Comedy plays a fundamental role in my life, ranging from the witty encounters with likeminded people and the way that humour permeates through my family life. On a personal level, I tend to enjoy satirical comedy above all other sub-genres, and in particular, slapstick comedy. Satire is a technique employed by writers and comedians alike to expose and criticise corruption and shortcomings of an individual or a society by using humour, irony and/or exaggeration. Ultimately, the writer feels obliged to expose these vices to for the betterment of humanity. The fundamental function of satire is to warn the public about prevailing corruption and disorder within a society. [1] Furthermore, the sub-genre of satire has become an underlying part of …show more content…
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World famous Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud and founder of psycho-analysis published a book entitled ‘Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious’ which deals with the perennial themes of comedy and laughter. He analyses three laughter situations: der Witz (translated as
“joking”), “the comic” and “humour”. Firstly, der Witz includes prepared jokes and repartee. According to Freud, the emotions which are most commonly repressed include sexual desire and hostility, hence why most jokes and witty remarks expressed in a social situation revolve around sex and hostility. In this case, the psychic energy used to repress these innate desires become superfluous, and is therefore released as laughter. [2]
“The comic” situation follows a similar theme. Instead, this time it is the energy devoted to thinking. An example is laughter at the clumsy actions of a clown. We observe movements that we would perform efficiently and smoothly and find them amusing because we cannot comprehend the action. Sigmund Freud applies the theory of “mimetic representation” in which we expend a large amount of energy to understand a small action such as the uncoordinated actions of the clown. This mental task demands a larger amount of energy than the amount we utilise to mentally represent our own graceful movement. [2]
Russian philosopher and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin also commented on comedy. In his book entitled 'Rabelais and His World ', Bakhtin attempts to account the
“Humour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.” The term Humour has been derived from the Greek language, which teaches that humour is the balance of fluids in the human body. Humour is savoured by different taste-buds like: Anecdotal, Blue, Dark/Gallows/Morbid, Epigrammatic, Hyperbolic, Ironic, Satirical, Satirical, Situational and Slapstick. Franz Kafka, the author of the outright existential classic ‘The Metamorphosis’ uses depressing humour to deal with the bitter deathly truths of life.
Laughter relates a lot to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It is a representation of the ability to decide for your self. Billy Bibbit was always being bossed around by the nurse and his mother. Once he knew he could laugh and stop listening to what everyone demanded of him he started to loosen up. . "It's natural to all human beings to laugh. It's society which restricts us and tells us that we must settle down.'' (Murphy) The society that Billy was in, was putting to much pressure on him to settle down when he was just trying to be himself. That was the part that was making him crazy. The pressure the ward and his mother put on him to be restricted led him to his suicide. When Billy started laughing he actually started to seem normal. He actually slept with a prostitute, knowing that if his mother found out she would never see him the same way. ."It affects our psychoneuro-immunology.'' (Murphy) “In other words, medical research has established a link between emotions, the nervous system and endocrine
Laughter is a therapeutic form. In the novel One flew over the cuckoo's nest by Ken Kesey laughter represents freedom and an escape from nurse Ratched's restrictions.
This novel involves a mess of symbolism, thus the issue in showing why laughter could be a key theme is vast. Look how many of the patients "can't help it....they're tired(52 Kesey) when in reality they are sick of the life they are living. With the aim of laughter as a healing agent, take a moment to look towards alternative influential writers and thinkers to tie along happiness and healing. Meriden's dictionary says: laughter- n. a reason for merriment. With this basic understanding of this, laughter seen as merriment or feeling like success, hatred, liberation, and virtually the other feeling that can happen, it is straightforward to image in
Humor is an integral part of our everyday lives providing us with laughter, enjoyment, relaxation and a sense of relief. Today, humor and laughter are universally accepted; however, not all humor is treated equally, leaving room for interpretation of what is funny. Early theories and beliefs about humor suggest that humor was cruel and was at the expense of another human being. However, early beliefs could not explain all forms of humor and why humor occurs in many contexts.
Truth is often hidden behind many of the jokes and comments made by comedians and humorists that make people laugh today. It is the reason why the joke holds ground in respect to having a humorous tone and nature; these comedians frequently call upon many social and political issues of the time. In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, she argues that the role of humorists today is to convey “messages” that could not easily be said elsewhere. Giving humorists a sense of impunity with their work that is vital to society. Botton was right to state that humorists are vital to society and carry out their work with impunity, yet not all of them should be regarded as highly as many of them cause more problems than intended.
Humor is viewed by some people as an important part of life. Most people enjoy amusement, and some turn to humorists as a source for that amusement. Some further view humorists as holding an important position in society because society allows humorists to say things that others can and will not say. Due to their unique position in society, humorists serve a role that is certainly unique and can be important, but not vital. Furthermore, humor can very well have a dangerous side, whether intentional or unintentional, so humorists should try to be careful with their powerful position.
