Response to Jane

I love Elf!!! Perfect choice for Christmas coming up in a few days. It's easy to see how the superiority theory plays out in this movie. Buddy is ignorant in the fact that he is a grown man and still believes he is an elf. He is caught up in his childlike manner and can't let go of his past. Even though it's easy to laugh at Buddy, there are moments when I feel bad for him. He doesn't fit in at the North Pole along with the elves, and doesn't fit in coming into the real world because he's never experienced anything like it.  Although, he makes up for his misfortunes through his humor (even if he realizes it or not)

Response to Theo

I liked the connection you made between the relief theory and the incongruity theory. I think you could combine them in this instance to where it's incongruous in the fact that you don't know what's going to happen in his comedic skits, but also a relief that you don't know what he's going to do next so that the comedy isn't monotonous and bland. I enjoyed the unknowing factor that Eric Andre provided and the examples you provided the class with in your blog post. I for one enjoyed watching him and enjoyed the type of comedy he provided. He definitely keeps me on my toes and I find it quite funny how he says literally whatever comes to his mind. He talks in a serious matter, which to me makes it so much better, that the sarcastic comments will get a pretty good laugh out of me. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Eric Andre and what he brought to the table. 

Rewrite on Hannah's Post

 Through Hannah's experiment, there were definitely flaws, but had a good meaning behind it. The general flaws were that it's harder to tell which show is funnier with one having a laugh track and one without. Also, with it being two different shows, one can't completely see which show is funnier because of the different jokes. There are too many variables and moving parts. However, for the purpose of this class, she conducted it anyways to give a general understanding of how the experiment works, and how it relates to the real unbiased experiment she researched. In the experiment she conducted, it was more accurate with it being the same show and same episode having one with a laugh track and one without. This provided a more truthful experiment with reliable results. The results showed that the show with the laugh track was generally funnier and people enjoyed it more. 
 Why is it that people liked having the laugh track? One reason could possibly be the amount of silence the show allows in place of the laughter. The silence could result in awkwardness making the jokes seem less funny or not known that a joke was said in the first place. The laugh could also be in place too emphasize the "funniness" of the joke subconsciously reminding the viewer to laugh. From what it seems, the more people that are laughing, whether or not a laugh track is involved, the funnier the joke is meant to be.  
 The Zupancic article helps clarify what we understand about the topic in general during the shows involving the laugh track. We are able to understand that "Comedy always materializes and gives a body to what can otherwise appear as an unspeakable, infinite Mystery of the other scene." (Zupancic) There is always a two sided connection in comedy. One can see that in both shows Hannah specifically gave to us, bringing in two thoughts of argument being if the laugh track makes a show funnier or not.

Response to Hannah

Friends
1.  8 it's pretty funny.
2. 10 I definitely enjoyed it
3. Naughty humor, Sarcasm, Wordplay humor, Incongruity, People doing stupid things

The Office1. 10 I had plenty of laughs 
2. 10 One of my favorite episodes
3. Putdown humor, Sarcasm, People doing stupid things, A sight gag, Naughty humor

This was a great experiment to participate in!! Great idea bringing this into the lead blog post. I'm glad I could be apart of it. I didn't realize how using the laugh track could make such a difference between the tv shows! This is definitely an interesting topic of discussion. I wounder if you could compare Friends to The Office without the laugh track on Friends. Would that be a fair test or does it give Friends an unfair advantage? 

Response to Lindsey

I love how you incorporated the barbies into the meme world. As a girl, I grew up playing with my barbies and treating them as if they were friends of my own. It was quite funny to see how my childhood could be flipped around in a more inappropriate manner (but hilarious). I agree how you tied in the incongruity theory of how we perceived barbies and how they play the typical over exaggerated role of high school drama queens. It works because we are not used to playing them out this way, but it is inevitably funny to the viewers. It took me a little bit to warm up to their comedy and processing the barbie aspect, but once I let go of what I wanted the barbies to be like, I thought it was very enjoyable and funny to watch!

Response to Faith

Leading off of this post, Trump is known for making inappropriate jokes and comments. People notice the wrongdoings of his, but he starts normalizing the issues in our American society. People in power need to be cautious of the underlying messages, when publicly speaking,  in order to not continue a vicious cycle of injustices brought on to the people. I agree with Faith in how "interactions with people, comedic or otherwise, often alter or shape our own opinions of those controversial topics." With Trump normalizing controversial topics, such as gun violence, we become insensitive to the real issues. Refer to Trump's Humor article explaining why it's an issue at hand. 

