Don't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry?

Ambivalence and Release & Relief Theories 

(Surprise Theory too!)

        In this post I would like to discuss two different theories of humor that are closely related: the Ambivalence theory and the Release and Relief theory. The ambivalence theory is the idea that humor is the mixing of emotions, such as attraction and disgust that generates internal conflict within people, these emotional conflicts create laughter. The Release & Relief theory is when there is a build-up of tension within a stressful situation that causes laughter. 

        In Season 8, Episode 1 of American Dad, Roger starts to have feelings for Hayley after he hears her sing at his bar. Throughout the entire episode, Roger is conflicted about his emotions and doesn’t know how to confront Hayley without freaking out. Eventually when he does confront her and tells her he is in love with her, her immediate response is “Oh that’s why you were acting so weird!” and he nervously laughs and agrees. Hayley turns Roger down because she is married at this point in the show and again Roger nervously laughs and says, “Oh yeah, I knew that.” Hayley then apologizes and Roger tells her, “No sweat!” and laughs it off again. Then he returns with a gun and shoots her! Talk about the Surprise Theory!

        This episode is a great example of both Ambivalence and Release & Relief theories because it was all about the build up Roger experienced before he went and confronted Hayley. Roger shooting Hayley at the end is Ambivalence because his feelings are conflicted, and his reaction is so drastic it's completely unexpected!

Alien Saves CIA Officer From Area 51!

The Incongruity Theory of Humor

        Another adult animation show that is also very popular called American Dad. When you sit down and compare American Dad to Family Guy you will quickly see how similar they are.They have even done a crossover episode, which is not surprising since they were both created by Seth MacFarland.

        On American Dad the main character is the Dad, Stan Smith. He is a CIA agent who loves his family but can’t quite seem to separate his job from his home-life.. Stan is married to Francine Smith who is a loving mother but a bit of a ditz. Hayley Smith is the oldest of their two children, a rebel who is the complete opposite of her father. She's a new-age hippy who is against everything her father does for a living. The youngest is the son Steve, who is your average awkward teenage boy going through puberty.      

        The most incongruent part about this show is that the Smith Family has an alien named Roger living with them. Roger is a sarcastic, self-centered, obnoxious little gray alien who dresses up in different disguises to go out in public. He comes to live with the Smith Family because he saves Stan’s life in Area 51 and the two of them escape together (0:15-1:00 of the clip). The idea that a space alien would save a CIA officer and then end up living with his family is a great example of incongruity. Klaus, the fish who is really a man in a fish’s body, is another great example of the incongruity theory of humor.

Is He Really My Kid?

The Surprise and Incongruity Theories of Humor  

        For those who have watched Family Guy, you know that there are a lot of things that can and do shock you in this show. At least once every episode, my jaw is on the floor because of something someone either said or did. But one episode really stands out even more than the others: when Brian the talking dog finds out he has a kid, and a human one at that! 

        In Season 6, Episode 11, Brian is upset because he thinks he tries too hard to get laid so he starts to think about his past love, Tracy Flanagan. Stewie encourages him to look her up and go meet her. When he knocks on the door and Tracy opens it, Brian is shocked to see her looking nothing like the person he remembers - and not in a good way. He quickly tries to come up with an excuse to leave but before he does Tracy calls out her son and says “Brian,  meet your son, Dylan”. 

        The Incongruity Theory is present here because first of all, dogs don’t talk. And secondly, a dog wouldn’t be able to father a human son with a woman. The Surprise Theory is demonstrated because Brian is shocked when he sees Tracy’s awful transformation, and also when he discovers he has a child.

Can Attempted Matricide Be Funny? 

An Example of the Superiority Theory of Humor

Stewie vs Lois in Family Guy

        As some of you may know, Family Guy is a very popular cartoon known for its outlandish humor. Today I would like to discuss a humor theory that is very prevalent in this show: Superiority humor. Superiority Theory is present when a figure in authority is the target of the joke, when they are “taken down a notch.” In Family Guy, we mostly see Superiority humor between two characters, Stewie Griffin and Lois Griffin. For those who haven’t seen the show, Stewie is the baby of the family but somehow has a British accent when the rest of the family has strong Boston accents. He is actually the smartest one in the family and creates all of these machines to try and kill his mother, Lois, who he for some reason despises. Most of these kinds of scenes take place in the earlier seasons of the show.

    
        In Season 1: Episode 1 (click the image above to see a clip), Stewie tries to kill Lois multiple times. First he starts by loosening her chair leg, then he puts a gun in his sandwich at dinner, and he even tries to zap his mother in the kitchen with his toy ray gun, which Lois then takes right out of his hands and picks him up and takes him to bed because obviously he’s still a baby. Since Lois is the mother and Stewie is the baby, in ordinary circumstances Lois would be the authority figure. But Stewie is so precocious, such a “small adult” and believes that he is better than the rest of his family, so in this instance, Stewie is the authority figure. Because Lois barely reacts to all of Stewie’s diabolical attempts at matricide, and since she is able to continue to treat him like a baby, and foils all of his attempts to harm her, we find his antics hysterical.