Zoe's Humor Blog

I have been binge (re)watching one of my favorite shows of all-time , Will & Grace , this past week and after our recent unit on workplace humor I could not help but notice how humorous Grace Adler's workplace is. For those who have not watched Will & Grace, one of the main characters, Grace Adler, is an interior designer that owns a design business/studio in NYC. Grace's one singular employee is Karen Walker, an incredibly wealthy (and incredibly lazy) wife of a multi-millionaire who only works as an excuse to not have to deal with her stepchildren. The humorous interactions that occur throughout the series in Grace's studio/place of work are a great example of humor in the workplace as well as humor between employees and employers. The dynamics between the two characters and their vastly different personalities as well as their work ethics (Karen's is basically non-existent, haha!) are a central point of humor in the show. The humor that the two utilize whil...

 This week for our lecture we discussed aggressive forms of humor! One that stood out to me the most is 'assertiveness' because it is a form of aggressive humor that I use and experience a lot. Assertiveness belongs to the constructive dimension of aggressive communication. A positive form of communication, assertiveness represents a response that allows a person to behave in a certain manner, respecting their owns interests and expressing their feelings without fear while also respecting other individuals. One of my best friend's little sister, Cheyanne, and I utilize assertiveness all of the time in our communication with each other. Cheyanne and I have known each other for almost fifteen years now and our relationship is like that of a big and little sister. We often will respond to each other in conversation with insults or brash comebacks. For example: the last time I saw Cheyanne was about two weeks ago at a Shrek Trivia night in Austin. She announced to the table tha...

 This week's discussion post is my inspiration for this personal reflection! One of the prompts for the discussion this week that intrigued me is:   Explore the psychological implications of humor, including its role as a coping mechanism for stress and adversity. Discuss the potential dangers of using humor as a defense mechanism and strategies for promoting mental well-being through communication. As well as Dr. Hubbard's awesome response question:  How do you think social support groups (like AA or support for those who have lost, etc) can use humor in their meetings in a good way to still show they care and not just act like it is a joking manner?     This topic and these questions are so incredibly personal and special to me because, A.) it is the subject of my research paper and most importantly, B.) because it is and has been a very real part of what has gotten me through the grief that I carry and the roller coaster of emotions I have ridden trying t...

 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