Heckler (film)

Heckler is a 2007 documentary film about hecklers.

The film begins with an examination of the means, methods, and motives of hecklers and their effect on live performances, particularly stand up comedy. A common observation by professional comics is that hecklers can be categorized in two groups: those who want to participate and sincerely believe they're helping the comedian, and those who intend to disrupt the comedian. Several male comedians suggest that female hecklers are often motivated by a desire to flirt with the performer.

Subsequently, the film segues into a longer examination of film and music critics, including their effect on performers. The documentary suggests that most critics are motivated by frustrated artistic ambitions, and are no better than hecklers given that internet criticism has emboldened critics to engage in vicious personal attacks rather than critiques of artists' work.

The film is hosted by actor/comedian Jamie Kennedy, who was inspired to create the movie after feeling wounded by the overwhelmingly negative reviews for his movie Son of the Mask (2005), some of which attacked Kennedy personally rather than reviewing the film. Interviewees include comedians Louie Anderson, Kathy Griffin, Bobby Slayton, Patton Oswalt, Joe Rogan, Arsenio Hall, Carrot Top, Maria Bamford and George Wallace; medical doctor Drew Pinsky; journalist Christopher Hitchens; political commentator Dennis Prager; directors Peter Guber, Joel Schumacher, George Lucas and Rob Zombie; and singer Jewel Kilcher.

Heckler

A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout disparaging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of disturbing performers and/or participants.

Origin

The term originates from the textile trade, where to heckle was to tease or comb out flax or hemp fibres. The additional meaning, to interrupt speakers with awkward or embarrassing questions, was added in Scotland, and specifically perhaps in early nineteenth century Dundee, a famously radical town where the hecklers who combed the flax had established a reputation as the most radical and belligerent element in the workforce. In the heckling factory, one heckler would read out the day's news while the others worked, to the accompaniment of interruptions and furious debate.

Heckling was a major part of the vaudeville theater. Sometimes it was incorporated into the play. Milton Berle's weekly TV variety series in the 1960s featured a heckler named Sidney Spritzer (German/Yiddish for "Squirter") played by Borscht Belt comic Irving Benson. In the 1970s and 1980s, The Muppet Show, which was also built around a vaudeville theme, featured two hecklers, Statler & Waldorf (two old men named after famous hotels). Heckles are now particularly likely to be heard at comedy performances, to unsettle or compete with the performer.

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.