A closer look at Napolean

So, the other day I popped in the movie Napolean Dynamite. As I watched through the movie I slowly began to realize that this movie is more than just the comedy it deliver’s. This movie is about an individual growing up in an old-fashioned urban environment who is struggling, alongside his friends Pedro and Deb, to establish their cultural identities within their society. Obviously the most appealing thing about this movie is the fact that Napolean, Napolean’s family, and Napolean's friends, Pedro and Deb, are drastically different from the society around them. In fact, they are so completely different from those around them that they attract one another. In order to identify with one another they act in similar ways and have similar experiences which exclude them from common social order. This of course is the centerpiece of comedy. However, the question that came to mind while I was watching the movie was, “Has normal or popular culture become embedded in our minds that when we see people struggling to identify themselves we find it funny”? The answer of course is yes. I almost felt ashamed. Obviously Napolean Dynamite is spectacularly successful. It is impossible for a culture such as ours to visualize people living outside the confines of socialization. Visualizing this concept render’s us to believe, well myself anyway, that this mode of living is weird. The reason I think it’s weird and funny is of course due to my upbringing within the social norm. I'm sure we're all weird or wacky in some ways, just not as bad as Dynamite. While I cannot comment on Napolean’s upbringing his humorous teenage existence is finally accepted towards the end of the film through his memorable dance and his display of friendship for his friend Pedro.