What makes something funny?Why does it make us laugh? Maybe it is the incongruity it has compared to the observer's preconceived ideas and/or expectations, the violation of the viewer's expectations. Is it sadistic? The classic event of the man getting kicked in the crotch . Is it the sudden realization there is no threat? A relief?
I've actually thought about this for a while... and what I've come to learn is -- that most of what we, humans, find "funny" is a result of something not going how it's "supposed to" go - a break of the mold = potential comedy; moments which break the chain of regularity are the things/events/ideas/actions which are considered "funny". Things/events/ideas/actions which are new and unexpected, in its relation to the ordinary chain/theme of things, are the materials used for bringing laughter's tree of comedy to fruition. U actually express my sentiment's, with different wording, of course, in the beginning of the thread, "Maybe it is the incongruity it has compared to the observer's preconceived ideas and/or expectations, the violation of the viewer's expectations."
It's funny to see someone care about something so much that doesn't matter when you don't care about it at all, then struggling to see them protect it. Ex: Some parents lying to their kid about santa claus and then doing anything they can to maintain that myth for as long as possible to the kid and actually being saddened if their childs fantasy is broken. I find that funny for some reason that the parents would intentionally lie and then try so hard to keep the lie going, I think it's because I feel it's ironic that by lying to their kid they believe they are helping the kid in some way. So irony is also funny, when someone intends to do something but actually ends up going against his own cause in the process.
"Is it the sudden realization there is no threat? A relief?" I think this. The Bill Hicks quote comes to mind: "Don't be afraid. Ever. Because this is just a ride."
Tragedy + Time = Comedy Jerry Seinfeld said something to the effect of... "It's the comedians job to quell people's fears. To get them to laugh at something they were afraid of." It's from Ricky Gervais' special Talking Funny on HBO. It's Gervais, Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Louis CK just talking about comedy... very funny and insightful.
Laughter and sadness are the quintessential emotions of human existence. You've all seen the masks, with one smiling and one crying. Every person has his own sense of humor. Not every person will laugh at the same things as everyone else. NOBODY. And that must be accepted by everyone, that not everyone will like George Carlin or Dave Chappelle or Robin Williams like I do -- and that's fine. I do think common aspects of daily life that, when satirized, is probably the funniest thing a comedy/comedian can do. Why do you think shows like Seinfeld are so popular? It's a satire of humanity and people can relate.
As I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears, dispense more cheer than gloom, spread more cheer than despair. Never let me become so indifferent, that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child, or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged. Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy, and forget momentarily, all the unpleasantness in their lives. And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper: "When you made My people smile, you made Me smile." -- Anonymous
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6nSOgsI_vo]Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road? - YouTube[/ame] vsauce that shit
Hey bro, you should definitely pick up 'Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar', it's basically philosophy explained through humor. I'm loving it, only like half-way through though.
What's interesting is that we can find some really funny ,which is sadistically cruel when thinking about it like killing , torture or a racist joke , but in practice we can really offended. I wonder if it's because the lack of fear of being threatened allows it to be funny , while in practice the fear overrides the feeling of funny ,so we don't feel like it's funny most of the time. I was listening to Daniel Denett and a theory he and other colleagues proposed is that humor is a mechanism to recognize illogical thinking. Which is why racist jokes can be funny , but actual racism would be offensive , since it raises the issue of our right and security being stripped , because we are simply of different ethnicity. Computational model I think it is.
Wordplay is a form of humor Making those connections about how the word was crafted when you hear world play are what is funny I could explain further, butt fuck it
What is interesting is 10 people can read the same joke/sentence/image whatever and only one may laugh whether it was intended to be funny or not. So the object material is neutral and its the viewers state of mind that gives it humor. Its actually very interesting the more I think about it. Personally I have a sense of humor that can get me into trouble. I like the unexpected eg: Someone dressed up as the happy Ronald McDonald that slaps the maccas out of the hands of unexpected customers.
One man's funny is another man's offensive. As TS said, state of mind matters more than we realise. I can find the same kind of thing funny or not funny, depending on when I see it.