Why Am I So Funny? Part 1

I’ve been doing a lot of research on comedy lately because I have a strong interest in the subject and have always wanted to learn more. Here are some things I have learned about what it is that makes us laugh. And surprisingly enough, I don’t think this is going to be a very funny post (underpromising to overdeliver?)….

2 primary  reasons we laugh:

Out of surprise.

We laugh most oftern to cover our feelings of embarrassment. This can be a result of either having unintentionally done or said something foolish, or having been tricked. If we have been tricked, we have been surprised. Surprise is one of the  most universally accepted formulas for humor. A joke is  a story, and surprise ending is usually its finale. Appreciation of any piece of humor decreases rapidly through repeated exposure, or when the ending is predictable. A clever use of words will gain appreciation from an audience but surprise wordplay leads to sincere laughter. We smile at wit, but we laugh at jokes.

When we feel superior.

As a modern day society, we seem to have a strong and constant need to feel superior. And in many ways, humor satisfies this most basic of needs.

Humor is a reaction to tragedy. The joke is at someone else’s expense.

Humor often ridicules the intelligence, social standing, and physical and mental infirmities of those we consider inferior to ourselves.

But even those we might consider “superior” to ourselves are not spared. People, especially Americans, love to publicize and mock every shortcoming - perceived or real - of people who are in positions of authority, who are richer, more famous, more intelligent, physically stronger, or more admired. The greater the prestige of the victim, the greater our desire to make fun of them.

Humor is social criticism. Humor reassure the insecure. Even if we believe ourselves to be the “haves” (having power, money, knowledge, or prestige), there is exceptional insecurity about how we got it and how long we’re going to keep it. In my opinion, Americans have a tremendous sense of inferiority, but we mask it with jokes about our superiority.

There are 2 ways to feel superior. The first is to accomplish something great and receive public acclaim for your work. But that might be too hard for most. The second way (and easier one) is to publicly criticize the achievements of others. This not only diminishes their prestige, but it also forces people to pay attention to us. This maybe the more unethical option, but do you know how hard it is to actually do something important in this world!?

So as individuals (regardless of status), our humor is generally directed upwards against more authoritative figures. But as a group, our humor is directed downward toward groups that don’t conform to our social, religious, or national ideals.

6 secondary reasons we laugh:

1. Out of instinct
2. At incongruity
   
3. Out of ambivalence
   
4. For release (ie. to break tension)
   
5. To regress
   
6. When we solve something

I’ll elaborate on these reasons soon…until then, try and figure out why this cat was arrested?