When we were assigned this adventure I wasn't really sure how much I would get out of it. After all, how is a video/movie going to enlighten me as to education theories and ideas? I was also somewhat apprehensive over the content that could be contained within this video. I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the apprehension was unfounded.
First let me say that the video was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought the film was about a group of comedians getting together to do a show. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the story of trying to become a successful comedian. There was a lot to the video that tied into the class.
We will start with the first noticable tie in for me was realizing that the comedians had a culture that was all their own. They had their own community of practice. In order for you to belong you had to have reached a certain level of success, know, understand and love stand-up comedy. As a presenter the comedians had to be aware of their audience and the culture they were addressing. The other part of this that brought Bruner to mind was that if you are in the audience and don't understand the culture that the comedian is discussing you won't get their jokes. It reminded me of teaching, as an instructor you have to be aware of the culture and community in which you are teaching. If you come in with no understanding of the culture or life that the students are living, then you stand the risk of having them disenegage from the task or classroom environment. The comedians pulled their material from their own experience. They use their knowledge of their culture and community to create their jokes for their routine. One comedian actually had his jokes arranged by cultures or audience types.
The other thing I noticed was the reflection period by the various artists/comedinans. Right after the show, they spoke about what worked and what didn't. When they got together as a group, they often shared their experience with each other. Those that were newer to the circuit sought the guidinace of those with more experience. The more experienced comedians also bounced ideas off of one another. They discussed their successes and failures. The tone was serious but fun when they interacted together. The give and take that took place was interesting to see. The other thing that was interesting to see was watching the heiracrchy of the comedians develop. From the perspective of someone that sees the comedians on the same level of "expertise", it was fascinating to see the "awe" that some of the comedians had for the comedians that had been around for a while. The newer comedians looked to those with more experience for guidance and input in their routines. The comedians learned from one another and worked together to build a better and stronger community.
There was one other factor that I noted in the video; the motivation factor. The comedians that appeared to be motivated by desire and love of comedy, were truly more interested in learning from each other and drawing from the experience of others. They were better in their delivery and read of the audience. The one comedian that appeared motivated by the desire for fame and fortune didn't fair as well with his audience and delivery. Motivation leads to a deeper engagement in the material or career one chooses to interact with.
It still amazes me that a single film viewed from a different perspective than normal could yield so much information.
