Over the next two weeks, we will read Steve Martin's Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, a memoir of Martin's life as a stand up performer. Steve Martin is one of the comedic voices of his generation--a successful stand up comedian, screenwriter, novelist, and actor. Some of his best films include The Jerk, The Three Amigos, L.A. Story, Father of the Bride, and Bowfinger. In recent years, Martin has made a splash on Twitter and as a bluegrass player, releasing two albums as a serious musician. Born Standing Up focuses on Martin's childhood and his early years as a stand up comedian. As we read his memoir, we will be applying Malcolm Gladwell's ideas about success to the text.
Monday:
Steve Martin, Born Standing Up, 1-56
Study Questions (see below)
Wednesday:
Steve Martin, Born Standing Up, 57-97
Study Questions (see below)
Study Questions (Monday):
1. How could you apply Gladwell's concept of 10,000s to Martin's stand up career? In answering this question make sure to quote both Gladwell's Outliers and Martin's memoir?
2. How can we relate Martin's experience as a stand up to the experience of writing?
Study Questions (Wednesday):
1. Gladwell understands success as partly the result of historical opportunities. What opportunities did Martin have as a child that helped him become a showbiz success?
2. Martin traces part of his success to the changing times of the 1960s. How did the changes occurring in the 1960s lead to his success?
