Ah, yes. The ever-present Elf. Throughout my experience in public school, this film in particular has consistently been the go-to for any sort of event that involves a movie, whether or not it was anywhere near Christmas. With this film, Will Ferrell has achieved what is arguably the most iconic of his smorgasbord of popular roles. The film remains a massive success in terms of profit and notoriety, and has solidified itself as a staple of both holiday films and family comedies. It is not difficult to see why it struck a chord with so many.
The film’s plot is the standard ‘fish out of water’ scenario, which is highlighted in many of the scenes that Ramsden details in her initial article. A wide-eyed, purely innocent Buddy the Elf (played by Ferrell) is shown the realities of living in New York City, chasing after a crotchety businessman who is completely unaware of Buddy’s status as his son. As Buddy is being exposed to these brutal situations in a strange new land, it very well should have caused his psyche to collapse halfway through the film, but his determination and good heart aid him in not only prevailing on getting through to his father, but saving Christmas and earning the heart of a particularly attractive Zooey Deschanel.
As Ramsden points out, this film relies heavily on the idea of benign violation: a situation that does something wrong without any of the consequences that would realistically accommodate it. Buddy, in his innocence, breaks or ignores many social cues that any normal human would find to be common knowledge. His tendency to be loud, overly joyful, and awkwardly invasive are delightful to the viewer, who is undoubtedly reveling in the naïvety of this poor soul. Yet we feel an attachment to Buddy because of his good nature and earnest sense of purity. Even as he causes anywhere from awkwardness to mayhem, the audience remains on his side because he does not have to face realistic consequences. Elf is a perfect example of a non-offensive usage of benign violation.
Tom and Jerry are one of the most iconic, recognizable duos in all of cartoon history. The charming, animated, domestic ultraviolence of the age-old cat versus mouse tale has weaved its way into the hearts and minds of the last five generations or so. It relies heavily on simple, slapstick scenarios, often involving the pain of Tom the cat and pleasure of Jerry the mouse. Slapstick humor is defined as “comedy based on deliberately clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events.” This means that anything from The Three Stooges to Blazing Saddles has indulged in a bit of slapstick every now and then, even if it is considered to be childish and cheap to most critical audiences. However, despite the negative connotation associated with slapstick, Tom and Jerry has managed to not only create a formula that performs remarkably well, but also one that stands the test of time. Tom and Jerry continues to be a relevant series down through generations, constantly getting reboots, reruns, ...
I love how you liked my point about the benign violation theory and I love all of the connection that you made throughout your post.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how you would think about an offensive aspect of benign violation? Or is that even possible? Does benign violation inherently involve family oriented comedy with only subtle aspects of violation?
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