pet dog Fido (well ok, maybe that one's just me). For another example, pictures of the Holocaust aren't funny, but if put in a certain context (an advertisment for an 'ancient Hebrew diet technique' for instance) they can be classed as black humour.
Adolf Chiang - November 23, 2005 10:59 AM (GMT)
The humor in Harbin is that they can't get water for 4-10 days and all flights out off the city have been sold out.
If this is 1992, here's what I'd be posting (after seeing it featured on tonight's 'Seconds from Disaster'):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalajara%2C_Jalisco#Disaster
In the early 21st century context, that's worse than any co-ordinated terrorist bombing. The destruction was literally caused by shit happening in the sewer!
If this is 1992, here's what I'd be posting (after seeing it featured on tonight's 'Seconds from Disaster'):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalajara%2C_Jalisco#Disaster
In the early 21st century context, that's worse than any co-ordinated terrorist bombing. The destruction was literally caused by shit happening in the sewer!
the oob - November 23, 2005 12:03 PM (GMT)
Well... hmmm. Adolf, might I suggest you watch some Don Hertzfeldt cartoons for a better understanding of the concept?
Here's one of them, L'Amour (mind you it only plays in the browser, I couldn't find a downloadable version), I can't be arsed finding the others on the net, but I do have them on my computer, and it may be possible to persuade me to upload them to a server if people enjoy the one I've linked to.
Here's one of them, L'Amour (mind you it only plays in the browser, I couldn't find a downloadable version), I can't be arsed finding the others on the net, but I do have them on my computer, and it may be possible to persuade me to upload them to a server if people enjoy the one I've linked to.
samf - November 23, 2005 12:21 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Adolf Chiang @ Nov 23 2005, 11:59 PM) |
| The humor in Harbin is that they can't get water for 4-10 days and all flights out off the city have been sold out. |
Like oob says, still doesn't make it black humour. As far as I can tell from what you wrote, there's nothing especially ironic or twisted about this situation that makes it darkly amusing.
| QUOTE |
If this is 1992, here's what I'd be posting (after seeing it featured on tonight's 'Seconds from Disaster'): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalajara%2C_Jalisco#Disaster In the early 21st century context, that's worse than any co-ordinated terrorist bombing. The destruction was literally caused by shit happening in the sewer! |
Not quite there but getting warmer...