Memes and GIF’s are funny. Some are hilarious. They are meant to make us laugh. At their core is joy. Their sole intent is humour.
What makes us laugh?
What tickles us, brings a grin, smirk, smile, sneer?
How about that giggle, chuckle, howl, roar?
What makes us laugh? How is humour funny?
Inquiring minds want to know!
To me this guy is hysterically funny?
@domdunkhousee is huge on TikToc. 2.6 million likes 320,200 fans
He has pioneered the art of FACE DANCING.
Explaining Funny : Theories that are fails
Trying to explain what makes something funny dates all the way back to Plato and Aristotle. These philosophers mused on what makes us ahhh-mused and called it, the Superiority Theory.
Simply put, people find amusement in the misfortune (yikes) of others because it makes them feel superior (oh boy). Slapstick and teasing have a place in this theory but not much else.
via GIPHY OUCH!
Then a bunch of centuries go by.
Sigmund Freud, the Father and Founder of Psychoanalysis, (you know, the Oedipal Complex guy) presents his Relief Theory. Basically, he believed that laughter is the way people express:
- their otherwise forbidden emotions
2. release their psychological tension
3. reveal their suppressed fears and desires
4. overcome their inhibitions.
5. yada, yada, yada ……
Relief Theory explains the fun in dirty jokes.
Not so much when things are “punny”.
Puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense.
“Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation towards the local swimming pool, so I gave him a glass of water.”
“I wrote a song for a tortilla. Well, its more of a wrap.”
“You didn’t hear about the three big holes in the ground? Well, well, well.“
Overtime, continued research resulted in the Incongruity Theory. It has a few variations. Basically, it says that people rely on preconceived notions and expectations. When what they expect to happen doesn’t – bingo! It’s funny. The unexpected, that inconsistency makes us laugh.
EXPLAINING FUNNY: the theory that works
This is The One, Neo, the Benign Violation Theory by Peter McGraw.
When something seems wrong or threatening but is simultaneously okay or safe, it becomes FUNNY.
A Funny Aside: “tickling involves violating someone’s physical space in a benign way. People can’t tickle themselves—a phenomenon that baffled Aristotle—because it isn’t a violation. Nor will people laugh if a stranger tries to tickle them, since nothing about that is benign”. Peter Warner, Bold New Attempt at a Unified Theory of Comedy.
There are a couple more theories of humour that deserve mention but that’s all, mention only. The Theory of Evolution: Humour
and
Quantum Theory As It Relates to Why Jokes Are Funny.
Seriously, OMG!
Research into what makes us laugh, what we find amusing continues. Because it all happens in our brains, it has been very difficult to isolate and identify.
No problem for the rest of us.
All we want to do is LAUGH. And share a funny, uplifting moment.
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 