HUMOR: A Symptom of American Culture

Humor is a common concept that transcends factors such as language and prejudices that

often characterize and differentiate cultures. Although using jokes across cultures can be an

interesting way to communicate with different groups of people, it is important to keep in mind

that cultural differences can result in misunderstandings. Individuals can elicit laughter from

their target audience by incorporating various formal and stylistic features. Generally, performers

gravitate toward common themes that are least likely to be constrained by cultural constraints.

For example, jokes about trickster stories and events, political satire, and mothers-in-law are

frequently used. However, given that humor and comedy require highly sensitive linguistic and

cultural skill on the part of actors, it is critical to examine the term in its cultural sense.

The reason humor and comedy are such common facets of culture is their ability to

bridge cultural divides. Cracking a joke is an excellent way to break the ice and initiate

conversations in cross-cultural contexts. Jokes and laughter are effective tools for lowering

people's defenses and enabling them to trust the other person. By relying on the universality of

laughter, a person can cross the cultural divide that restricts how members of diverse social and

cultural groups communicate in a given environment. However, it is critical to keep in mind that

an offensive joke can erode the speaker's or listener's level of confidence or seriousness.

In ancient philosophy, humor received little consideration and was generally regarded

negatively. For instance, Plato criticized laughter as an emotion that impairs our self-control and

advocated for strict control over all things comedic. Three major theories of satire have arisen

throughout history: According to (Critchley, 2002a), the Superiority theory dates all the way

back to Aristotle and asserts that “when we feel superior, we laugh” (p2). Cicero argued for the

Incongruity Theory, which states that we laugh when something unexpectedly shifts our
viewpoint (Critchley, 2002a). Sigmund Freud advocated for the Relief Theory, which states that

laughter helps to alleviate internal pressures and reveals latent desires (Critchley, 2002b). In

recent years, one element of the three hypotheses has been unified; the focus is on reverting to

earlier, simpler behavioral trends. These trends show the beliefs and values of a society.

Today, our society shows our behavioral trends through the comedy. For example, “Key

& Peele” is a television variety programmed that airs on the Comedy Central network. Keegan-

Michael Key, a graduate of the theatre department at Pennsylvania State University, and Jordan

Peele co-host the show with their hysterical sketches. In one sketch titled "Alien Imposters," Key

and Peele fight aliens disguised as humans. The two-use comic terminology to determine

whether a human figure is an alien or a real human being. To others, it may appear to be a

standard comedy sketch; however, it contains several racial stereotypes pertinent to today's

societal structure. Today, the average person often makes use of racial stereotypes. People are

unaware of how often they use them in their everyday lives, whether via social media or in-

person communication. Viewing an entire race through the lens of a single individual or

stereotype harms the reputations and resources available to the majority of that race's members.

Each question Key and Peele pose contains a different racial stereotype.

In our society, humor and comedy encompass far more than the quips delivered by

performers or exchanged by peers. The definition, in its current form, extends beyond the

original pieces that bring joy. Due to the nature and function of comedy, it is readily ingrained in

the audience's cognitive and emotional responses to comedic creations. The protests and marches

at the University of California, Berkeley demonstrate how an audience's reaction shows a

speaker's cultural awareness or lack thereof. For instance, an appearance by Ben Shapiro, who is

famous for referring to a segment of the US population as spoiled brats, resulted in a costly
evening for the institution (Panzar & Tchekmedyian, 2017). By condemning victim syndrome,

he elicited an outpouring of support from the student body. As a result, it is clear that the use of

satirical utterances will elicit negative reactions from listeners.

It's worth noting that, like other means of communication, humor and comedy involve a

clear context. Without a context, it becomes possible for certain recipients to misperceive or

misinterpret a speaker's puns. Primarily, every detail of human life at any point in history has an

effect on how people create, receive, and react to humor. For example, members of a society that

has suffered from social injustices for an extended period of time are likely to produce humorous

tales about their ordeal. However, an audience who has not shared a similar experience can miss

the appeal of such jokes. According to Freud, in jokes, where our attention is drawn to the

meaning of text or sound than the context of the term, we use the external associations of the

word rather than the internal associations, and the resulting errors, which provide pleasure, may

thus be correlated with psychic cost savings (Freud & Strachey, 2001). For instance, not

everyone would get jokes about getting pulled over by police officers. This is due to a lack of

comprehension of the meaning surrounding the production and delivery of the otherwise

amusing narrations. As a result, it is accurate to refer to comedy as culturally subjective.

