Phillip Response

The mockumentary style that is now very popular in films and television shows has always been something I have found so entertaining over the past years. I think that this style allows characters to be more honest with the audience and break the fourth wall.

One of my favorite parts in the Office is when characters like Jim or Pam look directly at the camera as if asking the audience, “Are you kidding me?” I think this is the perfect example of how the mockumentary style can be beneficial to comedy. Characters are not completely invested in the situations. There are slight moments where these people are taken out of their position and are able to comment in hilarious ways about what is going on.

The characters’ brutal honesty is often the funniest part of a mockumentary. They believe that no one is seeing these tapes so they completely open up about how they feel about someone or something. The best and worst comes out of characters when they are being interviewed. These interview breaks can also be useful to clarify the actions or intentions  of a character.

The only time I have ever found the mockumentary style to be a problem was in The Office when it was discovered that the sound guy from behind the scenes and Pam had some sort of friendly relationship. I found it uninteresting and inappropriate. The crew should stay out of the storyline.

Response to Arnav

I find Family Guy’s cut-aways very funny. The abrupt seconds long scenes are very cleverly written and executed. I appreciate how many comedies would usually just say  “remember that time when…” and then continue on leaving the viewers with a mental image but never the real thing. Family Guy goes one step further providing the audience with a very humorous depiction of “that time when”.

Some may find these cut-aways very superfluous and a part of lazy writing, leaving the viewers with little imagination and food for thought. Critics of the cut-away may also say that these clips stray too far from the plot line and make the TV episode feel hap-hazard.

I think the creators of Family Guy are taking advantage of the freedom that comes with using animation in comedy. Most comedies filmed in real life are not able to make such ridiculous cut-aways. With animation, the sky's the limit. Episodes of Family Guy can include celebrities like Taylor Swift and Julia Roberts and can take place anywhere in the world. The logic of Family Guy is “If you can make it, put it in the show.” Some may call this frivolous but I think it is the important difference between comedy cartoons and comedy with real people. The ability to do anything with animation is something Family Guy takes advantage of especially with its cut-aways.

Laugh Attack

I am ashamed to admit that when I was in elementary and middle school, I watched many hours of Disney channel and Nickelodeon. After watching many an episode of shows like Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Wizards of Waverly place, I noticed that the fake laugh track is filled with the laughter of children. After thinking about those shows, I looked at shows like Full House and The Cosby Show that used to appeal both younger and older audiences. The laughter from the live audiences in these shows is a blend of children and adults, exactly the types of people who watched these shows on TV. Finally, I looked at more adult sitcoms like Friends and The Big Bang Theory. These laugh tracks were all adult.

I find it very interesting and appropriate that the laugh tracks in sitcoms match the ages of the overall viewers of these TV. It could be seen as subliminal messaging telling television audiences at home that certain shows are made for certain age groups. An adult is less likely to watch a show that has only children laughing in the background. And a parent may unconsciously notice that a show only has adults laughing and choose to not watch it with their child.

Response to Thomas

The Whitest Kids You Know uses a formula that often includes a straight man that calls out what is clearly wrong in a situation. It is ironic that the least funny character is the most humorous part of a skit.

A very famous straight man in modern pop culture is Jim Halpert from The Office. He is the straight man to Dwight Schrute who is so entertainingly serious. Jim loves to play pranks on Dwight and get him worked up and angry. Jim’s classic reaction to Dwight’s antics is a glance at the camera hoping someone else is seeing what he is seeing.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4sNxg1Yv0E

This is a perfect example of how Jim, remaining serious, is able to bring out a funny reaction from Dwight. Jim has appeared to have wrapped all of Dwight’s belongings including his desk and chair. Dwight, quite frustrated and clearly done with Jim’s shenanigans, angrily sits down to and empty wrapping paper shaped like a desk and chair. Jim remaining calm and rather serious, is able to bring about something very funny through others.

Another very popular straight man in television is Leonard in Big Bang Theory. He too has a partner, Sheldon,  is very high strung and odd like Dwight in The Office. Leonard will often point out how ridiculous or nerdy his friends are acting but then will get called out by his love interest and fellow straight man Penny for also being quite ridiculous.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guJ71nHlWCk

This is a perfect example of Leonard mocking Sheldon’s odd qualities and making the audience laugh and the both of them. Sheldon’s actions alone are funny, but Leonard’s willingness to mimic him takes the audience right over the edge with laughter.

