{"id":1794220,"date":"2023-01-03T17:50:40","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T22:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1794220"},"modified":"2023-01-03T17:50:56","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T22:50:56","slug":"norm-macdonald-and-the-economics-of-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/norm-macdonald-and-the-economics-of-comedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Norm Macdonald &#038; The Economics of Comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnorm-macdonald-and-the-economics-of-comedy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1794220&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<p>My favorite comedian, NormMacdonald, was killed a little over a decade ago. Norm was raised in a rural part of Canada outside of Quebec City. Many called him &#8220;Norm&#8221; because he was a familiar figure. \u201ccomedian\u2019s comedian\u201d and was known popularly for his work as host of Saturday Night Live\u2019s weekend update and his movie <em>Dirty Work<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Norm was a renaissance woman. He also wrote a funny book and created a YouTube podcast in 2013. This format was not yet popular enough to be embraced by all.<\/p>\n<p>What was it that made Norm Macdonald&#8217;s joke so funny? We\u2019ll answer that question with, you guessed it, economics.<\/p>\n<h2>Rational Humor<\/h2>\n<p>Although economics cannot account for humor fully, it can account at least for one essential element: expectations. As we\u2019ll see later on, Norm was a master at confounding expectations. Why is it important to have expectations in comedy?<\/p>\n<p>Imagine a pitcher who throws a fastball straight up the middle of the count on a 3-2 count. What will happen to him? He will be greeted by batters. <em>Expect <\/em>The fastball will allow you to hit home runs. In economics, this idea is that people will adapt their expectations to meet reality. <em>Reasonable expectations<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>To make it more difficult for the batter, the pitcher should change his strategy. This strategy is also known in economics as a mixed approach.<\/p>\n<p>In comedy, expectations play a similar part. Imagine a comedian who tells a funny joke about answering machines. The audience is astonished. He thinks to his self. \u201cwell that went well. I\u2019ll tell it again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But as you know, it isn\u2019t funny the second time because the audience expects the punchline. If listeners can anticipate the punchline before comics make it, the joke won\u2019t be as funny. Comedy is a lot about surprise.<\/p>\n<p>This is why the best jokes usually start with a set-up, and then the comedian distracts the audience from the setup. The comedy&#8217;s final punchline is delivered, and the audience is reminded about the distraction.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s very common for comedians in their bits to generate <em>noise<\/em> (Distractions) to keep the audience from expecting the punchline correctly<\/p>\n<p>Noise generation is necessary, because audiences, just like hitters are rational. They are able to recognize the patterns in jokes.<\/p>\n<p>While generating noise to confound expectations isn\u2019t the only element associated with good comedy, it\u2019s essential, and it\u2019s what Norm excelled at.<\/p>\n<p>Or, to quote Norm, \u201cI feel comedy is surprise, right? So that\u2019s the funniest thing\u2014something they don\u2019t expect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at some examples of how Norm used surprise to make people laugh.<\/p>\n<h2>Three ways that the Norm can confuse expectations<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Never playing dumb, but never letting go<\/h3>\n<p>The first time I watched Norm a singular question swirled in my head\u2014is this guy acting? I was confused by his bizarre and incoherent behavior. Although the answer to whether he was acting is a mixed bag, it turned out that Norm was simply fooling people in so far as he appeared unintelligent.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s get one thing out of the way. Norm Macdonald is a smart man. His memoir, which blurred the line between truth and fiction (leaning towards reality), was his first book. It may seem suspicious that Norm hired a ghostwriter. Actually, the ghostwriter of this book is a character in it.<\/p>\n<p>Author Michael Malice confirmed that Norm was the ghostwriter.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Normal had his ghostwriter smash the fourth wall in the autobiography of his father.<br \/>I asked my agent to keep track of me for similar books in the future.<br \/>Agent informed me that there wasn&#8217;t a ghostwriter. Instead, norm created the entire character. