I was thinking about "men and big girls don't cry" and how that it's sometimes diverted. But I agree with you about our response to comedy.
On Dec 1, 7:47 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > On cultural expectations - I have seen comedians getting the crowd > roaring whilst I have been left cold and even revolted. Teenagers in > particular laugh at what's been deemed funny by peers. Undergraduate > classes miss many visual jokes and comedic themes that more mature > students get immediately. > > On 1 Dec, 13:27, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Another thought is how the emotion is diverted into another response > > because of cultural expectations. > > > On Nov 30, 9:04 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Me too Molly - I wonder what the term 'I didn't know whether to laugh > > > or cry' means? > > > > On 1 Dec, 00:06, Molly <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > would much rather be laughing. > > > > > On Friday, November 30, 2012 6:29:50 AM UTC-5, andrew vecsey wrote: > > > > > > What In find interesting is how it is almost impossible to see the > > > > > physical difference of someone laughing his head off and someone > > > > > crying his > > > > > heart out. Both are a result of a sudden unexpected disclosure of > > > > > truth.. > > > > > > On Saturday, November 24, 2012 7:51:00 PM UTC+1, archytas wrote: > > > > > >> While there is only speculation about how humor developed in early > > > > >> humans, we know that by the 6th century BCE the Greeks had > > > > >> institutionalized it in the ritual known as comedy, and that it was > > > > >> performed with a contrasting dramatic form known as tragedy. Both > > > > >> were > > > > >> based on the violation of mental patterns and expectations, and in > > > > >> both the world is a tangle of conflicting systems where humans live > > > > >> in > > > > >> the shadow of failure, folly, and death. Like tragedy, comedy > > > > >> represents life as full of tension, danger, and struggle, with > > > > >> success > > > > >> or failure often depending on chance factors. Where they differ is in > > > > >> the responses of the lead characters to life's incongruities. > > > > >> Identifying with these characters, audiences at comedies and > > > > >> tragedies > > > > >> have contrasting responses to events in the dramas. And because these > > > > >> responses carry over to similar situations in life, comedy and > > > > >> tragedy > > > > >> embody contrasting responses to the incongruities in life. > > > > > >> Tragedy valorizes serious, emotional engagement with life's problems, > > > > >> even struggle to the death. Along with epic, it is part of the > > > > >> Western > > > > >> heroic tradition that extols ideals, the willingness to fight for > > > > >> them, and honor. The tragic ethos is linked to patriarchy and > > > > >> militarism—many of its heroes are kings and conquerors—and it > > > > >> valorizes what Conrad Hyers (1996) calls Warrior Virtues—blind > > > > >> obedience, the willingness to kill or die on command, unquestioning > > > > >> loyalty, single-mindedness, resoluteness of purpose, and pride. > > > > > >> Comedy, by contrast, embodies an anti-heroic, pragmatic attitude > > > > >> toward life's incongruities. From Aristophanes' Lysistrata to Charlie > > > > >> Chaplin's The Great Dictator to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, > > > > >> comedy has mocked the irrationality of militarism and blind respect > > > > >> for authority. Its own methods of handling conflict include deal- > > > > >> making, trickery, getting an enemy drunk, and running away. As the > > > > >> Irish saying goes, you're only a coward for a moment, but you're dead > > > > >> for the rest of your life. In place of Warrior Virtues, it extols > > > > >> critical thinking, cleverness, adaptability, and an appreciation of > > > > >> physical pleasures like eating, drinking, and sex. > > > > > >> Much humour is cruel - but try and read cruelty in to 'Doctor, > > > > >> doctor, > > > > >> I've lost an electron'. 'Are you sure'? 'Yes, I'm positive'. > > > > > >> What do we think humour is?- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --
