What Makes You Laugh?

1. Exaggeration may be applied to physical, mental, or personal characteristics or situations

ExaggerationPhysical characteristics

Caricature/Grotesqueness--Exaggerated or distorted features

Caricatures: Exaggerated personalities

Caricature—exaggerated personalities

• Bad kids

Nerd

Exaggeration—exaggerated situation

HyperboleExaggerated language—saying more than what

is meant

Hyperbole

Understatement—saying less than what is meant

2. Incongruity

• Human beings have a built in sense or order, and if what we expect is does not occur, we laugh

• For example, when things are out of time, out of place, or out of character Out of character

Incongruity—Out of Character

Incongruity--Out of time

Incongruity--Out of place

Incongruity--Out of Place

Incongruity--Out of place

The Unexpected-not what is expected

Incongruity--the Unexpected

• "Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed.

• "The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator says: ‘Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’

• "There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: ‘OK, now what?’"

Incongruity: the unexpected

The Unexpected—I bet you didn’t know that Spongebob shopped at Walmart?

Reversal—the tables are turned

Reversal

Irrelevant—when something unimportant is considered highly important

Irrelevant

Funny Movements/Soundshttps://gaggle.net/gaggleVideoProxy.do?op=view&v=92a81219cec40c5e5706d2cb75cafdef

3. Anticipation—looking forward to a laugh

Anticipation

Anticipation

4. Ambiguity—double meanings (such as mistaken identities, ruses and disguises)

Ambiguity—double meanings

Ambiguity-mistaken identities/disguises

Ambiguity—word puns

Ambiguity-word pun

5. Recognition—when we know something that a character does not

That apple has been rubbed with a poison ivy leaf!

Recognition—audience knows there is no baby in that blanket!

Recognition-we know what he is grilling!

6. Protection—abusive actions can be funny when we know they are not really happening

7. Comic Relief—when emotions lead to a burst of laughter to relieve tension

Comic relief—being stranded on an island is no laughing matter!

8. Superiority--we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at being

superior to them

Superiority—my hair has never looked that bad!

Superiority—one more reason for not using the Walmart scooters!