The European Journal of Humour Research

Towards a typology of humorous wartime tweets

Olesia Yehorova, Antonina Prokopenko, Anna Zinchenko — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The idea of this research was born on 26 May 2022. The following day, we saw Elon Musk’s tweet from 26 May 2022: ‘Politics is a sadness generator’. We accepted the challenge to refute the statement and to prove that there is much space for humour in the political discourse. The study focuses on humorous tweets produced in the period of the first 100 days of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the criteria according to which they may be classified for further analysis. The literature overview proves that humour has been extensively approached by different researchers from a multidisciplinary perspective; in particular, numerous attempts were made to classify humour and its manifestations. In this research, we approached the Twitter activity of Ukrainian politicians as fragments of political discourse. In particular, we extracted humorous tweets and organised a sample that underwent further categorisation and interpretation with reference to existing typologies and theories of humour. The study discusses the roles the politicians assume while producing and spreading humour on Twitter, features the key subject fields and objects of ridicule in the wartime tweets, gives an insight into the communicative value of such tweets and suggests potential readership classes. Finally, the study seeks to prove the flexibility and adaptability of humour styles to the socio-political context and wartime communication that project public aggressiveness, self-relief and self-enhancement

Winning battles with a joke

Sumagna Bhowmick, Vijaya R — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Humour in military organizations can be antithetical given the rigid hierarchy, high degrees of work formalization, and obedience to hierarchy. This paper explores how humour is initiated, propagated and maintained in the Indian Army. We conducted twelve in-depth interviews with retired army professionals and used Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis to capture the study's main findings. Three major themes emerged – organizational humour, leader humour, and team humour. We found humour is essential in combating stress, increasing social cohesion, facilitating newcomer assimilation, and promoting a positive work environment. We also found evidence of subversive humour used in forms of resistance to challenge the hierarchical structure subtly. We have provided a three-part schema of workplace humour which sheds interesting insights on workplace humour. Our findings will contribute to understanding how military humour helps to maneuver challenges of a stressful work situation.

A multimodal analysis of humour as an engagement strategy in YouTube research dissemination videos

Edgar Bernad-Mechó, Carolina Girón-García — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Science popularisation has received widespread interest in the last decade. With the rapid evolution from print to digital modes of information, science outreach has been seen to cross educational boundaries and become integrated into wider contexts such as YouTube. One of the main features of the success of research dissemination videos on YouTube is the ability to establish a meaningful connection with the audience. In this regard, humour may be used as a strategy for engagement. Most studies on humour, however, are conducted solely from a purely linguistic perspective, obviating the complex multimodal reality of communication in the digital era. Considering this background, we set out to explore how humour is used from a multimodal point of view as an engagement strategy in YouTube research dissemination. We selected three research dissemination videos from three distinct YouTube channels to fulfil this aim. After an initial viewing, 22 short humoristic fragments that were particularly engaging were selected. These fragments were further explored using Multimodal Analysis - Video (MAV)^[1], a multi-layered annotation tool that allows for fine-grained multimodal analysis. Humoristic strategies and contextual features were explored, as well as two main types of modes: embodied and filmic. Results show the presence of 9 linguistic strategies to introduce humour in YouTube science dissemination videos which are always accompanied by heterogeneous combinations of embodied and filmic modes that contribute to fully achieving humoristic purposes.

[1] Multi-layer annotation software used to describe the use of semiotic modes in video files. By using this software, researchers may analyse, for instance, how gestures, gaze, proxemics, head movements, facial expression, etc. are employed in a given file.

Michael Scott’s anti-proverbs and pseudo-proverbs as a source of humour in The Office

Luis J. Tosina Fernández — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This article analyses the use of proverbs in the American version of the sitcom The Office, especially in relation to Michael Scott, the show’s main protagonist. The purpose of the study is to explore the possibilities of proverbs as a comedic device and the use that scriptwriters make of paremiology for the portrayal of fictional characters. The case of Michael Scott is paradigmatic for these two approaches because, apart from being the protagonist of one of the most influential comedies in the last two decades, he exemplifies a creative use of paremiology through which he often modifies existing proverbs or invents proverb-like statements to support his ideas, rather than reciting proverbs in their canonical wording. As can be inferred, the intention of these paremiological practices is to make the audience laugh. From this analysis, we can draw the conclusion that scriptwriters deliberately include non-canonical proverbs in Michael’s speech for the humorous possibilities that they offer. Consequently, this procedure determines Michael’s characterisation in a way that relates to the traditional incongruity theory of humour. Finally, this paper intends to contribute to the establishment of a trend in current proverb scholarship that studies paremias for their comedic uses in modern media and to the dismissal of the widespread idea that they are not relevant in today’s society.