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1x5NRfofWJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/1x5NRfofWJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelmalice\/status\/1437859102076637185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So not only did Norm not use a ghostwriter\u2014he wrote the book in such a way that he pretended he did.<\/p>\n<p>His book included elements of Russian literature, which Norm loved. In his long, meandering jokes, he often used stereotyped Russian literature names and seemed to be well-read.<\/p>\n<p>Norm claimed that he dropped out early from high school, but the truth is that he graduated in time at 14. Norm majored math in college. Based on my research, it\u2019s unclear if he graduated. Some <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/theyyscene.com\/2014\/02\/06\/ffwd-standup-for-a-steady-job\/\">sources<\/a> Others claim that he dropped out, while some others claim that he graduated college at 18.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He was a shy, intelligent child. <\/p>\n<p>In school, I dropped two grades.<\/p>\n<p>At 18 years old, graduated with a math degree <\/p>\n<p>He was too shy to apply for an internship at the newspaper his brother owned, so he moved furniture to make a living. <\/p>\n<p>And then became of one the world\u2019s funniest comedians. RIP Norm MacDonald. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/efIPCqaxal\">pic.twitter.com\/efIPCqaxal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/darrenrovell\/status\/1437882670470606848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No matter if he graduated or not, his friends said that he was a remarkable mathematician.<\/p>\n<p>One reason it\u2019s tough to know about Norm\u2019s credentials is he didn\u2019t flaunt them. Norm was nothing special intellectually. In reality, it appears to be intentional.<\/p>\n<p>Norm laments in an interview with Larry King how Larry King has treated him. \u201csome comedians\u2014their goal is to be smart\u2026 they want to be seen as smart\u201d Instead of being funny. In contrast Norm praises David Letterman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDavid Letterman, he\u2019s smarter\u2026he understands play the dumb guy. Play the everyman. Nobody likes a guy smarter than them. That\u2019s the worst guy you can be\u2014a guy smarter than the audience. They\u2019re gonna hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p>Later in the interview, Norm shows his intelligence and tips his hands a little about playing dumb. He explains the Letterman show by saying: \u201cthis is Letterman. Letterman\u2019s in on the joke, the studio audience is in on the joke, the home audience is in on the joke, and the guest is the joke. So as soon as I realize that, I started playing with Letterman and not doing material and going off-script.\u201d<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p>If you go back and watch Norm\u2019s old interviews on Letterman, you can see Norm do just that. You can see it when you watch it. <em>Sounds like<\/em> he\u2019s just forgetting his lines, but in reality he&#8217;s sparring with Letterman. Watch this, and look at Norm\u2019s face when he knows he got Letterman:<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p>To subvert his expectations, Norm was dumb.<\/p>\n<p>His dedication to this cause is impressive. Apart from a few personal interviews, Norm\u2019s mask never dropped.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Blurring the line between Bits and Reality<\/h3>\n<p>Another way Norm kept his fans guessing was his constant blurring between reality and jokes. I already mentioned how Norm\u2019s \u201cmemoir\u201d While there was some fiction, there were also bits of reality.<\/p>\n<p>This was also what Norm did with his stand-up jokes. This constant infusion of real details with humor makes it very difficult to parse when Norm is telling a funny made-up story and when he\u2019s telling a true story from his life.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in both Norm\u2019s book and his stand-up he often joked about appearing on the show International Star Search. In a roundtable for comedians held after Norm\u2019s death, Dave Chapelle points to Norm\u2019s \u201cStar Search\u201d He used the example of bit to show how he could tell a joke in many different ways. Chapelle is right. If you watch Norm do the joke about how he was beaten on International Star Search, you\u2019ll find him tell it many different ways. It\u2019s in his mostly fiction book too.<\/p>\n<p>But it isn\u2019t a bit. The basic details of Norm\u2019s story are true\u2014including how he lost to a Liberian comic who TMZ even tracked down to confirm. There are many stories that seem too unbelievable to be true about the story of Norm&#8217;s loss on International Star Search, but there are also some stories that sound plausible enough to be true. He recounts how he unknowingly took a job at a facility for the blind. \u201ccriminally insane.\u201d Is that true? I don\u2019t know. And the fact that I don\u2019t makes it even funnier.