So I have really enjoyed learning about humor so far in this class. I never thought that I would analyze laughter so much in my life. I can hardly laugh or tell a joke now without considering why exactly something was funny. Morreall does have some interesting things to say, but I am no a fan of him as he tends to be very repetitive and quite dry.
Many of the traditional rejections of humor Morreall lists sound completely absurd today, especially in a culture filled with a hunger for all things comic. Most of the reasons people gave for laughter being a bad thing start out with a reasonable premise, but they seem to take one negative aspect and stretch it to cover all of laughter in general, which I find quite ridiculous. Also, I found many of the things that people pointed out as the culprit that makes humor bad, to often be good. Clearly it is not a good thing when people are specifically laughing AT someone and trying to make fun of them, but I think this makes up only a small percentage of the time that people laugh. (And yes I do think there is a difference between laughing at and with someone. I have no problem being laughed at if I fall or do something silly the because I will probably be laughing too.) Many of the people that Morreall cited as being against laughter had a problem with the idea of being disengaged. Quite often however, a solution can be found by disengaging oneself from a situation and looking at things in a different light. Many of the people in the "anti-laughter club" also did not appreciate the loss self-control. I personally believe that if people are fully composed and serious all of the time, they will probably go crazy.
This is why I agree with the idea of relief and relaxation theory. Laughter can often be a form of release. I like the analogy of the relief valve on a steam boiler. In tense situations, people tend to laugh. The person may originally laugh simply because they are nervous, but if the laughter spreads through the room the tensions is quickly dissipated. Personally, if I feel really stressed while studying I'll often go watch a funny video on the internet. It helps to relieve the stress a bit, and who doesn't feel good after laughing?
I can also get on board with incongruity theory. Many things are funny because they are unexpected. Life can be quite entertaining when things do not go as planned. Although, as with most of the theories, I do not think it quite covers it. Just because something does not "go" does not mean that it is funny. Everyone may well see something odd about a situation, but often only a few people laugh.
I think after reading all of the theories and ideas about humor, in the end I stick to my simple yet effective opinion. Why are things funny? Well because they are. I know that this is the argument often given by juveniles when they can not come up with a solid reasoning to back up a premise or they just don't feel like taking the time to come up with an answer. In this case however, I must say that this statement was in fact proceeded with a fair amount of thought throughout the past few weeks.
I have given all of the theories a chance, but in my opinion each falls short. All of these theories attempt to encompass overarching reasons for why people find things funny, but that is the problem. There is no overarching reason. Every theory has many exceptions and ends up explaining only small portions of laughter. Amusement and laughter are individual feelings that people have, and people are all different. The reasons for a single person's amusement are affected by their personality, past experiences, the environment they were raised in, and even their disposition at the time of the event. It is impossible to come up with a list of rules to explain this phenomenon. We can come up with common themes, as this book shows, but I think the search for the meaning of laughter doesn't have a defined destination that can be reached. I think that is ok. Isn't that partly what makes laughter fun? It doesn't have to make sense.
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