Laughter – A Powerful Reaction For Good Or Evil
Laughter can be an appropriate reaction in many situations. However, it can also be inappropriate and hurtful to others. Know the difference! Let’s look at the who, what, why, when, and where of laughter.
What Is Laughter
Laughter is a physical response to stimuli we find humorous. The brain lets the body know that you are amused, and the body reacts on a continuum anywhere from a smile to uproarious laughter. The study of laughter and its effect on the body and psychological well-being is called gelotology. Studies have shown that controlled laughter can relieve stress and pain.
What Makes Us Laugh
People find a wide range of stimuli humorous, resulting in laughter. When you were little, your parents tickled you, causing you to laugh. However, if they kept it up until it was unbearable and not fun anymore, the laughing might turn into crying. That situation was physical stimuli.
Visual or audible situations are much more common than physical ones to induce laughter. Humour is all around us if you are looking for it. People are generally funny in their actions and reactions to others. However, not everyone can see the funny side of life. They are too involved with the day-to-day drama of their own lives to be able to observe others subjectively.
The word “subjective” is significant here because humour is subjective. Not everything tickles each person’s funnybone with the same intensity. Have you ever been watching a comedy movie with someone else, and they are laughing and laughing and laughing, and you’re just sitting there smiling? Well, that’s me. Okay, it was funny, but not that funny. I prefer seeing humour in everyday real situations rather than a staged and rehearsed performance. Also, my humour may be a little darker than the average person’s.
Humour Leads to Laughter
We had to talk about humour before we could get to the resulting laughter. This blog is me, so my opinion is what you’re going to read. I’m not basing what comes next on any scientific facts or studies. So here goes. There are four main kinds of laughter. Each, except the second one, can occur at various intensities depending on the situation, from just a smile to rolling-on-the-floor laughter.
Happy Laughter
Happy laughter is laughter that makes you feel good. It’s the response to someone or something you may not have been expecting, but it makes you happy. It’s your feeling, with or without anyone else, to enjoy it. It can take your mind off your everyday life and problems, even if only for a short time. You have witnessed a humorous event, situation, or happening that causes you to smile or laugh out loud. No one has demeaned or caused physical or emotional harm to anyone else. It’s just simply funny and entertaining.
Let’s look at standup comedians. Here is where subjectivity comes in. Very few standup comedians are funny to me. The comedian writes a script, often of unrelated jokes, and rehearses them repeatedly until the material is stale and boring. Now, they present it to the public. There is no spontaneity. It’s usually just not funny.
Nervous Laughter
Many underlying feelings or emotions can result in nervous laughter or, even worse, nervous smiling. Have you ever had a boss who thought he was funny, but he was the only one who thought so? He would say something and laugh like hell, but the people around him would look bewildered or have nervous smiles. That’s what I’m talking about. They didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but it wasn’t funny. This situation has happened to me a few times, but they were wrong. I am funny!
Another reason for a nervous smile or nervous laughter is if you did something silly or out of character and are embarrassed. It may not have been significant, but it happened, and you think it shouldn’t have. The nervous laugh could also be you showing your identification and support for someone else’s embarrassment. The nervous smile or laugh lacks intensity. You don’t want it to be apparent. It just happens subconsciously. You would avoid it if you could, but you have no control over it.
This type of laugh or smile can lead to misunderstandings. In some situations, people might think, “What is he laughing about? There’s nothing funny here.” But it’s an uncontrollable reaction to something that just happened. The nervous laugh leads nicely into the following type of laugh. Again, my opinion.
Mean or Mocking Laughter
Mean laughter is laughter that occurs at someone else’s expense. It is the kind of laughter displayed by bullies. Have you ever seen one of the many coming-of-age movies where the school nerd is carrying his food tray in the school cafeteria, and the school bully trips him on purpose? As the nerd falls to the floor and the food goes flying all over, the bully’s friends break out in uncontrollable laughter. That’s an example of what I’m referring to as mean laughter.
How is this funny? Well, it’s not. It’s the only way the bully can feel superior to someone else. He thinks if he makes the nerd look like a fool, he has achieved some significant accomplishment that makes him look cool to his friends. Friends? Why does a guy like this even have friends? It’s because they’re afraid that if they stand in his way, he will choose them as the next target of his unfunny humour. You’ll also see some of them just standing there with nervous smiles on their faces.
You may have known someone like the bully in high school, or perhaps you were the bully. More often than not, the high school bully grows up in size, but not necessarily maturity, to be the workplace bully. I’ve experienced a few of them throughout my working life, and the so-called friends are still laughing at his cruelty or just expressing a nervous laugh. I’ve used the male gender in these comments only for clarity of writing. Obviously, there are female bullies too.
