Smart Writing

Just out of curiosity, how many people watch an episode of the Simpsons and then watch it again with the commentary? I know that’s how a few different friends and I spend our Friday nights…we’re writers and people who appreciate the genius behind good quality comedy that goes beyond visual humor.

Anyways, after re-watching a Simpsons episode (4th season, of course. It’s when Conan O’Brien signed on.) I realized that good comedy, I mean, good screen writing is extreme intelligence in a flashy package. To tweak a real concept into an exaggeration requires one to really think outside of the box.

One of the best examples I can think of is not a favorite episode of the Simpsons or South Park, but rather the children’s t.v. show SpongeBob SquarePants. Steven Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob, graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation with an emphasis on marine biology. After three years of teaching marine biology at a different university, he pursued a master’s degree in experimental animation at CalArts. A nautical sponge that lives in a pineapple? A crab with a whale for a daughter? A plankton that wants to steal the recipe for hamburgers? All of these ideas came from this same marine biologist? You bet your Krabby Patties they did.

To be able to take regular, everyday notions and present them with a new perspective takes skill and creativity.  It doesn’t happen overnight, and there are plenty of funny concepts that overshoot the ’smart’ funny idea or fall flat because it is too dumbed down.  Hopefully, more people like Steven Hillenburg, Matt Groening, Trey Parker and Matt Stone will be around to not only make us laugh, but to make us think.

Back to the notepad

Last night, over hawaiian pizza with jalepenos, a good friend and I discussed life in general and the key to being happy with yourself.  Realizing your own value and being aware of your worth will get you to where you want to be.  It’s when you aren’t aware of what you are capable of that gets you exploited by others, whether it be good or bad. 

And this epiphany isn’t easy to come across.  There’s no set time as to when you should discover it – I just turned 20 and I honestly haven’t had that realization yet.  My friend is 23 and he just had it, which is partially why he was telling me about it.  It’s empowering, because you have confidence in your own skills and knowledge. 

This all comes back to me and my comedy writing.  I’ve put it aside because of school, helping to produce a benefit, writing for a play and helping edit a book.  I need to crack back down on my writing – how can I have confidence in my skills if I don’t put them to work?  I took the train home last night with a million thoughts zooming through my brain and the second I got home, I sat down and wrote out the skeleton of a skit. 

Before I get back to writing some more, my friend told me something that seems fitting to end this particular post;

“Look at it this way.  You have creative ideas now…but that just means that you’ll have more ideas.  And you’ll aways have more ideas in the future.  Don’t get hung up on just one – keep writing.”  

Thanks James.