Three Most Important Things in Comic Relief

Throughout my entire life I had never given much thought to humor; I simply laughed when I found things funny. Morreall in Comic Relief, however, offers a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of humor, which caused me to really stop and think. The three most interesting ideas that Morreall discusses are the incongruity of humor, the disengagement of humor, and how humor has benefitted society.

The idea that humor is a cognitive shift is of Morreall’s most prominent points in Comic Relief. Morrell defines a cognitive shift as “some thing or event we perceive or think about that violates our mental patterns and normal expectations” (11). Humans enjoy this shift because it provides a mental jolt, which causes us to reevaluate situations. I believe that humor involving cognitive shifts is the most prevalent humor found in society today; therefore, it is important to understand. The movie The Hangover, for instance, is so successful because it utilizes cognitive shifts perfectly. An example of this is when one of the characters walks into that bathroom and finds a tiger. This scene offers a tremendous contrast between what is expected and what actually happens, which supports Morreall’s idea that “the greater the contrast” the “greater the possible amusement” (51).  After all, this scene from the hangover would be a lot less humorous if the person found their dog in the bathroom instead of a tiger.

            Another important point that Morreall makes in Comic Relief is the idea that humor disengages us, while emotions tend to engage us. Morreall claims that emotions tend to evoke responses like the fight or flight response, which causes “heightened alertness, and increased energy and energy tension” (28). Therefore, Morreall argues that emotions engage us to for the purpose of survival. Humor, on the other hand, disengages us physically by causing us to lose motor control through our laughter. Humor not only disengages us physically but also mentally because people tend to not think about humor since it is all in good fun. This mental disengagement by causing irresponsibility, blocking compassion, and promoting prejudice; therefore, it is crucial to understand the possible harmful affects of humor so we do not unintentionally neglect or offend anyone.

Morreall, however, also believes that humor has bettered society by fostering intellectual virtues like open-mindedness, creative thinking, and critical thinking. Humor allows us to break down our mental barriers and examine issues in a new light. Morreall offers political cartoons as an example of the good that humor promotes because they keep “ a critical democratic spirit alive in the United States” (114). Political cartoons expose an issue to society through humor; however, there is always an underlying issue. Even though we may initially laugh, the cartoon causes us to think and question our own beliefs, which is vitally important.

 Morreall’s overview of humor in Comic Relief thoroughly analyzed many aspects of humor. However, the ones that I found to be the most important were the ideas that humor involves a cognitive shift, humor disengages us, and humor fosters intellectual values. All three of these points are especially apparent in everyday life, and therefore it are crucial that we understand them.