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Objective: Students will analyze the emotions presented in selected media in order to review the skills and knowledge needed for Unit 2. 

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Objective: Students will analyze the emotions presented in selected media in order to review the skills and knowledge needed for Unit 2. 

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(1) Article: "The Best Medicine in Life"

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(1) Article: "The Best Medicine in Life"

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Image Credit: Emily F., Cape Town, South Africa

As a child, I remember looking up at adults and wondering why they were always so serious. I did not know exactly why or how their lives were so much more complicated than mine. I counted on them to take care of the difficult and confusing concepts, which I had no clue how to deal with. Now that I have matured, it is necessary to learn more about compound matters. On the other hand, I do not have to wear the same serious, intense faces that most grownups have painted on their faces. My dad continuously makes me laugh no matter how angry or sorrowful I am feeling. I know that I can always turn the bad times around if I think on the bright side, instead of worrying about the hardships constantly. There is always room for a few jokes and laughter in life. In addition, my grandmother has also taught me that I am never too old to laugh my heart out and have a humorous time in life, before it runs out. I am also able to laugh at myself if I do something embarrassing or stupid. Life is a learning process, so I might as well make it worthwhile and amusing with some laughter.
When I was younger, I used to try to be as stubborn as my parents, especially when I was upset or angry. I would convince them that I would be mad forever with my pouty face and heavy feet stomping through the floor. I was wrong, of course. In the next five minutes I would be giggling nonstop under the ticklish touch of my dad, as he mesmerized my body into a burst of flailing, cackling, playful motions. By then, I could not even recall what I had been bothered about. Sometimes, I would come inside balling my eyes out after scraping my knee. Glad to go through the process again, my dad sincerely asks, "Do you want me to call the hospital?" After I nodded my head in response, he would bellow as loud as he could, "HOSPITAL!" Eventually, I gave up explaining that he needed to use the telephone; laughing at his silly behavior and forgetting about my busted knee. I adore my dad for constantly keeping my life pleasurable and upbeat. Even now, as a moody teenager, I am never miserable for long. My dad will always be there to break my angry spirit with giggles and laughter.
This past summer I visited my seventy-four year old grandmother for a couple of weeks. I have honestly never laughed so much during any other two weeks in my life. Most of the time, we were cackling hysterically at the flaws that develop from aging. She often forgot where she had placed things and claimed that someone had hidden them from her. We also had several good chuckles about her problems hearing. Sometimes, she thought that I had said something so outrageous and far from reality that I fell on the floor laughing. I would make fun of her by whispering sentences just to make her say "What?" several times. It never stopped being humorous. We both enjoyed laughing at it as well. Overall, I learned that you are never too old to have fun. One day, while my grandma and I were gardening, she was worrying about getting Melanoma, since the burning sun was smothering her pale shoulders. A few moments later, I surprised her with my outrageous umbrella concoction, which we both had a good laugh at. It became even more ridiculous when I went to take a picture of her supposedly gardening under my new invention. Instead, she was texting away with her friends! I still have the picture of her pretending to weed the garden with her cell phone in the other hand. It is a memory that I will cherish and chortle about forever. We loved making each other laugh. I can wait to get older, but at least I know that I can joke about my old-lady mishaps.
As a teenager, I have made an abundance of mistakes. There are embarrassing moments around every bend on this never ending, always winding road. I have chosen to drive right through the tough obstacles, knowing that eventually, I will be riding on the smooth, flat highway ahead. The best way that I know how to deal with those bumps in the road is to laugh about them and keep on driving. There will always be rough times, but I have prepared for them with a little chuckle of encouragement, knowing that everything will turn out right. Staying embarrassed or frustrated will certainly not help me improve my errors in the future. It is easy to be embarrassed in school, amongst your peers. Whether you are the clumsy kid, the unorganized student who forgets their homework, or the kid who accidentally farts in class; it is important to be able to giggle at those humorous moments and move on. The rest of the world will follow. Life is about making mistakes. It is more enjoyable for the people who are able to laugh at themselves.
I personally believe that if I did not have laughter, or the people in my life that make me laugh, I would be lost. Laughter is the best medicine for everyone to take no matter their age or personality. It may never solve my problems in life, especially the challenging ones ahead, but it will surely make the hardships easier to endure. I am grateful that my dad is there to make me laugh if I am troubled or bitter. Even in my old age, I am assured that I will be able to enjoy life. My gram has shown me that the faults in aging are easier to kid about, rather than fret. She is able to laugh about her own mistakes as a part of getting older. I laugh about my imperfections now, and I will absolutely continue to in my seventies. In the future, my father and grandmother may not be alive. Thankfully, I will always remember our fond memories giggling to death about life. Laughter has become a big part of my personality and I strive to make myself as well as others laugh everyday. It truly is the best medicine in life.

