George Carlin on religion

George Carlin is one of the most well known stand-up comedians. In this scene, taken from the DVD Jamin’ in New York, George Carlin talks about the religious dogma of all organized religions. He criticizes and pokes fun at many holy books such as the Bible, Torah, and Koran. He satirizes the basic idea of organized religion by mocking all religious figures as the kings of “crap”, and mocking the idea of god as both a loving figure, and one who will banish you to hell. George Carlin is known for the emotion that he puts behind his jokes. Carlin’s jokes cover a wide range of themes, from religion, to drugs, sex, politics, fame, society, language, and the events of everyday life. George Carlin often did stand-up in front of a diverse audience. Even after his death, Carlin’s humor is watched by many.

Jamin' in New York. Prod. Jerry Hamaz and Brenda Carlin. Perf. George Carlin. DVD. Atlantic/WEA, 1992. YouTube. 07 Feb. 2009. 31 Mar. 2009.

Eddie Izzard - Being Bilingual

This video is of Eddie Izzard during his DVD recording of Dress to Kill, filmed at the Stage Door Theater in San Francisco, California. Izzard is an Emmy Award winning stand up comedian and actor. His notable comedic stand-up work includes Live at the Ambassadors, Definite Article, and Dress to Kill. He has influenced the works of Harry Hill, Dara O'Brien, and Demetri Martin. Born in Yemen to British parents and raised in British society, Izzard's performances target religion, pop culture, language, and world history due to his worldly influence. Throughout this video, Izzard talks about the petty differences in pronunciation between UK English and US English and describes the two countries as being seprated by a common language. He gradually moves on to examine the need for Europe to become bilingual because of business, noting that misunderstandings because of the language barrier can lead to loss of business. Izzard's anecdotes of how English speakers are less willing to become bilingual is suggesting to the audience that English speakers hold a certain air of elitism which holds them back from truly becoming a "melting pot" which should come naturally because of the 200 languages spoken on the same continent. This piece is insightful in that it pokes fun at the ridgidity of European socieities from a European's point of view. The point of this piece is to educate as well as make one wonder what we must do for the future. The audience this bit is meant for is the whole of Europe and English speakers to blatantly point out the issues they are not willing to deal with. Because this is meant to emphasize the unspoken truths of a European mentality, the audience would most likely be offended but come to recognize that it is a simple solution that must come to fruition.

Eddie Izzard. Dress to Kill. Dir. Lawrence Jordan. Stage Door Theater. WEA Corp, 1998. DVD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4

SBS Radio - Breaking the Language Barrier

This video is a satire on the language barrier. Two scientists from the MSIRO (Marketing, Science, Industrial Research Organization) who are best known for their study of the sexual activity of guavas are given funding to test the myth that it is impossible to sell products to people from non-English speaking backgrounds. They attempt to penetrate a physical language barrier that is placed between a non-English speaking couple and a product accelerator. In the end however, they prove the myth to be false when they turn on SBS Radio. SBS Radio, a program provided by the Special Broadcasting Service based in Australia, is a service that broadcasts news, current affairs, sport news, music, and community information to people of non-English speaking backgrounds in their native languages. To this date, SBS broadcasts in 68 languages. The purpose of this satire was to emphasize the lasting reputation the language barrier has of being incredibly difficult and unsolvable. It is suggesting that it is relatively simple to solve using tools we can create. The audience is meant for the general public, as it is meant to advertise SBS radio as well as inform.

SBS Radio. Funny way to break the language barrier! 19 June 2007. 17 Feb 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vR8WOEcqpw