The tsifteteli of irony and the dance of the ignorant Lilipuans

Aikaterini Giampoura — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This paper studies the old Greek children’s radio show Edo Lilipoupoli transmitted from December 1977 to May 1980 by the Third Program of the Greek State Radio. The considerations of this paper result from the examination of the content of the radio show regarding its cultural and social parameters and correlations as a collective media project. The insight gained from this endeavour is significant, particularly due to the common claim among the broadcast listeners and contributors that the children’s radio program Edo Lilipoupoli functioned as a “mirror” of Greek society. The broadcast can be therefore understood as a kind of social snapshot depicting the ideological and identity conflict between the conservative and the progressive voices prevailing in society during that time.

The analytical interest focuses on one specific song, very popular in the context of the radio show, with the title “We are not Zulu”. This approach will include an analysis of the lyrics in connection to their setting, i.e. morphology, harmony, instrumentation as well as the singer’s performance. Within the framework of this music-aesthetic and linguistic analytical point of view, I will try to identify the role and function of humour in the song and pursue an interpretive approach in the context of its sociocultural implications. The conclusions will form an attempt to bring out the point of view of the show’s contributors.

Beyond laughter and smiles

Bageshree Ramdas Bageshwar, Shahila Zafar — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Amid the deluge of serious social media posts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, humorous posts brought users much-needed respite. This article reviews studies on social media-based COVID-19 humour in 42 research articles that were selected from four databases, viz. Science Direct, Scopus, Taylor & Francis, and Web of Science. After the classification and analysis of the articles on the basis of some key features, a detailed description and discussion of the findings have been carried out. The results concerning the characteristics and functions of COVID-19 humour reveal that most studies investigated image-text memes; the most important feature found was ‘humour,’ in addition to others like sarcasm, irony, satire, criticism, juxtaposition, and locality. Intertextuality played a significant role in the structure of humorous posts, especially those related to specific countries. Additionally, it shows that although research on COVID-19 humour on social media is still in an early phase, several findings appear stable across various studies included in this review. Moreover, most humour studied is not only about the virus or the disease itself, but also focuses on absurd situations individuals found themselves in due to the pandemic and the lockdown that followed.

Every corona is not a virus

God'sgift Ogban Uwen — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This study is a visual semiotics analysis of Coronavirus memetic humour, aimed at ascertaining the implied meanings of selected Covid-19 related Facebook memes that stimulated virtual discourse among Nigerian netizens during the pandemic. The study adopts Visual Semiotics Theory and Encryption Theory of Humour to account for meanings derived from the presuppositional assumptions and shared sociocultural knowledge which serve as the decrypting ‘key’ to meaning. The ‘key’ activates the appropriate disambiguation and interpretation of the significations in the semiotic resources conveyed in the humorous memes. Nineteen Facebook Covid-19 related memes were selected as a representative sample for a descriptive and qualitative analysis. The analysis is coded into 11 discourse domains based on the related semiotic contents of the memes which include: preventive protocol, media reportage, religious beliefs, health sector, sociopolitical domain, socioeconomic domain, security, science, transportation, relationship and lifestyle to account for the differentials in perceptions by Nigerian netizens. Findings show that Nigerians created Coronavirus memetic humour to stimulate laughter in the rather consequential circumstances generated by the pandemic derived from the humorous contents of the image macros. In the Nigerian social context, the Coronavirus memes humorously instantiate the apprehension and helplessness of a people, and thrive to express protest, insecurity, corruption, religiosity, economic hardship and a poor health system. These, altogether combine as a myriad of the challenges facing a people who consolably devised coping strategies to trivialise the pandemic, while yearning for an inclusive government that prioritises the welfare of its citizens.

‘Are we laughing at the same?’

