Introduction

The introduction examines three major theories of humor: superiority theory, incongruity theory, and release theory. Considering these models with the work of feminist and anti-racist scholars in mind, we see that each is also a theory of what it means to be human, carrying ethical and political implications far beyond any immediate analysis of joking. While incongruity theory is probably the best model from which to approach the poets discussed in this book, no one theory satisfactorily describes their work, and certainly not the human experience of laughter as a whole. A better approach may be to draw on theories of empathy, which many philosophers see as opposed to laughter, to define a new category: “constructive humor.” This form of laughter promotes mutual understanding among joker, listener, and the target of the joke.

The Comic

An account of comic value is presented in this chapter that refines the traditional ‘incongruity’ theory of comedy. It is argued that humorous objects are regarded as norm-violating (by failing, exceeding, or deliberately breaking a norm). In addition, these violations are regarded as ‘non-serious’ in the sense that we discern no pragmatic pull to correct, avoid, or imitate the norm-violation. These conditions are further refined by a consideration of timing in comedy and the humour of persona-based stand-up. The reward of comedy is then analysed as a kind of pleasurable release or relief from demands to uphold norms. Finally the chapter considers whether comic value can reconcile us with the absurdity of our lives.

Amy Schumer or the Incongruities

The chapter examines the comedy of Amy Schumer on video and film from the perspectives of Freudian psychoanalysis and the incongruity theory of comic amusement and concludes that one feature of the latter theory that is superior to the former theory is that it accommodates what is feminist in Schumer’s oeuvre to a greater extent than does psychoanalysis.

Deconstructing Racist Humor: How Archie Boston’s Advertisements Provoke Institutionalized Racism

Humor is one of the most used mediums for overcoming the dominant power in society. One type of humor, Black Humor, was initially used by the Black community to speak their voice regarding the racism they face every day. However, it showed that even the most powerful tool could also act as a double-edged sword for its users. In this research, we analyzed three advertisements made by Archie Boston circa the 1960s that took the symbolism of the Ku Klux Klan, Uncle Sam, and slavery and turned these symbolisms into objects of humor. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design, Barthes’ visual semiotics, and incongruity theory by Goldstein and McGhee, these advertisements were analyzed and then critically associated with the theory of Institutionalized Racism. The results revealed that these advertisements showed affiliation with how stereotypes are identified through symbolism by using humor and visual images. Therefore, these advertisements perpetuate negative stereotypes of the Black community by making Black people seem complicit in and supporting the racist acts that the symbols perpetuated.

A Manipulation of Semantic Meanings as a Humor Construction Strategy

This research is conducted to reveal how humorous utterances are constructed by manipulating semantic meaning especially dealing with lexical semantics. Lexical semantics provides multiple meanings that portray their meanings’ relationship among a word and they are potentially exploited to elicit humor. This research examines utterances manipulating lexical semantics as the strategy of humor creation in Mind Your Language situation comedy. Applying a descriptive qualitative approach, the findings indicate that five types of lexical semantics are utilized as strategies of humorous utterances creation. Those types of lexical semantics are polysemy, homonymy, homophone, hyponymy, dan synonymy. Because of their multiple relation meanings, the speaker can refer to other meanings to construct different meanings with the hearer. The speaker constructs an incongruent meaning between what the hearer’s perception is and what the speaker meant. The deviation of lexical semantics between the hearer and the speaker completely illustrates the concept of incongruity theory of humor.

Constructing Myths via Art of Controversy: A Semiotic Analysis on Political Cartoons

This paper sought to analyze the different ways of expressing opinions the author utilized in Philippine editorial cartoons and argued how humor in the political cartoons serve to present crucial issues and criticize political leaders and their contemptible practices. The researcher attempted to observe the myths implied by the signs and if it correlates with the myth created by the citizens as part of the society. The researcher used the 10 political cartoons related to COVID-19 found in the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newspaper between March 20th and April 20th in the year 2020. Utilizing Berger’s (2004) notion of humor as code violations, the semiotic variation of the Incongruity Theory of Humor and Barthes’s (1991) connotative (in Chandler, 2005) and mythological meaning of the sign, the study examined the meanings of the humorous signifiers in the editorial cartoons and analyzed how they constructed myths of modern (Philippine) society which appear natural and normal. These cartoons that are shown in this survey are very relevant to the issues that Filipinos are facing now. The researcher realized that the political cartoons could have been better explained in phrases as far as the analysis and integration of respondents’ ideas is concerned.

