As I listened to Ryan Hamilton discuss his life in a comic manner, I tried to understand who his intended audience was. He began by talking about his uncanny ability to appear chipper and optimistic, even though on the inside he just felt alright. This struck me as entertaining, as it appeared to do for so many others in the audience. I think that the reason so many in the audience, which includes a wide variety of people, can relate to Ryan is two-fold.
First, Ryan has an incredible smile. It is broad, tall and shining white, revealing all his teeth clearly. This kind of smile comes across as energetic, enthusiastic and incredibly happy. So, naturally, many in the audience assume that he is in a very good mood because of his smile. Hearing contrary to what appears to be fact is humorous to all those who watch him say he is doing alright with a huge grin.
The other reason that it appears that Ryan is able to appeal to a general audience is that many people feel like they are putting on a happy face while they really feel differently inside. Because of the context, the audience will laugh, but if this were in a more serious context, they would feel a connection because of the truth in what Ryan is saying. To put it simply, it is very relatable humor for a very large audience, which makes it very entertaining.
In conclusion, there are two types of humor that Ryan uses to appeal to a very wide audience. Ryan appeals to many peoples sense of physical humor with his wide, toothy grin. This naturally brings smiles to the faces of all who see him. The other type of humor that Ryan uses is an appeal to a wide audience by pointing out a relatable problem that many people experience. This is entertaining to people because they feel the same way as him.
You think Ryan has an incredible smile? I think his jokes are incredible, but his smile is huge! As soon as I saw it, I thought of Stephen King's IT. That clown had a crazy smile too.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHA
DeleteAbsolutely loved the title of this, very catchy!
ReplyDeleteThe whole time I noticed that his teeth were just white enough, but not too white, to avoid drawing attention. His gums seemed healthy. So yes, I would agree that he has a large smile.
ReplyDeleteGood observation of how he used his smile as a part of his comedy act. His smile is something so simple to talk about, but I watched some of his other shows and he uses his smile a lot to start his act. It really makes people laugh every time! Haha.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Ryan Hamilton before reading this, so then I looked him up and your post was so accurate! He has a huge smile. Honestly, I think it's a good problem to have. Better to look happy all the time than look sad or angry. haha.
ReplyDeleteDude, the title of this blog post is sick. You should write all of my titles for my posts because I am awful at doing them! Also, I think you are right that his greatest rhetorical tool is his smile. It's interesting, because this tool doesn't even require him to speak.
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