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.
It is true that it is a kind of incongruity within an already incongruous setting. As we noted, there's two types of unexpected humor: those within the confines of the skit, and those that erupt outside it. So, perhaps "breaking character" is just a way of keeping a spirit of comic mischief alive. You can't contain comedy.
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