The Art Of Humor

Jokes are a part of everyday life. People enjoy funny comments in casual conversation, many forms of media, and even to cope with dark situations at times.

Almost everyone on this planet has joked at least once in their lifetime. But polished and refined humor is another story. What makes some jokes hilarious and others more unfunny than serious statements?

The first thing to know about good humor is that it is relevant in some way. For storytelling, the easiest way to do this is in either comedy or slice of life material. There isn’t too much heavy drama, so most jokes will not kill the mood so long as they fit the demographic.

By contrast, more serious genres such as thriller [1] and tragedy [2] use humor sparsely. Overdoing jokes effectively destroys the atmospheres of these kinds of tales.

You wouldn’t want to see comedic slapstick in the midst of a tragic death scene, would you? Likewise, fart jokes are nearly 100 percent guaranteed to ruin a horror movie climax where the protagonist goes up against the monster/shooter/whatever.

During a relaxed conversation, relevancy is broad. As long as a joke is not cracked in the middle of something serious and against another person’s wishes, humor and joking is pretty acceptable.

Another thing to take into consideration when cracking a joke is offensiveness.

Unfortunately, we live in a society where some people are more privileged than others simply due to characteristics they were born with. Some people are also just mean.

As a result, there are jokes whose only punchlines are to mock other people for things that aren’t truly bad. There are jokes based on harmful stereotypes. Jokes created to make fun of people’s races and ethnicities.

Certain jokes exist solely to shame and victim-blame amid serious incidents. Some “jokes” even go a bit further. Using an existing target as the punchline, their only purpose is to harass them. The aggressor may claim it’s “just a joke” and to lighten up, but the impact could still be there.

There are also some jokes which are only humorous if made by the right people. Perhaps they involve slurs which can solely be reclaimed by the affected groups. Maybe the energy one needs to put into the joke requires a certain experience lest it fall flat.

Speaking of all of this, there is a concept in humor about power. The three main ways jokes can be more competitive are if they “punch up,” “punch down,” or “punch across.” [3]

Punching up means that one goes after someone in a higher position than oneself. This could be lighthearted. It might also be more aggressive - if the target(s) actually deserve(s) it.

Punching down is the opposite. It’s when you decide to target people with less power than you. By nature, it tends to use more aggression.

Punching across is somewhere in between the above. The act involves choosing someone of an approximate equal position to you to go after. While nothing is completely equal in this world, there are equivalents.

Typically, punching down is more frowned upon in the long run than punching across and up. You may get some short-term validation due to your higher ranking. But when people see your true colors, they’ll turn on you.

A lot of people root for the underdog. While gently punching across is often harmless, almost any type of punching up tends to make a good joke so long as the subtext is based in truth. Just don’t cross the line into hurting other innocents as well.

To conclude, there are multiple factors to consider in creating a high-quality joke. If they play into your humor, great!

Sources

1: Masterclass. “Writing 101: What Is the Thriller Genre? Definitions and Examples of Thriller in Literature - 2024.” MasterClass, 2 September 2022, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-the-thriller-genre-definitions-and-examples-of-thriller-in-literature. Accessed 14 July 2024.

2: Britannica. “Tragedy | Definition, Examples, History, Types, & Facts.” Britannica, 6 June 2024, https://www.britannica.com/art/tragedy-literature. Accessed 14 July 2024.

3: Lawler, Kelly. “Dave Chappelle's comedy punches down. But what about punching up?” USA Today, 1 August 2022, https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/entertainment/2022/08/01/dave-chappelle-ricky-gervais-importance-of-punching-up-in-comedy/7528931001/. Accessed 14 July 2024.

Medium version: https://medium.com/@SnarkyLisa/the-art-of-humor-9c4ea6a00f76

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