Response to Theo's Post

The Eric Andre Show is probably one of the most random and absurd shows I have ever seen, but it is somehow hilarious at the same time. The reason that I think it is so funny to most people is because of the incongruity theory. Theo outlined how the show can relate to all the three theories of humor, which I agree with, but incongruity is the most prevalent. First, I think the superiority theory is somewhat present since we feel superior to the audience when we understand that the show is actually a joke and not meant to be serious. I do not think this is the main reason we laugh at it though. The relief theory is also relevant since one can notice that the show is making fun of real talk shows. The show has typical interviews with famous people and skits as well. They over exaggerate these features and make them far more unrealistic than normal talk shows. I did love the show and thought it was funny, but I still do not find it superior to normal talk shows like Jimmy Fallon. Lastly, incongruity theory is the best theory to help understand why people like me find the Eric Andre Show so funny. The incongruity appears when things occur randomly throughout the show that we would not expect. For example, when Eric randomly burped throughout the interview, when he started profusely sweating, and how absurd the questions he asked were. These were all in the first clip which was only around 2 minutes. This shows how crazy and random the show actually is if that much incongruity was only in a segment of the show. This makes people laugh because they do not expect anything Eric is going to do and what topics will be introduced on the show. Not expecting what will happen in some cases is usually better than knowing what will happen like on normal talk shows. You can expect the kinds of interview questions and how the host will act, which is usually formal with some comedy as well. Overall, I believe The Eric Andre Show is so hilarious because of its extreme incongruity.

Comments

  1. Shane HerronNovember 30, 2018 at 12:17 PM

    I like the idea that we feel superior to the audience, not necessarily to the characters we are laughing at.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 2, 2018 at 10:31 AM

    I like how you focused on one theory, and I completely agree with you. The incongruity theory aligns well with the idea of absurdist humor, and there is definitely lots of that present in Eric Andre. Once again, this perfectly represents the sense of humor of the millennial generation, specifically in its nonsensical presentation.

    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