Home Alone

[Humor generated from the clash of two opposing points of view, each

understandable or expressing a truth from their perspective. Kevin's

behavior is appropriate from his perspective, but inappropriate from the

father's perspective. ]

Kevin's dad picks him up and starts to carry him out of the room.

Aunt Leslie enters and says "Peter, Kay, do you guys have a voltage

adapter?"

[ Effective way of naming father and mother, with a repetition of the

voltage adapter request. Incompetence factor. No one has thought of getting

the tool that they will need to use their appliances in France.

Incompetence generates laughter. ]

"Here's a voltage adapter," says Peter as he places Kevin in Aunt Leslie's

arms.

"Oh, you're getting heavy. Go pack your suitcase."

"Pack my suitcase?"

[ Terror strikes Kevin. He is incompetent, helpless, vulnerable. He can't

take care of himself. This generates empathy for him, especially when his

sisters and brothers refuse to help him, and instead ridicule him. ]

INT: DINING ROOM: NIGHT

A girl walks by a young boy sitting at the dining room table.

"Do you know where the shampoo is, Fuller?"

"I don't live here," replies Fuller.

"I don't believe that in a house with this many people there is no

shampoo."

The policeman stops her.

"Pardon me, are you're parents home?"

"Yeah, but they don't live here," she says, as she walks away.

[ Humor generated by a literal response to a question which states a truth,

but doesn't give the answer that the questioner desired. This is a

deviation from expected patterns of communication. The norm is that if a

person asks a question, you should attempt to satisfy his information

request, not make a true statement that is irrelevant to his needs. An

instance of miscommunication. ]

A girl, wearing a Northwestern tee shirt, comes down the staircase. She

speaks with another girl. "Tracy, did you order pizza?"

"Roz did."

"Excuse me, Miss. Are your parents here?" asks the cop.

"My parents are in Paris. Sorry."

The policeman grabs a little girl by the shoulder. "Hi, are your parents

home?"

"Yeah."

"Do they live here?"

"No."

"No. Why should they. All kids, no parents. Probably a fancy orphanage."

[ Humorous, because this is a unexpected, yet plausible, interpretation of

the situation. ]

INT: BEDROOM: NIGHT

Kevin sits with one of his brothers who is packing a suitcase. "I don't

know how to pack a suitcase. I have never done this once in my whole life,"

says Kevin.

"Tough."

They walk out into the hallway.

"That's what Marie said."

"What did I say?"

"You told Kevin tough."

"The dope was whining about his suitcase. What am I supposed to do. Shake

his hand and say, congratulations, you're an idiot?"

"I'm not an idiot!" says Kevin.

[ Empathy is generated for Kevin because he is being ridiculed. ]

"Oh really. You're completely helpless. Everyone has to do everything for

you."