Response to Lucy

I like how you hinted on the fact that if this show aired today, it would most likely fail in today's societal environment. In today's age, it's like we are all walking on eggshells trying not to offend anyone (which is an impossible task). Michael Scott makes inappropriate jokes throughout the entire series; such as gay jokes or that's what she said jokes. It leaves us questioning how he became a manager in the first place and how he hasn't lost his job. Michael Scott doesn't seem to have much depth to his character, but through his childlike qualities and insanely inappropriate jokes, one gets a clearer sense of his mental state. He cover's his sorrows through humor, or bad humor I should say, trying to distract himself and the rest of the employees from what's really bothering him. This makes the audience feel superior to him in the way where we can laugh at how Michael embarrasses himself on the daily and continually makes a fool out of himself.

Response to Paige

I am a firm believer in alternative medicine for the sole purpose of a healthier lifestyle and relying on myself instead a cluster of chemicals that's supposed to "help me". The phrase "laughter is the best medicine" really can make a turnaround in one's mental state helping your overall health mentally and physically. Your thought pathways can enable you to feel the range of extremes (good or bad) in order to help or hurt you. Our brain is magnificent in its ability to attempt to heal the body without the use of any medication. Bringing in laughter to equation gives a more positive energy creating a more healthy environment within our own body. Freud added that we can use humor and laughter to help us get over harder events or happenings. Allowing us to relieve stress and chaos through laughter enables us to cope in certain situations, which usually can help the poor mental state you were once in.

Response to Caroline

Could it be that we can imply the superiority theory to ourselves without us knowing it? For instance we put ourselves in some sort of ranking system in our head comparing ourselves to the peers around us (whether you realize it or not) and when you do something embarrassing or something worth laughing about, we can laugh at ourselves. By being able to move ourselves up an down, it's like our alter ego could either be superior or inferior to our consciousness. I see it that way because maybe you can be superior to yourself in some aspects of the way you think. We are our hardest critic and by nitpicking at yourself and making fun of yourself potentially belittles you. Most people know their self worth and know they are better than their circumstances. With this being said, we can pull in incongruous thoughts and/or actions from the scenarios we put ourselves in (theoretically in our head). By implying incongruity we can laugh at ourselves in the past, present, and future like John Mulaney given his example of him driving. 

Response to Alexis

First off, the attached video had me geeking! I was laughing way too much at the commentary and the whole roasting session brought by Kody Ko and his friend Noel Miller. This is by far one of the funniest YouTube videos I've seen in a while. I love the fact that it's inappropriate, making it funnier to me (being a fan of inappropriate jokes). Talking and laughing about the misfortunes of poor Skippy not getting laid was the perfect example of benign violation humor. I agree where you said that the video represents a good mix between not being too inappropriate and not being too boring. By taking apart every aspect of Skippy and what he's doing wrong made an awkward video hilarious to watch. Skippy's naive personality was the icing on the cake. Him trying his best to be with a woman basically resulted in him embarrassing himself. For example, having his mom as his wing man and making terrible shirts about himself does not usually attract women (especially if you're trying to get them into bed). You feel bad for Skippy but can't help but to laugh at his mistakes and misfortunes. That's where the superiority theory of humor comes into play. I agree how you stated that the use of this theory also plays a key role in the making of this video. I thoroughly enjoyed the video and your blog post! Each component connected with the video and made it easier to pinpoint the theories corresponding with it. 

Response to Katherine

I agree how Jim Gaffigan uses the superiority theory to get his humor across to the audience. I also laugh at others misfortunes, along with my own. You can't take life too seriously. It's nice easing up and just having the freedom to laugh at other people's mistakes or quite frankly, your own. For myself, I stay laughing throughout the day because I am comfortable laughing at my own mistakes. The ability to let loose relieves chaos and stress from the surroundings and circumstances around us. I like being able to relate to Gaffigan through his weight struggles. It may or may not be an insecurity of his, but it is a touchy subject here in America. That's why I'm glad he is so open about it and has the ability to make people laugh about his weight. By doing so, it doesn't make the issues about weight seem like a problem at all. Who cares about the social norms for body image. #selfloveandhumor

Response about Seinfeld

I personally don’t actively watch Seinfeld, but I know enough about it to agree with how it’s just a show about laughter. The overall gist of the show has no major plot-line and it’s funny to the level where you see yourself doing it. It can be a very relatable show in some aspects; a classic combination of of sarcastic snarky humor with a bit of realism. One part I particularly like about the show is all the questions being asked. The characters would question every irrelevant thing intertwining what was related and what wasn’t. This adds a sense of dry humor to the show that I find hilarious. Seinfeld is a good escape amongst the chaos of our everyday lives. With it, one can easily enjoy it without an acquired sense of humor.

