Comedy

Comedy

• We call cultural content meant primarily to generate laughter and mirth “comedy”– Most, if not all, genres include comedic elements– Some argue that any story where the low-born or

put-upon rise to a higher station and a better end is a comedy

• Comedy is not content-specific– May have to do with just about anything

• Any setting, everyday or fantastic situations, most any plot, all kinds of characters

• However, it is a genre that emphasizes the normal and mundane– Audience familiarity

– Combines easily with content-based genres• Romantic comedy• Horror comedy• Political comedy• Cop comedy

• What is considered funny is not universal– What is fearful, sad, exciting are much more widely

agreed upon– What is funny depends heavily upon the viewing

context and audience characteristics as well as content• Culturally specific

• Consequently, comedy does not ‘travel well’– Action/adventure, Horror, etc. seem to be more

effective in crossing borders

Why do we find things funny?1. Incongruity theory

• Cognitive scientists have concluded that one of the main sources of pleasure from comedy is the realization that once the content disconfirms our expectations we attempt to make sense of the newly defined content. When we do so we may have a positive affective experience (mirth, happiness, satisfaction) – The “ah-ha” moment

• The new connection should not be mundane, but surprising and unusual– This sort of connection can range from the subtle

to the bizarre

• One view is that two scripts are unfolding simultaneously, with one obvious and the other hidden. At some point, the narrative switches the two and the audience member adjusts to the switch.

• Too difficult--bothersome or offensive – People don’t ‘get it’

• Too easy—not funny, obvious• The second script must remain hidden till the right

moment

Comedic examples

• Jokes– Punchline provides the unexpected twist

• Scenes of dialogue where the two actors misunderstand what the other is talking about

• Actions taken that lead to different consequences than the actor/audience member would expect

• Satire/Irony – considered the most advanced/cerebral of humor

Why do we find things funny?2. Superiority theory

• We get an ego boost from looking down on others, enhancing our self-image

• Humor is a means to denigrate another that does not require physical violence– However, the more physically or socially dominant

normally has the greater ability to engage in cut-down humor than does the lesser

– Occasionally, those lower in the hierarchy can claim a victory through wit (especially when the more powerful don’t understand the joke)

Feelings of superiority

• Widely-shared humor based on superiority may trade in stereotypes– Allows the comic to say “It’s just a joke”– Those who are not the target have a tendency to

see such portrayals as harmless, all in good fun– Members of the targeted groups often find the

portrayals offensive because their identity is tied to the group being made fun of

Comedic examples

• Silliness/weird behavior• Stupidity• Cut-down humor, especially when aimed at

the powerless

Why do we find things funny?3. Disposition theory

• Zillmann:– We don’t find good things happening to good

people to be funny– The more the victor is liked and the victim disliked,

the greater the humor• Perceptions of justice and retaliatory equity

– “Humor and comedy seem exceedingly partial to dishing out put-downs, mishaps, insults and outright humiliations” (2000)

Why do we find things funny?4. Subversion of authority

• Humans resent being controlled for even good reasons. There is a natural tendency to push back against social control of any sort. – Mocking the powerful– Flouting social convention

Comedic examples

• Political humor aimed at the president• Jokes about the high and mighty– Late-night monologues

• Celebrity misfortunes, etc.• Kids swinging the bat, hitting dad in the groin

• Engaging in bad behavior– Those who break the normative rules of society

are often seen as inherently funny for having done so

– They may espouse a philosophy that contradicts widely held norms, make a mockery of social custom

Comedic examples

• Beavis and Butthead• The Simpsons• 30 Rock

Why do we find things funny?5. Catharsis theory (Freud)

• Release of tensions caused by self-imposed limitations meant to meet societal requirements

• Same sorts of predictions as Subversion of Authority, different mechanism

• Sexual humor, bad behavior• Gross-out humor

• Gross-out humor• Sick humor• Dark humor

Factors often are combined

• For example, surprise and ‘bad behavior’ may be mixed together

Important context

• Comic frame of mind– Certain clues in the narrative make clear that one

is not to take it seriously• Once in a comic frame of mind, misfortunes or

criticisms evoke humor rather than pity – We are free to react to tendentious (anti-person)

humor when a non-tendentious joke, etc. is told• Tendentious is more intensely funny but frowned upon

socially

Situation Comedies

Comedy subgenres

• Romantic/Sex• Screwball• Dark (black)• Satire• Buddy • Mocumentary • Parody• Road • Slacker