Response #2

The beginning of Chapter 2 in Comedy Writing Secrets really intrigued me. It talks about the reasons why we laugh. Psychologist Patricia Keith-Spiegel identified two specific reasons for why we laugh. They are that we laugh out of surprise and that we laugh when we feel superior. This really interested me because as much as I laugh everyday I never really stop to think about why I am laughing. When things surprise you and are funny it usually causes the most laughter. Surprise is one of the most widely accepted formulas for humor. For example, a joke is like a story and a surprise ending is like a finale. If you knew what was going to happen in the end of the story you would not enjoy it as much. I completely agree with this. In this section they refer to the construction of jokes in baseball terms, which I found very interesting since I play softball. They say, “A joke is a curve ball- a pitch that bends at the last instant and fools the batter. You throw a perfectly straight line at the audience and then, right at the end, you curve it. Good jokes do just that.” I can completely relate to this example that Burrrows gives. It can really help you to understand how surprise is a key element to why we laugh.
The second reason to why we laugh is the feeling of superiority. Many people use humor to make them feel better about themselves. If they are feeling insecure and make jokes about someone who they feel is superior to them, they feel better about themselves. Many jokes are made at someone else’s expense. Most people do not realize that some jokes can really harm others. Just because it is funny does not mean that it is right. I think some people cross the line with this kind of humor. While some are able to laugh it off, some people are not able to and humor should never make anybody feel bad. I believe that most of our society enjoys this kind of humor, including myself. Comedians are always making fun of stereotypes of certain races like Irish, German and Mexican and people find this very funny because a lot of times it is entirely true. There are two different ways to feel superior. The first is to accomplish fantastic work that receives public acclaim. This is very difficult and most people do not use this so they resort to the second way, which is to publicly criticize the accomplishments of others. This is the type that is much more commonly used by most comedians.
I believe that this is important because if you know the reasons why people laugh then you are more likely to e successful in being funny yourself. If you know what the people are looking for and how to make them laugh you will feel more accomplished with your jokes. There are some other additional reasons as to why people laugh and reading the rest of this book can really help you become a more humorous writer.
http://comedians.comedycentral.com/dane-cook/videos/dane-cook---peace-be-with-you
In this clip Dane Cook make fun of being in church. He uses the feeling of superiority to make people laugh by making jokes about what he went through when he used to go to mass. He makes fun of someone who is of higher authority then himself, namely the priest. I choose this clip because it relates to the authors reasons to why we laugh.