Humor: Kinds and Qualities
I'm a pretty fun-loving
kind of guy. I like to laugh, as it takes my mind off of the horrible,
horrible state of affairs our world has been in since very near the beginning.
Hehe, oh well. So anyway, one time I was thinking about humor
and so forth (it's really a puzzling thing why people laugh. Doesn't
seem natural at all.), and I came up with a list that should cover most kinds
of humor. See what you think and if this stuff fits.
Absurdity - Just completely, random, off-the-wall
goofiness. Many examples of this from
Invader Zim’s GIR to Jim Carry and beyond.
Irony - Situational comedies, where nothing is as
it seems. Like when the restaurant is
blamed if someone is stupid enough to burn themselves
with coffee. Shakespeare
also used great bits of irony, though not quite so infantile
as the previous case.
Insult - It’s funny when people get hurt, verbally
in this case. Covers everything from
“Yo Momma” to “I'll use small words so that you'll be
sure to understand, you
warthog-faced buffoon.”
Lewdness - If it’s really gross, it’s funny.
Dirty jokes have been told since the beginning
of language. For decency’s sake, I won’t cite examples.
Pun - Plays on words, twisting language for humor’s
sake. Many people find them
confusing or torturous. Like never ending knock-knock
jokes that usually only stop
with the death of the teller. Remember, though,
a boiled egg in the morning is hard to
beat.
Running Gag - The humor is found in the recurrence
of the joke. The joke itself may be
of another form (such as an absurdity or pun), but the
real fun is that it is done
over and over and over again. Running gags are
a bit archaic by today’s
standards, but indeed are quite humorous. See old
I. Freleng Looney Tunes
cartoons or just laugh every time Kramer bursts into
Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment.
Sarcasm - Quintessential of the guy in the back of
the class who keeps making comments.
It serves as a subset of irony which is meant more for
injury against an individual.
Often used to keep people from making useless definitions
and lists about topics
such as humor.
Slapstick - It’s funny when people get hurt, physically
in this case. The masters of such
humor are more than likely the Three Stooges. Numerous
others from Carry to
Chris Farley and on down.