Humour has always had the ability as long as anyone can remember to bring people together and unify them to become closer and better acquainted. As humour developed over time different categories of humour appeared. Ethnic humour is one of the categories that was created decades ago and continues to be widely used in present day comedy. The concept of ethnic, racial, and gender humour is as sensitive a subject today as it has ever been; and yet there has never been such a prolific quantity of this humour as there is in current day society. It manifests in American culture's films and stand-up comedy routines, as well as on popular TV sitcoms. Ethnic humour is one of the only types of humour that can bring laughter and joy to people while at the same time discriminating and bringing resentment to others. It is because of this dichotomy that ethnic humour is so controversial in the world today. Ethnic comedy is an exclusive form of humour because ethnic jokes can have three extremely different implications depending on the audience, teller and content of the joke.
Why is ethnic humour such an extensively used form of humour in society when it can so easily offend a large number of people? Consider the joke, “Why aren't Jews concerned about the abortion controversy? Because they don't consider a fetus viable until after it graduates from medical school” (Qtd. In Rapport 1). Where the humour is found can be connected to the common reason stated by Nobel Prize winner Henri Bergson, who believed that we find humour in differences and the unexpected (Bergson 3). The humour stems from society’s stereotype that Jews are held to standards of higher achievement and people connect to this and find humour in it. It is this un-expectancy tha...
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Works Cited
Bergson, Henri. “The comic in General- the Comic Element in forms and Movement-
Expansive Force of the Comic.” Laughing Matters. Ed. Marvin Diogenes. Pearson: Longman, Nd. 2-12. Print.
Davis, Murrary. “Wit’s Weapons: Incongruity and Ambiguity.” Laughing Matters. Ed.
Marvin Diogenes. Pearson: Longman, Nd. 13-37. Print.
“Naming Canada.” Joke. The Joke Shop. The Joke Shop. N.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012.
Rappoport, Leon. "In Defense of Ethnic Humor and Its Role in Our Multicultural
Society." Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2005. 150-63. ABC-CLIO eBook Collection. Web. 26 Feb 2012.
Rappoport, Leon. "The Sword and Shield Metaphor and Other Perspectives." Punchlines:
The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2005. 1-13. ABC-CLIO eBook Collection. Web. 26 Feb 2012.
Australian humour is very unique to Australia, and many other cultures find it quite unusual. It can be described as dry, anti-authoritarian, self-mocking, very ironic and as to stretch the boundaries of what is acceptable. Our humour is seen through our use of slang, print cartoons, radio sketches, comedy series’ on television, films, everyday life and in Australian literature. According to the Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus , humour means, “The quality of being funny; the ability to appreciate or express that which is humorous; situations, speech or writings that are humorous”. Due to its unique qualities, it will become apparent that Australian humour is quiet different to that of America and England and other nations. To highlight the importance of humour through the development of Australian identity, five main elements have been identified. These are, the part Australian humour plays in Australian identity, its unique qualities, its integral part in the Australian identity, the role of humour in times of great hardship and other nation’s perceptions of Australian humour. It is through these elements that it will become evident that humour is an important part of the development of the Australian identity.
“Morreall argues that, if we want to answer these questions, we shouldn’t focus on whether the joke happens to trade on a stereotype. Instead, he takes the primary problem with some humor to be that it involves disengaging from things with which we ought to be engaged.” (Morreall, 529)
Steve Almond’s “Funny is the New Deep” talks of the role that comedy has in our current society, and most certainly, it plays a huge role here. Namely, through what Almond [Aristotle?] calls the “comic impulse”, we as a people can speak of topics that would otherwise make many of uncomfortable. Almond deems the comic impulse as the most surefire way to keep heavy situations from becoming too foreboding. The comic impulse itself stems from our ability and unconscious need to defend and thus contend with the feeling of tragedy. As such, instead of rather forcing out humor, he implies that humor is something that is not consciously forced out from an author, but instead is more of a subconscious entity, coming out on its own. Almond emphasizes
Many critics have attempted definitions of Black Humor, none of them entirely successfully. The most significant recurring features of these definitions are that Black Humor works with: absurdity, ironic detachment4; opposing moral views held in equipoise, humanity's lack of a sense of purpose in the unpredictable nuclear age, the realization of the complexity of moral and aesthetic experience which affects the individual's ability to choose a course of action5; and a playing with the reader's ideas of reality6.
