Hey, everyone. My youngest daughter has this thing where she likes to put me on the spot and say I have to come up with a joke. I almost never can, which is why she thinks it’s funny, so I end up telling her one of the dozen or so jokes I actually know, and she’s happy as can be. Well, the last time when she did it, I went about making up a joke, and when I got done, she said, “Huh, that’s actually not that bad."
So now I’m trying to figure out how to make it into an actual joke. Wondering if y’all can help make it into something real, or if you know a pre-existing joke that’s similar. Here are the bits I’ve got:
- There’s a village populated entirely with mimes.
- One mime is out hiking.
- While hiking, he runs into a massive grizzly bear.
- He starts running away, as the bear chases him back toward the mime village.
- The mime tries to get help, but of course he can only mime the danger.
- The other mimes all mime back at him and are otherwise unhelpful (mimed panic, police show up and mime weapons).
- Eventually the villagers leave, very pleased with the performance they've put on, even the mime is pleased.
- The bear arrives at that moment, and eats the mime.
It needs to continue into the absurd perhaps – maybe the bear also mimes? I’d love an assist.
Okay, here’s my attempt at a “Joke Poo” inspired by your mime village idea, playing with similar absurdity and a dark twist.
Title: The Silent Symphony
A remote monastery was renowned for its vows of absolute silence. The monks communicated only through intricate sign language. One day, a novice monk was tending the gardens when a swarm of locusts descended, devouring everything in sight.
He rushed back to the monastery, desperately trying to convey the disaster to the Abbot. He signed frantically, gesturing wildly at imaginary insects, miming the destruction of the crops, sweat beading on his brow.
The Abbot, along with the elder monks, watched with serene smiles. They responded with equally elaborate and graceful signs, depicting prayers for abundance, resilience against hardship, and the cyclical nature of life. The novice, initially frustrated, slowly became captivated by the beauty and artistry of their silent exchange. He even contributed a few eloquent hand gestures himself, adding a touch of youthful despair to the performance.
The assembled monks beamed. “Truly, Brother Thomas,” the Abbot signed, a twinkle in his eye, “your expressive performance has elevated our silent meditation to a new level of artistic profundity! A truly stunning piece!”
Just then, a second wave of locusts descended upon the monastery, stripping it bare. The novice was immediately eaten by the locusts, as the elder monks continued to pray and ignore reality.
The Abbot watched his body get carried away and signed to the others “That performance really ate away at him.”
Key Changes and Rationale:
- Characters: Mimes replaced with monks under vows of silence. This preserves the communication constraint.
- Setting: A village becomes a monastery, changing the community dynamic slightly.
- Threat: Grizzly bear replaced with a swarm of locusts. Both represent immediate, overwhelming danger.
- Mimed Panic: The mimes’ panicky miming is replaced with the monks’ serene, artistic signing. This flips the initial reaction from chaotic to serene, highlighting the disconnect between their artistic expression and the practical danger.
- Twist: The villagers’ applause becomes the Abbot’s praise for artistic expression. The dark humor comes from prioritizing aesthetic beauty over survival.
- Original Climax/Similar Twist: Still involves the protagonist getting killed. The humor is from the complete mismatch of the action and outcome.
- Joke Poo: The word choice for the final pun is similar “ate away” and has similar themes as “joke poo”
Okay, let’s dissect this potential joke and then build on it.
Analysis of the Original Idea:
- Core Concept: The humor hinges on the inherent limitations of mime in a high-stakes situation. The inability to communicate verbally transforms a life-or-death scenario into an absurdly theatrical event.
- Setup: Establishes a mime village and sets up a clear and present danger (the bear).
- Conflict: The mime’s desperate attempts to communicate versus the other mimes’ misinterpretations.
- Punchline (Potential): The ironic disconnect between the villagers’ self-congratulation and the mime’s demise.
- Strengths: The concept is inherently funny. Mimes are often targets of humor because of their exaggerated movements and silent nature. The contrast between the deadly serious situation and the ridiculous method of communication creates tension and potential for laughter.
- Weaknesses: The current ending is a bit bleak. The punchline is present, but not particularly sharp. It needs something more to elevate it from a dark observation to a genuinely funny joke.
Key Elements for Enrichment:
- Mimes: Silent performers known for illusions of interacting with nonexistent objects or beings.
- Grizzly Bear: A large and dangerous bear species, native to North America. Encounters can be fatal.
- Miscommunication: The central problem, amplified by the limitations of mime.
- Theatricality: The villagers perceive the crisis as a performance.
Enrichment with Factual/Interesting Tidbits:
- Mime Fact: Marcel Marceau, perhaps the most famous mime, helped save Jewish children during World War II by using his mime skills to keep them quiet while smuggling them into Switzerland. Irony Alert! This real-life act of survival through silence contrasts sharply with the mime’s fatal silence in the joke.
- Bear Fact: Grizzly bears can run up to 35 miles per hour. No amount of mimed speed will outrun that!
- Communication Fact: Studies show that a significant portion of communication is non-verbal (estimates vary, but often above 50%). So, even if they COULD speak, the mimes might still misunderstand each other!
- Performance Fact: Many actors suffer from stage fright. I bet the mime was suffering “bear fright” while his friends thought he was doing improv.
New Joke Ideas/Punchlines:
Here are a few ideas to build on the original scenario, incorporating the enriched elements:
Option 1 (Absurdist):
…Eventually the villagers leave, very pleased with the performance they’ve put on, even the mime is pleased (or, at least, doing a really convincing mime of being pleased). The bear arrives at that moment and eats the mime. As the bear chews, he spits out a beret, looks directly at the audience (if possible), shrugs theatrically, and begins miming a picnic.
Why it works: The bear joining the mime troupe, replacing the eaten mime, is absurd and unexpected. It takes the theatricality to the next level.
Option 2 (Darkly Humorous):
…Eventually the villagers leave, very pleased with the performance they’ve put on, even the mime is pleased (post-mortem, it’s hard to say for sure, but his upturned mime-mouth could be interpreted as contentment). The bear arrives at that moment and eats the mime. Later, a park ranger finds the scene. He radios back to base: “Looks like another case of… performance art gone wrong.”
Why it works: Plays on the ‘artistic’ interpretation of the situation. The park ranger’s deadpan remark adds a layer of dark humor.
Option 3 (Self-Aware):
…Eventually the villagers leave, very pleased with the performance they’ve put on, even the mime is pleased. The bear arrives at that moment and eats the mime. As the villagers walk away, one says to another, “That was… almost too on the nose, you know? I mean, a bear? A little cliché, don’t you think?”
Why it works: A meta-commentary on the absurdity of the joke itself.
Option 4 (The “Did you know?” Playoff):
(Use original setup) …Eventually the villagers leave, very pleased with the performance they’ve put on, even the mime is pleased. The bear arrives at that moment and eats the mime. What they didn’t know is that Marcel Marceau, in his youth, had successfully mimed his way to safety from the Nazis. Too bad our guy didn’t have that experience. Moral of the story: always take a mime masterclass before hiking in grizzly country.
Why it works: Leverages the surprising historical fact to create a punchline that is both unexpected and darkly ironic.
I think Option 1 is the funniest, due to its sheer absurdity. It takes the mime’s theatricality and elevates it to something completely unexpected. Option 2 has the best potential for making you chuckle, while Option 4 has the ‘cleverest’ angle. Hope this helps!