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Works Cited

Blauvelt, Christian. "Why Comedy Is Not Universal." BBC Culture, BBC, 22 Aug. 2017,

www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170821-why-comedy-is-not-universal. Accessed 11 Feb.

2020. This article develops the argument that comedy is not universal, citing several

linguistic and cultural factors that prevent it from being truly universal. Much of the

article cites a BBC study as evidence, using strong trends in comedic preference in

relation to gender, ethnicity, and native language to demonstrate such a claim. It explains

how two of the biggest components of humor—wordplay and referential jokes—are

extremely context-specific and often only function within the language or popular culture

they were originally intended for. Some of these sorts of differences are simply the result

of arbitrary historical development.

This article will be very useful in providing supporting evidence to the ideas described in

Cultural Differences in Humor Perception, Usage, and Implications, making the claims

posed in both articles hold more argumentative weight. It also led me to make

connections to my own prior knowledge regarding the differences between translation

and localization. In media, especially film edits/subtitles and video games, localization is

the process of translating the content as well as making adjustments to better suit other

audiences. In this case, comedy seems to require thorough localization and cannot simply

be translated.

Jackson, Steven B. "What's Funny?" Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 18 May 2012,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-conscious/201205/whats-funny. Accessed 10

Feb. 2020. This article covers humor and its inner workings from a historical perspective,
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describing various theories of humor throughout history. It touches on humor as a

fundamental piece of human social communication with origins dating back as far as 4

million years ago with primitive humans and apes. It also discusses humor as the release

of tension in its purest form, acting as the quickest form of release for any tension

regardless of its cause. Furthermore, the article describes the incongruity-resolution

theory, the idea that humor stems from the presentation of absurd or unexpected

information followed by a resolution that is either extremely graceful or extremely not.

This article will be useful during the process of developing my project as it highlights

specific, concrete theories from famous philosophers that are integral to the scholarly

discussion of humor. Understanding and analyzing these theories will guide me towards

crafting my own conclusions regarding the nature of comedy. The other general

information and historical context will also be useful to keep my thinking grounded.

Jiang, Tonglin, et al. "Cultural Differences in Humor Perception, Usage, and Implications."

Frontiers in Psychology, 29 Jan. 2019, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00123. Accessed 9 Feb.

2020. This journal article supports the argument that the concept of humor is a

universally experienced activity, but the majority of humor itself is highly context-

specific and does not translate across cultures. The article cites a key component of this

cultural divide to be the difference in the way eastern and western cultures perceive

comedy's purpose and general tonal implications; while western society associates most

comedy with positivity, attractiveness, and amusement, eastern societies, especially

China, have a history rooted in praising seriousness and viewing comedy as undesirable

in nature unless an individual is extraordinarily talented. Furthermore, the article

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describes four major classifications of humor—aggressive, self-enhancing, affiliative,

and self-defeating—which are all used differently and to differing levels of frequency

depending on the culture. For example, while humor is largely used as a coping

mechanism in North America, such a concept does not exist to a comparable extent in

Asian nations.

This article addresses many crucial aspects of my project, diving deep into the

psychology of humor as well as the idea of humor being universal. It includes extensive

detail about the ways cultural differences prevent humor from being truly universal,

providing clear comparisons between specific cultures which will be extremely useful for

understanding and conveying these psychological concepts in my project. In addition, the

article provides some historical context to explain why and how these differences came to

be.

Kasulis, Thomas P. "Introduction." Philosophy East and West, vol. 39, no. 3, 1989, pp. 239–241.

JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1399446. Accessed 12 Feb. 2020. This journal article

provides a thorough overview of comedic trends and universality in relation to religious

background as well as the underrepresentation of comedy in the philosophy community,

particularly in western history. It explains that more often than not, being funny in a

foreign language or culture is even more challenging than being philosophically profound

in such conditions, and thus many western philosophers were discouraged from exploring

the topic further. It mentions counterarguments to the idea of humor being universal,

proposing that perhaps people's smiles are more universal and have more potential to be

studied as such. Moving on, the article touches on comedy in Confucianism and Taoism
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and the themes present within them, emphasizing how their use of comedy as a

communal and even community-building practice carries over across cultures, making it

a fundamental part of humor itself. Expanding upon this point, it explains how the

communal piece of humor makes dark comedy work without being offensive, citing

sarcastically anti-semitic jokes made by Jewish comedians as an example of community

and context's effects on a punchline.

This article has a lot of variety in terms of what it can provide for my project. The

historical, philosophical component offers valid explanations for the shortage of

historical Western philosophical works focused on comedy, and the descriptions of other

potential studies could give me ideas for ways to branch out into relevant subtopics. It

also establishes an overview of ideas that will allow me to make comparisons between

religions.

Michel, Alexandra. "The Science of Humor Is No Laughing Matter." Observer, vol. 30, no. 4,

Apr. 2017. Association for Psychological Sciences,

www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-science-of-humor-is-no-laughing-matter.

Accessed 10 Feb. 2020. This journal article discusses the science of humor and laughter

and its implications on human psychology as a whole. It describes how humans are more

likely to laugh when in the presence of others who are laughing, and studies have shown

that humans have a remarkable ability to infer contextual information from laughter

alone, regardless of language or cultural background. These subtle social and auditory

cues can even reveal information about a person's social status or influence. Furthermore,

it describes how "psychological distance" is often a key factor in what makes a joke
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funny, whether that distance is in physical space, time, or otherwise. This is especially

the case with darker humor. Finally, the article states that engaging with humor can

energize the mind and enable people to spend more time on tedious tasks, acting as a

legitimate "mental break" of sorts.

This article tackles the psychological piece of my topic from both a scientific and cultural

angle, explaining both laughter's effects on people and people's effects on laughter.

Understanding this two-way relationship will be vital in forming my final argument.

Additionally, the article references many other specific studies and scientific publications

which I can also reference in full if necessary.