2087 Analysis of The Joke

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Man made up a joke:

A white man, a black man, and a Catholic guy go into a bar.
One of the men turns to the others and says,
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"Hey, we left Sarah in the car!"

When he told it to me, I blinked twice, and then cracked up, which surprised and pleased him enormously. He said he'd told it to ten people at work the day before, and no one thought it was funny. A joke's not funny when you have to explain it. They didn't "get it".

I did, and that's why he loves me.

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The Man and I didn't get into it then, but the question of what makes something funny was one of Jay's favorite topics.

Jay maintained that it was "disconnect". You'd laugh when you were expecting one thing, and got something entirely different. I agreed with Jay that disconnect was funny, but it wasn't all of it. I don't know. Maybe in the end, it does all come down to disconnect. I guess even shock, relief, and embarrassment, all elements in some types of humor, are, in the end, disconnect.

The Man's joke has disconnect on several levels:

1. When a joke starts out with a disparate group going into a bar, there's a certain pattern to the joke. It's a standard type. This one breaks that pattern, forcing you to back up and look at it differently. Disconnect.
2. Your mind says, "Sarah?", which requires that you think about the three men, and how a Sarah fits in. When you realize who they are, this is a second disconnect from the format. Usually it's three anonymous types.
   
3. The recognition that they are in a bar together is disconnect.
4. And the thought that they may have left her in the car on purpose is another disconnect, and perhaps the best part.

Perhaps no one else found it funny because it had too many disconnects? Perhaps it was too much work, so that by the time they got it, they were annoyed?

Opinions, anyone?
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