Thursday, January 23, 2014

Improv Anywhere, Humiliation Everywhere

At first I thought the concept of Improv was cute. Clever.  All those people standing still in Grand Central Station.  Shticky.  A kind of performance art that wasn't a naked woman with a pumpkin on her head and feces on her body channeling an ancient war god  (a combination of a few Doonesbury comic strips). 

But now I don't think so. At all.  While it may be "cute" to do things like walk backwards in Times Square, banging into people and confirming tourist's opinions that we are, in fact, a nation of fools (thank you to our President for establishing that), it isn't cute when people are publicly embarrassed or made fun of.  Of course when asked, I am sure they say something like, "Oh, ha ha, it's no big deal".  But really, no one likes to be made foolish.  Like in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3XTAw3tzyI

ok, if the kid wants to run into the wall and look idiotic, fine. And I was a big fan of the Harry Potter books, so my issue, clearly, isn't with the subject.  I don't think it's funny to embarrass people on video. Period.  Making the ticket sellers question the boy over and over again, having random strangers not know what to answer.  Why is this funny?  It's like the whole premise here is to make people look stupid, foolish, or clueless! 

See, that's my whole issue! It's NOT just about the cleverness of a new way of making statements, it's How Can We Make A Statement, Even If It Inconveniences Or Embarrasses Other People!

Like the No Pants Day.  Can you think of a more highly offensive public display of selfishness and impropriety?  I am sure that there are plenty of people out there who are not living a religious life, who don't have the rules and lifestyle of modesty that I do, yet are highly disturbed by this!  A subway is not a beach, where you expect to see skimpy bottoms and unclad people. 

It's just plain disgusting.  This really bothers me.  A lot.  Do New Yorkers care?

No comments: