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.
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.
I wonder if maybe superiority theory is really: I'm glad I'm not that guy theory. I definitely feel Kevin's pain here, and empathize as I've spilled the thing in the wrong place at the wrong time before. I guess I do feel a tinge of superiority, like why wouldn't he be more careful? But I think when I laugh most it's when he starts flailing around trying to recover. That's where I recognize myself and start to laugh. Maybe that's "inferiority theory": I don't feel superior, but I recognize that something else seems to suddenly have lowered itself, and that makes me laugh out of sympathy.
ReplyDeleteI love the Office! And I love that particular scene as well. I like your interpretation of the superiority theory in this scene but I wonder if there is also an element of Kevin's shortcomings that simultaneously make us feel superior to him while also endearing his character to us. I love Kevin for his mistakes because they make him human and relatable to myself, which connects to Dr. Herron's comment. I also love Parks and Rec which is obviously made by the same people, and Gerry's character plays a similar role where everyone gives him such a hard time which makes us laugh out of sympathy. It is interesting how the producers of the Office and Parks and Rec (and now the Muppets show too) seem to have a formula for their sit-coms as evidenced by their repeated use of certain techniques like breaking the fourth wall when looking directly at the camera (one of my favorites, I always die laughing and I wish I could do that in real life moments of exasperation.) But I would like to hear the thought behind some of their comedy techniques and what makes them so inherently funny.
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