Can humour ever be serious?

Humour is the universal language of men, transcending culture, language, and geography; the classic ‘why did the chicken cross the road’ joke is probably more widely recognised globally than a high-faulting Beethoven symphony, or an eloquent quote by the American president. Humour has undoubtedly played a central role in mankind’s history, as punch-lines agitate and provoke punches, and as knock-knock jokes knock many a ruler off their pedestal.            

Jokes are commonly thought of as spontaneous comments passed between friends – inconsequential and forgotten as soon as the waves of group dynamics lead the conversation elsewhere. A humourous remark passed over coffee between a closed circle of friends may seem fleeting and hardly important, but the reality is far from this. Over the years, the hours we spend working and studying have grown while the space and time we have for leisure activities have concomitantly shrunk. This has increasingly created a need for sedentary leisure activities – an escape into colourful fictional worlds after the drab hours at the workplace ends. Comedy in popular culture – in the form of television shows, movies, and cartoons - came as a natural response to this need. Today, comedies are a multi-billion dollar industry, as more viewers are each day drawn to the allure of a light-hearted alternate reality where every word is delivered with comedic relish. As with anything commercial, this has pushed the simple act of laughing into the serious world of profit maximisation and business politics. The spontaneous and blithe atmosphere of commercial comedies may suggest otherwise, but the creation of a comedy which appeals to the mass public involves much serious thought. Sesame Street, one of the most beloved entertainment shows for toddlers, is one such instance of a ‘serious’ comedy. Prior to the release of Sesame Street, the producers conducted extensive market sampling to understand the interests of their target audience, allowing them to distill, with great precision, what was funny and what was not.  Moreover, before each episode of Sesame Street went live, the producers would test-run the show on a small group of toddlers, noting when toddlers would lose interest, and making the necessary adjustments. With millions of dollars invested in creating commercial comedies, it stands to reason that every producer would want their jokes to appeal to as many people as possible, and this often means that serious consideration is invested into the various aspects of a good joke – the timing, the tone of the speaker, the subject matter, inter alia.

            

Moreover, it is the belief of many that laughter is unconscious, and that the best jokes are spontaneous, appealing to people on a very fundamental, even primal, level. There is an implicit assumption that good jokes are funny simply for the sake of being funny, and should not be loaded with weighty societal considerations. However, sometimes the jokes that appeal most to people are the jokes that inject humour into the most depressing of situations; jokes that poke fun at the myriad of societal problems. It is no small coincidence that there was a surge in both the creation and viewership of cartoons during the two major world wars, as soldiers and civilians turned to cartoons as a means of expressing their discontent with the war. Throughout history, satirical comedies have been employed as a potent tool for expressing dissent against the status quo. Satires allow for the impact of criticism to be blunted, protecting dissidents from the iron fist of the ruling regime. Moreover, humour is often more palatable and appealing than harsh critique, generating more interest in the subject matter while packaging it in a convincing way. Humour, particularly in the form of satire, facilitates open thought and discussion, whereas other forms of criticism tend to provoke charged emotions and causes people to become defensive. It is precisely for the aforementioned reasons that humour has been used so extensively as a tool for voicing dissatisfaction to achieve serious change in society. A prime example is the Mr Brown Show in Singapore, which employs humour to illustrate the problems in Singaporean society, and criticise the shortcomings of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). While other dissidents along the ranks of J.B. Jeyaretnam have been sued for defamation owing to their unfettered criticism of the PAP, the Mr. Brown Show remains standing, ever popular among the growing number of Singaporean youth. Hence, it is evident that humour can indeed serve serious aims by provoking thought and expressing one’s voice in socially acceptable ways.

            

Anyone who has ever been held accountable for making insensitive and offensive jokes has used the same line of defence – ‘It was only a joke’. Indeed, the very light-heartened nature of jokes often seems to suggest that they are not to be taken seriously. For this reason, some may question the efficacy of using jokes to promote serious social causes. However, even if jokes are created with purely comedic intentions, their audience may not share similar sentiments. Racist jokes may be viewed by some as just a humourous outlook on the stereotypical traits of the various races, but to others, they are deeply degrading and offensive. Therefore, it is a serious offence to make racist jokes publically in many societies around the world, as they fall under the category of hate speech. The central problem here is that the intent involved in creating the joke does not align with the actual outcome of the joke – in other words, a carelessly made joke may have serious and unintended outcomes. The Danish cartoons in 2005 which portrayed the Islamic prophet, for instance, brought racial and religious tensions to a boiling point, causing violent protests around the world. Such is the destructive potential of insensitive jokes. We like to think of humour as a light-hearted and carefree attitude to approach the world, but there is no escaping the fact that, if employed poorly, humour can have serious ramifications.

            

If humour is the universal language of men, then we must be aware of the nuances and unspoken rules of the language. Like the chicken who wants to get across the road, we must always be cognizant of how we use humour and the potential impacts it may have in order to achieve our intended aims. Humour is certainly no laughing matter.