![]() If the entries increase, as we expect, it will be impossible for Colin to do what he’s been doing unless we clone him. Even if those issues weren’t issues, shipping that print to Kathmandu just costs too much money.įor those reasons, we are going to eliminate the encumbering prize so that pretty much everyone, everywhere, can enter, which will be great for everyone, everywhere, except for my assistant, Colin, who has the job of culling the thousands of captions down to a manageable fifty or so that I then winnow further and show to New Yorker editors for yet further winnowing. Also, the prize prevents anyone under eighteen from entering. For reasons too complicated to go into here, the awarding of a prize-a framed and signed print of the cartoon, with the winning caption-creates legal issues that make it difficult to have citizens from certain countries enter. Why? Because we are working to loosen the rules about who can enter the caption contest. Soon we expect that number to increase greatly. And you also vote on the three finalists we select from the five thousand or so entries that arrive every week. For ten years, you have not only been enjoying the cartoons but helping create them. The contest was an annual event until 2005, when it became the feature you now see on the back page of the magazine every week. For most of the magazine’s history, you, the readers, participated just by enjoying their wit, whimsy, and social commentary.īut, back in 1998, in a special Cartoon Issue, we introduced the New YorkerCartoon Caption Contest. So unless you find the price of plumbing especially cruel (and some of you undoubtedly do), Marthe’s caption is clearly fit for the New Yorker pages.So, here are the new rules of the caption contest:Ĭartoons have been part of The New Yorker since the very beginning, in 1925. Right there in the New Yorker are stories about famine, and AIDS, and other very, very serious topics.” In that frame of mind, he said, people are enormously offended by humor that relies on obscenity or cruelty. One of the reasons that is, is that the New Yorker is not an isolated comedy environment. When it comes to New Yorker cartoons, Mankoff said that they “remove some of the main levers by which we’re funny-and they do it intentionally-which are obscenity, aggression and cruelty. Then you find out there’s nothing to worry about in a joke, and you laugh - like a waiter dropping the dishes or a balloon popping. The minute surprise occurs there is a slight negative emotion. You should always predict exactly what’s going to happen. Surprise is the essential ingredient in humor, Mankoff said. Humor, he said, is extraordinarily subjective: “Me telling you that what you think is funny isn’t funny is like you saying you like pizza, and me saying, ‘No, you don’t.'” In addition to describing the way the New Yorker’s caption contest has evolved and expanded over the years, Mankoff discussed the nature of humor and the particular kind of humor New Yorker cartoons represent. Marthe came out on top and, for her humor, will be receiving a signed copy of Mankoff’s book, “The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker.” Mankoff selected about eight finalists and then sent them off to New Yorker editors to cast their votes. His original caption? “Brad, we’ve got to talk.”Īs Mankoff explained on Thursday, Marthe’s winning entry was evaluated just the way the “real” New Yorker caption contest is. The cartoon Mankoff chose for the contest is one of his own. And that presentation was held in conjunction with a Spring Term course, “The Psychology of Humor,” taught by Julie Woodzicka, professor of psychology. ![]() The contest ran in conjunction with Mankoff’s presentation in Stackhouse Theater on Thursday, May 9. ![]() your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device.” Art Professor Larry Stene won third: “And now for the good news. Marthe came in just ahead of W&L Registrar Scott Dittman (“We need to talk about where this marriage is going.”). Marthe Honts, a member of the Washington and Lee Class of 1997, won the special New Yorker/W&L cartoon caption contest: The results are in and, as Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor of the New Yorker, made clear, the results are final. Search Feature Stories Campus Events All Stories Stories by DisciplineĪnnouncing the Winners of the New Yorker Caption Contest
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