Alyssa Thomas FYW

The amount of memes that I saw during the time of Hurricane Florence was wild. What shocked me even more and added to the humor of many of the posts, tweets, or memes was the fact that those who were being directly affected by Florence were the people making light of the situation. Like the individual who was forced to close their store that Madelyn refers to, many individuals, though suffering great losses, made these jokes and memes about the great destruction that was caused. These example of the people who were suffering the most but making the most jokes about the destruction, are perfect examples of relief theory. While most the country was terrified and worried about the effects of Hurricane Florence, some individuals were able to relieve this tension and worry through their nonchalant posts that found humor within the situation. While many of the posts I witnessed usually depicted once instance of the hurricane's devastation, the account that an individual made from the per...

I agree that this scene within Talladega Nights is extremely hilarious because of incongruity and superiority theory. When the scene opens, Rick Bobby's wife calls everyone to the dinner table and exclaims that she has been slaving over the meal for ours, however, the next shot depicts that the meal is comprised entirely of fast food, which the audience knows takes no effort. After panning over the unhealthy meal, the movie then proceeds with Ricky's grace. While saying grace normally consists of a short prayer that thanks a higher power for the most significant aspects of one's life and the meal they are about to eat, Ricky Bobby's grace thanks baby Jesus, not the grown man, for various inappropriate things. This appeals to audience members because of the incongruous items he gives thanks for and the overall idea of prayer. This prayer also brings in superiority theory because the audience finds humor within the language the family utilizes throughout the grace. Ricky ...

Sacha Baron Cohen is a wildly known name and every time someone mentions this iconic comedian, one word comes to mind: controversy. Many of his pieces of comedy are often met with disapproving critiques as numerous people find his jokes and "faux"interviews to be exceedingly offensive, stretching into the violation sector of benign violation theory. However, this controversy is what took those who favor his humor and form of comedy by storm and enabled the establishment of his name within the comedic media realm. In addition to his political jokes, which often strike controversy, Cohen's form of comedy takes on superiority and incongruity theory. The interviews that Will discusses, in which Cohen asks ridiculous questions to professionals, are examples of superiority theory as interviewees are those who feel this sense of supremacy over Cohen. However, the audience experiences laughter due to the incongruity theory utilized through the lack of relevancy in Cohen's que...