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Chapter 10. Sociology and the joke

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Good Humor, Bad Taste
This chapter is in the book Good Humor, Bad Taste
Chapter 10Sociology and the jokeWhydosomepeoplelaughatjokeswhileothersdonot?Thiswastheleadingques-tion of the preceding nine chapters. Despite the limited breadth of the question –referring solely to one unpretentious, albeit contested, genre – the answer fannedout in all directions. Attempts to interpret how jokes are appreciated quickly ledto more general questions about humor: what do people think is good and badhumor? What do people think is going too far or, alternatively, just stimulatingenough to be funny? What does it mean if a joke “means nothing” to people? Howdo differences in sense of humor affect social relationships? These questions alsotouched on themes beyond the domain of humor: the meaning of authenticity,the importance of style, the value of sociability, the relationship between formand content, between taste and quality, and the question of what people see asgood and pleasant communication.The sociology of the joke touches on many questions central to (cultural) soci-ology. In this epilogue I comment briefly on some of these, all of which have beenaddressed already, some more explicitly than others. First, I once again discussthe question of how the appreciation of humor works – the leitmotif of the book.The next questions are related less to humorology than to sociology: what is thenature of the three social background characteristics most strongly connectedto humor, namely gender, age and social class? What role do these play in theappreciation of humor? How are these social background characteristics affectedby cross-national differences? In conclusion, I look at the social consequencesof these differences in the appreciation of jokes: what does it mean that tastesin the area of humor differ? Do differences in sense of humor necessarily lead todistinction and exclusion? How are taste differences in appreciating jokes (andother humor) related to taste differences in other areas?The appreciation of jokes: Genre and individual jokesIn the chapters concerned with the Dutch sense of humor, I offered a two-partanswer to the question of why some people laugh at jokes and others do not.First, I looked at the appreciation of the genre and subsequently at individualjokes. Both the interviews and the questionnaire made it apparent that in theNetherlands, people have an (often very decided) opinion of the genre in its en-tirety.Some,likethejoketellersIinterviewed,wererealjokelovers.Othersreactedindifferently or even emphatically negatively to my question of what they thought

Chapter 10Sociology and the jokeWhydosomepeoplelaughatjokeswhileothersdonot?Thiswastheleadingques-tion of the preceding nine chapters. Despite the limited breadth of the question –referring solely to one unpretentious, albeit contested, genre – the answer fannedout in all directions. Attempts to interpret how jokes are appreciated quickly ledto more general questions about humor: what do people think is good and badhumor? What do people think is going too far or, alternatively, just stimulatingenough to be funny? What does it mean if a joke “means nothing” to people? Howdo differences in sense of humor affect social relationships? These questions alsotouched on themes beyond the domain of humor: the meaning of authenticity,the importance of style, the value of sociability, the relationship between formand content, between taste and quality, and the question of what people see asgood and pleasant communication.The sociology of the joke touches on many questions central to (cultural) soci-ology. In this epilogue I comment briefly on some of these, all of which have beenaddressed already, some more explicitly than others. First, I once again discussthe question of how the appreciation of humor works – the leitmotif of the book.The next questions are related less to humorology than to sociology: what is thenature of the three social background characteristics most strongly connectedto humor, namely gender, age and social class? What role do these play in theappreciation of humor? How are these social background characteristics affectedby cross-national differences? In conclusion, I look at the social consequencesof these differences in the appreciation of jokes: what does it mean that tastesin the area of humor differ? Do differences in sense of humor necessarily lead todistinction and exclusion? How are taste differences in appreciating jokes (andother humor) related to taste differences in other areas?The appreciation of jokes: Genre and individual jokesIn the chapters concerned with the Dutch sense of humor, I offered a two-partanswer to the question of why some people laugh at jokes and others do not.First, I looked at the appreciation of the genre and subsequently at individualjokes. Both the interviews and the questionnaire made it apparent that in theNetherlands, people have an (often very decided) opinion of the genre in its en-tirety.Some,likethejoketellersIinterviewed,wererealjokelovers.Othersreactedindifferently or even emphatically negatively to my question of what they thought

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface to the new edition vii
  3. Acknowledgments xiii
  4. Contents xv
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction: Jokes, humor, and taste 1
  6. Part I: Style and social background
  7. Chapter 2. The joke: Genesis of an oral genre 23
  8. Chapter 3. Joke telling as communication style 42
  9. Chapter 4. The humor divide: Class, age and humor styles 71
  10. Chapter 5. The logic of humor styles 102
  11. Part II: Taste and quality
  12. Chapter 6. The repertoire: Dutch joke culture 123
  13. Chapter 6. The repertoire: Dutch joke culture 150
  14. Chapter 8. Sense and sociability 170
  15. Part III: Comparing humor styles
  16. Chapter 9. National humor styles: Humor styles, joke telling and social background in the United States 197
  17. Chapter 10. Sociology and the joke 232
  18. Appendix 1. The jokes used in the Dutch survey 253
  19. Appendix 2. Dutch humorists and television programs 259
  20. References 264
  21. Subject index 276
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510441-012

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface to the new edition vii
  3. Acknowledgments xiii
  4. Contents xv
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction: Jokes, humor, and taste 1
  6. Part I: Style and social background
  7. Chapter 2. The joke: Genesis of an oral genre 23
  8. Chapter 3. Joke telling as communication style 42
  9. Chapter 4. The humor divide: Class, age and humor styles 71
  10. Chapter 5. The logic of humor styles 102
  11. Part II: Taste and quality
  12. Chapter 6. The repertoire: Dutch joke culture 123
  13. Chapter 6. The repertoire: Dutch joke culture 150
  14. Chapter 8. Sense and sociability 170
  15. Part III: Comparing humor styles
  16. Chapter 9. National humor styles: Humor styles, joke telling and social background in the United States 197
  17. Chapter 10. Sociology and the joke 232
  18. Appendix 1. The jokes used in the Dutch survey 253
  19. Appendix 2. Dutch humorists and television programs 259
  20. References 264
  21. Subject index 276
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