Is Comedy Subjective ? | A Short Lesson on the Incongruity Theory
Channel: yungluvseat
Date: 2019-08-24

Picture this: you’re in the middle of a conversation with a friend, he says something he thinks is absolutely hilarious. Peak comedy from your pal AJ. But, you didn’t find it funny. And if you’re me, you’d call him out on the fact that what he said wasn’t funny and make a ten minute video about why it's unfunny, but most people would just shrug because we’re all under the guise that comedy is subjective.

Sure, there are so many kinds of comedy just out and about in the world; some of which you won’t find funny. And that’s okay. 

But is comedy subjective?

The primary, most accepted theory behind what makes something humorous is known as the “Incongruity Theory.” This theory implies that “something is funny when one realizes a difference between what is expected and what actually happens.” Therefore, if someone makes a joke that falls under that criteria, which is pretty much every joke in existence, that joke is funny. Arthur Schopenhauer offers a more specific version of the incongruity theory, arguing that humor arising from a failure of a concept to account for an object of thought. When the particular outstrips the general, we are faced with an incongruity. Schopenhauer also emphasizes the element of surprise, saying that "the greater and more unexpected this incongruity is, the more violent will be his laughter"

So, again, going by widely accepted theories, the incongruity is less unexpected and isn’t as great in your eyes, then your laughter will “not be as violent” or in your case with your hypothetical friend, no laughter will ensue at all.

But that doesn’t make his joke funny or unfunny. It makes his joke, well, a joke. A good one? Depends on the person, because comedy technically isn’t subjective because in order for it to be comedy, it has to fit a pretty strict criteria. Which, at least in my eyes, makes incongruity the definition of comedy. But, thats in my eyes, and all of our thoughts are subjective.

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zen- prism
flitz x suppe- itsallthere!

outro music: 
nascar aloe- up n stuck
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