Freud's view of jokes (the verbal and interpersonal form of humor) occurred when the conscious self allowed for the expression of thoughts that were suppressed or taboo in society. In his perspective, the harsher superego allowed the ego to be humorous, whereas contradictorily the benevolent superego allowed for a softer, more comforting type of humor. The extremely harsh superego suppressed humor altogether.
According to Freud, the mature coping superego had the capacity to adapt itself to the demands of reality, so while something might seem funny to the id (the uncoordinated instinctual aspect of self), the superego would play the role of the critical moralizer. In this respect, unless you find yourself in a social setting where it would be inappropriate to laugh, doing so, releasing emotional tension or energy, is thought of as the relief theory of laughter. This idea comes from Herbert Spencer's ideas of energy being conserved or bottled up, and then released. Just as a crock pot has a relief valve, so do humans.
Much of what I've read and watched under the category of humor or comedy, tragic or not, has been dreadfully unoriginal. Still, it's this commonality that seems to universally appeal to people. Here's a collection of comics that I thought would best describe my thoughts on the matter...
No comments:
Post a Comment