• Registered: 2010-06-13
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Topic: Is comedy completely subjective?

So I have been stuck wondering about the seemingly never-ending battle of (is that funny or not).

Let's say you go to rent a comedy at Blockbuster or some place like it and ask the cashier if you would recommend (insert any comedy here) and they say not at all its not funny. Is that fair? I wouldn't say so. You could hate it, or you could laugh your ass off, simply depending on who you are.

This is why I think comedy is or almost is 100% subjective.

Thoughts?

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  • From: Farmington, CT
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Comedy? Probably. Comedy films? Not necessarily. You can laugh at Scary Movie 4 all you want, but it's still a terrible movie.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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  • From: Red Deer, AB
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Landporpus wrote:

Is Comedy Completely Subjective?

Yes.

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  • Dave
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

BigDamnArtist wrote:
Landporpus wrote:

Is Comedy Completely Subjective?

Yes.

/thread

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  • From: Indiana, USA
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Landporpus wrote:

This is why I think comedy is or almost is 100% subjective.

Subjective yes. Random no.

But, whether it's broccoli or the Barbarian Brothers, there's no accounting for taste.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

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  • From: Kent, England
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Definitely so. Apparently, Mystery Men is supposed to be funny.

Comedy is highly subjective, and is informed by cultural norms as well as much as taste. People from different countries and continents will find humour in different things. The Koreans for instance, seem to love visual humour and often have people slapping each other, something that may be frowned upon and considered distinctly unfunny by a society on the other side of the world. The Chinese taste for humour is often based around language, so if you don't understand the pun then you won't find it funny.

Whether something is funny or not is also affected by age and generation, such that I don't find Charlie Chaplin funny in the slightest, nor the Three Stooges... but equally my grandmother is unlikely to laugh during Spaceballs or at the typical lowest common denominator fart jokes in contemporary 'comedy' films.

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan

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  • Lamer
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

BigDamnArtist wrote:
Landporpus wrote:

Is Comedy Completely Subjective?

Yes.

Agreed. I think Monty Python is great while my girlfriend describes it as the most boring thing she has ever seen in her life. But we're both Eddie Izzard fans. There are no general rules when it comes to comedy. It's all a matter of personal preference.

redxavier wrote:

but equally my grandmother is unlikely to laugh during Spaceballs

Oh come on, everyone likes Spaceballs smile

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  • Teague
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

I thought that too.

Once.

sad_tennant

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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  • Kyle
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

My counter argument to this is as follows:

People falling down.

When.

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  • From: Scotland
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Lamer wrote:
redxavier wrote:

but equally my grandmother is unlikely to laugh during Spaceballs

Oh come on, everyone likes Spaceballs smile

Speak for yourself big_smile

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  • Registered: 2010-05-01
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Kyle wrote:

My counter argument to this is as follows:

People falling down.

Yeah, I think physical comedy is less subjective. Wile E Coyote popping open a little umbrella before getting crushed by a boulder is hilarious.

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  • From: Farmington, CT
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

Squiggly_P wrote:
Kyle wrote:

My counter argument to this is as follows:

People falling down.

Yeah, I think physical comedy is less subjective. Wile E Coyote popping open a little umbrella before getting crushed by a boulder is hilarious.

Disagree. Wile E Coyote probably found no humor in that situation. wink

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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  • From: Chicago-ish
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Re: Is comedy completely subjective?

<releases squeaky fart>

edit:
<floored for 30 seconds rofl'ing about the aformentioned flatulence>

Last edited by drewjmore (2012-05-12 04:38:21)

(UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

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