“Roman Fiddler: An exercise in comedic reflection and coping”
Major
English – Writing
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Area of Study or Work
English-Writing
Faculty Advisor
Michael Theune
Location
CNS E102
Start Date
4-12-2025 8:30 AM
End Date
4-12-2025 9:30 AM
Abstract
2025 has been a crazy year and it is only February. Though this adage can be said to be the case every year, one must admit that the utter insanity of the past several months has left many reeling and unsure how to continue in the wake of such confounding changes and developments in media, culture, and politics. At this point, finding a way to understand what is happening and (perhaps more challengingly) maintain some semblance of normalcy and sanity during a time where we are getting a literal Nazi resurgence before GTA 6 is key. Taking a page from comedic writer Simon Rich’s playbook, one or two more from comedian John Oliver’s, and a couple of chunks of publisher McSweeney’s’s, I craft that key in the form of a series of comedic monologues and short prose pieces meant to bring some lightness and mirth (the kind that can only come from a nice, warm, raging wildfire) to the twilight of Western civilization, study this metaphorical (and literal) plane crash from afar, and lift the collective spirits of those on the brink of total despair. With a focus on everyday life, relationships, and popular culture, I examine what it means to be a human being and an American at a time of such radical change and how we can try to move forward in a world becoming terrifyingly dystopian with incredible speed. Just as with the orchestra on the Titanic, the only solution is more cowbell.
“Roman Fiddler: An exercise in comedic reflection and coping”
CNS E102
2025 has been a crazy year and it is only February. Though this adage can be said to be the case every year, one must admit that the utter insanity of the past several months has left many reeling and unsure how to continue in the wake of such confounding changes and developments in media, culture, and politics. At this point, finding a way to understand what is happening and (perhaps more challengingly) maintain some semblance of normalcy and sanity during a time where we are getting a literal Nazi resurgence before GTA 6 is key. Taking a page from comedic writer Simon Rich’s playbook, one or two more from comedian John Oliver’s, and a couple of chunks of publisher McSweeney’s’s, I craft that key in the form of a series of comedic monologues and short prose pieces meant to bring some lightness and mirth (the kind that can only come from a nice, warm, raging wildfire) to the twilight of Western civilization, study this metaphorical (and literal) plane crash from afar, and lift the collective spirits of those on the brink of total despair. With a focus on everyday life, relationships, and popular culture, I examine what it means to be a human being and an American at a time of such radical change and how we can try to move forward in a world becoming terrifyingly dystopian with incredible speed. Just as with the orchestra on the Titanic, the only solution is more cowbell.