Intro to D&D | Sherri Stoner Interview | Tom Ruegger Interview | Andrew David Barker Interview | BOTW Dragon Farming | Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire Tips & Tricks
Register
Login
  • Latest
  • Trending
Things That Drive Nerds Crazy: Antihumor

Things That Drive Nerds Crazy: Antihumor

April 11, 2014
Arcade Version Of Ice Climber Rereleased On Switch

Arcade Version Of Ice Climber Rereleased On Switch

February 22, 2019
wynonna earp

Wynonna Earp Season 4 Delayed For Weird Reason

February 22, 2019
space jam 2

Space Jam 2 Set For July 16, 2021

February 22, 2019
ring of elysium

Ring Of Elysium Patched With Weapon Improvements

February 22, 2019
anthem

Anthem Day One Patch Notes

February 22, 2019
skullgirls

Skullgirls Coming To Switch & XBox One

February 22, 2019
Global Closed Beta Launches For KurtzPel

Global Closed Beta Launches For KurtzPel

February 21, 2019
daughter of dismay

Watch The First Teaser For Daughter Of Dismay

February 21, 2019
Meet Bragi Axebiter of Warhammer: Chaosbane

Meet Bragi Axebiter of Warhammer: Chaosbane

February 20, 2019
iratus: lord of the dead

Iratus: Lord Of The Dead Announced For PC

February 20, 2019
episode ardyn prologue

Final Fantasy XV Episode Ardyn — Prologue Now Viewable On YouTube

February 20, 2019
things from the flood

Things From The Flood Is Creeping Your Way This Spring

February 20, 2019
popgeeks.com
  • Film
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Tabletop Games
  • Comics
  • Horror
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • Film
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Tabletop Games
  • Comics
  • Horror
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
popgeeks.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Articles Editorial

Things That Drive Nerds Crazy: Antihumor

Peter Paltridge by Peter Paltridge
April 11, 2014
in Editorial
0 0
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Nerds enjoy entertainment that rewards them for paying attention. They enjoy humor that makes sense in context and impresses them with unpredictability and cleverness. Their tolerance for bufoonish frat comedy or domestic family sitcoms are less than other people’s, but the one form of humor they really can’t stand is antihumor.

Antihumor is, in basic terms, something that normally wouldn’t be presented as a joke…presented as a joke. This is not to be confused with “dead baby comedy,” which is taking something tragic and horrible and presenting it as a joke unedited. Antihumor is more like…taking a diagram of a wall section, pasting it by its lonesome with no explanation, leaving it there and calling THAT a joke.


GET IT???

Why would anyone do this? Because in antihumor, the joke is on the audience. It’s on YOU for anticipating something good! But you got a wall! Hilarious, but only to the joke-teller. To the person who committed the act, the joke is funny — and sometimes that’s all they care about. This kind of humor is the biggest flaw in the “please only yourself” school of comedic thought that’s so popular these days.

Antihumor was pioneered by maybe-insane comedian Andy Kaufman, who used to pull things like open a sold-out show by lying down on the stage and sleeping the entire time. It was later adapted by a lot of the cheaper shows on Adult Swim, specifically Sealab 2021, which among other things aired an entire episode without a single joke. The joke was that there was no joke. Did you laugh?

It’s become more prevalent in today’s comedy for three reasons. One, it’s easy. There’s no simpler way for an animation factory to knock off nine months’ worth of work than to show a jar of mayonnaise for ten minutes. Two, it’s perceived as edgy and different, mainly because it’s never been done to this kind of extent before (but for good reason). Three (in the case of Adult Swim), executives think that their primary audience is incredibly stoned and will watch anything.

Defenders of antihumor will point to two classic examples of long extended gags in animation and present them as proof that antihumor works: Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes for 45 seconds, and Peter Griffin hurting his knee and going “SSSSSS…..AAAAAAAH” for an entire minute. People loved these, therefore, antihumor should be given a chance, right? The odds are just as good that showing a construction crane backing into place for three minutes of airtime will have them rolling on the floor!

No. Not really. Because these examples aren’t antihumor. An extended gag and antihumor are not always the same thing.

Both these bits are more like one joke that changes into another joke. At first Sideshow Bob’s rake scene is funny for simplistic reasons of cartoon violence. Then as it wears on, the joke becomes the fact that Bob can’t escape the rakes no matter which direction he turns, and he has the same seething reaction every time. There’s a point to it; it’s not only funny, but adds to his character.

Peter Griffin’s knee at first isn’t really a joke at all, but becomes one after the audience recognizes he’s milking his injury and making a bigger personal deal out of it than it really is. The knee bit isn’t antihumor, it’s observational humor, because some people will really do this.

Advertisement

Conway Twitty, however….is just Conway Twitty. Playing a video of Twitty for three minutes doesn’t start as a joke and become a different one. It’s just something that’s there. And it’s evidence the Family Guy staff doesn’t understand why the knee scene worked. It made them come to the conclusion that they can run ANYTHING for an extended period of time and generate tremendous gushers of laughter. For a show built on comic cartoon timing, this became a real problem. There were a lot of geeks who did not see Ted because they feared Seth MacFarlane was going to pull the same gimmick again and focus the camera on a lint ball for five minutes, or something just as tedious. Thankfully, though Ted contained a lot of Seth’s now-stale routines, antihumor was not among them.

It is still a fundamental fact that all forms of humor are dependent on timing. Even extended gags needs timing, and in that case they’re even more difficult to cut just right so the audience is more amused than annoyed. There is no timing applied to most attempts at antihumor, and this is a big reason why they fall flat. More people than just nerds don’t appreciate this kind of joke. Your number one goal when writing should be to please your audience, and committing antihumor for the sake of it accomplishes the opposite.

So, in summary:

Like this Article? Subscribe to Our Feed!

ShareTweetPin
Peter Paltridge

Peter Paltridge

Please login to join discussion

Search PopGeeks.com

No Result
View All Result

Featured Article

Adventurers Assemble! Putting a Party Together in D&D – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!
Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire Tips and Tricks on Getting Started
Pop Geeks
Email the Editor

Latest News on FilmCombatSyndicate.com

Search PopGeeks.net

No Result
View All Result

Contact Us

Contact Us | Write for? Contact Us! | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

Follow Us

Copyright © 2018 popgeeks.com, All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Film
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Tabletop Games
  • Comics
  • Horror
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Forum

Copyright © 2018 popgeeks.com, All Rights Reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This site uses XenWord.
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.