Iveta Žákovská, Carmen Maíz-Arévalo, Ying Cao — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Humour is often employed as a coping mechanism, with therapeutic effects on those producing and receiving it (Christopher 2015; Samson & Gross 2012). This buffering effect of humour might explain why, at the time of an international pandemic like Covid-19, human beings, independently of their cultural origin, have resorted to humour as a means of alleviating uncertainty and fear, and of enhancing feelings of connection and bonding with others. The proliferation of Covid-related humour has also led to a wide range of studies, with special attention to memes. However, contrastive studies are more limited, especially those comparing very different languages and cultural realities such as the Chinese, the Czech and the Spanish ones. This paper aims to redress this imbalance by analysing a corpus of 300 Covid-memes (100 memes per language). More specifically, we intend to answer the following questions: (i) what dimension(s) of humour are predominant in each language? (ii) what actors do the memes in the three countries target? and (iii) to what extent can these preferences relate to cultural differences/similarities? Applying a mixed-method approach, results show that there seems to be a global preference for affiliative humour while aggressive (and self-deprecating) humour appears to be more culturally bound, with a higher frequency in the Czech and Spanish datasets in contrast to the Chinese one. Likewise, the Czech and Spanish dataset share a significantly higher number of common frames, which might be pointing to a more European, Western type of humour in comparison to the Chinese approach (Jiang et al. 2019).

Humour in the classroom

Hiwa Weisi, Vahid Mohammadi — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The present study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the use of humour by EFL teachers in a private language institute in the context of Iran. In so doing, the study made an attempt to identify the forms of humour EFL teachers opt to use more frequently in relation to the students’ teaching in the classroom through observing their classroom teachings. Moreover, an interview was held with the EFL teachers to seek their perceptions with regard to the functions humorous language can serve in the process of language teaching and learning and their suggestions as to the implementation of humour in the classroom. The findings of the study demonstrate that Iranian EFL teachers show the inclination to use jokes, physical humour and riddles more frequently than other forms of humour. Moreover, the results of the interview reveal that EFL teachers assign some more commonly functions to the humorous language in the classroom such as creating a cheerful and friendly atmosphere, acting as a relaxing, comforting, and tension reducing device, increasing student interest and enjoyment, increasing learners’ concentration and motivation, and finally improving the quality of learning. Finally, the suggestions for appropriate use of humour and implications of the study are discussed in the result and conclusion sections, respectively.

The ambivalent affordances of humour in capitalist organizations

Massih Zekavat — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Responding to concerns raised by Michael Billig (2018) regarding the functions of humour in capitalist organisations, this essay strives to convey how humour and satire can have liberating and empowering affordances for subjects in organisational contexts as they can potentially intervene in the negotiation and exercise of power through fostering negative dialectical thinking and estrangement. Revisiting the scepticism of Marcuse, Fromm, Horkheimer and Adorno toward humour, it strives to provide an initial theoretical framework to accommodate a more nuanced understanding of the functions of humour in power structures by locating it within the contingencies acknowledged by Frankfurt School critical theorists. Although humour can be co-opted to serve power and consolidate the status quo, it can also serve as a potential resistance strategy in capitalist societies and organisations.

Book review

Ying Cao — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Ibukun Filani — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Jarno Hietalahti — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Xuan Li — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Vicky Manteli — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Chiara Mazzocconi — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Lucy Spoliar — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Villy Tsakona — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Book review

Tianli Zhou — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Book review

Are Jordanians (still) 'humourless'?

Yousef Barahmeh — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This article discusses the stereotypical misrepresentations held about Jordanians being ‘humourless,’ and how had the 1989 political opening affected the production and reception of humour in the country. I argue that the difficult economic conditions and increasing pressures after the 1989 political opening have produced more humour and carnivalesque resistance against power and the government in Jordan. Indeed, this political event along with other increasing economic problems and hardships from the 1990s have challenged the stereotypical notions about Jordanians being humourless and po-faced. However, it was not until 2011 that a large number of ordinary people and humourists began more fully engage with carnivalesque and subversive humour that resist power and demand change. Thanks in large part to the revolutionary moment of the Arab Spring and the development of social media technology, which has offered an alternative and independent platform for people to make fun of themselves and of the people in power.