Louis CK Refines the Art of Comedy
By Dan Friedman January 18, 2017
We know that Louis CK is very funny, with a scathing take on contemporary society. But Nerdwriter1’s seven minute YouTube analysis explains that CK’s technique has three major pillars.
First. However spontaneous he sounds, CK has meticulously planned every word. As a matter of survival, comedians need clear premises. If the audience doesn’t know what comedians are talking about, it isn’t going to laugh at the punchline.
Second. CK uses every word. Punchlines are the biggest surprises, but there are laughs in, for example, judicious use of over-dramatic adjectives in the premise. His 6-year-old daughter will lose at monopoly. But saying she will “inevitably” lose “every” game is as clear — and funnier.
Third. CK stays in the moment, as taught him by Sir Jerry Seinfeld. If the audience is enjoying his anger, he stays angry. If they are enjoying his sadness, he stays sad. If they are enjoying his malevolent paternal glee at crushing his daughter in Monopoly, he stays malevolently paternally gleeful.
Dan Friedman is the executive editor and comedy correspondent for the Forward. Follow him on Twitter, @danfriedmanme
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Betar ‘almost exclusively triggered’ UMass student detention, judge says
-
Fast Forward ‘Honey, he’s had enough of you’: Trump’s Middle East moves increasingly appear to sideline Israel
-
Fast Forward Yeshiva University rescinds approval for LGBTQ+ student club
-
Fast Forward Rumeysa Ozturk ordered free on bail, after judge says op-ed criticizing Israel is insufficient to justify detention
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Ye debuts ‘Heil Hitler’ music video that includes a sample of a Hitler speech
- 2
Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
- 3
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 4
Fast Forward Student suspended for ‘F— the Jews’ video defends himself on antisemitic podcast
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Betar ‘almost exclusively triggered’ UMass student detention, judge says
-
Fast Forward ‘Honey, he’s had enough of you’: Trump’s Middle East moves increasingly appear to sideline Israel
-
Fast Forward Yeshiva University rescinds approval for LGBTQ+ student club
-
Fast Forward Rumeysa Ozturk ordered free on bail, after judge says op-ed criticizing Israel is insufficient to justify detention
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.