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Meta-Jokes & Anti-Comedy

Joke Guide

Jared Volle

CreativeStandUp.com
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Table of Contents

How Meta-Jokes Work 3

How Anti-Comedy Works 4
Example: Andy Kaufman’s Cannonball Story 5
Example: Steve Martin’s Fun Balloon Animals 6
Writing Tips 7
Writing Steps 8
Writing Example 9
Writing Walkthrough 10
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How Meta-Jokes Work

Meta-jokes and anti-comedy both get their power from making fun
of something that they’re referencing. Meta-jokes are jokes about
jokes. They create humor by quickly shifting the meaning of the joke.
A meta-joke begins as a standard joke, but then instead of making fun
of something typical, it ends up making fun of itself.

SETUP: An Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walk into a

bar. The bartender says,
PUNCHLINE: “What is this, some kind of joke?”

SETUP: How many people of a certain demographic group does it

take to perform a specified task?
PUNCHLINE: A finite number: One to perform the task and the
remainder to act in a manner stereotypical of the group in
question.

In both of these examples, you can see that the actual humor
comes from the joke's ability to make fun of other jokes. We are all
familiar with the jokes that begin with “Three people walk into a bar” or
“How many _____ does it take to change a light bulb.” The setup
creates the expectation that the joke will be a normal joke, but the
punchline quickly changes so that the joke makes fun of itself.
A meta-joke is easily the rarest type of joke to see in stand-up.
They can be fun to use periodically, but unless you’re an anti-
comedian, you’ll rarely use one. On a typical open mic, you might only
hear 1 or 2 meta-jokes the entire night.
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How Anti-Comedy Works

Anti-comedy is a type of meta-joke. In a meta-joke, the punchline
makes fun of the normal way jokes work. In anti-comedy, the
punchline makes fun of the normal way entertainers act, write,
perform, etc.

SETUP: It was good seeing him because I hadn’t seen him in

about four years. The last time we were together, we were
doing a roofing job on the top of a 40-story building. While we
were up there, Billy started getting depressed and he started
talking crazy. Then he went up onto the ledge and he said he
was going to jump. It was too late and I couldn’t stop him. He
jumped off the building. Right after he jumped, I looked down
and I noticed that Trampoline Emporium was having a sidewalk
sale that day. He landed on one of the trampolines and
bounced back up. Just as he got to the level of where I was
standing, he said,
PUNCHLINE: ’You know, I think a lot of your joke premises are
very contrived and hard to believe.’ … That hurt a little bit.
- Demetri Martin

Notice how this Demetri Martin joke used the same strategy to
make fun of comedians that the meta-jokes used earlier. In both
cases, the joke begins with the expectation that you will be given a
normal joke, then quickly changes to make fun of itself.
Anti-comedy is both a type of joke (a joke that makes fun of
comedians) and a genre (a type of comedian who is a parody of
comedians).
Anti-Comedians like Steve Martin, Albert Brooks, Norm
MacDonald, and Andy Kaufman are the best to learn from. Anti-
comedians are basically a parody of comedians. They typically deliver
the most awful jokes possible in a very confident way. The goal is
often to be so unfunny that the joke becomes funny.
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Example: Andy Kaufman’s Cannonball Story

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Example: Steve Martin’s Fun Balloon Animals

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Writing Tips
• The easiest way to write a meta-joke is to begin with a setup and
think “What would a comedian do here and how can I make fun of
them for doing it?”
• Use parody in your meta-joke punchlines. If you’re making fun of a
style of comedy, act out the style in an exaggerated, sarcastic way.
• Anti-comedy is very tricky to pull off correctly. When anti-comedy
works, it gets huge laughs. When anti-comedy fails… it fails harder
than any other type of joke or genre.
• Be careful of how you’ll appear to other comedians. Anti-comedy
can be hilarious, but it can also be insulting if a comedian thinks
you’re doing a parody of them. You can make fun of comedians, in
general, but never make fun of a fellow comedian specifically, even
if it is funny. Nobody wants to think “If I have a bad show one day,
this guy is going to make fun of me for the next few months.”
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Writing Steps

1. Decide what you’ll make fun of.

2. What quality/characteristic will you make fun of?

3. Write your punchline. Use parody and exaggeration. It can also

useful to “call the moment” if you’re making fun of something being
absurd.

4. Write your setup.

5. Rewrite your joke to flow better.

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Writing Example
1. Decide what you’ll make fun of.

“_____ walk into a bar” jokes

2. What quality/characteristic will you make fun of?

They’re obvious jokes with fake setups.

3. Write your punchline. Use parody and exaggeration. It can also

useful to “call the moment” if you’re making fun of something being
absurd.

An Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walk into a bar.

The bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”

4. Write your setup.

An Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walk into a bar.

The bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”

5. Rewrite your joke to flow better.

An Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walk into a bar.

The bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”
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Writing Walkthrough
1. Decide what you’ll make fun of.

Comedians who open the show the same way.

2. What quality/characteristic will you make fun of?

Asking if there is anyone from out-of-town.

3. Write your punchline. Use parody and exaggeration. It can also

useful to “call the moment” if you’re making fun of something being
absurd.

Is anyone from out-of-town? … Where you from? (listen

to audience) … Never heard of it… well! … that didn’t go
as planned. I was hoping he’d say Ottawa… I got a lot of
stuff about Ottawa. ANY-WAYS, what’s the deal with
cellphone contracts?

I chose Ottawa because it’s a small town that people have heard
of. It’s also a bit funnier because Ottawa is in Canada, which implies
that I was hoping/planning on an audience member being from a small
town outside of the USA. Any small, well-known town that’s far away
from the show would get the same laugh.

4. Write your setup.

(using sarcastic, “I’m so awesome” voice) Hi everybody.

It’s time for some jokes (fake, sarcastic laughter).

I use the sarcastic voice and put fake laughter in the setup as a
way of making sure the audience knew I wasn’t being serious. This
sentence should make the audience feel that I’m doing a character/
parody of a comedian. Once the audience knows I’m making fun of
the standard way that comedians open a show, the audience will
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understand why it feels weird. If they didn’t know I was doing anti-
comedy, then they wouldn’t know whether I was doing a parody of
comedian introductions or if I was just being really awkward. Once
they know its a parody, the awkwardness makes sense. It becomes
enjoyable instead of weird.
There are a lot of ways I could get the audience to think “Oh, he’s
going to be making fun of the normal stand-up comedian
introductions.” This one felt like the most fun because it’s indirect. I
could have gone with a direct setup like “It’s time for some jokes… but
first, some obligatory introductory statements! How is everyone doing
tonight? … Ok, check… Is anyone here from out-of-town?” This would
have achieved the same goal, but it doesn’t feel quite as fun.

5. Rewrite your joke to flow better.

(using sarcastic, “I’m so awesome” voice) Hi everybody.

It’s time for some jokes (fake, sarcastic laughter). Is
anyone from out-of-town? … Where you from? (listen to
audience) … Never heard of it… well! … that didn’t go
as planned. I was hoping he’d say Ottawa… I got a lot of
stuff about Ottawa. ANY-WAYS, what’s the deal with
cellphone contracts?
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Meta-Jokes & Anti-Comedy

Joke Guide

Jared Volle

CreativeStandUp.com