The Laugh Track
I love to laugh, although usually quietly to myself, and I like to see and hear others laugh, but the laugh track has me puzzled. Also known as canned or recorded laughter, it is the almost subliminal laughter you hear in the background of comedy shows on TV. I’ve always wondered why it was there. If the show is funny, I’ll laugh. But again, funny or humour is subjective. The message of the laugh track is, “What that actor just said or did was funny. Laugh now!” Laughter can be infectious, but the concept of the laugh track is pushing the theory.
I was half-watching a rerun of “The Big Bang Theory” a few nights ago, but I wasn’t paying close attention. Therefore, the laugh track that would normally be in the background if I was concentrating on the dialogue captured my attention. It was like all that existed was the laugh track. My consciousness brought the subliminal message to the forefront, and it sounded ridiculous. It made me think, “What a dull performance this must have been for the producers to feel it necessary to tell us when to laugh.
Morals Of This Post
- Happy laughter is good for the body, the mind, the spirit, and the soul.
- It’s okay to be embarrassed, and you’ll never be able to hide the nervous smile or laugh, so don’t even try.
- Don’t be a bully because it will catch up to you someday, or not.
- Laugh tracks are stupid, so ignore them if you think you can.
And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment
Let’s listen to Neil Sedaka singing his hit “Laughter in the Rain”.
Lyrics
"Laughter in the Rain" Recorded by Neil Sedaka (1974) Written by Neil Sedaka & Phil Cody Strolling along country roads with my baby It starts to rain, it begins to pour Without an umbrella we're soaked to the skin I feel a shiver run up my spine I feel the warmth of her hand in mine Oh, I hear laughter in the rain Walking hand in hand with the one I love Oh, how I love the rainy days And the happy way I feel inside After a while we run under a tree I turn to her and she kisses me There with the beat of the rain on the leaves Softly she breathes and I close my eyes Sharing our love under stormy skies Oh, I hear laughter in the rain Walking hand in hand with the one I love Oh, how I love the rainy days And the happy way I feel inside I feel the warmth of her hand in mine Oh, I hear laughter in the rain Walking hand in hand with the one I love Oh, how I love the rainy days And the happy way I feel inside Oh, I hear laughter in the rain Walking hand in hand with the one I love Oh, how I love the rainy days And the happy way I feel inside
The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.
Vocabulary
- stimuli – noun pl.; a thing that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue; something that causes a reaction
- continuum – noun; anything seen as having a continuous structure without perceptibly distant parts; gradual from one extreme to another
- uproarious – adjective; very noisy; provoking loud laughter; very loud laughter (in this context)
- tickled – transitive verb, past tense of tickle; lightly touch, stroke, or poke a person in such a way that nerves are excited; touching someone in sensitive areas causing the person to laugh
- induce – transitive verb; bring about; give rise to; cause or make happen
- subjective – adjective; a person’s views influenced by an individual’s personal thoughts and opinions; subject to opinion
- intensity – noun; concentration of feeling, emotional depth, earnestness or passion; strong feeling or reaction
- demeaned – transitive verb, past tense; lower the dignity of; to embarrass or ridicule someone
- stale – adjective; lacking novelty or interest; trite or unoriginal; not interesting or special; not funny (in this context)
- spontaneity – noun; sudden impulse from within; something not planned in advance
- bewildered – adjective; utterly perplexed or confused; very confused
- embarrassed – adjective; to feel awkward or self-conscious or ashamed; to feel uncomfortable because of others’ reaction to something you said or did
- subconsciously – adverb; operating or existing without one’s full awareness; in the background (in this context)
- nerd – noun, North American slang; one ridiculed as studious, puny, or unfashionable; a person who is socially challenged
- puzzled – adjective; requires much thought to comprehend; confused and unable to understand the situation
- subliminal – adjective; having an influence upon the mind without one being aware of it; suggestions to the subconscious, such as in advertising
- infectious – adjective; (of emotions, etc.) apt to spread; quickly affecting others; if one person laughs, others will also laugh (in this context)
Comprehension Questions
- What is the study of laughter called?
(a) geography, (b) geology, (c) gelotology, or (d) gerontology - What makes you laugh?
- How many main kinds of laughter are there, according to the writer of this blog?
(a) one, (b) two, (c) three, or (d) four - Do you think standup comedians are funny?
- Do you have a favourite standup comedian?
- Think about a time in your life when you were really embarrassed. Can you laugh about it now?
Yes or No - Which one of the following describes you in high school?
(a) a bully (b) the one being bullied (c) a friend of a bully (d) a friend of the one being bullied - Do you think that laugh tracks are annoying?
Yes or No
Resources
- Wikipedia – Laughter
