Blog 2

I agree the most with Marie Collins Swabey's idea that incongruity is found humorous because the two aspects are irrelevant to one another in a acceptable scenario. Often the humor is found within the topic of discussion because the two concepts are dissimilar. Swabey distinguishes that there are two forms of incongruity, logical and factual, and that the context in which incongruity is utilized may differ. Logical, which infringe on the laws of logic, are usually entertaining because the person utilizing the logical incongruity makes a false statement, which overlaps with the idea of superiority theory. Logical incongruity appeals to our sense of rational form where as factual appeals more to the incompatibility of certain topics. This form of incongruity is demonstrated when the association of said topics are viewed as incompatible or abnormal to the audience.
Although Roger Scruton disagrees with the theory that the abnormality of the incongruent pairing of two ideas in not what makes something humorous, I find his argument that characters and the congruency of their actions or words with their personality makes them humorous. Within the show "Shameless", Frank, the neglectful and alcoholic father of numerous children who have to navigate life without a guardian, is humorous because the audience is expecting his cruel and unusual actions. Because the audience is aware of the type of character Frank is, the further he pushes away from his family is more comedic. However, Frank's character is meant to shock so the idea that this he represents congruency contradicts itself and is still in a way incongruent.