Humor and comedy

Humor Humor can be seen as anything that makes us laugh or is amusing, or the ability to recognize what is funny about a situation or person

Comedy Comedy has taken different definitions through the ages Aristotle defined comedy as one of two main forms of drama—comedy and tragedy Most contemporary views see comedy as a form of humorous text

Why are we amused? Relief theory Superiority theory Incongruity theory Reducing physiological tension caused by the self-censoring of the baser instincts (Freud) Sexual humor, bad behavior Gross-out humor Superiority theory People feel superior or gain a victory over the victims Cut-down humor, satire Incongruity theory Violation of an expected pattern “provokes humor in the mind of the receiver” (Buijzen & Valkenburg) Puns, irony, surprise

High comedy Some scholars retain a distinction between high and low comedy High comedy provides a critique, often quite stinging, of human foibles and customs, social structure and power, etc. Satire and irony The Importance of Being Earnest Dark comedy Humor relating to subjects normally treated as very serious or somber

Low comedy Low comedy does not imply any social critique and is based on a wide range of topics Romantic comedy Sexual innuendo Battle of the sexes Sitcoms Stupidity/Naiveté Cut-downs (physical appearance, power differential) Slapstick The great majority of comedy in US mass media would be considered low comedy

What makes a TV show or film funny? Text must be perceived as funny by the audience member. Unlike horror, action or tragedy, reaction to comedy/humor varies widely among audiences and audience members

Men like more aggressive/meaner humor The same content may be hilarious or disgusting depending upon the characteristics and personality of the audience member, the circumstances of exposure or the cultural milieu Men like more aggressive/meaner humor The older you get, the more sophisticated your tastes for humor Viewing context: “You had to be there” After tragedies, certain events, certain stories, narratives and comedies are cancelled because they are considered inappropriate

Types of humor Buijzen & Valkenburg’s (2004) Seven Categories of comedy used in advertising Slapstick Surprise Irony Clownish behavior Satire Misunderstanding Parody

Slapstick Physical humor Delight in the misfortunes of others Unless it appears that really serious damage has been done However, note dark (black) comedy Physical incongruities

Tim Conway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSJw96SAeM

Surprise Nearly all humor can be said to have some element of surprise/incongruity Expectations are not met, interpreted by audience members as ‘funny’ Various forms of incongruity Puns Unexpected twists of fate Strange or fantastic situations Aliens on Earth

Surprise/incongruity The audience member is led to expect a certain behavior, statement, chain of events and then is surprised Figuring out what the misperception or unrecognized meaning was and making a new connection is said to be the source of humor The “Aha!” is the source of the Ha! Ha!

Irony There is some argument about what qualifies as ironic, but all senses of irony revolve around the perceived notion of an incongruity between what is said and what is meant; or between an understanding of reality, or an expectation of a reality, and what actually happens. Wikipedia Dependent entirely upon symbolic incongruity, etc. More demanding of the audience member High comedy/adult comedy

Clownish behavior Simple foolishness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLi9Xa9EK-c

Satire The difference between a situation and the ideal or between what is claimed to be true and what is actually true provide the comic tension Protagonists may either be those that challenge the hypocrisy or are hypocrites themselves May not be aware of the incongruity between values and behavior, etc. May be critical of individuals or of society as a whole May attack deviants or may attack the system (neither necessarily conservative nor progressive)

Dr. Strangelove/Some Like it Hot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-B7l-ZMcN8

Misunderstanding Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

Parody A parody (also called send-up or spoof), in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation. Parody is not necessarily critical—it may be a loving parody. For parody to work, the audience must understand the source material being parodied Spaceballs Often aimed at a genre rather than a single artifact Young Frankenstein Daily Show, Colbert Report, Onion

Situation comedy The great majority of television comedy is situation comedy Sketch comedy, variety shows that were common at the outset of television gradually disappeared, with a few examples remaining Saturday Night Live Early examples were imported from radio

Sitcoms I Love Lucy Make Room for Daddy Andy Griffith Developed the studio audience, three-camera format Make Room for Daddy Importance of children to domestic comedy Andy Griffith Rural setting No studio audience (on-location filming) The Dick Van Dyke Show Work-based setting mixed with domestic

Sitcoms Mary Tyler Moore show All in the Family The Cosby Show Single adult female All in the Family First significant discussion of social issues, especially in the sitcom genre Spin-offs with social bite (Maude, The Jeffersons) The Cosby Show Successful, professional black parents Happy Days The dysfunctional family show Married with Children The Simpsons

Longest running comedies By number of seasons:  20  The Simpsons (Spring 2009) 14  (The Adventures Of) Ozzie And Harriet 13  King Of The Hill (Spring 2009), South Park (Spring 2009) 12  My Three Sons 11  M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Danny Thomas Show / Make Room For Daddy, Happy Days, The Jeffersons, Married ... With Children, Frasier 10  Murphy Brown, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Friends 9  The Beverly Hillbillies, The Love Boat, Alice, Roseanne, Family Matters, Coach, All In The Family, One Day At A Time, Night Court, The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, The King Of Queens Dr. Andrew Nestler, Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Santa Monica College.

Longest running comedies By number of episodes:  435 (The Adventures Of) Ozzie & Harriet  430+ The Simpsons (Spring 2009) 380 My Three Sons 336 The Danny Thomas Show / Make Room For Daddy 275 The Donna Reed Show, Cheers 274 The Beverly Hillbillies 264 Frasier 259 Married ... With Children 256 M*A*S*H 255 Happy Days 253 The Jeffersons 252 Bewitched 249 The Andy Griffith Show 247 Murphy Brown 245 The Love Boat 244+ King Of The Hill (Spring 2009) 238 Friends 234 Leave It To Beaver 233 The Drew Carey Show 222 Roseanne 214 Family Matters 210 All In The Family 209 One Day At A Time, The Facts Of Life, Everybody Loves Raymond 207 The King Of Queens 204 Home Improvement 202 Alice 201 The Cosby Show 200 Coach 193 Night Court, Will & Grace Dr. Andrew Nestler, Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Santa Monica College.

Sitcoms Racial and ethnic minority shows Dramedy Good Times Chico and the Man Sanford and Son Family Matters Diff’rent Strokes Dramedy M*A*S*H*

Major sitcoms Cheers Seinfeld Home Improvement Friends That 70s Show The Office

Features of the sitcom Ensemble casts Contemporary settings/realistic At least a couple, usually several characters Contemporary settings/realistic Simple, flat characters Don’t develop Often a clownish character Simple plots Often driven by misunderstandings Bad behavior, often punished Cut-down humor is common Often sexual Happy resolutions

Romantic comedy Usually two attractive protagonists face a number of challenges in their quest (usually true love) and are able to overcome those challenges to reach a happy ending It is the continued development of new obstacles and the actions of the protagonists or of fate to overcome those obstacles that provides the humor Class differences Bad luck

Dark side of humor Use of humor to assert dominance, superiority The bully cuts the little kid down and everyone laughs We snicker as someone makes a fool of himself or is publicly humiliated Norm-breaking behavior seen as inherently funny Someone engages in ‘inappropriate’ behavior Sarah Silverman Delight in the misfortune of others

Factors often are combined For example, surprise and ‘bad behavior’ may be mixed together

Note Humor does not ‘travel well’ compared to other types of content Action/adventure, etc. are more likely to be successful in foreign markets The more sophisticated the humor, the larger the portion of the audience that won’t ‘get it’ This often leads to disappointment or upset