Tyler Knott Gregson - Tyler Knott Productions Brain Rain

Monday, May 19, 2003

I am home. Apologies for my going M.I.A. Alas, here I am.

I noticed today, something that's always been in front of me, but never really analyzed. This "thing" is the ever popular "laugh track" that weaves itself throughout nearly all of the sitcoms on television. Think of this for a moment, you are sitting there in the comfort of your home, watching fake lives on television, and the option to laugh at the jokes, "aaaaahhhhh" at the touching moments, and react to whatever else goes on, is stolen. While you watch, a fake and unseen audience is watching the show in front of you, dictating the laughter that they expect to get out of you. Jokes that are not funny, moments that are not particularly touching, and situations that are poorly written all recieve the same amount of attention by these fake audiences. The choice is being made for us, and a large majority of the time we laugh along with this psuedo-audience. I truly wonder how often we'd laugh if there were no laugh track, would sitcoms be funny, and even more importantly, would sitcoms be popular? It just strikes me as very odd that in a society in which customizeability, independence, and freedom of thought are so chiefly valued, (at least they claim to be) we are told when to laugh, and when to cry.

At any rate, I want to get hired to be a laugh track laugher. I've noticed that there are always one or two laughs that stick out the most and are either the loudest, the most obnoxious, or the last laughing laugh. If I get hired, rest assured, this laugher will be me.

eloquently said by

| 11:44 PM | | |


Monday, May 19, 2003 Return I am home. Apologies for my going M.I.A. Alas, here I am. I noticed today, something that's always been in front of me, but never really analyzed. This "thing" is the ever popular "laugh track" that weaves itself throughout nearly all of the sitcoms on television. Think of this for a moment, you are sitting there in the comfort of your home, watching fake lives on television, and the option to laugh at the jokes, "aaaaahhhhh" at the touching moments, and react to whatever else goes on, is stolen. While you watch, a fake and unseen audience is watching the show in front of you, dictating the laughter that they expect to get out of you. Jokes that are not funny, moments that are not particularly touching, and situations that are poorly written all recieve the same amount of attention by these fake audiences. The choice is being made for us, and a large majority of the time we laugh along with this psuedo-audience. I truly wonder how often we'd laugh if there were no laugh track, would sitcoms be funny, and even more importantly, would sitcoms be popular? It just strikes me as very odd that in a society in which customizeability, independence, and freedom of thought are so chiefly valued, (at least they claim to be) we are told when to laugh, and when to cry. At any rate, I want to get hired to be a laugh track laugher. I've noticed that there are always one or two laughs that stick out the most and are either the loudest, the most obnoxious, or the last laughing laugh. If I get hired, rest assured, this laugher will be me. eloquently said by \| 11:44 PM \| \| \|	Tyler Knott Productions Tyler Knott Photography Vimeo Tumblr Twitter Clutch Del.icio.us MySpace Last.fm LinkedIn Resumé Atom Feed Twitters follow me on Twitter Horizon Expanders McGraw Donovan Dave Morin Flickr Blog Jaymie Keller Kevin Casey Nate Warner Rachel Hoffenberg Sarah Joelle Sarah Joelle's Music My Photography Past Downpours Copyright This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.