Culture's subjectivity is critical in determining the type of humor that exists in a society,

its level of tolerance, and the criticism it receives. Between an audience, a speaker, and the

various factors that inspire creators of humorous content, there exists a dynamic power

relationship. Diverse cultures create, exchange, interpret, and experience humor through a

variety of cultural lenses. Culture, politics, and the media all contribute to society's

understanding of humor. Among the others are economic considerations, gender, race, sexuality,
and social class problems, as well as religious viewpoints. As a result, the importance of

witticisms varies according to social context.

One of the things that has supplanted or has the potential to supplant older personalities,

roles, and forms of doing things is technology. The rapid advancement of information and

communication technology has had an effect on how communities and audiences develop,

exchange, interpret, and react to comedy and humor. Given the innovation's capacity to expand

an actor's reach to listeners across diverse cultures and distant places, it is critical to investigate

the impact on people's way of life (Jiang et al., 2019). For example, members of contemporary

society who are internet savvy may access comedic shows and plays that may or may not

represent the performers' multicultural competency. As a result of their attachment to and value

for their cultures, their response to such programs or jokes can result in disruptive social

movements.

Various powers have come together over the years to build an online forum for sharing

humor as a means of engaging with a targeted audience. It is a unique feature of humor that

allows a sizable segment of the youth population to gain access to materials they may not have

encountered during their childhood. The introduction of social technology, encouraged by factors

such as continuous technological advancement, has had an effect on the production, distribution,

and consumption of comical material. The model operates independently of previous community

constraints such as language and access. As a result of continuous innovation in social

technology, a comedy about various aspects of human life shared through Internet-enabled

devices has become a common and accepted type of humor.

Blackish is a comedy television series that employs satire to explore different aspects of

American culture. Through viewing the show through the eyes of an affluent African-American
family, the series' producer is able to address many critical issues through humor (Reifsteck &

Reifsteck, 2017). One of the critical messages conveyed in the curriculum is about slavery and

the myths surrounding it. The series' fourth season includes an episode titled "Juneteenth." Its

title refers to the events of 19 June 1865, a watershed moment in American history when the last

slaves were released from their masters. The video contributes to the audience's interpretation of

a crucial period in the African-American community's culture and history through a comical

performance of spoken word and music.

In conclusion, humor is a universally understood language. While it is referred to as a

universal phenomenon, it is subject to a variety of restrictions designed to direct use and foster

meaningful connections within cultures. It is a witty language that needs users to cultivate

multicultural competencies in order to avoid offending anyone who might find such witty

remarks offensive. Recognizing the cultural differences that exist between different audiences

enables performers to entertain without offending others. Acquiring the ability to distinguish

between appropriate and inappropriate jokes can help with communication, particularly when

communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds. Additionally, as comedy

develops as a result of factors such as technology, it is critical for actors to develop multicultural

competencies that allow them to create and share relevant and enjoyable content.
 References

Critchley, S. (2002a). Introduction. In On Humour (pp. 1–20). Routledge.

Critchley, S. (2002b). Why the super-ego is your amigo - My sense of Humour and Freud’s. On

Humour, August, 93–111.

Freud, S., & Strachey, J. (2001). The Mechanism of Pleasure and The Psychogenesis of Jokes. In

Jokes and their relation to the unconscious: (1905) (pp. 165-190). London: Vintage.

Jiang, T., Li, H., & Hou, Y. (2019). Cultural differences in humor perception, usage, and

implications. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(JAN), 1–8.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00123

Panzar, J., & Tchekmedyian, A. (2017, November 19). 9 arrested as Protesters gather at UC

Berkeley for talk by conservative Speaker Ben Shapiro. Retrieved May 09, 2021, from

https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-berkeley-protest-shapiro-20170914-

htmlstory.html

Reifsteck, T., & Reifsteck, T. (2017). The relationship of black racial identity and aggressive

humor The Relationship of Black Racial Identity and Aggressive Humor. Modern

Psychological Studies, 22(2).