What’s so funny?
The better question. Why is that funny?
There is no single answer to the question of what makes something funny, as humor is subjective, and what one person finds funny, another person may not. But I will tell you this. We know “funny” when we see it. Or hear it.
Humor simply strikes us in a particular way. As I said, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. Only we can decide what is funny to us.
I’m a bit of a hard-liner when it comes to humor. Something has to be really funny, off-the-charts funny, before I call it such.
I did a little bit of research in hopes of finding out why. As it turns out, there are some “theories” about funniness.
I’ll quote Bard on the theories, here:
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One of the most common theories of humor is the incongruity theory. This theory suggests that we find things funny when they violate our expectations. For example, if we expect someone to fall down a flight of stairs, but they instead land gracefully on their feet, we may find this funny because it is unexpected.
Another theory of humor is the superiority theory. This theory suggests that we find things funny when they make us feel superior to others. For example, we may find jokes about other people’s misfortunes funny because they make us feel better about ourselves.
Finally, the relief theory of humor suggests that we find things funny when they release tension or anxiety. For example, we may find jokes about taboo subjects funny because they allow us to laugh at things that we would normally find uncomfortable or upsetting.
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Most of the time, I find that jokes are insensitive and puns are just plain goofy. Though admittedly, I’m a pun-thrower myself. It is genetic. My dad was the King of Corn. And as far as entertainment goes? I might find a certain scene a bit humorous, but for the most part, I find comedy movies and sitcom TV shows to be, well, pretty lame.
The reason I bring all of this up, is because I happened upon a list of “The Funniest Movie the Year You Were Born.”
It only starts with the 1950s. So, if you came along prior to that, I suppose nothing was funny. (I’m joking.)
The list cracked me up. For my year, 1964, it named “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” I found this selection to be a bit on the ironic side. You see, in college, I took a film appreciation class. It was in the evenings, and I never attended. There was only one test for the semester. The final. I figured I had seen most of the movies at some point in my life, so I could eek my way through. But there was a question concerning Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. I had not ever seen this one. I asked a friend across the aisle for the answer to number 28. I thought she said, “Potty Fluids.” (Three times, I thought she said this.). So I wrote it down.
Potty Fluids.
Well, the answer was “body fluids.”
My professor must have thought one of two things. 1. That I was cheating. or 2. That I was hard of hearing when I saw the movie. Regardless, I got a B- for the course.
So. Not to keep you waiting. I hope you find this funny. The list. (For the record. I’ve seen a good deal of these movies. I wouldn’t have called most of them one bit funny.)
And so with that.
Go forth and be merry, I suppose.
Here is the FUNNY MOVIE List.
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My mother always used to say: The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana.
— Rose (Betty White), The Golden Girls
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I never said most of the things I said.
— Yogi Berra
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Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.
— Elbert Hubbard
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