They say that laughing can be the best medicine, and they are right. Humor is an extreme necessity for human beings, since it allows us to face everyday life without falling into the most boring of routines or despair and anguish when seeing the harsh and cruel world that we have had to live in.
Naturally not all humors are the same. There are ones for all audiences, guaranteed laughter for the whole family without parents being scandalized by some slightly off-color joke. In other cases it is just the opposite, pure sex, pessimism, physical violence and mockery of the crudest issues of society.
Next We are going to discover the 14 types of humor along with all their characteristics and some references of each genre.
There are all kinds of genres of humor. There are jokes that everyone can hear, since they do not contain any sexual or violent references, while others are just that, pure sexuality and physical brutality. Also humor that arises from incoherence, from the most ironic dryness of the protagonist towards his environment, emotionality and people around him.
Next we are going to see the 10 most common types of humor, their characteristics and some of their references.
1. Absurd humor
Absurd humor, also known as surreal, has an affinity towards what is disconcerting It uses all types of expressions, both verbal and written, as well as representations that expose us to unreal situations, real nonsense if we see it from a rational perspective. This nonsense has been premeditated and intelligently thought out. Making something stupid truly funny is an art, something that very few can do.
Absurd humor exposes circumstances that make no sense, as its name suggests, for which it is not possible to find a consistent explanation This type of humorous representation encompasses all the ideas that can be found in the field of imagination, so some ideas may be difficult to understand.
There are many animations, shows and comedians that make use of this type of humor, which could well be considered the most recurrent. A classic reference in this genre is Monty Python, very famous between the 60s and 80s. In Spain we have Muchachada Nui and Faemino y Cansado. There are also not a few cartoons that exploit this humor, including the classics Looney Tunes, Ren and Stimpy, SpongeBob SquarePants, Regular Stories, Gumball’s World, Dexter’s Laboratory or Clarence.
2. White humor
White humor receives this name because His humorous references are healthy, clean and free of any crudeness or an unspoken negative connotation It is a type of innocent humor, intended for children and adolescents in which no insults are used nor does it reveal bad intentions. It is also called a classroom joke because, by avoiding insults and obscenities, it could even be considered appropriate for school.
It avoids mockery, irony and cynicism, and completely leaves aside topics such as racism or sexism used as humorous forms of expression. It is clearly childish or “family” in nature, appropriate for any occasion and practically impossible to offend anyone making it ideal to watch with the family.
Among its most notable references in the Hispanic world we have the Mexicans Chespirito, Capulina and Mauricio Herrera, the Spanish Gaby, Fofó and Miliki and the Chilean Firulete. It is also common to find this type of humor in animated films for children, protecting their innocence but without depriving them of a good dose of laughter.
3. Dark humor
black humor emerged as a contrast to Romanticism at the beginning of the 20th century It is an ironic, sarcastic, satirical, skeptical humor that is related to absurd and grotesque humor. He usually makes comedy about pessimistic ideas, death and other topics related to human tragedy and how unpleasant and pathetic life can be. It covers dark, painful and controversial topics and is constantly questioning the moral fiber of society and the tendency to be politically correct.
Because it has no qualms about touching on topics that do not leave us indifferent, within black humor we find mockery of issues such as discrimination, politics, religion, war, sexuality and violence. You can also speak out and give your opinions on rape, racism, terrorism, addictions and mental disorders. He talks about what people don’t want to talk about, he makes fun of whatever.
There are many who have resorted to this type of humor throughout the history of comedy Among his great references we have the Marx brothers, Charles Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino. In the field of animation we have shows for more mature audiences such as South Park, American Dad, Family Guy. Regarding the world of literature we have Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Mark Twain and André Bretón.
4. Crude humor
The crude humor It is based on generating situations or circumstances that are embarrassing, painful, ridiculing and humiliating for those involved Also called “slapstick” or physical comedy, it is loaded with physical violence, real or simulated, with which you want to generate laughter in the audience. The public laughs at the pain and shame of others. It is the humorous materialization of the expression “Schadenfreude”.
But there is not only violence, but we can also find high doses of explicit sexual references, obscene words and vulgar expressions. Cruelty and hurt people are an extremely recurring topic in this type of humor, a humor that can only be enjoyed visually given its physical nature.
Among the shows in which we can see this type of humor we have “The Three Stooges”, a classic in the genre. In more recent times we have “Jackass” and “The Dudesons” in which we can find highly dangerous scenes, where someone ends up being injured, sometimes seriously.
5. Dry humor
Dry humor, also called “deadpan”, exposes something funny without resorting to body language at all, hence the dry The comedian does not express emotions and his message has a monotonous and constant tone. He is serious, casual and natural at the same time. He can also be characterized by a certain air of naivety and little attention to the events around him, showing a tranquility and immutability so unalterable that one cannot help but laugh at it seeing how incoherent the situation itself is.