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Image Credit: Emily F., Cape Town, South Africa As a child, I remember looking up at adults and wondering why they were always so serious. I did not know exactly why or how their lives were so much more complicated than mine.

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(2)Article: Bullies use the Superiority Theory to turn laughter into a weapon

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(2)Article: Bullies use the Superiority Theory to turn laughter into a weapon

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You've probably seen the trailers for Carrie, in which Julianne Moore tells Carrie, "They're all going to laugh at you." But is she right? And will they laugh for the reason that Moore claims? Philosophy says yes. Experimental science says maybe.

The most dominant theory about why people laugh at each other also happens to be the meanest theory. It's called the superiority theory of humor, and it goes all the way back to the classical Greeks. (Everyone knows they were a laugh riot.)

Aristotle insisted that we laugh at the ugly or the stupid to express the joy we feel that we're better than them. Socrates added that we also laugh at those who are delusional about their own abilities, because we flatter ourselves that we're more clear-sighted. Thomas Hobbes claimed that laughter was a moment of "glory," in which we feel ourselves to be above other people.
The Philosophy of Superiority
There are a lot of obvious cases for the superiority theory. It includes not only lots of different kinds of jokes, but different versions of the same joke. People throwing around pies can make us laugh because we feel better than the victim - but if there are pies flying all over the place, we feel better, and more dignified, than the throwers as well.

This can also explain the knee-jerk laughs that we get for the unplanned humor we see every day. This could be why we laugh at people falling down suddenly, or banging their knees against low-lying tables. They make us feel graceful. (Unless we constantly are them. In which case we just burn with resentment at the whole world.)

Fans of this theory claim, like Hobbes, that every joke is an example of superiority through humor. Even jokes that are about wordplay are meant to tickle people's senses of their own cleverness and allow their differentiation from the main body of people. Superiority can also make people laugh, meanly, at things that aren't technically jokes at all.

This is what many people are scared of, when it comes to humor. Carrie is spot on, in terms of psychology, when it comes to pointing that out. Being laughed at by a group embodies our worst insecurities about ourselves. Suddenly, everyone in a room independently realizes that we are less worthy, and makes it known. Carrie's most wrenching scene isn't any of the gruesome deaths. It's the scene in which a room full of people see an opportunity to show sympathy and put themselves on the same level as Carrie - or laugh, and show that they're superior. And they instinctively choose laughter.
The Experiments
There's no doubt that the superiority theory of humor explains plenty of jokes. People like feeling good about themselves, and if that feeling comes packaged in wit, so much the better.

One study even tested the concept. The conductors of the study had people read jokes regarding the differences between Canada and America. (I know. Edgy.) Pro-Canada Canadians enjoyed the jokes which showed Canada favorably far more than they liked the pro-America jokes. Pro-American Americans didn't care for their country being disparaged but did like the jokes that mocked Canada. So, clearly, few people have the ideal of a sense of humor which allows them to enjoy a joke based purely on its intellectual inventiveness and well-crafted phrasing.

That doesn't necessarily mean that most of our humor is meant to separate the elite from the plebian. If that were the case, the high-achievers, with their dazzling careers, loving families, and piles of wealth would never stop chortling decorously at the rest of us from behind a scented handkerchief designed to keep our stink out of their noses. A study done in two different hierarchies, healthcare offices and business offices, found that "high status individuals were integral parts of the humor network and enjoyed no particular humor monopoly." People don't laugh along class lines. At least not at the office.

Then again, an elevated class doesn't necessarily mean bullet-proof status when it comes to humor. Most comedies are about underdog protagonists. Some of the humor has us laughing at the heroes, and some has us laughing at the heroes' antagonists. Despite having laughed at both classes, we still identify with the heroes, not the villains. So humor might be a sort of superiority-in-disguise. Used one way, it shows that someone is of inferior status and makes the laugher feel superior to the subject of the joke. Used another way, it's a way of gaining status and making the laugher feel included in a privileged group, and superior to others.

Or it's just a laugh. What do you think?

Via MSU, Small Group Research, Journal of Psychology.

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Bullies use the Superiority Theory to turn laughter into a weapon

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You've probably seen the trailers for Carrie, in which Julianne Moore tells Carrie, "They're all going to laugh at you." But is she right? And will they laugh for the reason that Moore claims? Philosophy says yes. Experimental science says maybe.