‘Plainly of Considerable Moment in Human Society’: Francis Hutcheson and Polite Laughter in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland

This article focuses on Francis Hutcheson's Reflections Upon Laughter, which was originally published in 1725 as a series of three letters to The Dublin Journal during his time in the city. Although rarely considered a significant example of Hutcheson's published work, Reflections Upon Laughter has long been recognised in the philosophy of laughter as a foundational contribution to the ‘incongruity theory’ – one of the ‘big three’ theories of laughter, and that which is still considered the most credible by modern theorists. The article gives an account of Hutcheson's text but, rather than evaluating it solely as an explanation of laughter, the approach taken is an historical one: it emphasises the need to reconnect the theory to the cultural and intellectual contexts in which it was published and to identify the significance of Hutcheson's arguments in time and place. Through this, the article argues that Hutcheson's theory of laughter is indicative of the perceived significance of human risibility in early eighteenth-century Britain and Ireland and, more broadly, that it contributed both to moral philosophical debate and polite conduct guidance.

The concept of integrated communication under close scrutiny: A study on the effects of congruity-based tactics

This study examines how consumers react to a Facebook post that is completely, moderately or not at all in conflict with a brand-typical TV clip. It thus analyzes the need for congruity between the offline and online advertising activities of a brand and draws on the literature of integrated communication, schema incongruity theory and advertising effectiveness. Results of an online experiment with 131 participants and a 2 (content: congruent vs. incongruent) by 2 (stylistic devices: congruent vs. incongruent) between-subjects design provide first insights into the modeling of (in)congruity based on integrated communication. Thus, the article presents a first attempt to conceptualize (in)congruity in advertising through a combination of content and stylistic devices. In addition to this research agenda, the manuscript offers implications for advertising practice.

Indonesian humorous status in social media: An application of script-based semantic theory of humour

This paper aims to analyse Indonesian humorous status in social media by applying the Script Semantic Theory of Humour (SSTH) and the parameters called Knowledge Resources (KRs) of the General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH). It is conducted by applying a qualitative method since the purpose of this study is primarily to describe and to establish the variation in a situation, phenomenon, problem, or event without quantifying them. The data is taken from Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp account followed by the first writer of this study for eight months. There are 17 statuses to be analysed, in which, seven statuses consist of 21 phrases analysed by applying SSTH theory, while the other 10 statuses consist of 14 phrases as set-up stages, 18 phrases, and three pictures as punchline stages analysed by applying GTVH theory. From the data being displayed, regarding the Superiority theory, it is found that people generally laugh because of other people’s misfortunes, and it emphasizes one’s superiority to the shortcomings of others. The people will laugh at individuals who are inferior or ugly, because they feel happy, and feel superior to them. Based on Release/Relief theory, humorous status also stems from regenerating something painful into something light-hearted. It is an indication of the misfortunate aspects of life. From the Incongruity theory, it is found that humour appears when there is an oddity between the concepts prepared in certain situations and the real events that are thought to be related to the concept. The paper further elaborates the findings and discuss them in detail.

Women candidates are unrewarded for “masculine” campaigning: Facebook campaigning during Israel's 2018 municipal elections

PurposeThis study examines the impact of gender on Facebook campaign strategies and the reception of these strategies during the 2018 Israeli municipal elections.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed all the messages posted on 48 politicians' official Facebook pages during the week leading up to the elections. They analyzed messages posted by 152 candidates running for the position of head of a municipality, 68 of whom were women (48 had an active Facebook account), examining the amount of engagement they had created. The authors also analyzed the candidates' use of rhetoric and use of negative campaigning and the engagement it created.FindingsAnalysis of the overall engagement of Facebook users in respect to men versus women politicians showed that men politicians' posts were significantly more engaging in terms of the number of likes and shares they generated, although the multilevel analysis found no significant differences between engagement in the posts of men and women politicians. The Aristotelian rhetoric analysis revealed no significant differences between women and men contenders; however, in line with the role incongruity theory, the engagement analysis found that male candidates' logic-based posts attracted significantly more shares. The negative campaigning analysis found that, contrary to the study’s hypothesis, female candidates posted twice as many messages, attacking their opponents as their men counterparts. However, in line with the hypothesis based on the role incongruity theory, these posts gained significantly less engagement than those of their men counterparts.Originality/valueThe study highlights that female candidates do not conform to their perceived gender role as soft, emotional, and gentle in their social media campaigning. However, in line with role incongruity theory, they were not rewarded for this “unwomanly” behavior because they gained significantly less engagement with their logic-based posts and their attacks against other candidates than their men counterparts. Despite the fact that prior studies have indicated the potential of social networks service (SNS) to empower women leaders, the findings of the study highlight the continued gender discrimination and the validity of role incongruity theory during social media campaigning, particularly at the municipal elections level.