Among the clearest examples of dry humor we have figures such as Eugenio, Bill Murray, Zach Galifianakis, Leslie Nielsen, Tommy Lee Jones, Cacho Garay, Ricardo Quevedo and many others. Even, in a certain way, the character of Mr. Bean can be considered with a certain air of dry humor in some episodes, especially when he is not aware of what is happening around him.
6. Grotesque humor
The etymological origin of the word “grotesque” It comes from the Italian word “grotta”, referring to the alteration of what is traditionally aesthetic or proportional Thus, grotesque humor refers to a type of comedy related to the strange, ridiculous, eccentric, fantastic and irrational. Horror, animalization, mockery and indifference are mixed.
It is a cultured humor, in the sense that it is closely related to the arts such as literature, painting and sculpture. Cartoons are usually a clear example of taking proportions to the extreme and playing with the ideas of what is beautiful and mixing it with what is ugly and horrifying, whether applied to things or people. Incongruity is made into a comic element.
Since the beautiful and the ugly are mixed in multiple ways, words like “decadence,” “monstrosity” and, of course, “deformation” cannot be omitted when describing this type of humor, especially when it is exposed pictorially. The grotesque provokes all kinds of emotions in us, including disgust, anxiety, fear and disgust.
7. Satirical humor
With satirical humor, the aim is to criticize and denounce some type of injustice through comedy. It tends to teach us some value , being moralizing and using ridicule to show that there are defects and problems in a society or in humanity at its maximum extent. Burlesque and funny resources are used within their different forms of expression, especially within literature and dramaturgy.
There are several literary genres that expose satirical humor. To mention just a few, we can find the grotesque tragedy, the grotesque, the fable, the picaresque novel and graphic publications It is also common to find satire in posters, television shows and movies that use comic situations as a means to make social criticism and hope that the situation will change.
8. Sarcastic humor
Etymologically speaking, the word “sarcastic” comes from the Greek “sarkazéin” which means “bite of lips” since it is like we actually bite our lips, without saying things clearly and explicitly but using intelligent comments in its place, apparently contrary. Uses cruelty, sadism and mordacity to obtain the desired effect It is usually very recurrent in parody, transforming a serious situation into a more familiar one.
Its foundation is the devaluation or degradation of that which is the object of its ridicule. This intentional contempt becomes funny by ridiculing the person who laughs, telling them something that is exactly the opposite of what they feel and think. It is precisely this contrast of ideas and values that gives rise to a comical situation, or at least in those who know how to “get” the true message. The trick is to identify the opposite meaning to what is literally said.
Green humor is both explicit and implicit sex humor Its content is clearly vulgar in nature, with such a high tone and bad taste at times that it is inevitable to laugh while feeling embarrassed. Naturally, it is humor that is only suitable for adults, although it is universal and can be understood by any culture and social class since you don’t have to be very intelligent to understand jokes about penises, vaginas, tits and asses.
10. Hacker humor
Hacker humor is derived from computer culture and refers to a type of humor that arises from those experts who master the vocabulary of programming They are usually elaborate parodies that are related to documents, codes, programming languages and files, all kinds of aspects of the cyber world.
In fact, one of the most common ways to express this kind of humor is in RFCs, requests for comments that describe standard Internet protocols. These RFCs have a formal language but the hacker comedians manipulate it in a very funny way, as internal jokes made in the code of the program or document, which only other programming language experts can understand.
Psychological classification
After seeing the types of humor based on their characteristics themselves, we move on to see a more psychological classification. Humor can have different facets, uses and can also be more harmful depending on the use and intention with which it is produced Everyone has a sense of humor to a greater or lesser extent, what varies significantly is whether it is really funny, appropriate and has some real social benefit. Next we will see the humors following a psychological classification.
1. Connective humor
It is a humor of clear social intention, which is done because It’s funny for the majority who can identify with it Actions and situations from everyday life are used, which are funny for everyone, generating a sense of happiness, well-being and a greater idea of belonging to a group.
2. Aggressive humor
Insults or insults are used against other people, being only “comfortable” for a part of the audience It may be funny to some to see other people being abused, threatened and hurt, while the victims may become afraid.
3. Firming humor
It is the humor we do to try to get something good out of an adverse situation. It arises from the need to laugh at oneself healthily being reflective about the mistakes and misfortunes that one may have but that one can learn from them.
4. Self-destructive humor
This is the humor we make of ourselves, but unlike the affirming one, the self-destructive one. acquires a function as self-punishment Aggressiveness or self-pity is used. Some may consider it a healthy form of humor, but it can also be a form of indirect defense against abusers or a sign of depression and lack of self-esteem.
