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.