If you don't think it's funny, it's because you don't get it. That's my attitude towards Family Guy. People who laugh at it aren't wrong. They just get something that I don't. I've never really understood the need to be the person, in a room full of people laughing, who says "I get it, but it's just not funny." Maybe worse yet are people who think they can change the curmudgeon's mind by explaining the layers of the joke.
That's why the comment thread on this Language Log post is frustrating.
Commenters who need jokes to be "classy," probably also want their pizza to be healthy and their candy to be educational.
And in response to an ironic comment that some readers thought was serious, Mark offers what I think is a glorious suggestion:
"The world would be a better place if the /snark tag was presumed for internet posts in general and people had to qualify their words when they meant to be serious."
New rule.
I don't think that FG fans get something that you don't. It's just taste. Family Guy is not for everyone.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have defended FG before, it's usually against unfair and untrue charges: "it's all just random cutaways," "it isn't funny because there's no storytelling, "it's all just 'Peter-is-dumb-and-fat' jokes," etc.
Trying to convince someone that something is funny is a fool's errand, but when they blame their lack of laughter on inaccurate observations, then there's a conversation to be had.
but that's my point ed. it is about not getting it. "getting it" isn't just about knowing what meanings they're playing with or understanding what the reference is too. it's about being able to attach "i know this is funny" to the joke. the why is another thing. they "why" is about analysis, and no joke is funny because of analysis. it's only funny because of getting it.
ReplyDeletei know the sense of getting-it that you mean. and i'm suggesting that's not a real important part of humor. because half the time when i watch kids in the hall i'm laughing and thinking what the hell…? i don't "get" this. but it's still damn funny.
what i'm suggesting is that when we say we don't laugh and we blame it on not "getting" the joke, that's fine. all the humor in the layers of the joke went past us. when we laugh but we still say we don't get it, we're overlooking the obvious fact that the humor in the layers of the joke did work on us. we did get something.
but when we don't laugh, and insist we do get it, we're lying, and trying to convince people that we know where our spidey sense would have picked up any traces of humor, but they didn't, and that's why the joke isn't funny.
man, you just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteYOU CAN'T THROW THAT BACK AT ME WHEN I ALREADY SAID IT!
ReplyDelete