Michael Shanks - site 2006: ''Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now'' DVD

Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now DVD: A tool of connection

One weekend last November, my younger sister Whitney came up to visit. My roommate’s, Lauren, sister, Danielle, was also visiting this weekend. We were trying to think of something to do Saturday afternoon before we went out when Danielle said, “Hey, have you guys seen Ellen’s stand-up comedy?” Of course, none of us had, so we went to Blockbuster and rented it. Little did we know that this one simple DVD would change all of our lives forever.

Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now has become almost an everyday occurrence in my life. It is so universal that one or more of the situations presented in it comes up everyday.

It’s all about the connections. It’s kind of ironic that an assignment on “unpacking” and artifact and delving into all its connections led me to a artifact that only works because of its connections. The Ellen DeGeneres Here and Now DVD is the taping of Ellen’s HBO comedy special. It was filmed in New York in 2003.

In this stand-up comedy routine, Ellen captures the absurdity of life in her hilarious storytelling fashion. From public behavior to other universal subjects, she douses the audience with real-life situations that almost everyone can relate to. This is perhaps why Ellen is so successful in this performance.

But what exactly does this DVD do for us? What work or function does it serve? Through my “unpacking” of this artifact, I have come to the conclusion that this DVD serves as a tool of connection. It connects people together. It connects the audience to Ellen, it connects the audience to each other, it connects viewers at home to the audience, it connects now to then (time connection) and through all these connections it achieves its ultimate goal: to make us laugh.

Throughout this project I will explore all these connections and also examine what it means to laugh, why its so important, what comedy is to society and how all of these make the Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now DVD a successful artifact.

First, a little background on Ellen DeGeneres and her path to being established as one of the funniest people in America.

Site Map:

Posted at Mar 28/2006 10:48PM:
Sebastian De Vivo: Morgan, I enjoyed reading your project. You focused on how stand-up comedy, and in particular Ellen DeGeneres, can bring people together through laughter. I would've like to see a bit more analysis concerning how these connections are actually established, and perhaps a few images. Other than that, it was a well-researched and enjoyable project -- good job!