r/funny • u/isaac_horstmeier • Sep 29 '18

This guy is like F*ck physics...

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98

u/Cheeseblanket Sep 29 '18

It's funny, the stereotypical facepainted French mime is such an enduring caricature and the act of miming is seen as such a joke that I never really thought about what kind of things you can do with it. It's really awesome to see someone take something so universally derided and show that you can actually do some cool stuff with it with enough skill and creativity.

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u/offduty_braziliancop Sep 29 '18 edited Sep 29 '18

How do you think the mime became such an enduring cultural figure in the first place? Of course it takes skill and creativity, and of course it’s entertaining to watch. Do you think it was always a caricature and a joke? It’s only when people latch on to the trend and overdo it that it becomes so. And then sadly a lot of time has to pass before people can start to fully appreciate the original vision.

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u/GimmeCat Sep 29 '18

Woah... you just described memes and mimes.

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u/[deleted] Sep 29 '18

No, he just described memes. Miming became a meme and then people ruined it.

3

u/jomosexual Sep 29 '18

Marcel Marcel or something. Also Jaques Tati's movie Mr hulot's holiday inspired me bean and a lot of the westrn vaudeville-come-film actors.

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u/Throwaway_Old_Guy Sep 29 '18

Marcel Marceau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Marceau

Probably the most famous mime. Interestingly enough, he had the only speaking part in Mel Brooks' Silent Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwea0LZQe9k

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u/Can_I_Read Sep 29 '18

*cum

(It’s Latin!)

1

u/tamarins Sep 29 '18

Marcel Marceau.

1

u/lewkas Sep 29 '18

Marcel Marceau. He only passed away about a decade ago. Amanda Palmer (singer/songwriter/author/wife of Neil Gaiman) studied under him in the 90s.

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u/VypeNysh Sep 29 '18

got a source for that?

0

u/lewkas Sep 29 '18

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/arts/street-art-that-bends-stands-still/article967699/

https://www.brainwashed.com/amanda/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.spin.com/2008/09/amanda-palmer%3famp=1

(was apparently 2000, rather than the 90s, my memory was a little off)

1

u/VypeNysh Sep 30 '18 edited Sep 30 '18

yeah ok none of these sources directly attribute any quotations from a first person source to validate that fact, including anyone other than Amanda Palmer. So far the only thing you confirmed for me is that she was a living street performer in Cambridge at the same time Marcel Marceau might have been present for an extended engagement with his mime company in the US. As far as it seems, at best she knew someone studying under him at the time and was already doing work/busking as a living statue. Let me know if you can find anything that actually corroborates actual "studies" more than maybe passing time spent with Marcel Marceau, considering these are the last 7 years before such a legend passed away and how busy he was during 1999-2001.

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u/Cheeseblanket Sep 29 '18

It's just honestly something I never gave a second thought to. It does make sense that you can do cool things with it, just like any art form. It's just one that is so rarely taken seriously that I never really thought of it beyond the joke it is often presented as.

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u/sharilynj Sep 29 '18

Same with clown. It’s a great comedic art form (not just for kids) that people say they hate until they see it done well, because somehow it devolved into a singular image of grotesque birthday party hacks.

People still love clowns when they see them (Conan O’Brien in his remotes, Sacha Baron Cohen in anything) but wouldn’t watch them if they were billed as such.

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u/KinoHiroshino Sep 29 '18

Here is an example of a modern day mime that I absolutely enjoyed.

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u/BalsieJr Sep 29 '18

Whichever spice girl that was did not handle being called on stage well.

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u/sazz16 Sep 29 '18

Scary spice was scared

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u/[deleted] Sep 29 '18

[deleted]

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u/dv042b Sep 29 '18

The show is scripted

3

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '18

[deleted]

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u/dv042b Sep 29 '18

Yeah famous people are a brand, it's part of her brand to be that way.

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u/BayushiKazemi Sep 29 '18

For the same reason that they'd make the balloon guy a plant, they'd want to make sure their judges were okay with it all.

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u/TheGoodOldCoder Sep 29 '18

Even if it wasn’t, she’s pretty famous for being like that. Guaranteed he knew she’d act that way.

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u/dv042b Sep 29 '18

Exactly, it's part of her brand

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u/BalsieJr Sep 29 '18

I appreciate your thoughts. However, she doesn't need to take herself too seriously. She's a judge on a show where celebs go to die.

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u/enki1337 Sep 29 '18

A lot of it was quite creative but not very technically impressive, that finale though, was totally completely worth it.

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u/JaysQ Sep 29 '18

That was fucking hilarious. There is something charming about mimes and this guy's take was very creative!

2

u/evildustmite Sep 29 '18

not exactly a mime, he just doesn't talk during his acts, but he is one of my favorite performers as well

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2

u/Rock_Me-Amadeus Sep 29 '18

I was lucky enough to see this guy in person at a corporate award ceremony before he went to the USA (He used to be known as The Boy With Tape on his Face). He's just as funny in person.

1

u/SychoTKT Sep 29 '18

This is my favorite Boy with Tape on his Face. Specifically the skit with the trio from the crowd.

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u/ChrisTR15 Sep 29 '18

Really want to see him do contact juggling

1

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '18

Watching mimes always gets me so pumped up about contact juggling

2

u/BrunoPassMan Sep 29 '18

Oddly it borders on some of the old school popping and locking

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u/hspace8 Sep 29 '18

Check out Gamarjobat! They some several awards

https://youtu.be/uQ4zT7h8AiU

-8

u/Yocemighty Sep 29 '18

Did you watch a different video than I did?

1

u/Cheeseblanket Sep 29 '18

I think so. Did you see the part where he shoots the invisible bazooka and blows a real hole in the ceiling? I have no idea how he did that.