Introduction
Popular comedians and funny people are described by their peers as smart, witty, clever, and quick-on-their-toes. These descriptors aren’t randomly chosen. It can be argued that they are based off of colloquial understandings of what most people believe intelligence looks like. Through analyzing understanding and utilization of comedy and connecting that to concepts of intelligence, we can evaluate the ways that intelligence can have an effect on how comedy is carried out and conceptualized. Before we can begin to study humorous people and their craft however, we must first understand what “humor” is.
Humor
The term “humor” has no unanimous, scientific definition. It is mostly regarded as a catchall term that considers various
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Appreciation of humor (versus comprehension of humor) is a subjective phenomenon for both comedians and their audiences and can also be dependent on cognitive as well as social factors. Zigler, Levine & Gould posit that “... understanding a joke invariably requires the cognitive capacity to meet the intellectual demands posed by the joke.” Jokes that are cognitively demanding enough are the most preferred (1967). Even if a joke is sufficiently complex enough to elicit humor, personal ideologies may disrupt understanding of the intended focus of the the joke. For example, political conservatives believe that the comedy-news show The Colbert Report aligns with their conservative ideologies and is trying to mock liberal politics. They fail to see the target of Stephen Colbert’s satire due to their political biases and Colbert’s dry, ambiguous forms of comedy (LaMarre, Landerville, & Beam, …show more content…
Granted, there are things like luck, chance, and motivation that are important factors in the lives of popular entertainers. But it cannot be said that a successful comedian doesn’t display some level of intelligence when they perform their material. Researchers have pointed out that it would be of benefit to the scientific community if we began constructing ways to take physiological measurements of humor and conducted more naturalistic observations of humor and it's relationship with human intelligence. One of the better subjects for these kinds of proposed study would be a professional
“Everyone has a sense of humor. If you don't laugh at jokes, you probably laugh at opinions.” Once said an American poet, essayist, and existentialist philosopher Criss Jami, Killosophy. I also believe that humor and laugh play a big role in our lives. However, there are two types of people’s personality; people who understand humor and more open minded, and those who just cannot get it, and that, in my opinion, just makes their live harder. The article, “That’s Not Funny” by Caitlin Flanagan, is talking about college students that are not allowed to joke because of comedians restrictiveness in what they are talking
“Morreall argues that, if we want to answer these questions, we shouldn’t focus on whether the joke happens to trade on a stereotype. Instead, he takes the primary problem with some humor to be that it involves disengaging from things with which we ought to be engaged.” (Morreall, 529)
From these comedians, satirical humor expresses some opinions about political acts so people can view them more critically.
Steve Almond’s “Funny is the New Deep” talks of the role that comedy has in our current society, and most certainly, it plays a huge role here. Namely, through what Almond [Aristotle?] calls the “comic impulse”, we as a people can speak of topics that would otherwise make many of uncomfortable. Almond deems the comic impulse as the most surefire way to keep heavy situations from becoming too foreboding. The comic impulse itself stems from our ability and unconscious need to defend and thus contend with the feeling of tragedy. As such, instead of rather forcing out humor, he implies that humor is something that is not consciously forced out from an author, but instead is more of a subconscious entity, coming out on its own. Almond emphasizes
According to Aristotle, “Comedy can be any colloquy or performance generally intended to amuse or stimulate laughter”. In modern times, comedy can be found in different forms, such as television, movies, theatres and stand-up comedy.
In conclusion, Merrill Markoe portrayed high comedy using witty humor along with situational irony in the short story “A Conversation With My Dogs”. She does this while also reaching the moral of the story, which is that with some people or animals you have to be super specific or else they won’t understand what you are trying to say. I have experienced this with some people, including my mom who is often focused on her work. The combination of witty humor and situational irony makes the audience
Satire is the most powerful democratic weapon in the arsenal of modern media. Sophia McClennen, the author of America According to Colbert: Satire as Public Pedagogy, describes it as the modern form of public pedagogy, as it helps to educate the masses about current issues (73). In fact, ”a Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey in 2004 found that 61 percent of people under the age of thirty got some of their political news from late-night comedy shows” (McClennen 73). This statistic shows how influential satirical shows such as The Colbert Report or South Park can be.
