fandomhigh | Anger Management and Emotional Control | Monday

"Good morning," Bruce said from the front of the ordinary classroom where they were meeting today. "To follow up on last week's session on music, today I want to talk about other forms of media that can help relieve tension. Specifically, comedy."

It was a weird class for him to be leading, since he himself hadn't ever really been very interested in film or TV. Not in a long time, anyway. And the shows and movies he did like were usually dramas. Destroying Unpleasant, that kind of thing. But it was certainly relevant to the aims of the class, so he was squeezing this lecture in.

"If you're not familiar with the genre, comedic shows and movies are usually on the shorter side, and have the goal of making the audience laugh," he clarified quickly. "Physiologically, laughter releases endorphins, hormones like the ones we've talked about in previous sessions, that can put you in a better mood. They also reduce tension in your body, which can have the same effect of relaxing you and making you more open to enjoying yourself. Although there are plenty of reasons to laugh that aren't related to something you might watch on television, sometimes when you're not in the best mood and you don't have friends around, watching something that can make you laugh might be your best bet to feel better."

"Since we're well into the semester now and most of you aren't new anyway, I figure you've all probably had sometime to get acquainted with the television sets in the dorms," Bruce said. "So let's start with going around and saying a favorite comedy show or movie you have, and how it affects you when you watch it. And then if there's time, we'll watch an episode of a comedy show for the rest of class."

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Laughing!

The show is Continue, and oh what a lame choice, Bruce.

Evan Sabahnur

Edited 2013-11-04 15:15 (UTC)

Slightly awkwardly, Evan scuffed his toe against the floor.

"I, um, kind of don't really watch TV," he admitted. "Are books close enough?"

He failed at pop culture forever, he was well aware of that.

Bruce frowned -- he'd thought up this topic this morning partly because he'd thought he'd heard Evan mentioned on the radio this morning as watching some sci-fi show at the library. When you only had four students, stuff like that stuck in your head. Plus he'd been kind of desperate for a last-minute lecture topic.

"Sure, books are fine," he said. "Any favorites?"

Sorry, Bruce! Evan had only been introduced to Mister What on Saturday, when he'd stumbled across a couple of other students watching it in his common room.

... And then he'd been pretty distracted by Kathy's acrobatics.

"Anything by Douglas Adams," he offered, "and I like Terry Pratchett's stuff, too. They both manage to stay funny while making comments about the state of the world these days, you know?"

"I actually haven't read either of their work," Bruce admitted. "But social satire definitely holds a lot of mass appeal, and the wry tone it's often written in can make it very enjoyable to read, sure. There's this air of being amusing in spite of itself."

But he hadn't been a book reader for a while. Books were heavy and took up a lot of room in one's bags, and when one was moving around from place to place all the time... they weren't a huge priority.

Evan would recommend some kind of e-reader, but he didn't entirely trust a book that wasn't printed on good, reliable paper just yet.

"And they let people kind of look at themselves in that same way," he agreed, smiling a little. "I mean, we're all kind of a part of society, and like it or not, it's... usually pretty ridiculous, and maybe it's better to be able to laugh at it and at yourself and then work toward fixing it, instead of just paying attention to how rotten everything is and letting it drag you down."

"So, I'm guessing you're not a fan of dark dystopia novels, then," Bruce guessed, almost smiling.

He wasn't either. He could see the appeal for other people, but if he was going to seek out something to read, he didn't want it to make him angrier about the world than he already was.

Evan shrugged his shoulders a little.

"They're almost more real than real life, sometimes," he replied, picking his words carefully before pressing on. "I've read a few, but mostly they just make me depressed. Or angry. It depends on the novel."

And on the day. And just how closely it mirrored his own experiences with a screwed-up status quo.

"Not much of an escape," Bruce noted, nodding understandingly. "Fond satire is my preference too. It feels a little more forgiving. Less overwhelming."

"It leaves a person feeling a little less hollowed-out when they're done, too. I was done for a week after reading 1984."

Thanks for that, Orwell.

"I've always found it interesting how some people argue that emotionally draining media can be cathartic and rewarding," Bruce said. "For me, it's never had that effect." Ever.

"Maybe they're people who don't really find themselves in emotionally draining situations much in the first place," Evan suggested, though he sounded dubious about his own theory. "I don't know for sure, though."

Life after Fake-Kansas had been pretty emotionally draining in general. It wasn't like he was generally happy enough to be craving something to balance that out.

"Definitely possible," Bruce granted, nodding. "Or there's also the notion that some people might be reclaiming the emotional... drainitude by getting immersed in something that doesn't have lasting consequences."

Edited 2013-11-04 16:28 (UTC)

Drainitude was the best word ever. Evan was adding it to his vocabulary. After all, if Doctor Bruce Banner used it, it had to be legit.

"Or maybe there's some sort of schadenfreude involved? Better seeing these horrible things happen to other people than to themselves?"

Surreal SaDiablo

"The one they show on the tee-vee, with the people in the house trying to figure out who killed the man," Surreal answered instantly. "Clue, I think."

Because those people were the worst assassins ever, and Surreal enjoyed guessing all the possible combinations.

Drainage was probably better. Shh, it was first period. Bruce wasn't up to full mental capacity just yet.

"That could be," Bruce agreed. "I've always suspected that's how soap operas keep running, at any rate. And reality shows."

He'd never seen a reality show in his life, but he was still pretty firm about that opinion.

"I've never seen it," Bruce prefaced, but from the summary alone, well... "That's interesting, because the summary alone doesn't sound like it might have been marketed as comedic. But you find it entertaining?" Hey, no judgment.

"From what I've heard about reality shows, I think the appeal to those is more, 'At least I can't possibly be that dumb,'" Evan offered.

He hadn't seen any, either. But, you know, there was the internet.

And Wade.

"That's something, at least," Bruce shrugged. Chuckling, he added, "In fact, I can't believe I didn't think to screen one of those. I guarantee there would have been at least some embarrassed laughter."

Edited 2013-11-04 18:57 (UTC)

"It's a slapstick farce, and quick with the wordplay," Surreal explained, gesturing with her hands. "I have been told it is based on a board game."

"Aha." Okay, so never mind, then. "And it calms you down, or cheers you up, or something to that effect?" She had answered quickly, so Bruce was guessing it was one of those.

Vider Bearskin

Anger Management and Emotional Control | Monday | Period 1

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