Teenage humour is unlike adult humour. Teenagers laugh at “Toilet” humour while adults laugh at “Civilized” humour. Therefore considering that teenagers laugh at the opposite of what adults do, we need to define the reasons why teenage and adult humour is so different.
I believe that teenage humour is sex oriented. I took a survey of ten teenagers to see what they believed was humorous. Trisha Lindsay believes that embarrassing moments are hilarious. Dustin Lockhart, Nadia Korfitsen, David Webster, Rick Fawcus, Kristi Webster, and myself believe that sex or sexual suggestions are humorous. Renita Manj and Ashlee Green believe that people who act idiotically or hurt themselves on a regular basis are hilarious. I believe that from this survey I have proved to you that most teenagers believe that sexual suggestions are the most funny in our generation.
The television programs that most teenagers watch are The Simpson’s, Friends, and That 70’s show. The Simpson’s is a program that is aired on Fox and it is a cartoon. The Simpson’s is about a middle-aged man named Homer. He is a dumb-founded idiot that works at a nuclear power plant. We laugh at him because he makes so many mistakes even if they are the easiest task. Bart is a ten year old kid who gets into trouble more then once a day. He gets into trouble at school and even when he is walking down the street to go home. He is like an average ten year old kid that likes to get into mischief. Bart is just a trouble maker that doesn‘t know when to behave himself. His sister Lisa is a straight “A” student that is on the Honour Roll, and plays the saxophone in the school Band. Every little girl would like to be Lisa because she is very mature for an eight year old. Marge is the mother of both Bart and Lisa. She is a homemaker and isn’t very funny. Bart and Homer are the prime targets for funniness in this series.
That 70’s show is the second example of a television show that teenagers find amusing. Adults find this amusing as well because they can relate to the subject. This show is about the 70’s obviously. It is how our parents use to be. I believe this is one reason why teenagers find this television show amusing. The cast of the 70’s show involves Kitty and Red who are Eric’s parents.
What is the most common perception held in this country concerning the people and the way they live in the South? The perception most of the country has about life down here in the South is one of slow-paced living, simple-minded people, and stubborn, unwarranted pride. One of the best ways to combat this perception is through the use of humor; Lewis Grizzard was one of the best at this, because he could take the experiences from his own life as well as the lives of others in the South and turn them into humorous semi-fictional stories. He was one of the preeminent fictional authors this country has ever seen because of his ability to connect with people and joke about everyday life in the south, without offending the subjects of those jokes, despite the popular opinion the rest of the country held.
Some television critics have abused “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Several statements declare he is a wimp because of his general caring approach on the show. Not only have television critics made negative remarks, but the children’s show has also been made fun of on late night television shows such as “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson as well as Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live (Bianculli 43). On a different level of criticism, the older siblings of those who watch the show develop negative opinions of “Mister ...
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, McMurphy often uses the power of laughter to overcome what is going on in the world around him. Laughter lightens the feeling in the book, and at times gives it a warmer feeling. It also helps develop, and shape the characters throughout the entire story.
Freaks and Geeks gives a new and realistic portrayal of adolescence in a nice small package of a television show. It strays from the media stereotype of adolescent by showing adolescent life in a new light. It reveals the lesson that many adolescents have to learn to become a mature adult, the choices they have to make that will affect their life in a major or minor way, and the struggles many endured that makes them take rash decision or lost in what they do. Freaks and Geeks is a show that I recommend to many who are sick of stereotypical shows that media broadcast on television.
That 70’s show is about Eric Forman and his teenage friends and also is family members that live in Point Place Wisconsin through the time period of 1976-1979. The biggest surprise about the series is that despite it being only a three year time frame it managed to run for eight seasons that was seen on Fox from 1998 to 2006 which became the networks second longest running live action sitcom only trailing the show married with children. Despite the fact that the show wasn’t really based in the 70’s the production of the show did a good job to make it seem like they lived in the 70’s with cars, music etc… It’s kind of weird that the show was named “that 70’s show” when it didn’t officially take place during the 70’s.
