Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,442
edits
Anti-Humor: Difference between revisions
fixed broken external link in quote markup
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) m (Looney Toons moved page Anti Humor to Anti-Humor: Adding proper punctuation to page name) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (fixed broken external link in quote markup) |
||
Line 3:
{{quote| ''Roses are red<br />
''My name is Dave<br />
''This poem makes no sense<br />
''Microwave'' }}
[[Anti-Humor]] is the practice of removing the expected punchline or joke from a familiar humorous situation and replacing it with something non humorous and serious. The laugh is supposed to come from [[Subverted Trope|subverting]] the audience's expectation of a punchline or humorous twist. Often this is simply done by playing the normally humorous situation straight, being [[Literal Minded|literal]] and truthful. For example, take the following, which sets up and then subverts a [[Bait and Switch Comparison]]:
{{quote| '''Q''': What is the difference between Senator Smith and a hippo?<br />
'''A''': One is a large aggressive mammal dwelling in or near bodies of water. The other is a United States Senator. }}
Sometimes an Anti
{{quote| '''Q''': What is worse than finding a worm in your apple?<br />
'''A''': [[Crosses the Line Twice|Being raped.]] }}
A third broader category of anti-humor is essentially a form of [[Surreal Humor]] where the punchline is completely unrelated to the set up. Not all [[Surreal Humor]] is [[Anti
{{quote| '''Q''': How many ducks does it take to change a light bulb?<br />
'''A''': The defense rests. }}
Line 24 ⟶ 23:
Obviously these work best when the audience is thoroughly familiar with the standard version of the joke/humorous situation or the formula the joke/humorous situation normally follows, though this is not always necessary. Any situation where the audience is expecting humor or something light-hearted and gets something straight, dry, and/or darker in tone instead can potentially work. Formats where a humorous twist is always expected, such as in stand-up, cartoons, sitcoms, and sketch comedy, have more latitude for this sort of humor.
[[Anti Humor]] is about ''intentionally'' avoiding a punchline. Certainly not all [[Anti
Compare/
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Comedy ==
* Perhaps the best-known joke in the English language is an example: "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!" Few people realize it now, but it was a subversion of older iterations of the joke. Most people hear it before they are old enough to have come to expect the typical conventions of a joke (like a punch line), so the joke is simply [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny|unfunny]].
* [[Bill Bailey]] is fond of these.
{{quote| '''Bill Bailey''':''Three blokes go into a pub. One of them is a little bit stupid, and the whole scene unfolds with a tedious inevitability.''}}
* [[Andy Kaufman]] loved to dance on the edge between comedian and avant-garde performance artist. Some of his more infamous "routines
* Comedian Brian Regan reports his son had one of these.
{{quote| '''Q:''' How come dinosaurs don't talk?<br />
'''A:''' Because they're dead. }}
* [[Gilbert Gottfried]]: "[[David Hasselhoff]] walks into a bar, around 9 am every day and stays there till closing time."
* John Thomson used to do a character called Bernard Righton who as a [[Political Correctness|Politically Correct]] stand
{{quote| A Jew, A Pakistani and a Black Fella went into a nightclub. What a fine example of an integrated society.}}
* When [[Monty Python]] performed its famous Parrot Sketch at the ''The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball'', a benefit for Amnesty International, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTV3lQc4AmQ they took it in this direction].
{{quote| '''Mr. Praline''': ''[placing the parrot's cage on the counter]'' It's dead, that's what's wrong with it.<br />
'''Shopkeeper''': ''[looks at the parrot]'' So it is. 'Ere's your money back and a couple of holiday vouchers.<br />
Line 48 ⟶ 47:
{{quote| '''Q:''' How can you tell if there's a blonde in a group of synchronized swimmers in a swimming pool and they're all wearing bathing caps?<br />
'''A:''' You demand they get out of the pool and remove their caps. }}
* One
{{quote| No, but seriously folks, when Chris Christie sits around the house, he really passes laws that hurt working Americans. }}
* An unattributed joke found on the Internet employs this:
Line 68 ⟶ 67:
** And:
{{quote| "Waiter! What's this fly doing in my soup?" <br />
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, sir!" }}
** Oh, just one more:
{{quote| So this policeman comes upon this guy on his hands and knees under a streetlight, fumbling around on the ground. "What's the matter?" says the policeman. "I'm looking for my keys," says the guy. "Is this where you dropped them?" asks the policeman, and the guy replies, "Yes". }}
* [[Rowan Atkinson]] at
* And there's always:
{{quote| What's green, has four legs and could kill you if it fell out of a tree?<br />
A pool table. }}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
Line 83:
== [[Film]] ==
* From ''[[Freddy Got Fingered]]'':
{{quote| "What do you call a guy with cheese on his face? ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}l_Mc63WEOik The cheese face!]''"}}
| |||