Joking Hazards
Wisecracking in the era of eye-fracking
Friends!
Context is everything. These days, a knock at the door is either the storied set-up to a punchline or cause for terror. Grim reality is always nipping at the heels of our humor (sometimes, it catches up), but it’s the nature of jokes to hurry out ahead, sprouting wings and fins and whatever this is to more nimbly navigate the ever-shifting terrain of daily life.
In this issue of The Empty Cup, we’re thinking about the changing face of humor in the age of human fracking. In Visions of Attention, Haena reflects on the timeless power of Korea’s traditional masked talchum theater troupes. In Stuff for Study, Czarina shares essays on the Dadaist currents of TikTok meme culture and the plight of farce in a post-ironic world. And for a dose of some clownish wisdom, check out our recent Q&A with actor and clowning teacher Richard Dent IV.
Laughter is best in company – so come hang out! All our greater-NYC friends are warmly invited to upcoming seminars on the poetry of jazz, hip-hop, and soul and the symbolic possibilities of the American Flag.
And for our beloved Substack community, we have a SPECIAL EVENT this Thursday, October 16th at 2 PM ET. Justin Smith-Ruiu, founding editor of The Hinternet, will be on Substack Live with filmmaker and SoRA faculty Alyssa Loh for a discussion of our upcoming book, Attensity! A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement, available for PREORDER now!
Would you please take a moment and support our work by buying an advance copy? Like… right this second? We really need your help here. THIS IS OUR BOOK — collectively authored by US, and all of our proceeds support our non-profit school in BK, and this Substack, and everything we do!
BTW — This is a LIVE conversation, meaning it will ONLY HAPPEN ONCE! So register HERE for a link to tune in to the goodness.
And read on!
Warmly yours,
Peter Schmidt
Editor-in-Chief
Visions of Attention
An archive of images and mini-essays on the myriad modes of attention
En Mask
Laughter provides much more than comic relief — a sharp wit can make critical incisions into the hierarchies that govern everyday life. Consider the masked dance-play (talchum) of 18th to 19th-century Korea, which thrived on makeshift stages in rural villages after dark. Hahoe masks, from the region of Hahoe in southeastern Korea, are one of the best known masks worn by comic troupes — it was notably appointed as an UNESCO Intangible Heritage in 2022. The exaggerated features and bright colors of each type poked fun at stereotypes of different social classes: the corrupt monk with jaundiced yellow eyes, the flirty young concubine, and the despotic aristocrat who turns out to be an illegitimate child.
While actors obscured their real identity behind the masks, the interactive nature of the plays — audiences surrounded the act in a circle, stepped into the play, and even shouted responses to the dialogue — directed collective attention to the absurdity of the normative “masks” of everyday life. Most of the farmers, basket weavers, and mothers watching these acts had little power to challenge their hierarchical world directly. Yet these bursts of humor gave comprehensible form to even the cruelest moments, and possibly flipped the script, if even for a moment. After all, pain is never too far from pleasure. Clench your teeth, fake a wince, and check the mirror: you might even mistake your expression for a smile.
- Haena Chu
Stuff for Study: Our Comedic Times
Readings and other resources for continued learning on attention and politics
The Dada era of internet memes — Kyle Chayka for The New Yorker
Why can’t AI be funnier? — Jyoti Madhusoodanan for Undark Magazine
Satirical excess for your consumption — Ben Schwartz for The Baffler
In an age of post-irony, has farce ceased to exist? — Maya Kotomori for for Document
The mind made by laughter — Chris Knight for Aeon
- Czarina Ramos
IRL
Tue, October 21st: In our IRL seminar on DJ POETICS, participants will attend to the diverse poetic forms that have emerged from the musical traditions of jazz, hip-hop, and soul. Led by Queens based poet and artist Sherese Francis.
Wed, October 22nd: In our IRL seminar on STARS & STRIPES, we’ll explore how the American flag has been imagined and reimagined to assert different visions of the United States over time. Led by SoRA’s Program Director Peter Schmidt.
Thu, October 23rd: ATTENTION LAB: SANCTUARY is an experiential, participatory workshop dedicated to the joint exploration of radical human attention with a focus on SANCTUARY’s role in Attention Activism.
Find more workshops, events, and gatherings here!