Since television came into existence, it has evolved into a useful tool to spread ideas, both social and political, and has had a great effect on the generations growing up with these heavily influential shows. To these younger generations, television has taken the role of a teacher, with the task of creating a social construction by which many of us base our personal beliefs and judgments on. This power allows television shows take the opportunity to address problems in a manner that many audiences can take to heart. Many television shows present controversial topics in a comical matter, in some ways to soften the blow of hard-hitting reality at the same time bringing attention to the issue being addressed. In the television show, Everybody Hates Chris, season one, episode four entitled “Everybody Hates Sausage”, the stereotypes that continue to fuel racism are examined in a satirical motif, and class is presented in a comical way, but carries serious undertones which present a somewhat realistic view of the different social strata within the United States.
When there is humor involved people seem to enjoy things way better, the reason for this is that people will
Tomorrow on the Simpsons, Homer will discover that Bart has stolen his credit card and charged $10,000 worth of "Itchy and Scratchy" merchandise. Having no hope for paying off this debt, Homer decides to go to law school because he cannot afford to hire a bankruptcy lawyer. The famous lawyer, who teaches classes, sends a crestfallen Homer home to retrieve his son, for Homer is much too thick-headed to possibly learn the ways of the courts. As Bart graduates from law school, he uses his newfound skills of argument to convince the courts that his parents are insane, his sister Lisa deserves to be in a boarding school, and he should be able to put his youngest sister up for adoption. Unable to see another way, Homer tears down the walls of the Springfield Law School, attacking the famous lawyer for ruining his life. On many levels, this is a typical episode of The Simpsons, one I am sure any Simpson's fan would enjoy. The only problem is this is not an episode of The Simpsons, and it will not be airing tomorrow. This synopsis did not come from the TV Guide, rather it is an updated version of Aristophanes' famous comedy, Clouds. Though it may come as a surprise, many of the elements of America's favorite cartoon are actually the same elements used by Aristophanes many centuries ago in his comedic drama, Clouds.
Watching television programs with a high level of sexual content can shape the patterns of sexual behavior of a teenager. According to Brown (Brown, Greenberg, & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1993) many teenagers are not able to receive useful information about sex from their parents, this is the reason they usually use the alternative way to find this information through the media. A Kaiser Family research from 1996 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1996; 1998) shows that a quarter of all the young people have told that they have learned a lot about pregnancy from television shows and 40 percent of them have gotten ideas how to talk about sexual issues. In these modern times media is holding the power to influence the audience and most of all the youngest audience which is developing their view about sex.
In The Simpsons, the son of the protagonist, Homer Simpson, is a ten year old boy named Bart. He is the type of male that works hard to try to make women like Bordo spill coffee all over a table and go “weak in the knees” at first sight (191). Like a model in a Calvin Klein poster, Bart is constantly offering himself up to the gaze of those around him. Instead of monitoring hi...
Sitcoms on television often use cultural representations in character choices as well as in situations the characters may fall into. Popular cultural themes can be shown in relationships between characters, such a family dynamic. One of the most popular examples of a typical family dynamic is a when the father of the family is on top of the hierarchy. We have seen this family stereotype on television for decades, namely Leave it to Beaver. Over time, stereotypes and norms of western culture have been embedded into popular television programing. A prevalent sitcom over the past six years has been a show called The League, which gained popularity due to the rise in popularity of fantasy football. The show made to be a comedy based around a group of friends who partake in a fantasy football league. In this show, many obvious cultural stereotypes arise that
In today’s society things are being expressed and experienced at younger ages, than ever before in our time. Children and teenagers are discovering their sexuality at very early ages. Sexuality is the discovering of who you are and what makes you different from everybody else.
Children have become much more interested in cartoons over many years and it has become a primary action to some lives. Typically, children begin watching cartoons on television at an early age of six months, and by the age two or three children become enthusiastic viewers. This has become a problem because too many children are watching too much television and the shows that they are watching (even if they are cartoons) have become violent and addictive. The marketing of cartoons has become overpowering in the United States and so has the subliminal messaging. The marketing is targeted toward the children to cause them to want to view the cartoons on a regular basis, but the subliminal messaging is for the adults’ to target them into enjoying the “cartoons”. This is unfortunate because children watch the cartoons on the television and they see material that is not appropriate for their age group. The Children who watch too much cartoons on television are more likely to have mental and emotional problems, along with brain and eye injuries and unexpectedly the risk of a physical problem increases.
Sherman, E. (1986). Teenage sex: A special report. Ladies Home Journal 103 (October) : 138,199, 202-206
Humor has been the source of entertainment throughout history. Today humor is practiced in movies, plays, songs, television shows and radio. Humor has brought fame and fortune to those who have mastered its power.