From the beginning of our lives we enter with only one thing, ourselves. The human body is the how the rest of the world perceives someone day in and day out. People take great pride and work tirelessly to make sure that they are represented as they want physically. We are socialized to walk, dress, and style our appearance according to what society’s standards.
Humor with the human body goes in great line with Henri Bergson’s theory of laughter. Bergson believes laughter to be innately human and nothing is more connected to humanity than the body (Bergson). Body Image is the perception a person has of their own physical appearance. While inner beauty is highly respected, our body is the portal between ourselves and the world around us. If our bodies are not in order then we do not have the ability to develop beyond that. This basic idea is practiced in many religions where the human body is discussed as “a temple” and in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs where physical health and body image are the first step towards total health.
Bergson also speaks to the fact that we find humor when we are emotionally distant from what we are laughing at (Bergson). This would explain why most people can laugh when someone else falls but feels embarrassed when they themselves fall. The same gag of a man being hit in his genitals can make a second man laugh an infinite amount of times but you will never see a man laugh after he himself is his in his genitals. When we are involved in the physical act of making love to another person, many emotions are felt but humor is not usually one of them. To the contrary, entire movies are based off toilet humor involving sexual acts; movies such as “American Pie” (which interestingly enough was so popular it developed into a trilogy all based off of that sexual humor).
Bergson theorizes that all laughter is social. What we find humorous about the human body is based off of the standards set by our society (Bergson). This social theory of laughter and the body can also be supported by Hobbes theory of laughter. Hobbes believes people laugh at others to represent a feeling of superiority (Hobbes). These theories are both reinforced in America by society’s love to laugh at the morbidly obese. Obesity is opposite of the American ideal for appearance and when we observe those who do not fulfill the ideal then we feel superior in our ability to fulfillment. For another example, most people would not be able to look someone in the eye without being distracted if the person they were speaking with had a unibrow. This cosmetic deviance is easily modified and people find humor due to their own ability to better maintain themselves.
A large amount of stress can be found in working towards society’s standards for the human ideal but a lot of humor can be found with the human body as well. Humor is found throughout the human body in many different facets. Distortion of the face can supply humor. This can range from physical characteristics to facial expression. Americans have a certain ideal for physical beauty and if someone’s face ranges to far from that then humor can be found. We also expect appropriate expressions in certain situations and certain beauty standards to always be met. A child making a serious face is humorous because of its unexpectedness.
Moving down from the face, the body itself contains infinite possibilities for humor. Extremes such as dwarfism, obesity, or gigantism contain elements of humor for individuals for the aforementioned discrepancy from social ideals. In some instances it can also be referenced to Hobbes theory of superiority and ridicule. Honestly, ask any junior high student who has been made fun of for developing at a different rate than those around them if they believe in Hobbes theory of ridicule being a basic element of humor. Although it is condemned in most parts of society to ridicule someone who is physically handicapped people still, although with guilt, find humor.
If physical characteristics do not supply enough humor, comedy historically has been based on the distortion of the body through movement. Comedians such as Jim Carey and Steve Martin have made entire careers off of the idea of physical comedy.
People find a lot of humor in the movement of the human body when it goes against what they try to portray constantly. Many people will freeze before risking looking awkward. Comedians will distort their appearance to the most extreme from societal norms for humor. Even more humor is found from those who do not realize their physical insufficiencies. When someone is dancing poorly and believes they are doing well, Hobbes theory states that people find that even more humorous than if someone danced knowingly bad.Although dancing is far from the only physical act that provides humor due to its awkward deviance from societal expectations. Physical violence and sexual acts are both well practiced examples as well. Many movies focused on teen audiences, mostly due to their desperation for superiority, contain endless amounts of humor directed towards the body and its acts.
YouTube can find you 30,000 video clips if you type “hit in balls” in the search engine. YouTube also finds nearly 15,000 video clips to the search “funny falls”. The first video that shows for “funny falls” has been watched over two million times.Humor and the body has been filmed since Charlie Chaplin’s time and continues to be a basis for humor. The consistency in social norms designating our humor with the body reinforces several theories on laughter. The undeniable connection between self and body linking humor with conflict from societal norms is not going anywhere in society anytime soon.
Works Cited
"American Pie." Soundtrack Collector. Nov. 5, 2008. http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=54190
Bergson, Henri. "Laughter": An Essay on the Meaning of Comic.
"Elaine's Dance." YouTube. Nov. 5, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xi4O1yi6b0
"Funny Faces." Humor Pictures. Nov. 5, 2008. http://humor-in-photos-and-pictures.blogspot.com/2007/08/funny-faces.html
Hobbes on Laughter Author(s): R. E. Ewin Source: The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 202 (Jan., 2001), pp. 29-40 Published by: Blackwell Publishing for The Philosophical Quarterly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2660519
"Jim Carey Teaches Karate." Martial Arts.ca. Nov 5, 2008. http://www.martial-arts.ca/MA-Project/Videos_Humour.htm
"Serious Baby" YouTube. Nov. 5, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ALIL7T764
"Tell Jokes With Body Language." FamilyFun.com. Nov. 5, 2008. http://familyfun.com/games/healthy-fun/feature/famf-laughing-matters/famf-laughing-matter3.html
Created by: Katie Frisbee, Melissa Feltz, Samantha Spieles, and Brian Clemens
1 comment:
Thanks for the posting on humor and the body. Nice introduction. I really like the idea that the body is the way in which a mind represents itself, or, as you write, “our body is the portal between ourselves and the world around us.” How do you think our different authors in this class speak to the dualism of the body/mind?
You do a nice job of incorporating theories of Bergson in this post. You write, “Bergson also speaks to the fact that we find humor when we are emotionally distant from what we are laughing at (Bergson). This would explain why most people can laugh when someone else falls but feels embarrassed when they themselves fall. The same gag of a man being hit in his genitals can make a second man laugh an infinite amount of times but you will never see a man laugh after he himself is his in his genitals.” This idea seems especially true when we consider how concepts of the body seem separate from our ideas of emotions. Yet, at the same time emotions—pain, pleasure, etc.—are experience through the body. The body, then, becomes a conduit for our interiority in some ways.
You write, “This social theory of laughter and the body can also be supported by Hobbes theory of laughter. Hobbes believes people laugh at others to represent a feeling of superiority (Hobbes). These theories are both reinforced in America by society’s love to laugh at the morbidly obese. Obesity is opposite of the American ideal for appearance and when we observe those who do not fulfill the ideal then we feel superior in our ability to fulfillment.” While I mostly agree with this statement, it seems what you are really pointing to here is Bergson’s idea that laughter is used to self-police. If once laughs at an obese person, they may be laughing in order to say: you don’t fit the standard. Humor becomes both an element of perceived power and a way to correct those who step outside the bounds of the status quo.
I didn’t quite follow your argument here: “When someone is dancing poorly and believes they are doing well, Hobbes theory states that people find that even more humorous than if someone danced knowingly bad.” I’m not sure Hobbes speaks to the idea of intentionality in his brief explorations of laughter and humor—though I think this concept is one worth exploring.
Your argument about distortion of the body is interesting, which brings to mind several of the works we read for this course. Discussion of the fiction we’ve read thus far seems to be missing from your analysis of humor and the body. How would you analyze a story such as “Skin Care,” which seems to be entirely tied to readings of the body. Also, “Guilt” might provide us with an interesting reading.
Interesting facts about YouTube search results! Shows just how prevalent humor is in relation to the body.
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