What I Find Funny About Friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT-8Yz1JsdQ

 Why is the TV show, Friends, funny? There’s no exact answer as to what can be pinpointed for humor, but there are three theories of humor. There is the superiority theory, where we laugh at other people’s misfortune, relief theory, where laughter helps during emotional or high stress moments, and the incongruity theory, where logic is mixed with things that don’t go together. By putting all theories into consideration, one can piece together what makes people laugh during Friends.

By using the superiority theory during the show, we can take a closer look at one of the character’s Chandler Bing. Almost all of his jokes relate back to this theory.  He brings a sense of intelligence with his humor because he provides outsides happenings and experiences into his jokes, making him seem funnier than the rest of his friends. In every episode he provides some kind of sarcastic remark that usually is making fun of someone’s stupidity or misfortune. One thing I noticed from Chandler is that he was open to laugh at other people’s mistakes and also his own. He was open about his past happenings and embracing them for a good laugh. The writers used the superiority theory through Chandler to get a good reaction from the audience and enhancing his humor.

The next focus is relief theory and how it was integrated into the show. Overall, Friends is not an intense show with emotional roller coasters. However, the show provides real life scenarios that the characters face that hit close to home with a few viewers in the audience. One example that particularly comes in mind is when Ross and Rachel officially break up. Seeing the constant pain, betrayal, and guilt starts weighing heavy on the viewers. This stressful event can be relatable amongst people who have been in the same situation or if they feel they have been cheated on by their significant other. During this scene the camera switches back and forth between Ross and Rachel and the rest of the friend group. Why might the director change settings during such a dramatic scene? Making people laugh gives one a complete turn around of emotion, which is key in the sense of helping people cope in stressful situations. Watching this episode there was added comedic relief when the camera would switch back to the rest of the friend group. Without the ability to cope in emotional situations, there would be complete chaos. By utilizing the relief theory it can make you think that laughter truly is the best medicine.

The last theory used in the show is the incongruity theory. This is considered one of the more basic forms of comedy making unusual connections, bizarre viewpoints, and unexpected actions funny. Phoebe particularly comes to mind when it comes to random connections to be made or for her to do something out of the blue. With her, you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth making it a funnier surprise to what she says. Phoebe is a free spirit that can stick to her roots no matter what her reasoning is. Her outrageous comments make sense to her, but for a regular outsider, they might seem quite peculiar. This adds another viewpoint of comedy to pay attention to throughout the show.

By utilizing all three theories, Friends is considered funny because it appeals to many types of humor depending on what your preference may be. We can each relate to the characters in some way making it more personable allowing the audience to be more open to the humor and comedy they have to offer.  

Relief Theory

I believe the relief theory is the most persuasive theory when considering comedy and humor as a whole. This type of comedy relieves tension during a high stress event providing an emotional break for the audience. For example, if you look at the movie IT, the writers provided comedic relief throughout the movie especially after a “scarier” scene. By doing so, the movie was more enjoyable and made it easier to watch (especially for people who don’t like horror movies). Without relief, it is harder to make it to the end of the movie without being completely scared. Making people laugh gives one a complete turn around of emotion, which is key in the sense of helping people cope in stressful situations. Without the ability to cope in situations, there would be complete chaos. This is why the relief theory is the most persuasive. All three theories display different types of comedy, but this one in particular helps the most with our day to day lives. Hence the saying that laughter is the best medicine. A happier outlook on life can make the best difference in someone’s life.

Chandler Bing

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/the-33-best-chandler-bing-one-liners?utm_term=.mxrY6NKvYP#.qdy46yM34e

I chose to write about Chandler Bing from the television show, Friends,  because he has a sense of humor that I can relate to and partially mimic myself. In every episode he lets off some sarcastic comment or remark. He does this in various situations when he's uncomfortable, nervous, or even when he wants himself to be heard. I chose Chandler out of the group mainly because he could finesse his way out of any situation with his smart sarcastic remarks. He brings a sense of intelligence with his humor because he provides outsides happenings and experiences into his jokes, making him seem funnier than the rest of his friends. I feel the  reading helped me find a deeper understanding of what it seemed to be shallow remarks and jokes. The Superior Theory accounts more of what Chandler Bing brings to the table; laughing and making fun of peoples misfortunes. By understanding more of this theory, I can better understand the background of the comedy.