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The symbol of happy/sad drama masks (Thalia and Melpomene) is an ancient reference to this same dynamic. Was prompted to look up the definition of the word "pa

The symbol of happy/sad drama masks (Thalia and Melpomene) is an ancient reference to this same dynamic. Was prompted to look up the definition of the word "pathetic," recently, and it means evocativeness of emotion, but typically sympathy or pity instead of laughter. Being comical and pathetic seem like the same thing, we just don't understand the word well because it's an epithet in pop culture that nobody considers the meaning of. When you look at a lot of art or music as pathetic in that they are aimed to stir a kind of nostalgia or sorrow, it's the same underlying art that produces laughter and joy. It's like a spectrum of Handel to Chopin, where one evokes soaring joy and the other a sense of nostalgia and memory. I'm very funny, but I also make very pathetic art as expressions of the same underlying capacity for pathos. In the essential meaning of the word comedy is a pathetic artform that refines out the neutralizing emotions and produces pure involuntary laughter. Whereas the well of personal experience the performer uses is going to have all the "sadness" (in the form of wistfulness, nostalgia, romance, etc.) as well. Someone who is funny or brilliant or entertaining operates using pathetic (evocative) means. This "sadness" of clowns is only a problem when we judge or criticize it. Really, if you can just see your comedic sadness as a natural capacity for pathos, (and take the Zen view of not being your feelings) it's another source of creative energy.

noman-land 3y ago
This immediately brought the Dolly Parton song Jolene into my head. First time I heard it I was struck with how pathetic it was. It was very jarring hearing a superstar like Dolly singing from such a position of inferiority. But the song is incredible. You feel her feelings of inadequacy so deeply. It's a masterful example of this mechanic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA
- motohagiography 3y ago
  Blues itself as a genre is similar. A lot of what became known as alternative music was defined by a related sense of pathos, where a lot of it was about indulging and wallowing. Pop music is like an opposite of comedy because comedy is about the unexpected, where pop is about simple satisfaction. When we say "pathetic," it's usually a shorthand for disgust, but a lot of beauty in the world is evocatively pathetic by virtue of its fragility or temporariness. In a more generalized sense, comedy and humour are a pathetic way of relating, and it's not a criticism so much as a way of emphasizing we should develop a better understanding of pathos, as forgiving or having compassion for it by recognizing it for what it is seems like it could relieve a lot of suffering.
- jihadjihad 3y ago
  It's a great song. Hearing it at 33 rpm [0] is a different experience still: it's almost more plaintive, more haunting. Worth a listen IMO. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doz1QJ7LwjA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doz1QJ7LwjA

noman-land 3y ago

This immediately brought the Dolly Parton song Jolene into my head. First time I heard it I was struck with how pathetic it was. It was very jarring hearing a superstar like Dolly singing from such a position of inferiority. But the song is incredible. You feel her feelings of inadequacy so deeply. It's a masterful example of this mechanic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA

motohagiography 3y ago
Blues itself as a genre is similar. A lot of what became known as alternative music was defined by a related sense of pathos, where a lot of it was about indulging and wallowing. Pop music is like an opposite of comedy because comedy is about the unexpected, where pop is about simple satisfaction. When we say "pathetic," it's usually a shorthand for disgust, but a lot of beauty in the world is evocatively pathetic by virtue of its fragility or temporariness. In a more generalized sense, comedy and humour are a pathetic way of relating, and it's not a criticism so much as a way of emphasizing we should develop a better understanding of pathos, as forgiving or having compassion for it by recognizing it for what it is seems like it could relieve a lot of suffering.
jihadjihad 3y ago
It's a great song. Hearing it at 33 rpm [0] is a different experience still: it's almost more plaintive, more haunting. Worth a listen IMO. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doz1QJ7LwjA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doz1QJ7LwjA