According to (former) Onion Editor-In-Chief Scott Dikkers

  1. Irony – Intended meaning is opposite of literal meaning
  2. Character – Comedic character acting on personality traits
  3. Relatable – Common experiences that audiences can relate to
  4. Shock – Surprising jokes typically involving sex, drugs, gross-out humor, swearing
  5. Reference/Parody – Mimic a familiar character, trope or cliche in an unfamiliar way
  6. Hyperbole – Exaggeration to absurd extremes
  7. Wordplay – Puns, rhymes, double entendres, etc.
  8. Analogy – Comparing two disparate things
  9. Madcap – Crazy, wacky, silly, nonsensical
  10. Meta-humor – Jokes about jokes, or about the idea of comedy
  11. Misplaced Focus – Attention is focused on the wrong thing

Do you have a favorite "kind" of joke or is it more about the execution? Do you have a least favorite kind?

Do you agree with this theory of comedy or are there more types of joke?

  • Antoine_St_Hexubeary [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Okay, hold on:

    1. "Isaac Asimov pretty sure anti-vaccine movement won't amount to much"
    2. "isaac Asimov awarded honorary degree in 'Pretty Much Everything'"
    3. "Isaac Asimov seen cleaning eyeglasses for eight straight minutes"
    4. "Asimov to Judy Garland: 'Now that you've taken a ride on my rocket, would you like to see my penis?'"
    5. "Columbia University chemistry professor makes crystal meth to fund medical treatments"
    6. "Isaac Asimov writes twelve books during single trip to bathroom"
    7. "Tampa-based EDM producer iSick AssMove hit with lawsuit"
    8. "Bow ties, blood, bullets: Asimov/Heinlein fan feud claims eight more lives"
    9. "We've identified the 6 bird species living in Isaac Asimov's hair. #4 will knock your socks off"
    10. "Local jackass thinks all he has to do to appear highbrow is namecheck Isaac Asimov enough times"
    11. [Picture of Anna and Judah Asimov holding their newborn son] "Historians have identified the event responsible for the 'vibe shift' that occurred in Russia in the 1920s"
    • UlyssesT [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      “Local jackass thinks all he has to do to appear highbrow is namecheck Isaac Asimov enough times”

      :order-of-lenin:

  • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I like misplaced focus, which I assume would include dry humor and deliberately downplaying situations.

    Character humor is very funny too sometimes when its done to my tastes, not a character that is a funnyman but a character that has extreme or specific traits that lead to comedic situations. Hyperbole is funny too.

    Generally not a fan of reference and shock humor, madcap also is very easy to make obnoxious.

    • Thomas_Dankara [any,comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      I like misplaced focus

      same, though if dipped in too much irony it can just come across as callous shock humor. Like "my car plowed through a crowd of people. Don't worry, the car's fine."

      Generally not a fan of reference and shock humor, madcap also is very easy to make obnoxious.

      agreed

  • happybadger [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Meta-humour Gang Meta-humour Gang. There's nothing funnier to me than a comedian dissecting comedy and the relationship between comedian/audience. Ones like Andy Kaufman, Tim Heidecker, Eric Andre, Norm MacDonald, and Bo Burnham have all used jokes as a weapon against their audience in a way that grows comedy. They have that modernist streak of the shock of the new. Everything else up there, except for layering irony, ends up staying comfortably within the existing boundaries of comedy.

  • UlyssesT [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I'm fond of character, relatable, wordplay, analogy, and madcap humor.

    Tuca and Bertie was basically made for me. :floppy-parrot:

  • flan [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    i dont see "yelling slurs" anywhere on this list

  • Awoo [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Nah this leaves out intentional cringe for the purpose of cringe-tainment.

    Alan Partridge, The Office, Peep Show, etc etc.

    Literally the polar opposite of number 3, unrelateable and intentionally uncomfortable.

    • wackywayneridesagain [none/use name]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Ha, this is interesting...

      For me, Peep Show is extremely (and uncomfortably) relatable at times, and the jokes/gags that aren't relatable for me I can fit neatly into the other categories individually (the dog of the one woman that Jez hooks up with namely). EDIT: I think we could probably agree to update the definition of "Relateable" to include things that are uncomfortably relatable/even if you've never personally experienced it, you can still relate to why it's uncomfortable. I'm sure there's some specific example of a social situation where the cringe is played for laughs in Peep Show that just doesn't translate to some other culture because it's not seen as abnormal/cringe-worthy. The cringe is suddenly not relatable to them, so the joke falls flat.

      I think "ironic" intentional cringe types of comedic performances, eg not sitcom levels of rehearsed, usually fall into "shock" and "meta".

      For me, this list is complete.

  • FunkyStuff [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Where would purposefully out of tune music fit here? It's long been known as the only kind of humor with no victim.

  • AssortedBiscuits [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    People always forget about physical humor.

    Take this famous scene of Sideshow Bob walking into a bunch of rakes:

    Irony

    There's nothing particularly ironic about Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes unless you're trying to argue that a rake hitting someone in the face instead of being used to rake leaves counts as irony.

    Character

    Sideshow Bob's reaction towards getting hit in the face by a rake could count, but that's not the main thing that makes it funny, which is Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    Relatable

    This is probably the closest one that could count, but I feel like actual relatable jokes are different from physical humor. You don't need to literally get hit in the face with a rake to laugh at Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    Shock

    There's nothing particularly shocking or edgy about Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes although a lot of Jackass stuff could count as both shock and physical humor.

    Reference/Parody

    The entire Simpsons episode is a parody of Cape Fear, but the actual gag of Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes is something completely original.

    Hyperbole

    Having a bunch of rakes and Sideshow Bob repeatedly walking into them could count, but that part of the joke is still different from Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    Wordplay

    No wordplay to be found in Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    Analogy

    No comparison to be found in Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    Madcap

    This is a nonsensical setup, but the setup is different from the payoff of Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    Meta-humor

    This entire gag of Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes is technically filler because the length of the episode came up short and they had to fill up time, but that really isn't a commentary on humor.

    Misplaced Focus

    The scene is perfectly focused of Sideshow Bob getting hit in the face with rakes.

    • Thomas_Dankara [any,comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      I figured rake-stepping type stuff was slapstick and fell under madcap but I guess you're right. Madcap and meta-humor are honestly so broad as to cover most types of humor that you're not sure if they show up on the list or not. Like I was thinking about subversions of other genres. Like a horror jumpscare that turns out to be something harmless. That's meta-humor too.