Forum archives » General Discussion » why is sick, abnormal shit, hilarious?

shank
September 8, 2007 11:57 PM

i mean, seriously. we get many laughs off it, but you will never see this situation funny if it were real

 

/comics/shank/293079/

 

 

 

so why is it funny to joke about? does anyone have a theory as to why we think ignorant and wrong things are histarically funny?

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shank
September 8, 2007 11:57 PM

i had to use IE to post this cause it's not working with firefox.

i am very dissapointed

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AngryAmerican
September 9, 2007 1:49 AM

its because when it happens in real life its not funny. therefore we can laugh at it when made in jest.

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boorite
September 9, 2007 12:51 PM

It's a lot easier to classify the above joke than to say exactly why people would laugh at it. It's correctly identified as a "sick joke," but that's not all it is. If the character just stood there and said that he put 14-year olds in a blender, it probably wouldn't be funny. Or else it would, but for a completely different reason.

As it is, the joke springs a surprise that hinges on the ambiguity of the phrase "all over me." An expectation is set up in the first panel according to an interpretation of "all over me" that is reasonable in the context. The expectation is then violated by revealing a different context and a different meaning. This figure of speech is called paraprosdokian, and the most infamous example in the English language is probably Henny Youngman's "take my wife, please."

The sickness of the joke adds emotional impetus, I think, while making another unexpected connection between the morbid subject matter and the context of telling a joke.

People can be counted on to laugh at such jokes, but nobody is sure exactly why. Freud put it down to discharge of energy upon recognition of the unconscious, or something like that. Sounds like bullshit to me.

I lean toward explanations like Marvin Minsky's or Edward de Bono's. They propose (to paraphrase very roughly) that laughter plays a role in learning and brain development. The way I would say it is that jokes and humor make new connections in the brain by setting up expectations and then violating them as in the above example. Making new neural connections is useful to humans-- that is, from an evolutionary standpoint, human beings who make more neural connections have more viable offspring. They are smarter, basically.

The pleasure that humans experience in these new neural connections is called "humor," and it motivates them to seek out jokes in the same way that sweetness motivates them to seek out fruit or sexual pleasure motivates them to seek out a hot fuck. Laughter is natural selection's way of getting us to exercise our brains.

That's how I see it, anyway.

Post #252418link

boorite
September 9, 2007 1:11 PM

Also, the word "blender" is inherently funny, and the object it refers to is a benign kitchen gadget and not usually an instrument of mayhem. The joke wouldn't be as funny if the guy got "14 year olds all over him" using an axe or something. Anyway, it's all about unexpected variations on established patterns.

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The_young_scot
September 9, 2007 1:15 PM

Also, cocks

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HCRoyall
September 9, 2007 1:25 PM

quote:

The_young_scot wrote:
Also, cocks
See also wangs, dongs, and fucksticks.

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boorite
September 9, 2007 1:31 PM

But to be funny, the cocks have to appear in an unexpected place, such as your ass or your mom or your cat.

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boorite
September 9, 2007 1:33 PM

Or a piñata.

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shank
September 9, 2007 1:48 PM

that was an intense read and probably said best in all possible ways.

 

someone dongrocket in a camels anal cavity would be funny aswell

 

the words "anal" and "cavity" put together is comical 

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cock
September 9, 2007 1:49 PM

I'm in ur mom's ass cat, beatin' on a piñata.

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The_young_scot
September 9, 2007 1:56 PM

Why don't we all post our sickest comic? I'll start with this one

/comics/The_young_scot/354308/

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HCRoyall
September 9, 2007 2:15 PM

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boloboffin
September 9, 2007 2:41 PM

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shank
September 9, 2007 3:03 PM

this one is kind of sick

 

/comics/shank/280103/

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shank
September 9, 2007 3:06 PM

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shank
September 9, 2007 3:14 PM

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Drexle
September 9, 2007 3:18 PM

102115

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shank
September 9, 2007 3:45 PM

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shank
September 9, 2007 3:46 PM

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shank
September 9, 2007 3:56 PM

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AngryAmerican
September 10, 2007 11:23 AM

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mandingo
September 10, 2007 4:58 PM

quote:

AngryAmerican wrote:

its because when it happens in real life its not funny.


it's not? the look on their face!

most of my comics are sick and wrong and sick, also wrong. peeps seem to like this one though

/comics/mandingo/296817/

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shank
September 10, 2007 6:28 PM

that one is sweet

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RedfeatheR
September 10, 2007 7:25 PM

quote:

shank wrote:
/comics/shank/300628/

 

gross, poor skank

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christopher7murphy
September 10, 2007 7:51 PM

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shank
September 10, 2007 7:59 PM

Hahahaha that was fuckin' clever

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