You're trying your best to make people laugh; then if you fail, they hate you. But your intent's the same. It's not like you're trying to do evil to them.
Norm MacdonaldRead
I miss seeing real comics, Shecky Greene and Buddy Hackett, those types. I like straight stand-up, talking about the Olympics and why I feel obligated to watch them. 'Why am I watching archery at 4 in the afternoon?'
Interpretation
What this quote means
Norm Macdonald expresses nostalgia for traditional stand-up comedy, reflecting on the absurdity of modern entertainment.
In this quote, Norm Macdonald reminisces about a time when comedy focused more on straightforward, observational humor, contrasting it with his current experiences of watching seemingly mundane events like archery during the Olympics. He highlights the inherent silliness in popular television programming and how it can lead to questioning one's own viewing habits, illustrating a deeper commentary on entertainment values and preferences.
Themes
ComedyNostalgiaStand-UpEntertainmentAbsurdity
In practice
Example use cases
During a stand-up comedy event to highlight the evolution of humor.
More from Norm Macdonald
All quotes βIt's a very odd thing with Hollywood, where you do stand-up, you're good at it, then they go, 'How would you like to be a horrible actor?' Then you say, 'All right, that sounds good. I'll do that.'
Norm MacdonaldRead
I sort of try to write everything for me. I'm a huge sports fan but have no interest in minutiae. I don't remember who won Super Bowls five years ago or listen to sports talk radio. I'm trying to make sure the jokes are self-contained so they're accessible to everyone.
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I've just seen really, really funny guys, and if I didn't know them, I wouldn't know they were funny from the television. I don't know what it does, it just sucks it away.
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I'm no good at anything but comedy, which I think I'm good at. I'm absolutely no good at networking; I'm terrible at acting; I'm terrible at dealing with executives; I'm terrible at collaborating. And I say whatever I want to say. But I think I'm good enough at comedy that I can survive. And I don't really have an ambition for money.
Norm MacdonaldRead
When I hear a guy lost a battle to cancer, that really did bother me, that that's a term. It implies that he failed and that somebody else that defeated cancer is heroic and courageous.
Norm MacdonaldRead
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