If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you open to my ideas
John CleeseRead
I think that sometimes you do something that makes a small group of people laugh, which is all we were trying to do; we were just trying to make each other laugh.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the joy and purpose of making others laugh, highlighting the communal aspect of humor.
In this quote, John Cleese reflects on the fundamental goal of comedy, which is to evoke laughter among others. He suggests that the essence of their efforts was not grand ambitions but rather the simple, shared delight in making each other laugh, underscoring the importance of camaraderie and joy in their creative endeavors.
Themes
HumorLaughterComedyJoyFriendship
In practice
Example use cases
When giving a speech about the importance of comedy in our lives.
More from John Cleese
All quotes →Because, as we all know, it’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent than it is to do important things that are not urgent, like thinking. And it’s also easier to do little things we know we can do than to start on big things that we’re not so sure about.
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If you are leaping a ravine, the moment of takeoff is a bad time to be considering alternative strategies.
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In Britain, girls seem to be either bright or attractive. In America, that's not the case. They're both.
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I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.
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When the target audience is American teenage kids, you can have problems. My generation prized really fine acting and writing. Sometimes you have to go back to the basic principles which underpin great visual comedy.
John CleeseRead
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