ESVIETNAM

Farce comedy has been a staple in theater and film for many years, probably because of its appeal to many audiences and generations. As a very physical form of comedy, farce tends to explore the limitations of the body and plays upon satire and absurd situations to advance the plots of the production. In Vietnamization of New Jersey, physical comedy immediately comes into play when Et pours cereal down his pants and begins to eat it; this action doesn't make much sense and it seems ridiculous, but it fits in with the idea of the farce comedy. Other characteristics of farce comedies include stereotyping, mistaken identity, nonsensical circumstances, fast paced action, and a culmination into (most times) a happy ending. Stereotyping is a major part of this play because of Liat and her assumed Vietnamese origins. Both Liat and the family make stereotypes about Asian culture and Vietnamese people. Ozzie calls Liat “Korean,” making an offensive statement about the appearance of Asian people. Liat herself (though not actually Vietnamese) stereotypes Asian speech and culture, saying, “I was just a rittle girl when the American aramy come to my country. They destroy everything, they pillage the village. They cause much havoc and disappointment. I become go go dancer at lowlife night club. That where I meet Davey.” There are many other instances like these where incorrect stereotypes are used as part of the farce comedy. The majority of scenes in the play are absurd and nonsensical, like at the end of Scene 3 and the beginning of Scene 4 when Liat is revealed to be an American, not a Vietnamese woman. Not only is it ridiculous that the family believed she was Vietnamese in the first place, but the fact that she kept up the charade so long is simply ridiculous. Davey goes into hysterics at finding out about Liat's true heritage while Liat proceeds to make even more stereotypes about Vietnam that still very offensive and crude. There are many TV shows and movies that display the typical farce comedy setup. A few TV shows that come to mind are Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development. Both of these shows employ the use of satire and irony while their characters are put into situations that are not likely to happen in real life. Each show uses physical comedy as well as stylized acting by each of the characters. Both Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development are highly satiric in nature, making fun of everyday situations and providing social commentary and criticisms about them. Also, these shows are similar to Vietnamization of New Jersey because they all have characters that try to be serious and try not to take part in the antics of their fellow characters. Some of the (many) farce films I have seen are Young Frankenstein, Wayne's World, and Airplane! Each film pokes fun at a particular situation or group of people and has ridiculous plotlines and characters that make the movies funny parodies of events or groups that the public has been exposed to. They all exhibit many of the characteristics of a typical farce film, using physical humor, stereotyping, and crazy situations to provide audiences with funny films that provide little to no intellectual stimuli, but farce films normally never do.