Zoe's Humor Blog

 This week in class we discussed humor in organizations and its functions and I found it to be very interesting! Something about workplace humor has always been fascinating to me as it is, in a way,  a form of coping that trauma bonded co-workers utilize to make the daily grind a tad bit easier. Eeeeek, it is sad but true!🤣 I would like to utilize this teaching reflection to focus specifically on the function and benefits of humor between co-workers specifically as opposed to work leadership, management, etc.  Humor between co-workers is often used as a way to make sense of events or problems in the workplace that often do not get spoken about to or would not make sense to management or supervisors. "Co-worker humor" is a key element in group cohesiveness and can add to the culture of a workplace. Co-workers often joke around as a way to build camaraderie, relieve stress, and create a more positive and enjoyable work environment. Humor in the workplace can also be used...

For my midterm project I focused on the concept of incongruity theory and the character of Moira Rose and how she so perfectly embodies what it is about! While re-watching the show, Schitt's Creek , I came across this episode of when David and Patrick get married a couple of days ago and I just knew that I had to do a deeper dive on it.  First, I want to start off by describing what incongruity theory is! So, incongruity theory is, essentially, a sort of juxtaposition to the social norm. Incongruity Theory holds that humor results from a mental reaction to something unexpected, unusual, or odd in a nonthreatening way when an accepted norm or pattern is violated. The difference must be close enough to the norm to be nonthreatening, but different enough to be remarkable. This theory emphasizes cognition meaning that one must have the ability to rationally understand patterns of everyday reality to understand what pattern was violated and why it is humorous as a result. Pattern recogn...

 Humor has the paradoxical ability to greatly divide or unite people, which is something that has always fascinated me. Humor is seen as both a facilitator and friction-inducer in social interaction. I find that in my life, it has helped to unite more so than to divide and I have used it as a means to understand people and myself better. I know that I have spoken on this before in our Week 2 Discussion, but it felt appropriate to talk about today since it is the anniversary of my brother's passing. In March of 2022, my baby brother, Noah, passed away. Obviously, this time in my life was rife with grief and tears upon tears. But after Noah's memorial service, my older brothers and I sat in the bed of his truck and exchanged memories of our brother. We cried and cried but we also laughed so much because we could not stop talking about how funny he was and all of the crazy things we experienced together. The joy and laughter we had in that time is something that I will never...

 Please enjoy the following video of my presentation on the character of Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek and how Incongruity Theory applies to her!           YouTube Link:  https://youtu.be/O_WrufIv51I?si=M2CX59X3ENc5Jdl4 References/Sources: Youtube Google Images TikTok Comedy Central Understanding Humor Through Communication by John C. Meyer