The 14 most important types of humor

They say that laughing can be the best medicine, and they are right. Humor is an extreme necessity for the human being, since it allows us to face the day to day without falling into the more boring of routines nor despair and anguish when seeing the harsh and cruel world that has touched us to live.

Naturally, not all moods are the same. There are them for all audiences, guaranteed laughter for the whole family without the parents being scandalized by some slightly risque joke. In other cases it is just the opposite, pure sex, pessimism, physical violence and mockery of the crudest issues of society.

Next we are going to discover the 14 types of humor along with all their characteristics and some references of each genre.

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The 14 types of humor, and their characteristics

There are genres of humor of all kinds. There are jokes that everyone can listen to, since they do not contain any sexual or violent references, while others are just that, pure sexuality and physical brutality. Also humor that arises from the incoherence, from the most ironic dryness of the protagonist towards his environment, emotionality and people around him.

Next we are going to see the 10 most common types of moods, their characteristics and some of their references.

1. Absurd humor

Absurd humor, also known as surreal, has an affinity for what is misleading.. He uses all kinds of expressions, both verbal and written, as well as representations that expose us to unreal situations, real nonsense if we see it from a rational point of view. This nonsense has been premeditated and intelligently thought out. Making a silly thing really funny is an art, something that very few can do.

Absurd humor exposes circumstances that are meaningless, as its name suggests, for which it is not possible to find a consistent explanation. This type of humorous representation encompasses all the ideas that can be found in the field of imagination, so some ideas can become difficult to understand.

There are many animations, shows and comedians that make use of this type of humor, which could well be considered the most recurrent. A classic reference in this genre is Monty Python, very famous between the 60s and 80s. In Spain we have Muchachada Nui and Faemino y Cansado. There are not few cartoons that exploit this humor, having the classic Looney Tunes, Ren and Stimpy, SpongeBob, Running Stories, Gumball's World, Dexter's Laboratory or Clarence.

2. White humor

White humor receives this name because your humorous references are wholesome, clean, and free of any crudeness or unspoken negative connotations. It is a type of innocent humor, intended for children and adolescents in which no insults are used or bad intentions are allowed to be seen. It is also called a classroom joke because, by avoiding name calling and obscenity, it could even be considered appropriate for school.

It flees from mockery, irony and cynicism, and leaves issues such as racism or sexism used as humorous forms of expression completely separate. It is clearly childish or "family" in character, appropriate for any occasion and that it is practically impossible for it to offend someone, making it ideal for family viewing.

Among its most notable references in the Hispanic world we have the Mexicans Chespirito, Capulina and Mauricio Herrera, the Spanish Gaby, Fofó and Miliki and the Chilean Firulete. It is also common to find this type of humor in animated films for children, protecting their innocence but without depriving them of a good dose of laughter.

3. Black mood

Black humor emerged as a contrast to Romanticism at the beginning of the 20th century. It is an ironic, sarcastic, satirical, skeptical humor that is related to absurd and grotesque humor. He usually does comedy of pessimistic ideas, death and other topics related to human tragedy and how unpleasant and pathetic life can be. It covers dark, painful and controversial issues and is constantly questioning the moral fiber of society and the tendency to be politically correct.

Because he has no qualms about touching topics that do not leave us indifferent within black humor we find ridicules of issues such as discrimination, politics, religion, war, sexuality and violence. She may also be outspoken and give her opinions on rape, racism, terrorism, addictions, and mental disorders. He talks about what people don't want to talk about, he makes fun of whatever it is.

There are not few who have resorted to this type of humor throughout the history of comedy. Among his great references we have the Marx brothers, Charles Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino. In the field of animation we have shows for more mature audiences such as South Park, American Dad, Family Guy. As for the world of literature we have Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Mark Twain and André Bretón.

4. Crude humor

Crude humor It is based on generating situations or circumstances that are embarrassing, painful, ridiculing and humiliating for those involved. Also called "slapstick" or physical comedy, it is loaded with physical violence, real or simulated, with which you want to generate laughter in the audience. The audience laughs at the pain and shame of others. It is the humorous embodiment of the expression "Schadenfreude".

But not only is there violence, but we can also find high doses of explicit sexual references, obscene words and vulgar expressions. Cruelty and hurt people are an extremely recurring topic in this type of humor, a humor that can only be enjoyed visually given its physical nature.

Among the shows in which we can see this type of humor we have "The Three Stooges", a classic in the genre. In more recent times we have "Jackass" and "The Dudesons" in which we can find highly dangerous scenes, where someone ends up being injured, sometimes seriously.

5. Dry humor

Dry humor, also called "deadpan", exposes something funny without resorting to body language at all, hence the dryness. The comedian does not express emotions and his message has a monotonous and constant tone. It is serious, informal and natural at the same time. It can also be characterized by a certain air of naivety and little attention to the facts that surround it, showing a tranquility and immutability so unalterable that you cannot help laughing at it seeing how incoherent the situation is in herself.

