Comedy Tropes: The Wrong Hand(s)

This is the first in what I hope to be a new series on SUCH about the tropes that are common in comedy. The tropes can be in performances, photos, or routines.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people get upset when they think a comedian has “stolen” a bit or joke, but oftentimes that comic is doing an homage or reference. In fact, once you learn more about the history of comedy, you see the same concepts appear again and again.

In the same way that authors and screenwriters are indebted to the works of the past, so too are comedians often an amalgam of what they grew up with or have seen in the past.

Anyway, for this first entry, I want to start with a light trope: photos of comics with mismatched hands doing silly things. These images conjure up thoughts of magic, optical illusions, and trickery. They are also very compelling photos because they make the viewer do a double-take…something is amiss!

Let’s go!

1. Tina Fey

   

   
   

   One of the most famous examples of this comedic trope, the cover of Tina’s book Bossypants features a typical author pose of them looking thoughtful. However, it becomes obvious after a cursory glance that some mischief is going on here. While Tina has her normal face, her body appears to be that of a much larger (and hairier) man. I love this photo in particular because it symbolizes how Tina felt as the first female head writer at Saturday Night Live—taking on a role that had always been a man’s job before and struggling with being taken seriously (as all female pioneers have done).

   
   

2. Gary Gulman

   

   
   

   Like Tina’s iconic cover photo, Gary Gulman provides an author pose with a twist. To promote his autobiography The Great Depresh, Gary did an interview with Esquire. This time, you would again assume it’s a normal thoughtful author picture. But the light purple nail polish hints to trickery, and indeed looking at the image more closely, you notice the hand on his chin is much too small for such a large man of 6 feet and 6 inches!

   
   

   Here’s a photo of Bo Burnham, Pete Holmes, and Gary—all comedic giants (literally) at 6’5”, 6’6”, and 6’6” respectively.

   

   
   

3. James Acaster

   

   
   

   One of my favorite comedians, the always-hilarious James Acaster appears to be holding some ice cream cones in his hands. But, if you look closer there are THREE hands in the shot. Such a great optical illusion that really emphasizes the humorous manipulation that is essential to any performance by James!

   
   

4. Kate Berlant

   

   
   

   One of the few comedians that I have met in person (woot!), Kate Berlant is a force to be reckoned with—and nothing proclaims that louder than this photo. Here, Kate is shown lighting a cigarette and holding a map. But just like James, there are three arms total! Definitely an attention-capturing image that makes you look again—and again—to figure out how this sorcery works.

   

   Me turning away after talking to Kate. Such a fun night!

   
   

5. Demetri Martin

   

   And to finish off the list, here once again is one of my favorite photos of Demetri. At first glance, his pose seems normal. He’s just touching a finger to his hair, right? However, when you look at the position of his shoulders, you realize there is trickery afoot and that must be someone else’s hand. Very subtle!

That’s all the examples of this trope that I have found over the years, but let me know if you know of others that I’ve missed. And if you want to read more posts about comedy tropes, please let me know what topics you’d like me to explore. I hope you enjoyed seeing these photos, and stay tuned for more comedy fun!