Response to Henry

I find it interesting how you have been able to find a formula for this pair’s comedy. Like Abbott and Costello, many sketch groups have a pattern that can be discovered and mastered. Monty Python’s comedy often had a consistent pattern. This pattern includes a lot of repetition and confusion, similarly to Abbott and Costello’s acts. A perfect example of this is When Prince Herbert’s father, King of Swamp Castle, has to repeat to his humorously stupid guards how to keep his son locked in the room. This pattern of a character constantly repeating himself and confusing other characters is very common in Monty Python humor.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail Guards Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdKa9bXVinE&list=TLu8tw-mNOTfw

SNL also has a pattern with many of its sketches. Usually the sketch begins normally and the audience is unsuspecting of anything very funny. Suddenly, a ridiculous character is introduced into the situation and causes a ruckus. Kristen Wiig often played characters on SNL that were ridiculously over the top. For example, four sisters perform on the Lawrence Welk show. As they sing about their sisterhood, it’s clear something may be wrong with Dooneese. She has a massive forehead and tiny baby doll hands. She clearly stands out from the crowd and at least makes me laugh uncontrollably. This pattern for SNL has worked very well as they have introduced iconic characters like Stefon, Target Lady, and Debbie Downer.

The Lawrence Welk Show: Introducing The Maharelle Sisters:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-lawrence-welk-show/n12318

Although some would say that these formulas used for sketch shows are basic and uncreative, I disagree. These patterns allow fans to know what to expect and enjoy something they have always appreciated. Shows like Monty Python and SNL may repeat a formula, but they always provide a creative twist with each sketch.

Lead Blog Post

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9l4LP0WPI

“It’s coming out like lava!” A shriek that will go down in cinematic history.

I have never found poop humor funny. I usually disregard it as immature and far too over the top. For example, when I saw Mr. Hankey The Christmas Poop in South Park, I thought it was tiresome and out of place. For some strange reason, the food poisoning scene in Bridesmaids, one of my favorite movies, makes me laugh every time. Although I find the vomit disgusting and the women’s pale faces sickening and very unfortunate, as the characters scramble to find a toilet or honestly anything with a drain, their commentary and situation make it so ridiculous and humorous.

The incongruity of this situation is fairly obvious. These women in beautiful gowns are forced to do one of the most natural things in all the world, something animals do. The bridal shop, a place that stands for purity and cleanliness, is now stained with bodily fluids. The attendant is disgusted by the actions of her customers as she tries to stop them from doing the unstoppable. An event that was planned to be elegant filled with champagne and expensive gowns is turned upside down into a literal shit show.  Even the bride cannot escape the food poisoning as Lillian (played by Maya Rudolph)  sits in the street and defecates in her wedding gown.

The commentary also adds a great amount of humor to the scene. As Megan begins to do the unthinkable in the sink, she tells her fellow bridesmaid to “Look away!”. The desperation and seriousness in her voice as she sits on a sink in an expensive dress is strangely entertaining. Annie’s comment as we watch her friend suffer in the road is also quite funny: “Boy, you really doing it, aren’t ya? You’re just shittin’ in the street.” These types of comments make a situation that could be seen as disgusting humorous and very entertaining.

I appreciate how compared to the talking Christmas turd of South Park, Bridesmaids makes poop humor realistic. Even with these funny details and the incongruity of the situation, many of my friends find this scene simply disgusting. The fake vomit and simplicity of the humor do not amuse them. I suppose pooping in a sink is not everyone’s taste in comedy. I am curious to know why some find this scene hilarious and others just find it gross. Is there a line that can crossed in fecal humor and has it been crossed in this scene?

Lindsay Response

I believe that humor about tragic events like the Holocaust and the 9/11 attacks begins to become socially acceptable when the generation that does not remember these events become influential in pop culture.

The majority of our generation does not vividly remember 9/11. We may have blurry memories of watching the news coverage or being taken home from school after the crashes, but we do not remember as well as our parents or grandparents do. Because of this, it feels so long ago, as if it was just another part of American history that we can joke about. Take notice that it is not our parents or grandparents who are making jokes like “Bush did 9/11”. Our generation has put a cynical eye on this event because we feel so distant from it and want to in a sense rebell from the expected reverence.

Almost all of the 9/11 jokes that are popular began on social media, a platform dominated by our generation. We are a generation that expresses many of our emotions online whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Because of this, it makes sense that cyberspace would be where certain tragic events begin to become socially acceptable to talk about. In the past, books and films like Catch 22 and The Dictator normalized and joked about the atrocities that occurred in World War Two. Social media has become another platform to express comedy like movies and books.

As our generation, so numb to the atrocities of 9/11, has become more influential in the media, we have normalized and even made humorous an event that that was tragic for others.

Breaking Character

Bringing up SNL cast members breaking character made me think of how so many movies and television shows include bloopers with their special features on their Blu Ray or DVD editions.Whether it is watching someone stumble while running in an action movie or giggle during a serious scene, we seem to not be able to get enough of bloopers!  I think our attraction to these videos is due to the superiority theory. We watch these famous people who are put on a pedestal fail fail to do their jobs.

