No Laughing Matter: Visual Humor in Ideas of Race, Nationality, and Ethnicity

Introduction

The existence of various cultures in the specific pluralistic background has not only positive consequences but also has an adverse outcome. Apart within a multicultural setting, societies utilize humor as a form of social interaction that strengthens both cultural interaction and ethnic difference. Humor varies from culture to culture and from people to person. On one side, it establishes social cohesion, nurtures positive association and heightens the self-identification of a person in the connection to other ethnic groups. However, according to the review on Rosenthal, Bindman, Adrian, and, Randolph work, humor has been represented as an acceptable and tolerated a form of aggression in a specific society. The bipolar trait of humor source from its function and its status, therefore, serving unifier and social separation. The well-known models of humor are social dialogue ethnic jokes that are regularly established on a fixed racial or ethnic stereotype resulting in social categorization but also to fast and correct interpreting of semantic information by the audience. Therefore, ethnic jokes are playing the role of observing, measuring and recording the level of sensitivity towards a certain cultural group however, it makes certain group or individual develop feeling of being the target of humor.

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Humor as a type of communication and social interaction is a universal human characteristic and a significant part of all human societies. Humor is defined by Martin( 1) as a form of mental play entailing a light-hearted non-serious attitude towards notions and events. Hence, visual humor must be rigorously examined because comedy attracts our attention to issues of human worth and variance. On the other words, the interpretation of visual sarcasm is crucial to comprehending the mutability of socially fixed classes such as racism. However, one the other hand, it is cultured-specific. As a common occurrence, it usually covers general themes or present events as well as cultural and universals specificities trait of particular societies. Besides, it echoes them mindset of members or the opinion of the world outside. It is usually reconsidering, founded on historical aspects that mean only the members of a particular cultural community can comprehend it. Nevertheless, if the audience is not acquainted with the social and cultural setting presented in the humorous dialogue, they will not decipher the semantic message accurately, that may lead to a lack of the desired effect.

Laughter is a good sign of comprehending humor appropriately; it can be used to make the next realization of the perlocutinary speech. An example of where humor used perlocutinary speech is where Artist Robert Collescott and David Hammons, who provoke laughter as a form of disapproval against brutal racial stereotyping in the produced the legal of blackface minstrelsy in America (Malmqvist, 753-746). For example, satire and irony are utilized as suitable tools for criticizing societies, norms, matters, political system, and objective among other things. Merry Company Passarotti employs a ''harsh laughter" at the sexual deviancy of the couple and in the Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare, maintains that many of the stereotypical depictions of Jews in England at the time emerged after the appearance of Shylock (Neary, 306). Jews were considered as strangers to English society due to their association with hawkers and tricksters, sexually unfitting, and, possibly ferocious, to condemn behaves, the Englishmen used to laugh at these distortions as a way distancing themselves from the "demonic" performance. However, victims of such humor may feel that they are being forced to hear an insulting statement regarding their tradition or gender. While on the other side, with the aid of satire and irony, social institutions, group or person that cause disappointment and displeasure are mocked. Therefore, it is a type of humor can use to achieve transformation or specific adjustment of errors within the society.

Apart from playing the role of social criticism, humor also acts as a defensive tool against emotion. Humor is a form of guiding, conquering, and, overcoming anxiety and worries, lessening uncertainties or releasing severe conversational themes. Martin (2) asserts that is usually adopted as a mode of dealing with challenges and difficulties in life. It is a useful tool for fighting against severe problems such as disaster, war, famine, and, death, slavery, race, and, political abolitions among others. In the same line of thought, humor assists individuals to cope with undesirable occurrences because laughter is a means of burning off extra energy or tension. Humor turns problems into something can trigger a feeling of laughter. However, according to, Neary(305) a Agnes Lugo-Ortiz an examined how humorous advertising and packaging that took place in 19th assisted in spreading an atmosphere of racial preconception against imprisoned Africans. The study founded that during changing from bondage to wage labor, " the mechanism of laughter," ( Neary, 304) was used to patronize the image of black people who were trying to initiate movement in the social class system. Nonetheless, humor is used usually to form of humor that is characterized by majorly negative aspects such as such as ugliness, irrationality, and, incompetence that form part of black humor that is transformed to pleasure (Neary. 306). For instance, Tanya Sheehan claims in 19th that in photonegative white used to appear black and black white as used as a source of humor to challenge racism.

Conclusion

Humor acts as a regulator of social tension, that is controller manifested in the scope of taboo topics. For the developed societies, it is important to suppress themes, which are related to the natural desire of people such as sexual desires, or any other issue linked to a different form of hostility. Humour provides a sufficient set for disclosure of impulses, solving conflicts and instituting nonviolent control. It can be said that humor serves as a form of purification, which helps change negative feelings into pleasure and gratification.

Human is frequently employed as an effective means of social influence that strengthens both society and social hierarchy. The feeling of social unity is mostly presented in association with the other members of the social group, in which perfect social status is established. Moreover, it acts as a form of expressing moods, emotions, attitude, and, opinions on a specific social issue majorly racism, with the target of establishing in-group relationships, improves solidarity and self- identification, and, lessen tension among members of the same groups. Further, maladaptive humor styles such as aggressive jokes, sarcasm or irony are frequently utilized to condemn and ridicule of other groups that are considered substandard

Works Cited

Janet. "No Laughing Matter: Visual Humor in Ideas of Race, Nationality, and Ethnicity ed. by Angela Rosenthal, David Bindman, and Adrian WB Randolph." Studies in American Humor 4.2 (2018): 302-307.

Malmqvist, Karl. "Satire, racist humour and the power of (un) laughter: On the restrained nature of Swedish online racist discourse targeting EU-migrants begging for money." Discourse & Society 26.6 (2015): 733-753.

Martin. R. A. 2007. The Psychology of Humor. An Integrative Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press