Examining The 3 Theories Of Humor Through A Firefighter's Act of Bravery & Kindness

As of late-- as a student of philosophy and psychology, I’ve really become intrigued with the three major philosophical Theories of Humor. I’m fascinated with how we as not only business/entertainment professionals-- but humans can use them to enhance our lives as well as that of those around us.

Here's a quick run-down for those of you who haven’t heard of them (and a reminder for some).

The three major theories surrounding the practicality of humor, comedy and laughter are:

1.     The Relief Theory: States that humor is a mechanism used for relieving psychological tension and nervousness.

2.   The Superiority Theory: A person laughs about the misfortune of others (also known as schadenfreude), because these misfortunes assert one’s superiority on the background of the shortcomings of others.

3.   The Incongruency Theory: We don’t notice that something is humorous until the realization of incongruity (a mis-match) between a concept involved in a certain situation and the real objects thought to be in some relation to that concept.

 When I’m learning--in order to ensure that I fully embrace what I learn—I enjoy finding a way to break down each concept. I usually do this by analyzing something I’m already familiar with.

I decided to test what I’d learned about the theories with one of my personal favorite Ted Talks.

Note: Ted Talks are conversations in semi-keynote style speech given by thought leaders, influencers and business executives/personnel from all around the world. The Ted brand actually branches off into local/regional speaking environments which are known as Ted X. This allows more local leaders to start up thoughtful conversations within their own communities and tribes. This particular conversation however, is led by the actual ‘‘parent’’ Ted brand. Many who have heard a Ted ‘‘talk’’ would usually not associate the content as humorous but this particular speaker injected humor into his—which allowed it to be etched in my brain—forever. I find that I react and am inspired with conversations that have the ability to make me think as well as smile or laugh.

In the video clip, Mark Bezos, an executive at a non-profit called Robinhood (also the brother of Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos—shares a story about the first fire ‘‘call’’ he was on while performing his duties as a volunteer firefighter (Assistant Captain) one day. In the story, he states that many of the other firefighters had vocations or ‘‘day jobs’’ such as money managers or attorneys. This is significant when he shares that upon arriving at the scene of the fire, one of the other men was asked by the fire chief to go in and find/rescue the owner’s dog.

 He on the other hand, to his slight dismay, was asked to go in and find the distraught female owner’s shoes. He joked that the firefighter who rescued the dog was more than likely more well off (due to his seemly superior job as a money manager) but could also now tell everyone he saved a living creature.

Mark goes on to tell that a few weeks later, the department received a letter from the homeowner, thanking them but to his surprise the ‘‘act of kindness’’ she stated was above all else was the fact that someone had bravely gone in to retrieve her shoes.

To be honest that last part always gives me chills due to the fact that as we know—risking your life to save a human being is expected in a firefighter’s line of work- but it is certainly more impactful to me that he went into a fire to retrieve an item she technically really needed but could have purchased another of. I can certainly see how this moved her. It moved me as well.

Breaking down the video in conjunction with the three main theories of humor—what stood out to me was Mark’s ability to provide his audience relief right from the start. In the clip he doesn’t come on stage in dress shirt and slacks, as if he just walked out of the office—but rather, he is wearing his firefighting uniform.

As I stated above, The Relief Theory states that humor is a mechanism used for relieving psychological tension. As a result, nervous energy is released and laughter and a feeling of relief and merriment is formed instead. Lastly, humor based on the relief theory, is used to mainly overcome sociocultural inhibitions and reveal our desires that may be suppressed.

When Mark steps out in his uniform, I feel that he subconsciously brought any level of tension the audience members may have been feeling—waaaay down.

In our society, the modern day ‘‘gladiators’’ are not only the athletes of today but also anyone who is seen as a hero. Today many automatically feel relief in the presence of firefighters, soldiers, most doctors and teachers to name a few. Now had he been wearing the uniform of a vocation that isn’t really favored due to controversy—the level of stress would have more than likely risen as they listened to him speak. Additionally, he speaks in a manner very much in line with that of someone in a hospitality driven field which once again allows the audience to overcome any sociocultural inhibitions they may have had—had he come in wearing what he would in a board room.

The Superiority Theory for me comes into play in my mind—in exactly the way Plato or Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes and like-minded philosophers believed. Their belief was that comedy was not to be used by a man or woman deemed as superior.

Socrates stated,

‘‘Ridiculous is characterized by a display of self-ignorance.’’

Aristotle was noted as saying:

‘‘We laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at feeling superior to them.’’

I find that humor is much more acceptable with a middle class or lower middle-class crowd if someone who seems to be from that same background is dishing it out. I don’t know if Mark planned this out but it worked in his favor. As I stated before- rather than put up an invisible barrier by wearing dress clothing and using ultra fancy vocabulary- he brought the vocab level down just a notch, used relatable and humorous references like ‘‘nemesis’’ and ‘‘Lex Luther’’

and essentially took the audience to a ‘‘friendly neighborhood fireman’’ mindset. In essence, he used it and won with his approach. This to me proves that much of what has been taught is still in play. Many still unconsciously associate a certain type of down-home humor with actually being ‘‘down-home’’ and technically ‘‘inferior’’.

However, I must point out a caveat that humor was not used in this story to laugh at the misfortune of the homeowner. Instead it was used to point out the important things that really matter in life like kindness and appreciation for the act and presence of others.

The last theory, the Incongruity Theory, deals with how serious and devastating a conversation about a fire usually is. Instead the incongruent fact is that based on the theory that

humor is actually realized at the moment the incongruity between a concept involved in a certain situation and the real objects thought to be in some relation to the concept—is discovered.

Mark’s ability to tell a story as well as his ability to present facts that when heard out of context would actually cause fear rather than laughter-- shows his true mastery regarding the art of humor in my eyes!

Watch the AWESOME and Inspiring video clip here:

You can also check out the original version we've just published of this article here at TG2M Magazine (www.TG2MMagazine.com)

Article Written By KayeCee Austin

Website: www.TG2MMagazine.com

Instagram: @talkgeeky2me10

Twitter: @KayeCeeTG2M

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/kayecee

Facebook: KayeCee Austin