Though I pride myself on being a huge fan of comedy (and I can
seem like a comedy snob at some points), truth is, I’d laugh at almost anything…
or at least find humor in it. Until reading what Bergson had to say on
laughter, though, I had never really thought about what it was that made me
laugh, it was just an automatic response that I had.
As I read the piece, though, things started to click. Things
ranging from "LOL Cat" to A Bit of Fry and Laurie, though seemingly across the board,
all had a human element involved. Continuing with the "LOL Cat" example, we laugh
at the cat who has used incorrect grammar because they are not human… and the
fact that they would never be able to actually ask for a cheese burger. By putting
this human element on to the cat, we laugh at the lunacy of the situation.
Other things that jumped out at me were situations where I’d
laughed at someone (usually myself) for falling down or read about someone in
an awkward situation and had to stop reading because I was laughing so hard.
Before reading Bergson’s piece on laughter, I would have thought nothing of it,
but more and more, I’m noticing myself laughing at various things and mentally
taking note of why I find it funny. The corrective element is one that I’ve
been noticing a lot (like laughing at myself for tripping in Walmart for no
apparent reason or snickering at my family members who don’t remember having
the same conversation 2-3 times and reacting the same each time…). I’m not
saying it’s a good or bad thing, just a change I’ve noticed since starting this
class.
That's a really good analysis of your relationship with comedy. I also thought I was something of a comedy snob, until I realized that all comedy has the same foundation of the human element. I still laugh at the same things I did before this class, now I just understand that everything is related.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I suddenly feel a lot less special when I find something funny because I am really just falling under Bergson's definition without even realizing it. And speaking of falling, let us not forget those people slipping on the icy steps outside of the UC!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you too. I find myself stopping from laughing and thinking why its funny to begin with. Sometimes I even think about stuff from way back and think why it was even funny. And looking back, I laughed a lot at stuff that wasn't really funny. More like laughing just to laugh because it feels good to laugh.
ReplyDeleteBesides agreeing with all that you said, I also finally understand why I don't find videos of people falling on their bottoms or bumping their head really hard against the wall to be funny. It was because laughter only exists when emotions are absent. I don't find people's hurting to be funny because I find myself more concerned about the pain that he feels or the pain that I felt or would feel if I was hurting the same way.
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