Parks and Rec often releases a long blooper reel to its fans. It includes alternative punch lines and a lot of clips of cast members like Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari cracking up. These characters which we often see taking themselves very seriously suddenly fall apart and we suddenly see how ridiculous a situation these characters are in. The seriousness of a moment falls apart and and a moment of reality seeps through. I suppose this could be a good example to support the relief theory as these people accept the ridiculousness of the situation or line and laugh.

On the other hand, this could easily support the the incongruity theory. These characters are always portrayed as people who take their jobs seriously no matter how ridiculous the issue is. It is out of the ordinary to see them break character and giggle about all of the ridiculousness. We may find it odd to see the seriousness and then silliness all in a split second.

Regardless of the theory, it is clear that the public has a strange fascination with bloopers and watching celebrities we know and love break character.

Asian Jim Response

This scene is one of my favorite scenes from The Office.  I agree that The Office’s setting is what makes the show truly special. As millions of Americans push through their dull, dreary corporate jobs, they are able to go home and watch their all too familiar workplace be completely flipped upside down.

Working as a paper salesman in a small branch of a large paper company in small city, sounds like it could be so many average Americans. No one in The Office is overly attractive, well dressed, intelligent, or wealthy. None of the characters placed in shocking circumstances or have impressive responsibilities. They are portrayed to represent the average American which American viewers like me can relate to and appreciate.  The mockumentary style of the show allows us to believe that the people have been randomly chosen to be documented and observed. It could be any of us!

Incongruity begins to play a part in humor of The Office and why millions of people find it so funny. The setting of everyday America transforms into a center of hilarity and chaos with every new episode. A regular place filled with regular people is put in fairly regular situations like CPR training and 5K run fundraisers, but these characters take things to the extremes and and can be so serious that we find it so funny. Jim often works as the straight man of the group as he points out the strange reactions of many characters and often eggs on characters like Dwight.

Sharkeisha No!

After hearing the hilarious descriptions of the Sharkeisha battle in class, I was looking forward to watching this video, and I unfortunately am disappointed. Not only is this video not funny, but it also raises questions as to what our society finds funny within the boundaries of certain genders and racial groups.

This video enforces racist African American and female stereotypes and allows for the viewers to laugh at the struggles and pain of others. Would this video be as funny if it were white men or women fighting? More than likely not. We would probably find the violence more horrifying. As a white viewer, I may feel sense of distance due to my skin color and lack of experience and knowledge in this culture. Even the unique name Sharkeisha can distance many people from the situation by not being able to relate. If her name had been Elizabeth or Kate, this video would not be as funny because these are more relatable names and brings the pain a little closer to home. Due to superiority theory, some viewers may not only be laughing at the actions occurring on screen, but also at the image of others who do not look like them acting aggressive and fighting over something we do not completely understand.

Sharkeisha’s actions portrayed a negative black female stereotype that is far too common nowadays. This image of a young black woman eager to fight is often portrayed in the media. An angry black women are often written in or publicized in televisions shows and films like The Real Housewives of Atlanta. This frequent image of black women in the media and on the internet only makes it harder for African American women to express their opinions of frustration because they can be seen as too aggressive or “sassy” because of this stereotype.

We should condone Sharkeisha’s actions, but we should also not support the people who shared this and made racist and flippant comments about Sharkeisha. Videos like these may only be a few seconds long, but can have a massive impact on our views of the world.

Response to Moseley's Post

I agree with Moseley’s statement that pain is no longer funny when the victim cannot get back up and laugh at himself or herself, but I disagree that the Hangover taser scene is a good example of pain being funny. Rather than the action of the tasing, I believe the circumstances and commentary are the parts of this scene that make it truly funny.

The pain in this scene looks serious, and Phil, Alan, and Stu do not appear like they will be getting up and laughing anytime soon. Personally, I do not find Phil and Stu’s shrieks of pain and the dazed looks in their eyes after being tased very humorous.  And the moment when Zach Galifianakis is shot once and walks around like a zombie is simply horrifying to me. But this does not mean I don’t find this scene hilarious.

We laugh at the position these three men are in because of the incongruity of the situation. Children, more than twenty years younger than them, are in a position of power over these three stooges. A second example of incongruity in the scene is after the whole tasing incident, the officer asks the children “Now who wants to get their fingers printed?!” with the friendly voice of a camp counselor. This sudden change of tone is so unexpected because we just saw him treating the men so poorly. I also found moments in the dialogue that were very funny. For example, I loved when the officer called Galifianakis “Fat Jesus”. Moments like that made the tone much lighter. Without the clever dialogue and incongruity of the situation, this scene would simply be a depressing video of three men getting tased.

