What is Funny?
Theories behind what makes us laugh. Examples included!
What is funny?
I first asked this question when I stumbled across a book on comedy. What actually MAKES something funny? What are the ingredients? What are the conditions that make something humorous? It was years before I found actual answers. Here they are!
“Humor involves an idea, image, text or event that is… incongruous, odd, unusual, unexpected, surprising, or out of the ordinary.”
- The psychology of Humor: an integrative approach Rod A. Martin 2007 Elsevier Academic Press.
Put another way by the fine folks at the HuRL (Humor Research Lab) for something to be humorous it must be a benign violation. It must be benign in that the viewer feels safe, but also must violate some rule, standard, or expectation the viewer has.
https://humorresearchlab.com/benign-violation-theory/
Why do some people not find the same joke funny?
This is why some people laugh their heads off and their friend thinks the same bit is offensive or even boring. If they didn’t grow up with the cultural rule, expectation, or thought process the joke could fall flat. If they have values that were violated they could take offense.
Because everyone has different standards as to what is acceptable or benign and different cultures have different rules people find different things funny.
TLDR:
What makes something funny?
To be funny you must violate expectations in a safe way.
Okay, but what things could I violate?
Physical:
Walk in a funny way
Clothing that’s too big, too small, or out of fashion.
Bodily harm like getting hit between the legs, crashing, disease.
Violence or slapstick.
Identity:
Insults, or roasts
Embarrassment
Self depreciation
Stereotypes
Cringe humor
Trying to appear as something you’re not
Communication or wordplay:
Misunderstandings
Improper pronunciation
Misleading statements
Lying
Sarcasm
Exaggerations
Puns
Saying something you don’t believe
Logic or Consistency:
Logical Fallacies or biases
Illusions
False conclusions
Believing obvious falsehoods, conspiracies, lies.
Culture and social Norms:
Cringe Humor
Bad manners
Not following customs or traditions
Betrayals
Taboo topics
Disrespect
Public urination/ nudity
Wearing underwear on your head
Shaking elbows instead of hands
LIST OF DIFFERENT THEORIES:
This is just so you know what’s out there. For my money the Benign Violation Theory is the best I’ve encountered.
Surprise
Superiority - dramatic irony
Biological - triumph aka evil villain laugh
Incongruity Ambivalence - contrasting emotions
Release - embarrassment
Configuration - mentally complete some missing material
Caleb Warren (HuRL) talks about three here:
https://petermcgraw.org/guest-post-by-caleb-warren-humor-theories-the-big-three/
Superiority, relief, & incongruity.
For more on the Benign Violation Theory (see HUrL)