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists study humor because it is a fundamental culture value, but they still can’t determine why certain things make some people laugh and others not. There are “humor quotient” tests that are designed to measure an individual’s sense of humor, but these tests are questionable. These tests aren’t accurate because almost all humor depends on cultural background knowledge and language skills. Not every person in the whole world, or even in one country share the same background knowledge and skills, therefore they cannot have the same type of humor. “The fact remains that individuals vary in their appreciation of humor” (Rappoport 9). Since humor varies from individual to individual, humor lies in the individual. How successful or funny a joke is depends on how the person receives the joke, humor cannot be measured by a statistical
Many politically based talk shows focus on controversial topics. Their shows aim to cause discussion over many politically controversial topics. The shows cause people from both sides of politics to argue over topics that usually both sides strongly believe in their opinion. The shows begin to turn into a screaming fest, where one side, of the argument, tries to talk over the other side, while the other does the same thing. It shows that without humor or something else being there to lighten the mood a small debate can turn into a fully heated argument. This shows the power of context and diction. Through the use of a humorful tone, when used in the right time and place, people are able to calmly talk about topics that without it would be a full on argument. Through a comedian’s humorful word choice, he is able to make his points usually without completely enraging his audience. Those who don’t use humor or something else to lighten the mood, end up creating an argument that just grows and grows until both sides are screaming at and denying everything the other side says. However, eventually something is said that lightens the mood. This is usually something somewhat comical that both sides can relate to. Whatever it was that was said becomes the thing that both sides can agrees on, and as a result makes the argument
The sketch comedy in SNL has been poking fun at ethnic and racial stereotypes, as well as presidents or other high-profile political figures. SNL continuously pokes fun at common stereotypes and government officials – just watch some of their skits on Italian stereotypes, like “Corksoakers” or “Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton Town Hall Debate.” In a way, these sources are here to teach people, even though the skits may be slanted a certain way. Iain Ellis brings up other comedy-news shows, like The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, in his article “Political Humor and Its Diss Contents.” These shows sparked in popularity due to their ability to spread news in the form of entertainment and the fact that the anchors “offer a more open-minded and informed alternative, one which takes pride in digging for truths and in providing additional perspectives and points-of-view” (Ellis, 151). News/Comedy shows use their prevalence in today’s society to an advantage in that they know people watch and listen to them. They can sway people in ways to cause social change. If someone watches their show and agrees with them, then their audience is eager to look for a way to change something – whether it be to protest or even joke about the topic at
Humor is more than just amusing entertainment to pass the time. Though jokes and witty banter can be shallow, humor can go deeper than surface level to convey messages to audiences who would otherwise be close-minded about certain ideas. Humor is a great tool to get audiences to change the way they think, feel, and act. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” Alexander Weinstein uses humor to criticize some of society’s faults such as the way it has become heavily reliant on technology, racially insensitive, and judgmental.
Humor has been the source of entertainment throughout history. Today humor is practiced in movies, plays, songs, television shows and radio. Humor has brought fame and fortune to those who have mastered its power.
Comedy is far from scientific, but it is, at least, consistent. Many comedians follow the same routine, where they describe an ordinary event in a funny way, point out something about everyday life that most people do not notice, or simply modify the commonplace in order to draw their audience’s attention to what is missing. The first option, describing an ordinary event, is so common among comedians that it no longer makes a comedian stand out in her field. The last two options, on the other hand, involve several aspects of cognitive science, primarily language and vision. Recognizing and refining these aspects can and, in many cases, already have heightened comedy to a new level of relatability and entertainment.
The nature of comedy has always left it somewhat resistant to critical analysis, and to some extent the same can be said for comedic actors. The class-clowns of Hollywood like Will Ferrell are often times constructed as being nothing more than amusing, so they seem like a simple case study.... ... middle of paper ... ...
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and