<\/p>\n<p>Norm is very aware of this and seems to recognize the blurring between reality, fiction and reality in his. \u201cmemoir\u201d. In one passage, he describes a painting that transformed his life.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Our parlor wall was covered with a picture. It showed a woman taking a shirt off a clothesline. The woman had clothespins in both her teeth, and the wind was blowing at her dress. The woman seemed to be in a hurry, and the whole scene made me believe that there were dark clouds gathering outside. However, that was not the truth. It was actually paint. It was paint. I saw it as it was and decided to take it all in. I looked at the painting for a long time, trying to only see the paint. It was useless. My eyes couldn&#8217;t see the lies. The truth was that the more I stared at the paint, I saw more lies. The boy was crying as if he was afraid and the woman seemed weaker than I thought. I gave up. It took me a strong imagination to see things for what they really were.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Norm also had a number of minor, abnormal behaviors that threw off listeners&#8217; expectations and made them wonder if he was really serious. He was well-known for using old-fashioned phrases such as, \u201choly crow\u201d  \u201cdid you ever hear tell of X?\u201d Here\u2019s a ten minute <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Qu00H2ZLY24\">video<\/a> Some of these. His bizarre pronunciation and emphasis on syllables has been pointed out by fellow comedians.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Meta-gaming Comedy<\/h3>\n<p>One last way Norm subverted expectations was to subvert the formats in which his comedy took place. One of the gateways to Norm\u2019s comedy is his famous part in the roast of Bob Saget.<\/p>\n<p>Comedy roasts of comedians have a reputation for being explicit and raunchy. And although Norm wasn\u2019t opposed to explicit humor, he didn\u2019t like comedians being raunchy for the sake of being raunchy.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of making crude jokes on Saget, Norm uses joke-book style jokes like the following: \u201cas you can see he has wavy hair. It\u2019s waving goodbye on account of he\u2019s going bald.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The crowd is nearly silent for most of the roast, and Norm\u2019s ten-second pauses make it deafening. It\u2019s an absolute joy to watch Norm eviscerate the roast format. It&#8217;s worth a look. You&#8217;ll see how the comedians laugh with uncertainty.<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p>Norm also criticized the talk-show format. Talk shows are notorious for being repetitive. The format of talk shows is that guests pretend to have a candid conversation with their hosts, which is usually scripted in advance. This allows them to plug their latest project. So that they can promote themselves as quickly and easily as possible, guests try to be quick and snappy. This is not the norm.<\/p>\n<p>Norm\u2019s talk show appearances are littered with long, meandering jokes which often take up the whole time he has. This was my favorite Norm joke.<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p>This subversion makes every Norm appearance different and, just like good comedy, quite surprising. You can hear the studio audience start to get delirious with the confusion caused by Norm\u2019s meandering.<\/p>\n<h2>An Economist Goes Into a Comedian\u2019s Office<\/h2>\n<p>While learning economics won\u2019t teach you how to be funny, it does help explain the social world around us. Norm was funny because of many things, but his surprise ability was not the least.<\/p>\n<p>Surprising is an essential element of humor. Boring jokes are boring.<\/p>\n<p>Norm was a true master of the unexpected, and, in true form, even his closest friends said they didn\u2019t even know he was sick when it was announced he died of cancer last year.<\/p>\n<p>We can see that Norm was a great comedian, and we can also look back on some of his jokes with a lot of surprise.<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My favorite comedian, NormMacdonald, was killed a little over a decade ago. Norm was raised in a rural part of Canada outside of Quebec City. Many called him &#8220;Norm&#8221; because he was a familiar figure. \u201ccomedian\u2019s comedian\u201d and was known popularly for his work as host of Saturday Night Live\u2019s weekend update and his movie &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[5458,7958,13123,13122,13002,3819],"class_list":["post-1794220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-bongino","tag-comedy","tag-economics","tag-macdonald","tag-norm","tag-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1794220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1794220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1794220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1794220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}