Response to Katherine's Post

Prior to reading Katherine’s post, I had not heard about Jim Gaffigan, and I do not watch much stand up comedy, but after hearing about his style of comedy, I think I would be interested in watching him. I would agree that Gaffigan making fun of society would be an example of superiority theory since he is making himself out to be better than society and pointing out their flaws. When Gaffigan pokes fun at himself, would this still be superiority theory, because he likely is looking down on himself and therefore not feeling superior. If Gaffigan is making fun of a past self, then this could be superiority theory since he is saying that he is somewhat superior now. I also found the joke about the 50 calories and the Big Mac very funny because it is accurate that you do not burn as many calories at the gym as you would expect, and certain fast foods have so many calories. This joke could also be an example of incongruity because you would not expect someone going to the gym to workout to be upset about not being able to eat a Big Mac, since you would expect them to eat healthier. This joke is especially good to be told in audiences as Katherine explained, because most people can easily relate to a topic like struggling to go to the gym. This is definitely a good approach made by comedians to discuss topics that most people relate to in society, because it will likely apply to most people in the audience and induce laughter. I have seen some comedians on shows, like America’s Got Talent, that focus in on such a specific and strange topic that most people cannot relate to, and obviously no one laughs. It is also great that Gaffigan wants the audience to laugh at his mistakes, and this is helpful in allowing people to laugh more easily when they make mistakes or do embarrassing things after watching him. Even without having watched Gaffigan perform, he definitely seems like a great, relatable comedian.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 28, 2018 at 12:34 PM

    I like the idea of superiority theory in terms of past self. Self deprecation is a common form of comedy, and putting it together with superiority theory as making fun of a less-superior version of yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shane HerronSeptember 28, 2018 at 12:44 PM

    I agree with Jake I think you hit on a great aspect of the post and the original post. It sounds like you are disagreeing to some extent with the possibility of being superior to yourself Lucy? Is that so?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Response to Alex's Post

  Friends and the Three Theories of Humor The comedy TV show, Friends, is definitely a great example of a piece of comedy that utilizes the three theories of humor throughout all episodes of the show. I definitely agree that the show is hilarious and likely makes people laugh from a combination of these three theories. First, I agree with the point made that Chandler Bing’s humor and jokes throughout the show are an example of the superiority theory. I have definitely noticed throughout all of the episodes that Chandler adds little side comments and jokes to make himself seem higher up than everyone else. There are even times that the other characters comment on Chandler’s sarcastic remarks. One example I found of his humor being an example of the superiority theory is when Chandler is on the phone and says, “I got her machine”. Joey responds by asking, “Her answering machine?”, to which Chandler replies, “No, interestingly enough her leaf blower picked up”. Thi...
Read more

Response to Hannah's Post

I’ve already seen both episodes, but of course I watched them again because these are my two favorite shows. After watching the Friends Episode I would rate this episode an 8 on funniness. The whole idea of Joey pretending he is still in a movie but is actually just dressing up as a gladiator was so funny to me. There have definitely been episodes I’ve found funnier, but this one was still very good. I would give this episode a 7 for enjoyment. The plot is somewhat predictable that Joey’s friends would fly out to Vegas and find out he is not in a movie. I still enjoyed it, especially the smaller plots taking place during the episode, like Ross walking in on Rachel, and Joey’s hand twin. I think there was slapstick humor, definitely sarcasm, incongruity, slight naughty humor, and people doing stupid things. Next, for The Office Episode, I would give this episode a 9 for funniness as I found myself laughing to myself for most of the episode. For enjoyment, I would give it a 10 bec...
Read more

Response to Lindsey's Post

I have surprisingly actually seen these Barbie memes before on instagram and twitter, but I don’t know if I’ve seen the actual videos on youtube before. I always wondered where these memes actually came from, but now it makes sense that they’re from a youtube series. I liked how you used the three theories of humor to analyze this piece of comedy. I think that the Barbie meme videos are almost a reality tv show since it is documenting their lives, which would then make it superiority theory since it is almost belittling their actions. Reality shows are a perfect example of the superiority theory since it is looking down on their actions and in a way making fun of them. I also think it could be an example of incongruity theory since it is so strange that people are getting their entire lives filmed and we laugh at how you would not expect people to have their entire life filmed. The whole ideas that barbies are being filmed and acting completely different than what one would believe ...
Read more