The Use of Humor in Our Society to Promote Ideas Essay

Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions" (Moss 1). Humor is studied by many researchers in sociology, psychology, art, literature, and medicine. When people wonder whether humor aids in areas other than health, a treasure trove of possible benefits to the learning or educational community is opened up. Humor can be used as a tool to promote learning.Research speaks to the many benefits of humor in healing, to its benefits in the classroom or boardroom, from reducing stress of students or employees, to boosting self-esteem and feelings of camaraderie. Additionally, studies show that those who use humor to convey a message are often more favorably perceived. Humor helps deliver the presenter's message to

There is a thing that occurs in stories that give you a since of humor while still giving you an ultimate message. Mark Twain has become the connoisseur of this term and uses it in a very unique way to show his readers that there can always be humor in your writing even when you think it’s impossible. The term is “satire” which in my own words mean putting humor and information in way that makes you think. I have found this prominent in two of Mark Twain’s books: The Good Little Boy, and The Bad Little Boy. These stories give its readers satire

Steve Irwin, an animal activist, a member of the Australia zoo and a TV star. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of people watched as a, what some would call psychotic, man would swim with sharks and lay down with Komodo dragons. The question that arises from his actions is, were his habits a main cause in his death. He had done this all his life, but at what risk? His own, the animals, for the longest time nothing went wrong. Until the day Glen Collins of the New York Times had to write Mr. Irwin’s obituary.

On the other side, satire may offend some people. As much as it can lift up a topic, so does it can ruin those related to the issue. The negative comments it receives can fire up a whole other conflict and that leads to the possibility of harming the society. It can be deemed unimportant and immature.

The qualities I appreciate most about a specific convention is the use of satire. 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 and other topical issues,” satire is used all around us today from being used in standup comedy to television, magazines, and newspaper, also to social media in the likes of Instagram, Facebook, and Vine. The best type of satire, in my opinion, is when the person ridiculing the subject matter does it in a form of affection. Unfortunately, affection is not always used and people who are public figures are those who get harsh criticism in the form of satire. Since public figures are looked at as being perfect, beautiful, or having it all together, this makes them the biggest target for satire.

Over the past 70 years, there has been great change in comedy especially for African-Americans and other Non-American races. During the early days of comedy, many of these people were considered to be minorities during that era. This influenced many comedic stints of that time which over the years have evolved to catch up with the modern day society. Some of these include the humor, the topics discussed and also epithets. Over the years many comedians have emerged from ‘this’ group of minorities and have played a major factor in the evolution of comedy itself and how the different minorities have evolved from being quiet to playing a great part in show casing their lifestyle. Compared to the past, there has been a great change in comedy from the old times of Dick Gregory to the modern times of Aziz Ansari.

“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 and other topical issues” (Oxford Dictionaries). Satire is used in many works of literature. For example, we can witness satires in magazines, newspapers, TV shows, and even in editorial cartoons. The importance of editorial cartoons is that they are type of nonverbal communication and are very important to the countries because they help with conversation and debate over tough problems. For instance, the editorial cartoons can discuss the negative impact of technology.

The main argument for this text is that humour in the Australian media can be used as a form of racism towards the marginalised, which has the effect of diminishing the issue of why racism has a detrimental effect on Australian society. The following related ideas support this argument:

American satire is widely recognized around the world in television, movies and many books. American satire was established in the early eighteenth century and blossomed in the nineteenth century. Satire is the use of humor, exaggeration as well as irony to divulge and criticize people’s vices especially in the context of contemporary. It specializes in gaining the necessary entertainment from politics. Becoming more visible and noticeable in the 1960s, American Satire started to get a lot of attention from many Americans in the country.

Beyond the humor, satire can foreshadow many aspect of the issues that are currently happening in the modern society. Humans see satire as a form of perception, and within that perception is irony, humor, and exaggeration of many events currently happening. Furthermore, satire a tool to challenge and expose many popular ideas, and events.

Manbearpig: Half Man, Half Bear, Half Pig, but All Global Warming? South Park is a popular animated comedy series written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. While the episodes of South Park are always humorous on the surface, each show usually has a deeper, much more profound meaning and moral. One episode of South Park entitled Manbearpig, named after the monster in the episode, has a particularly potent deeper meaning. On the surface, the episode pokes fun at monster stories, politics, and specifically Al Gore. Deeper down, however, this monster story can be read as a national allegory alluding to the dangers of global warming, the problems with the politics behind global warming, and the eventual doom we will all face

Today, comedy news shows are becoming progressively more popular, and in so, becoming a new source of information – which may, or may not, be a positive consequence. Most comedians twist the truth in order to connect to people and make them laugh. The article “A Serious Business: What Can Comedy Do?” suggests some comedians “use logic to make painful things make sense” (O’Hara 108). Satirical comedy acts as a relief mechanism in that it comforts people that may be wary about a certain subject, especially in the realm of politics. Similarly, Peter McGraw and Joel Warner discuss how comedy can act as a coping mechanism. The authors conclude that “activists all over the world have been using comedy as a form of political protest” (McGraw & Warner 147). Iain Ellis writes about how political satirists do more than just deliver jokes, they use satire “to expose, ridicule, and–implicitly–call for action and change” (Ellis 152). Ellis contends that comedy can make a difference by its constant presence in our daily lives. Socrates, Plato, and even shows like South Park believe that humor is a way to persuade others. One of the most effective expressions of humor to affect social change has been the inclusion of satire. Although humor often provides people a welcome escape from the burdens of their daily lives, the satirical comedy deconstructs social issues in various ways as a means to persuade the

Imagine a vast concert hall filled with people. The audience excitedly clamor in anticipation for the main star of this event. The event they paid so much money for, cleared up time in their schedule for, spent time getting to the event for. As the lights dim, the spotlight shines on the center stage. Then an average person emerges on the stage with a thousand eyes’ on him. He only has with a microphone in his hand. Just a typical person, with a normal gait and normal sense of fashion. However, after speaking a few words in the microphone, the crowd bursts into a cacophony of laughter. No matter how ordinary or extraordinary the person, entertainment through humor is universal. Utilizing humor, an extensive language of amusement, to open perspectives and challenge what is conceived right or wrong can be impactful- if done correctly. Dave Sedaris accomplishes that goal when he uses humor to illustrate his dilemma because of his identity. Despite being an accomplished successful comedian, author, radio show host, certain people look down at him as just a homosexual freak. Rather than gravely addressing his opposition, Sedaris utilizes a jovial yet relatable anecdote called “Chicken in a Henhouse”. Incorporating ideas from Ardian Bardon’s “The Philosophy of Humor”, specifically, the three theories of humor: superiority theory, incongruity theory and relief theory, Sedaris argues that the American public stereotypes homosexuals as pedophiles and ,as a result, they feel

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