Among the clearest examples of dry humor we have figures such as Eugenio, Bill Murray, Zach Galifianakis, Leslie Nielsen, Tommy Lee Jones, Cacho Garay, Ricardo Quevedo and many others. Even, in a certain way, the character of Mr. Bean can be considered with a certain air of dry humor in some episodes, especially when he does not know what is going on around him.

6. Grotesque humor

The etymological origin of the word "grotesque" It comes from the Italian word "grotta", referring to the alteration of what is traditionally aesthetic or proportionate. Thus, the grotesque humor comes to refer to a type of comedy related to the strange, ridiculous, eccentric, fantastic and irrational. Horror, animalization, mockery and indifference are mixed.

It is a cultured humor, in the sense that it is closely related to the arts such as literature, painting and sculpture. Cartoons are usually a clear example of taking proportions to the extreme and playing with ideas of what is beautiful and mix it with the ugly and horrifying, whether applied to things or persons. Incongruity is made a comic element.

As the beautiful and the ugly are mixed in multiple ways, words like "decadence", "monstrosity" and, of course, "Deformation" cannot be omitted when describing this type of humor, especially when it is exposed pictorially. The grotesque provokes all kinds of emotions, including disgust, anxiety, fear and disgust.

7. Satirical humor

With satirical humor what is intended is to criticize and denounce some type of injustice through comedy. Tends to teach us some value, being moralizing and using ridicule to show that there are defects and problems in a society or in humanity in its maximum extension. Burlesque and funny resources are used within its different forms of expression, especially within literature and dramaturgy.

There are several literary genres that display a satirical humor. To mention just a few we can find the grotesque tragedy, the grotesque, the fable, the picaresque novel and graphic publications. It is also common to find satire on posters, television shows, and movies that use comic situations as a means of social criticism and hope that the situation will change.

8. Sarcastic humor

Etymologically speaking, the word "sarcastic" comes from the Greek "sarkazéin" which means "lip bite" since it is like it is like that we do indeed bite our lips, not saying things clearly and explicitly but using clever comments instead, apparently opposites. Uses cruelty, sadism, and biting to get the desired effect. It is usually very recurrent in the parody, transforming a serious situation into a more familiar one.

Its foundation is the devaluation or degradation of that which is the object of its ridicule. This willful contempt is turned into something funny by ridiculing someone who laughs, saying something that is just the opposite of what they feel and think. It is precisely this contrast of ideas and values ​​that gives rise to a comic situation, or at least in those who know how to “get” the true message. The grace is in identifying the opposite sense to what is literally said.

9. Green mood

Green humor is both explicit and implicit sex humor. Its content is clearly vulgar in nature, with a risque tone and a bad taste at times that it is inevitable to laugh while feeling embarrassed. Naturally, it is a humor that is only suitable for adults, although it is universal and can be understood by any culture and social class since you don't have to be very smart to understand jokes about penises, vaginas, boobs and asses.

10. Hacker humor

Hacker humor derives from computer culture and refers to a type of humor that arises from those experts who master the vocabulary of programming. They are usually elaborate parodies that are related to documents, code, programming languages ​​and files, all kinds of aspects of the cyber world.

In fact, one of the most common ways to express this kind of humor is in RFCs, requests for comments that describe standard Internet protocols. These RFCs have a formal language but humorous hackers manipulate it in a very funny way, as a joke made in the program or document code, which can only be understood by other connoisseurs of programming languages. programming.

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Psychological classification

After seeing the types of humor based on their characteristics in themselves, we went on to see a more psychological classification. Humor can have different facets, utilities and, also, it can be more harmful depending on the use and intentionality with which they are produced.. Everyone has a sense of humor to a greater or lesser extent, what varies significantly is whether it is really funny, appropriate, and has some real social benefit. Next we will see the moods following a psychological classification.

1. Connective humor

It is a humor of clear social intentionality, which is done because is funny to most who can relate to him. Actions and situations from everyday life are used, which are funny for everyone, generating a sense of happiness, well-being and a greater idea of ​​belonging to a group.

2. Aggressive humor

Insults or harassment are used against other people, being only "comfortable" for a part of the audience. It may be funny to some to see other people being abused, threatened, and hurt, while victims may become fearful.

3. Firming mood

It is the humor that we do to try to get something good out of an adverse situation. It arises from the need to laugh at oneself healthily, being thoughtful about the mistakes and misfortunes that one can have but that one can learn from them.

4. Self-destructive humor

This is the humor that we make of ourselves but unlike the firming the self-destructive acquires a function as self-punishment. It makes use of aggressiveness or self-pity. Some may consider it a healthy form of humor, but it can also be a form of indirect defense against abusers or a sign of depression and lack of self-esteem.

Bibliographic references:

• Ronald E. Reggio (2015). The 4 Styles of Humor. Web: psychologytoday.com.
• Plester, Barbara (2009-01-01). "Healthy humor: Using humor to cope at work". Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online. 4 (1): 89–102. doi: 10.1080 / 1177083X.2009.9522446
• Martin, Rod; Patricia Puhlik-Doris; Gwen Larsen; Jeanette Gray; Kelly Weir (2003). "Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire". Journal of Research in Personality 37 (1): 48–75. doi: 10.1016 / S0092-6566 (02) 00534-2.