Malicious Joy
What is “uncomfortable humor”, anyway? And why does it make me so Schadenfroh?
Every culture has its own sense of humor, I suppose (I just heard mine laughing out loud the other night). But no, it’s true. It’s undeniable that societies develop and nurture certain shared characteristics that define them as such. Humor is one of them. Or types of humor, I should say.
I’ve been bumping into the term “uncomfortable humor” in the English-speaking world a lot these days, for instance. At first I was thrilled to think that I had finally discovered the English equivalent to the German Schadenfreude (glee or gloating at someone else’s misfortune), but Fehlanzeige (false alarm). Uncomfortable humor is of course that “situational” kind of situation that gets you to squirm in your seat. You know; some excruciatingly embarrassing predicament that you vicariously have to live and then laugh through (think Ben Stiller).
The Germans still seem to prefer the more direct approach. Schadenfreude, the lowest common denominator, is certainly appreciated and loved everywhere here, but they also have a tendency to go in for puns and other forms of word associations (Anspielungen). And believe it or not, German humor can also get very sophisticated very fast, almost becoming elitist at times (found some interesting commentary about this at An Englishman’s Castle).
But I don’t think that the Germans are quite ready to get uncomfortable. Not yet, anyway. They are dyed-in-the-wool creatures of comfort when it comes to humor, in the end. Putting others on the spot is one thing, but putting yourself there (uncomfortable humor), however vicarious, is asking a bit too much.
I mean, if Schadenfreude isn’t in the comfort zone, what is?
Clarsonimus blogs here every Sunday and writes in other parts of blogosphere at Observing Hermann.