The dictionary definition of satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices. Particularly, in the context of contemporary politics or other topical issues. If one were to examine contemporary culture today they would notice that it is becoming more and more satirized. One could argue this by turning on any program and listening for hidden messages alluding to some cause or political reference. Satire appears in many forms and may be used to shock the reader or targets into changing their behavior.
Satire is the use of humor and or sarcasm to expose bigger issues. Jon Stewart addresses topics through his talk show on the Daily Show. He brings up important arguments that are going on in our country and shows how ridiculous they are by his use of humor. Through his political influence and controversial work, Jon Stewart renewed the success of The Daily Show with his unusual use of satire that connected with the younger generation.
Laughter can be an instinctive expression of lively amusement although we don’t usually realise the offence of the joke we are laughing at. Tamara discusses modern satire and its position in humanity.
Political satire is ubiquitous in United States. Social media are presenting uncountable numbers of political satires and tweets. As Iain Ellis, who has a Ph.D in American Culture Studies, said, “Today’s political humor infects, inflects, and injects into our national state of affairs”(Ellis 150). In relation to Ellis’ quote, the idea of utilizing humor as a political tool subverted my perception on humor, and such utilization has spread through not only in democratic countries, but also in countries like Egypt. Whether political humor and satires are beneficial for the society has been a controversial topic among scholars, politicians, and philosophers. Ramon Lopez, a fourth year Ph.D student studying political theory, proposes
People fail to realize that satire plays a huge role on politics and culture. It shows us why these difference forms of satire have saved Americans through these difficult unexpected times. The idea of satire gives us the opportunity to encounter these complex times with a bit more confidence that we can actually fight through and move pass the particularly subjects we may face in my life. The social manners were most definitely focused on and had a huge impact during satire. I wouldn’t consider satire as only a way of entertainment it can also be imperative function of democratic society and a way to broach outlawed subjects chiefly in times of crisis.
Satire is a specific classification of writing that occasionally makes utilization of realistic and performing expressions with the aim of scorning society into self-change. With social criticism being its fundamental objective, it uses dark sarcasm as its primary device to get the point across. Satire impacts people to reconsider themselves so as to alter senseless thoughts and behaviors. Different techniques are utilized in delivering the satirical impact, those of which use wit as their primary weapon. These methodologies mix the acing of matching unimportant and authentic matters as one joke, demonstrating compliment yet meaning the contrary to show ambiguity, and asking rhetorical questions. Moreover, the creator may downplay an issue keeping in mind the end goal to move the group of audience towards the genuine significance of the theme, antagonistically; distortion is utilized to bring down the effect of an issue to its lesser quality. Aggregately, these procedures are practiced to draw out the human follies and vices in society. In Molière 's Tartuffe and Jonathan Swift 's article A Modest Proposal, both diagonally condemn and criticize human conduct and the discernment we have towards others. Through a comedian conveyance, these creators offer an understanding past the apparently self-evident, and expect to enhance this flawed custom of one sidedness as opposed to disposing of it.
Obtained by the outcomes from corrective action, the genre of satire advocates for the preservation of moral principles, the need to reform, and the attempt to instigate change. Satire has become a powerful art form intended to improve humanity by pointing out the deficiencies in certain human behaviors and the corruptions of modern society. Satire also has the competence to protect its creator from accountability for criticism, because it is covertly implied rather than openly stated; thus, it becomes a powerful tool for people in repressive political and social periods. With its intentions to ridicule those vices, satire has progressively made its way into literature, television, the internet, comics and cartoons. Modern satire as portrayed in the cartoon South Park has transformed into a powerful satirical work, in which four young boys propose to expose the ugly truth, meanwhile the adults render to the senselessness of society. Alternatively, Swift effectively uses each experience in Gulliver’s Travels to satirize a vast of issues which were once significantly influential in the seventeenth and eighteenth century England, including government, human pride, religion, and philosophy. Modern society struggles to obtain the good of civilization which is constantly being threatened by man's immorality, causing satirist to unmask those vices for the society’s good. While knowledge is constantly ridiculed, satire is the hindrance of immoral issues, attempting to condemn the
Humour and satire are two concepts that are both wide ranging and diverse, from dark, to light hearted, with each producing a different effect. Humour in the main, is something that is used to please the audience, its function is to invoke laughter amongst its audience. Satire is used to create a comical critical view of the subject at hand, this can range from a light hearted comical way, to a judgemental way, with each style giving the text a different meaning, however this does not mean that satire cannot be humorous, which can evident in the use of parody and irony within texts. Within literature both concepts play an important role to how the text is viewed, humour can include word play, grammatical jokes, to even inside jokes with the author and reader, and with satire, including that of irony and parody, with each style and type delivering humour in its own unique way. These differing styles of humour can be found in a variety of forms including Jasper Forde’s The Eyre Affair (2001), with its silly atmosphere, word play and grammar jokes, and the use of light hearted satire and parody to brighten up the text, and Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (1989), where there is a more serious atmosphere, with a more critical, satirical eye on history and characters, as well as using irony to achieve its comical effect, and the position of the world. Each text is humorous and satirical in its own right, and with each author using different techniques to