Cure for the common dread
One great tonic for the fear-based culture is a strong daily dose of humor. One place I like to get that is from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Chast finds dementia in the daily outlandishness of human relations and household appliances.
Another humorist I enjoy is Steve Martin, he of the stand-up act, the arch fiction pieces, the witty plays, the banjo and balloons, and recently several unfortunate family comedies.
Here is a wonderful video I found online today in which Mr. Martin interviews Ms. Chast about her work. If you’ve had a bad day, well, ever — this is the cure. The entire interview is positively delightful, the cartoons are hilarious, and Martin and Chast, who clearly adore and admire each other, are having the time of their lives. I think Steve Martin deserves an interview show all his own, and I hope that some day we get it. If used properly, this video, which you really should watch, could bring more good to the world than anything currently transpiring in the highest echelons of power.
September 9th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
the panel above is a ‘knee slapper’
September 9th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Wow! Great interview. I have loved her cartoons for quite a while. I appreciate all the New Yorker artists, including Charles Addams, Arno, and Charles Barsotti.
Didn’t have access to The New Yorker as a kid, but we got The Saturday Evening Post at some point. I remember being knocked out by what Barsotti did for them. He drew a panal with two robed and bearded men, and one of them was carrying a lantern in the middle of the day. But instead of saying “I’m looking for an honest man,” he was saying “I’m looking for the man who draws Wonder Woman.” Incredibly hip for a family magazine during my childhood, especially because the joke depended on knowing both a bit about Greek philosophy and that early WW comics had bizarre art.
Anyway, my favorite thing about Roz Chast’s work is that it can be absurd and comment on life at the same time. Will have to check out that book.