Case File 7: Why Do We Laugh at Others?

Finishing up our mini-series in Comic Theory, this week Laura and Olly turn their attention to Superiority Theory. This is the idea that people laugh because the stimulus made them feel better than or good in some way. They enter the chat with a brief discussion on status, particularly in double acts between a higher status straight man and a lower status funny guy. Then we move on to the theorists and philosophers and we head right right back all the way to the words and explanations of Aristotle, Hobbes, Lorenz and Mintz as we explore the theory that laughter is inherently about superiority or aggression. Do we laugh to feel better about ourselves in comparison to others? Or, perhaps, in comparison to how we felt moments before the joke? Is all joking necessitated on a status imbalance and where does modern comedy fit in?Laura and Olly round off this week’s chat with an analysis of Punching Up and Punching Down – a look at the importance of aiming your joke, no matter the subject, in the right direction. We hope you have enjoyed these three episodes on joke theory, next week we will be moving on to a new subject, but nonetheless remaining very much in the weeds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. See you then! Our sources for this episode are: • John Morreall (1987), The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor, Albany, NY: SUNY Press.• Lorenz, Konrad (1966), “On Aggression”, Taylor & Francis Ltd • Carroll, Noel (2014), “Humour a Very Short Introduction”, OUP Oxford • Quirk, Sophie, (2018), “The Politics of British Stand-Up Comedy - The New Alternative”, Palgrave Studies in Comedy, Springer Nature Switzerland • Barbara, Rashi & Chilana, Richa (2022), “Punching Up in Stand-Up Comedy - Speaking Truth to Power”, Routledge India Mintz, • Lawrence E. (1985), “Standup Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation”, American Quarterly"Podcast cover art by Adam Richardson Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.All media enquiries via Julian Hall [email protected]/the-comedy-bureau