Persuasive Passages

From all of the passages that I’ve read so far, I found Monro’s “Theories of Humor” to be the most persuasive. It was persuasive to me because it didn’t exactly show a bias against any of the three main theories of comedy, but rather defined them and stated the pros and cons associated with each. This was persuasive to me in an almost round-a-bout sense. It forced me to read the facts on each theory and formulate my own opinion on which theory I thought encompassed comedy as a whole. It essentially persuaded me to persuade myself. I found myself leaning towards the theory of superiority and the idea that humor ultimately stems from the degradation of some person, thing, or ideal. A piece of comedy that comes to mind when I think of the theory of superiority is a scene from the FX show Archer. Archer and his team of spies are sent to the Vatican in an attempt to rescue the Pope from an assassination attempt. Pam and Archer, two of the most vulgar characters on the show, are disguised as a nun and a Catholic priest. (Spoiler Alert) In the end of the episode, it is discovered that the assassination attempt was set up by a Cardinal in order to propel himself into the papacy. This scene relates to the theory of superiority because it negatively depicts and brings down the Catholic Church. It’s ironic that two of the least holy characters on Archer are sent to represent the most holy figures in the Catholic religion. Catholicism and the papal court are also degraded when the instigator of the assassination turn out to be none other than the Pope’s right hand man. I have attached a scene from the episode below. I think that the three theories combined are able to accurately describe comedy better than one of the theories alone. It’s difficult for me to place all types of comedy in just the incongruity theory or just the relief theory. I definitely think that the superiority theory is able to describe a lot of the comedy that we see in modern times, but that may not have been the case a century ago. Twenty-first century comedy (if I’m allowed to refer to it as such) seems to be a lot more vulgar and raunchy as opposed to comedy from just fifty years ago. In my head, I am comparing older shows like Andy Griffith and I Love Lucy to modern shows like Family Guy and American Dad. It would be hard to convince me that a single theory of humor would be able to describe the essence of comedy, but I think that the combination of the superiority theory, incongruity theory, and the relief theory is pretty much makes up the majority of the comedy seen today. 

Best Piece of Comedy

A piece of comedy that I have been recently hooked on (the last six months or so) has been the popular television series “The Office (US)”. The humor incorporated into “The Office” is a mix of relatable fiascos coupled with awkward portrayals of the various character’s lives. The clip that I have chosen to justify my love of the humor within “The Office” is one that stars one of my favorite characters: Kevin Malone. For those of you who have yet to see “The Office,” Kevin is a lovable accountant who seems not to have academically or emotionally matured since middle school. This particular scene (link below) involves good old Kevin struggling to carry a pot of his world famous chili up to the office to compete in a chili cookout. Alas, disaster strikes when the pot of chili proves too much for Kevin alone to handle and drops to the floor. To adequately appreciate the unspoken comedy in this scene, one must watch clip below.

Kevin's Famous Chili

    I will briefly analyze this clip by referring to three theories of humor as explained by D. H. Monroe in “Theories of Humor.” The three main theories discussed in this article are the superiority theories, the incongruity theories, and the relief theories. The general idea of the superiority theories is that humor is based on the shortcomings of a person and the intentional deterioration of an otherwise noble concept. The incongruity theories state that humor stems from the meshing of two seemingly contrasting ideas, resulting in implausible analogies that create the humor. The final theory mentioned by Monroe are the relief theories. The relief theories support the idea that humor is a means for people to “exhale” the tension that society put into place through means of stereotypes and this “exhalation” allows for the release of “nervous energy.” The resulting laughter is the physical by-product of the release of “nervous energy”.

    I believe that the humor in the clip above is best represented by the superiority theory. The most obvious example is when Kevin drops his chili, and the audience can laugh at the apparent shortcoming of Kevin: the dropping of his chili. There are underlying flaws with Kevin that also are supported by the superiority theory. For example, American society today dictates that it is socially unacceptable to be overweight and have a below average IQ. Kevin Malone is both fat and dumb. These are two other “defects” of Kevin that contribute to the humor of the clip.