Week 2 Blog on comedy


     I was particularly persuaded by the concept that not all forms of humor will be found and identified as funny to all people. The argument for this statement that I found most convincing was the idea that people who come from different backgrounds or have different morals perceive humor differently. For example, on one episode of Parks and Rec Chris Pratt makes a joke regarding Kim Kardashian’s sex tape (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-7bVZYy_ds). To some people this might be hilarious because it is mocking the unfortunate event that the Kardashians’ used to propel them into their fame. Others may find that a joke like this one is quite insensitive and, for some viewers, it might bring back memories of negative events that occurred in their own lives. Therefore this scene in Parks and Rec is very controversial type of joke and will be perceived in many different ways to different types of people.
            After reflecting on examples of different types of humor and the jokes that were described in the article I was able to come to the conclusion that not every example of incongruity, superiority, or relief humor will be found funny. Even if a person tends to lean towards a certain type of humor does not mean that they will find every joke that can be classified in that category as funny. Personally, I believe that it is impossible for any person to say that they only identify with a certain theory of humor because there are so many different styles within each theory of humor. I think the only way we can get to the essence of humor and fully describe it is if we based humor off of each individual person’s background and previous encounters. We cannot say that incongruity, superiority, or relief would be the principal theory of humor because every person has a different perspective and opinion of what they find to be funny.

Comments

  1. Shane HerronSeptember 5, 2018 at 10:09 AM

    Is it possible to recognize that tastes very while still saying that comedy has a few essential elements (some people just might not see those aspects in the right way?)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comment to Lead Blog (Trace)

I don’t normally watch SNL, but I did find the example that Trace used to be quite funny. One of the things that I found very funny about this skit was how Charles Barkley and Alex Rodriquez seemed to be answering the questions seriously and honestly while D.C. Timmons was clearly making things up and providing completely absurd answers to the questions being asked. This aspect of the skit really added to the incongruity that was being created as the skit continued to develop. In my opinion, the use of incongruity theory throughout this skit is what truly made it funny. The absurdity of what D.C. Timmons was saying seemed to be elevated by the fact that he was saying all of these crazy things in a setting that is meant to be serious and professional. Additionally, I loved seeing how Alex Rodriguez, Charles Barkley, and the person interviewing them reacted to the nonsensical responses that D.C. Timmons gave, especially towards the end of the skit. It was funny to see ...
Read more

Comment to Lead Blog (Will)

I don’t think that I have ever seen Sacha Baron Cohen’s videos in particular, but I have seen videos that are similar to his style of comedy. In the videos that I have seen of people disguising themselves and asking strangers questions they have never been able to keep a straight face. Sacha Baron Cohen’s ability to keep a straight face while he is asking these people ridiculous questions and convincing them to do very inappropriate things makes his videos much funnier than other people’s attempts at this type of comedy. Additionally, I believe that based off the examples that Will gave Sacha Baron Cohen is able to make the interviews more comedic because of caliber that he is able to achieve in his videos. He is able to interview people who are very famous and well known in their profession, which makes the interviews even funnier because Sacha Baron Cohen manages to get very respectable people flustered and confused. This is how the superiority theory fits into his...
Read more

Comment to Lead Blog (Kyndal)

Although I have never seen We’re the Millers , I remember how funny it looked when I first saw the trailer. The movie clip Kyndal included had numerous scenes that were quite funny. I liked that she used four specific examples from the video clip and described what made each scene funny. Additionally, I liked that she related each one of the scenes to a different theory of humor. By using many different examples, Kyndal was able to depict the wide range of humor used in the movie. I believe that part of what made We’re the Millers so successful was the fact that they were able to have a strong presence of each theory of humor; which allowed for a wider audience to find humor in this movie. The incongruity theory was most evident throughout the movie, because of the movie’s bizarre plot. The implausible idea of random people coming together to form a fake family to successfully smuggle drugs across the border in the form of a family vacation is so absurd that many pe...
Read more