Humor2021

 In the article on communicating death with humor, one observation I found was the different types of humor used at the dinner. There was humor used as entertainment in order to integrate with the group of people at the dinner party. There was relational humor for the entertainment and enjoyment of the other people there. Lastly, other members attempted to entertain by making fun of the situation of talking about death. This was done in response to other participants getting emotional about death and having a place to share their thoughts about it. The article gives an example. saying, "For example, while sharing personal stories about loss and expressing their appreciation for having a space to share their stories, participants in one conversation became rather emotional. Taking note of the situation, one woman said, “You better go to the bathroom and get some tissues,” after which the other participants laughed before continuing to share their stories" (5). In the same sett...

Communicating Death with Humor :  Humor is a means to discuss topics that are usually avoided in our society.  Specifically,  regarding death, humor can help create productive dialogue and relation around death and dying.      Using Humor as a Coping Tool : Humor gives control over the ironies in life that we have no control over. It works in tandem with hon esty and realism as a coping mechanism for mental illness.      I think a quote that ties these two articles together is “Due  Pré  noted that humor/laughter provides people with a momentary release from a prior frame so that they can go back into I with more ease than before”  ( Death Studies,  7).   

When my great-grandfather died and we went to his funeral, my dad leaned over to me and whispered a quote from Muppet Treasure Island – his favorite movie – into my ear: “We’re in a room with a dead guy!” I could barely hold my laughter in, and later, in the car, my dad made me promise him that I’d make the same joke at his funeral. “Make my funeral a celebration, because I don’t want people to be sad,” he told me. “I want people to laugh.” The readings that we did for today revealed the wisdom in my dad’s approach toward death. Humor is an important tool in acknowledging and experiencing the truth in a way that lessens any potential associated pain; when it comes to grief or other such strong, negative emotions, humor is vital for coping, but often overlooked. In the situation above, my father used humor to lighten one of my first experiences with death – his addition later was a way to talk about the inevitability of a much dearer loss without risking further upset. It was a form...

 A recurring theme I noticed in these two articles is the idea of humor as a bridge between groups of people. In this case, the test subjects used humor to create a more comfortable space to talk about death as they knew it. They all experienced loss--they already had this in common--but they used humor in clever ways to relieve tension. For example, they downplayed death itself, used narrative chaining, and even spoke poorly about the dead to make themselves feel more comfortable. In all of these uses I notice one thing: the subjects trying to gain control in this situation. When talking about death--an event we as humans have no control over--we used humor to regain our agency and demystify the event.  In the results of the test, the researchers list the various modes of humor used throughout the experiment. Most notably, they state, "(chain humor' tension-relieving humor, and entertainment humor); to increase their own likeability or promote affinity within the group" ...

     I found the study on the relation between death and humor very interesting. Death is probably up there for the biggest fear of every human being. I think it’s funny that we fear this one certainty and truth of life, which is death. The only thing we know for sure as humans on earth is death, yet we fear it the most. I think in most the thing we fear is the unknown that comes after death. That is why I found specifically the section of reframing death type of humor interesting. I think a lot of times that is what we are doing with death, through humor or not. Like the common phrase, “he/she is in a better place now.” We act like we know for a fact (which we don’t) that after death one is in a much better place. I think collectively as humans we do this in order to ease grieving and ease the fear of death.      Another section I found interesting was the use of pets in this study and how they were used to convey humor. They would put attention on pets an...

          This is a late post, being published after our class discussion surrounding Maria Kalman and her work Principles of Uncertainty. I received the book late in the mail and had minimal exposure to the material before our Zoom on Thursday evening. Thusly, the conversation that took place positioned my perspective before I had the chance to dive into the work completely. This was not a bad thing, the discussion didn’t include many spoilers luckily, and it molded my understanding of the author and gave the work context within the life in which it was created.  This has been a reoccurring theme that I found pop up in most of the works we have studied this semester. When I read David Sedaris for the first time, I thought he was arrogant and used crude humor to purvey his messages and lessons. However, when we discussed him in class and did a bit of background research on the man, his works were placed in context and his humor was more apparent to me ...

  Maira Kalman uses humor through her drawings and diary-like entries in order to reflect on her life, others’ lives, and the passing of time. She reminds herself and others that time and life pass by very quickly, and that we’re all just living in temporary moments. She uses humor and funny drawings (ex. dodo) to talk about serious topics such as death and arguably “the meaning of life” and happiness. Kalman’s almost obsession with the passing of time can be seen with all the historical characters that Kalman draws and brings into her story. She starts off with the Dodo, a bird that became extinct over 300 years ago. To add to her list of historical figures, Kalman adds on Spinoza (who tried to find the state of happiness), Stalin, Einstein, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc., all people who did many things, but who are dead now. Even though they all did great or memorable things, ultimately time passed through them too, although they are remembered for the things they did. It’s interest...