The Rule of Three in How I Met Your Mother: Response

The rule of three clearly does not only apply to comedic literature and media and is present in all sorts of literature. It is so common that it almost seems second nature to many writers and readers. I remember freshman year of high school, my English class read the Gettysburg address to see how Lincoln utilizes the rule of three. For example, he says “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate [1] -- we can not consecrate [2] -- we can not hallow [3] -- this ground.” This pattern of three, especially with the pauses in between, creates a beat that sounds rhythmic, poetic, and natural (notice my use of the rule of three).

When I learned about this tactic in high school, it was only in the context of dramatic or solemn texts. I find it interesting how it can also be used in comedy and even helps prove the outlier theory of why we laugh. One of my favorite television shows, Modern Family, also uses the rule of three. In one episode, “Fizbo”, Phil is trying to prove how brave he is, despite being afraid of clowns. He state, “I am brave. Roller coasters? Love ‘em [1]. Scary movies? I’ve seen Ghostbusters, like, seven times [2]. I regularly drive through neighborhoods that have only recently been gentrified [3]. So yeah, I’m pretty much not afraid of anything… Except clowns.”  The first two of these are fairly common things for people to be afraid of, but the third example is especially strange. The final item on this list about gentrified neighborhoods shows how the rule of three can enforce the outlier theory. In comedy, the final item in a list of three may be odd and our acceptance of the difference makes us laugh and enjoy the joke.

Why Superiority Is Superior

I continue to find the superiority theory to be the most convincing theory explaining why we laugh in comedy. Even though Lippit and Hutcheson both attempted to disprove the theory, superiority remains to me to be the most logical and consistent.

Hutcheson’s essay made me question the superiority theory the most. His example of the wealthy man seeing the pauper and feeling pity rather than laughing was convincing and made me question superiority. But what Hutcheson does not understand is that humor and laughter is always tentative regardless of the theory. Something can be too sad or too cruel to be laughed at. That is why humor is so special; it is so complicated to get right.

The “McKayla Maroney is not impressed” memes are an example of how sometimes humor is not obviously superior, but if you study people’s reactions, you can see how the superiority theory works well.  McKayla Maroney was a 2012 Olympic gymnast. After setting high expectations on the vault, Maroney only won silver in the finals. During the medal ceremony, the young gymnast had a grumpy smirk on her face that social media would take to the next level. For the next few months, Maroney’s unimpressed was photoshopped into impressive moments of history like the moon landing. She even smirked her way to the White House, taking a picture with President Obama.

Seeing this meme at first, one cannot find something that clearly proves that this supports the superiority theory. No one really gets hurt or fails miserably; she even gets a medal! If you compare Maroney to yourself though, the superiority theory begins to shine through. If we had won second place, we would be thrilled, and we would have been good sports about it and at least smiled. We can all agree that we have better manners and sportsmanship than Maroney. thus making us feel superior to her.

Link to Video: Aidy Bryant Stand Up Routine

I recently watched a stand-up routine by comedian and now SNL cast member, Aidy Bryant. In this routine, Bryant shares with her audience her personal diary from elementary school. She exposes the strange and random thoughts and obsessions of an awkward 9 year old girl trying to make her life look so much more interesting than it really is. Now 26, Bryant adds a few new pages to her diary with a list of "cool stuff" and lots of age appropriate stickers like margaritas and pills.  I found this routine hilarious and appreciated Bryant’s creativity as she relived her rough elementary school years. There are multiple parts of her stand up that all three humor theories could use to support their arguments.

Thomas Hobbes’ superiority theory perfectly explains why most viewers would find this piece of comedy especially funny.  Many audience members may feel a repressed sense of “glory” arising as they laugh at nine-year-old Aidy Bryant’s foolish attempts at being cool. Even the comedian herself may be feeling a sense of superiority over her past self. Viewers may even also laugh at the 26 year old Bryant. Viewers feel superior as she reads off the list of her grown up “Cool Stuff” like an ‘In Unit Washer & Dryer” and “Not Having Diarrhea”.  Many people may find that their lives are even the slightest more interesting and have set higher standards for themselves.

The incongruity theory also can explain why we find this video funny. Many could potentially find this young girl’s dreams, like having a turtle in her room, strange and out of the ordinary. Most would agree that Rosie O’Donnell is not the average third grader’s role model. Because Bryant acts so much like an outlier, people can find that funny and entertaining.

Finally, the relief theory can easily be applied to this comedy routine. Audience members feel a sense of relief as they realize they too were strange children. In society, you are expected to hide those strange, quirky aspects of yourself, and Aidy Bryan happily shows them to hundreds of people. The audience takes a moment to accept these strange characteristics of nine year old Bryant and welcomes all the oddities that had once been repressed in their minds.