The majority of comedy is centered on identity. Comedy, like many other aspects of different cultures contains barriers that are broken only by an understanding of the context of the comedy. In order words, it is unlikely that an African would fully understand a joke by an American comedian if the joke draws from a primarily American historical or social context. Hence, what one can identify with affects what kind of jokes one can relate to. Identity is predicated on the ability to relate because identities are formed through personal interpretations of the environment one finds himself or herself in. These personal interpretations can be highly influenced by a manipulation of the context or amount of representation. Using Bigsby and Ruckus
Green, Daniel. "A World Worth Laughing At: Catch-22 and the Humor of Black Humor." Studies
Robert Townsend’s documentary Why We Laugh tells the chronological story of Black comedy. The film explores the comedians who have made us laugh since 1901, the nature of their humor, and the social and political contexts behind their comedy. By combining past footage and photographs with interviews featuring comics, cultural specialists, and scholars; Why We Laugh intends to create digestible content across a multimedia platform that will ignite meaningful discourse and change. The film illustrates how Black comedians have challenged notions of political correctness throughout American history.
Humor is odd. Dark humor pokes fun and turns taboo topics, like death, into comical and light subjects. These are known as jokes. In America, dark humor is widely accepted— regardless of many areas of dark humor being racist. So, why do so many find racism, death, and terrorism concocted with humor — humorous? Do we simply deny that it’s an issue? This dark humor called-out for its hateful undertones in American Denial, while the hate is shown in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, as well as A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists study humor because it is a fundamental culture value, but they still can’t determine why certain things make some people laugh and others not. There are “humor quotient” tests that are designed to measure an individual’s sense of humor, but these tests are questionable. These tests aren’t accurate because almost all humor depends on cultural background knowledge and language skills. Not every person in the whole world, or even in one country share the same background knowledge and skills, therefore they cannot have the same type of humor. “The fact remains that individuals vary in their appreciation of humor” (Rappoport 9). Since humor varies from individual to individual, humor lies in the individual. How successful or funny a joke is depends on how the person receives the joke, humor cannot be measured by a statistical
In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he argues that the aim of humorists is not solely entertainment, but also to convey a message that isn’t always okay to state directly. There are many places where his argument can apply. Even with humor, some topics are still too controversial to joke about; However, in most cases, humor can lighten things up and make it easier to discuss topics that otherwise would not be as easy to talk about without heavy arguments. There are many cases that would make his argument true. There are many examples that support his argument, and that help to show the importance of humor in arguing, including cartoons, comics, works of literature, and also when thinking of hosts of television programs.
Humor is more than just amusing entertainment to pass the time. Though jokes and witty banter can be shallow, humor can go deeper than surface level to convey messages to audiences who would otherwise be close-minded about certain ideas. Humor is a great tool to get audiences to change the way they think, feel, and act. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” Alexander Weinstein uses humor to criticize some of society’s faults such as the way it has become heavily reliant on technology, racially insensitive, and judgmental.
James Conroy argues that laughter in serious topics has been regarded through the ages as dangerous, deviant, and subversive; yet equally as refreshing, challenging, and constructive. Political humor is extensively used in almost all countries, but political satire is perceived differently from one country to another. The research question is as follows: what factors make political satire an effective tool that affects politics and policy? I argue that humor is more influential when blended with serious topics, such as international relations or politics. Laughter is a great means to put serious topics under the lenses of critical thinking. The use of humor, and political satire specifically can bring about serious political change. Humor can play all sorts of roles in the political process through being informative, educational and influential while keeping its captive entertaining
The study with Race, Ethnicity and Intercultural Communication takes place within Canada. Although it takes place in Canada, one can still see just how much this information is valuable within race and ethnicity and public health. Faiza Hirji, the author of this article, studies how the issue of humor and race fall within race and ethnicity. He looks at the comedian Russell Peters as an outlet for humor within racism. During both of my interviews, they did not mention humor and comedies, but I feel as if this would have been a good topic to see their views and see whether or not they would believe this as a form of communication in racism. “Comedians who incorporate race and ethnicity into their acts can be alternately popular and offensive” (Hirji, 2009, pg 544). Who would have ever thought that comedians would incorporate race and ethnicity in their comedy routines? It just shows how communication in different forms such as comedy will still get their points across when it comes to race and
3. Apte, Mahadev L. Humor and Laughter: An Anthropological Approach. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1985.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and