Blog Post #2

It is certain that comedy has existed ever since mankind has been in pursuit of ever lasting happiness and satisfaction. Taking in account, I believe that the three theories of humor are just descriptions and that none of them involve an essence. Although, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. My definition of finding an essence is to have an utmost understanding to something in which complete and permanent identification is found. Billions of people around the world turn to comedy as a scapegoat from their fears or reality in general, and no one in the right mind should want to put an end to that. If we were to fully understand the ultimate questions behind comedy then everything would become too predictable, we would forever feel inferior, and we’d never find relief to the jokes we crack. Or in other words, the significance behind the incongruity, superiority, and relief theory would be lost. However, I do find one of the theories more persuasive than the others and that is the superiority theory. People in today’s society, especially millennials, turn to social media in order to brag on their most recent advancement in their life. We self-consciously do this to acquire the feeling that we are better than our peers. This concept also applies to the superiority theory. Creating laughter through the mindset of higher status is a form of comedy that people enjoy the most, even if it’s at the expense of others. A great example of this is the art of ‘roasting’ or making fun of someone for the entertainment of others. For the most, there is never an intention of being mean-spirited to the one getting roasted on. However, it is inevitable that the person doing the roasting will temporarily feel a sense of better quality than his audience. In conclusion, none of the theories of humor is close to the essence (nor should it ever), but the superiority theory is one that people have a greater satisfaction towards. 

Comments

  1. Shane HerronSeptember 7, 2018 at 10:16 AM

    It does seem that superiority theory is the most popular theory. I always wonder why that is.

    ReplyDelete

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