The Continuation of Superiority Laughter: From Antiquity to the Modern Era
Throughout the past few months, I have explored laughter from a psychological, social, and cultural standpoint. With my classmates, I looked at a collection of jokes, comedies, and tragedies which honed in on the types of humor and the ways in which they were expressed in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Additionally, a significant portion of my studies stemmed from the work of Simon Critchley, an English philosopher, who proposed many different theories for the causes of laughter as well as categorized laughter into various groups.
Among these theories, the one that I found most fascinating was the superiority theory of laughter. Introduced by renowned scholars like Plato, Aristotle, and Hobbes, this theory states that people laugh at someone or something due to a feeling of superiority or dominance. We, as observers or listeners, gain an unknown sense of pleasure from the idea that someone else is in the undesirable situation, thereby creating the notion of dominance laughter. When I initially learned about dominance laughter, I thought that it had a negative connotation.
I felt that laughing at others because I perceived myself to be “greater than them” was against my belief system and something that I would never engage in or find humorous. However, as I delved deeper into Critchley’s work and began to gain a better understanding, it turns out that I was in fact wrong. I was surprised to discover that not only do I enjoy this type of comedy, but also my ultimate comedic source, Seth McFarland’s Family Guy, revolves around this very notion.
Having read excerpts from Philogelos, an Ancient Greek joke book, I became familiar with some of the earliest examples of superiority comedy present within the many jokes about “the idiot.” In these jokes, “the idiot” was often found in everyday situations in which he would attempt to solve an issue or perform an action in an implausible, ridiculous manner.
As a die-hard fan of FOX’s Family Guy, I could not help but see the striking similarities between “the idiot” and Peter Griffin. Peter Griffin, a father of three, a New England brewery worker, and the beloved protagonist of Family Guy, is known for the unbelievably stupid behavior he displays throughout his daily life. Throughout the course of twenty one seasons, Peter’s buffoonery as well as his overt lack of intelligence have been the focal point of the show’s humor. Thus, I have found strong parallels between the jokes written in Philogelos and some of my favorite side-splitting scenes in Family Guy.
For example, one of the aforementioned jokes from antiquity is: “An idiot is fighting with his father. ‘You bastard’ he cries. ‘You don’t see how much you’ve made me suffer! If you’d never been born, I would have inherited my grandfather’s good character.’”Obviously, this joke is poking fun at “the idiot,” because his statement is both illogical and outright stupid. He mistakenly believes that his father’s life is the obstacle which has obstructed him from receiving his grandfather’s personality traits. He fails to recognize the simple truth that without his father, he would never have been born in the first place.
In Family Guy, there is a related scene in which Peter returns home after beating up their neighbor’s child who was mocking him, and he makes an amazingly similar comment to Lois, his wife. Lois receives a phone call from the angry neighbors and proceeds to scold Peter like a child for his actions. Peter, in a very juvenile manner, responds to her by saying, “Well maybe you should’ve just had an abortion Lois. Would that have made you happy if I was never born?” Like the joke in Philogelos, Peter is not fully grasping the concept of how he was born. He seems to think that his wife could’ve gotten an abortion to have prevented his birth, which is incorrect for evident reasons. As the audience, we can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of Peter’s words and the absence of reason behind them.
Another example of this type of joke from Philogelos is “An idiot has bought a house, and he sticks his head out of the window to ask the neighbors if it suits him.” This is a clear comedic case of targeting a response of superiority laughter from the audience. The asinine action of “the idiot” focusing on buying a house that physically suits him like a piece of clothing rather than thoughtfully purchasing a home that meets his specific needs is comical to the audience. The readers’ reaction would be to laugh at the foolish behavior of “the idiot” because an intelligent person would never make such a fool of himself.
This ancient joke reminded me of a Family Guy episode in which Peter was asked to fill in for Lois at her book club meeting. He joins a group of women as they discuss the unfolding events and nuanced interpretations of the novel they are currently reading. It is apparent to the audience that Peter is completely out of his element in this setting, surrounded by educated, intellectually curious women who enjoy fine literature. After the women take turns adding their own insightful commentary, Peter says, “Uhh here’s another thing, the book can also be… a hat.” This hilarious scene highlights Peter Griffin’s pure stupidity, and as the audience we laugh at his loveable ignorance. As in the Ancient Greek joke, the main character takes something completely out of context and places it on himself as an accessory to his wardrobe.
It is fascinating to discover the continuity in the types of humor that existed in ancient times to the ones we enjoy today. In the modern world, there is a great deal of debate surrounding what qualifies as comedy and what types of humor relate to people. Ethnicities, cultures, and identities all shape and change the types of humor people find funny. Therefore, I am amazed that superiority or “dominance” humor has survived for thousands of years.
Whether we are willing to accept this fact or not, superiority and dominance laughter constitutes a significant part of our daily humor. While it may sound malicious or ill-intentioned by definition, dominance humor is simply and undeniably human. It may not be one’s favorite or the most clever type of humor in existence, but I do not think that it is innately wrong as I initially had contended. Dominance humor has endured for thousands of years and has been shared amongst diverse peoples from different backgrounds. This fact demonstrates that the feeling of happiness that is achieved from the momentary dominance over someone else is natural.
It is a well-known fact that people enjoy making others the “butt of the joke.” This laughter comes in many familiar forms whether it be mocking a younger sibling when they do something stupid or good-naturedly making fun of a friend after they have made a silly mistake. I urge everyone to embrace the superiority laughter passed down to us from antiquity. Like the Ancient Greeks, we should not hesitate to enjoy a good laugh at someone else’s expense… because the chances are, sooner rather than later, we will be the one getting laughed at! This is the time-tested nature of laughter.