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Essay On Comedy And Depression

522 Words3 Pages

What exactly is the deal with comedians and depression?
This question has been mulled over, torn apart, tossed about and dissected so many times that there’s not really much left to poke and prod at; and yet, with the recent passing of well-known comic Robin Williams, who spent much of his life battling depression, journalists have dug out their embalming tools in an attempt to preserve the age-old question and try to figure out why the happiest people seem to be the most miserable. As someone who has dealt with her fair share of depression served alongside a bad case of inappropriate and uncalled for humor, it’s a topic that has always interested me. While I do agree that comedy typically seems to go hand in hand with troubled childhoods …show more content…

The death of a loved one? Certainly. A drawling lecture given by a prestigious figure? On most occasions. The frantic pleadings of a young child to check for monsters under the bed? Only on Wednesdays. A bad breakup between a good friend of yours and their significant other? Not in the least--any opportunity to laugh at another’s expense should always be taken advantage of. But I digress. Humor is a way of life. From the quiet kid in the back of the classroom who can shock an entire class with a well-placed joke, to the scrawny little red-head whose knock-knock jokes everyone pretends to appreciate, to the loud and jeering class clown whose antics are the envy of his peers and a headache to his teachers, everyone can find some value in being funny. Whether you prefer slapstick, satire, dry humor, sarcastic quips, or a healthy dose of cynicism, you should always appreciate and make room for a little amusement in your daily life. Anyone is capable of being humorous. That’s not to say that everyone has to be the poster child for hilarity; but it doesn’t take much to get a laugh out of most people. One of the most satisfying feelings in the world is cracking a joke or making a witty remark that just so happens to strike a chord with everyone in the room, resulting in

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Critchley says (p. 9) that true humor has to change the situation. By this statement, I believe he meant that true humor allows one to shed light on topics or issues that might have been left in the dark due to pride or fears of expressing them, in an attempt to help release tension or change the situation or environment. True humor can change one’s perceptions of things. An example of true humor was presented in the story “Santa Land Diaries”, when he mentioned a husband sat on Santa’s lap and when asked what he had wanted for Christmas, another men yelled “I want a broad with big tits”. I think this is true humor because it helped to release the tension in others and changed the environment by causing others laugh.

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Humor in the Henhouse In his essay “Chicken in the Henhouse”, Sedaris utilizes various forms of humor to demonstrate that you can’t stereotype an entire group of people and that you shouldn’t judge people. Sedaris argues that stereotypes cause a negative self image and feelings such as guilt despite being innocent of any misdeeds society implicates him in. Serdaris uses humor to make himself more relatable which can be explained through the use of the superiority, incongruity, and relief theories to prove that stereotypes can not define everybody. By practicing humor throughout his essay, the author makes his argument more effective and able to further impact his audience more than it would have without humor.

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Because negative styles of humor can still be a form of coping and resiliency in theory. Additionally, looking into comparing the use of humor in resiliency to other character strengths used in resiliency. 12. I can see myself taking what this article found and using it to specifically look into how resiliency and humor tie into overcoming ACE’s or Adverse Childhood Experiences. There isn’t too much research out there like that, so I can see these findings helping

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