Kartunis Indonesia Melukis?

Oleh Darminto M Sudarmo

Bukti bahwa kartunis Indonesia, khususnya para kartunis lepas, gelisah, sudah terlihat sejak tahun 1980-an. Maka ketika terjadi “Pertemuan Kartunis Nasional” yang bertempat di Balai Wartawan – Semarang, Jawa Tengah (sekarang: Hotel Ciputra-Simpang Lima) pada 1984-an, dengan agenda besar yang diusung: upaya pemberdayaan kartunis terkait dengan posisinya sebagai profesi, mudah ditebak apa yang terjadi kemudian: kartunis Indonesia “menggugat”. Menggugat pada siapa? Tentu saja menggugat pada pihak pemegang otoritas rubrik kartun di media atau redaktur penjaga gawang, supaya porsi pemuatan untuk karya kartun lebih diseriusi (kuantitasnya, diperbanyak). Salah satu rekomendasi yang dicuatkan saat itu adalah mengimbau media massa (koran dan majalah) memberikan peluang selayak-layaknya lewat penyediaan rubrik yang di dalamnya memuat gambar kartun sebagai menu rutin media tersebut.

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Pengalaman Kocak Jitet Koestana

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Langsung Berhasil

Perkenalkan nama saya Jitet Koestana. Saya lahir di Semarang, Jawa Tengah, 4 Januari 1967. Kata orang sih, nama saya Koestana saja. Tetapi kata saya, ada tambahannya Jitet. Kalau nama pop artis-artis biasanya serba glamor dan keren, nama pop saya justru Jitet. Anda tahu apa artinya Jitet? Dalam bahasa Jawa jitet artinya mlithut. Kalau ada baju atau celana yang lobang atau sobek, karena tak ada kain lain yang mirip, maka karena tak sabar, biasanya langsung ambil jarum dan benang untuk dijahit secara militer, eh, paksa, maka hasilnya baju atau celana itu jadi mlithut karena dijitet.

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Taking Your Humor To The Next Level

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A dozen ways to improv your humor talents.
Here are some specific things you can do to sharpen your humor skills: To see the humor around you and to deliver it from the platform with punch.

   1. Toastmasters clubs are the best place to work on your observational humor skills. They provide you a weekly laboratory to hone your skills helping you see the funny stuff around you. Give yourself the assignment of always creating at least one piece of observational humor by the end of every meeting. Through practice, I've found that I can normally create about 10 pieces of observational humor in a two-hour meeting.

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Humor and Diversity

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Things to consider when using humor touching on diversity and minority groups.

   1. When is it safe to use humor pointed at diverse groups? There is no clear cut answer. But here are some thoughts on the subject.

   2. Diversity is everywhere you look. Our society is abundantly diverse. And, normally, so are your audiences. Catholics, bi-sexuals, physically challenged, heavy people, tall people, old people, women, Southerners, rich people, Hispanics, blue collar workers. And then there are people who are none of the above. This list reflects only a small portion of the vast diversity in our society.

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A Well-Done Roast

How to prepare a Roast that will be a hit.

Here are some thoughts to ensure success when you're in charge of a roast:
1. Be sure that the guest of honor wants a roast. Don't make it a surprise! Talk to the honoree and ensure that he or she is as excited about the idea of a roast as you are.

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Why Spontaneous Humor Is Powerful

How the magic of fresh humor grabs the audience.

If you have ever used an original piece of humor, something created from an observation in the present moment, you know how powerful that can be. Here are some quick tips on why spontaneous and observational humor has impact.

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Using Spontaneous and Observational Humor

An impromptu quip will hit the target more often than a canned joke.
Imagine this. I arrive at a junior high school auditorium for a teacher inservice program. While setting up my session, I note two unrelated signs posted one above the other. Most of the 300 arriving faculty members had seen those signs many times. But probably none saw them as I did. In my opening remarks, I shared with them, "This is a unique facility. Look at the sign over the back door. 'Restroom_Capacity 475!'" That fresh and creative bit of humor helped me attract interest and build a relationship with the audience.

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