Comedy is translation.

Good morning my friends!
In the middle of this weather madness, at least here in The Island, let´s talk about something serious: comedy. I´m not joking, comedy is, first of all communication and above all, comedy is criticism. To the society, to the way the things work in our world...


Comedy takes the base metal of our conventional wisdom and transforms it through ridicule into a different way of seeing and ultimately being in the world.  



I leave you today with this talk by Chris Bliss, where he explains what comedy is, starting with his last and for me better quote:


So my suggestion to those of you out here who are seriously focused on creating a better world is to take a little bit of time each day and practice thinking funny, because you might just find the question that you've been looking for. 



"Every act of communication is an act of translation." 


- Ever since I can remember...: desde que puedo recordar.

- Time after time (una y otra vez), whenever I set out to share some great truth with a soon-to-be (a punto de ser) grateful recipient (receptor, ¡no recipiente!) , it had the opposite effect. 
Interestingly, when your opening line of communication is, "Hey, listen up, because I'm about to drop some serious knowledge on you," it's amazing how quickly you'll discover both ice (en este caso, frialdad) and the firing squad (pelotón de fusilamiento).


- Finally, after about 10 years of alienating friends and strangers alike (del mismo modo)...


- What I want to talk about is the unique ability that the best comedy and satire has at circumventing (sortear/ burlar) our ingrained (arraigadas) perspectives. It takes the base metal of our conventional wisdom (sabiduría) and transforms it through ridicule into a different way of seeing and ultimately being in the world. 


- They were lifted verbatim (textualmente, palabra por palabra) from Palin's own remarks (comentario).

- It just so happens that Stewart's brand of funny doesn't work unless the facts are true. And the result is great comedy that's also an information delivery system that scores markedly (notablemente) higher in both credibility and retention than the professional news media. 


- A great piece of comedy is a verbal magic trick, where you think it's going over here and then all of a sudden (de repente) you're transported over here. And there's this mental delight that's followed by the physical response of laughter, which, not coincidentally, releases endorphins in the brain. And just like that, you've been seduced into a different way of looking at something because the endorphins have brought down your defenses. 


- And the comedy comes along, dealing with a lot of the same areas where our defenses are the strongest -- race, religion, politics, sexuality -- only by approaching (abordar) them through humor instead of adrenalin, we get endorphins and the alchemy of laughter turns our walls into windows, revealing a fresh and unexpected point of view.


- Remove it (sácalo) from your household (casa).


- Misdirection (El llevarte por el camino incorrecto) isn't the only trick that comedy has up its sleeve (have something up one's sleeve: to have a secret or surprise plan or solution to a problem.


- ...comedy has as communication is that it's inherently viral. People can't wait to pass along that new great joke. 


- But it's when you put all of these elements together, when you get the viral appeal (atractivo) of a great joke with a powerful punchline that's crafted from honesty and integrity, it can have a real world impact at changing a conversation. 


- ...when the policies necessary to aDDreSS (tratar -un tema-) climate change were unequivocally beneficial for humanity in the long run (a la larga) regardless of (a pesar de) the science. 




It´s communication that doesn't just produce greater understanding within the individual, but leads to real change.