Response to lead Blogger Alexis
In response to Alexis, I completely agree about her definition of “perfect comedy”. I too used to religiously watch the well known six-second vine videos and I am completely unashamed. Much of vine humor directly relates to the superiority theory and often involves someone hurting themselves or embarrassing themselves. In the youtube video by, Cody Ko he is a hilarious character and the type of humor that he displays in his videos I personally find to be hysterical. I think that Alexis and I both share the same type of humor and after watching this video I can see why it also relates to the superiority theory.
In the video, Cody Ko is making fun of a show on TLC that exposes virgins called “The Virgin Diaries”. The video examines one particular man named Skippy who attempts to take a girl on a date. Just as Alexis said, “Cody and Noel mock a man who is living in his parents’ basement and still a virgin” (Alexis FYW Blog). This clearly reflects the superiority theory. Another thing that occurs in the video is Cody says “There's a quick list of games skippy doesn't play... 1. Games”(Cody Ko "Thats Cringe"). When he says this he is making fun of Skippy because he takes a girl into the basement and immediately starts asking her very intimate and personal questions. The superiority theory is clearly demonstrated in this because Cody and Noel feel as if they are superior to Skippy in this situation. Another way that the theory is demonstrated is when Cody says, “It's too hands up now” (Cody Ko "Thats Cringe"). Referring to him being very defensive about the girl not wanting to kiss him and Skippy continuing to beg. In this statement he is mocking Skippy, this then causes the audience to laugh because the situation Skippy is in is awful. You just can't help but to laugh and feel bad for him all at the same time.
In the video, Cody Ko is making fun of a show on TLC that exposes virgins called “The Virgin Diaries”. The video examines one particular man named Skippy who attempts to take a girl on a date. Just as Alexis said, “Cody and Noel mock a man who is living in his parents’ basement and still a virgin” (Alexis FYW Blog). This clearly reflects the superiority theory. Another thing that occurs in the video is Cody says “There's a quick list of games skippy doesn't play... 1. Games”(Cody Ko "Thats Cringe"). When he says this he is making fun of Skippy because he takes a girl into the basement and immediately starts asking her very intimate and personal questions. The superiority theory is clearly demonstrated in this because Cody and Noel feel as if they are superior to Skippy in this situation. Another way that the theory is demonstrated is when Cody says, “It's too hands up now” (Cody Ko "Thats Cringe"). Referring to him being very defensive about the girl not wanting to kiss him and Skippy continuing to beg. In this statement he is mocking Skippy, this then causes the audience to laugh because the situation Skippy is in is awful. You just can't help but to laugh and feel bad for him all at the same time.
I like how you both brought in the superiority theory and how it perfectly describes Skippy and his situation. You feel bad for the guy but can't help not to laugh the circumstance he puts himself in. Overall, I agree in thinking the video was hilarious. What makes it the funniest to me is how Skippy manages to dig himself into a deeper hole the more he tries to get with a woman. He is constantly playing himself and the roasting session by Cody Ko makes it so much better ans funnier.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that despite being the sort of "nice guy" he still in a way applying pressure for the kiss that makes us very uncomfortable. So, perhaps they are making fun of aspects of the show's general horrible qualities as much as him personally. It was funnier to me when I realized it was just a show that is out there.
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis about the more redeeming qualities in the otherwise superiority theory centered video. It was interesting to see that, in the midst of tearing apart Skippy, they pointed out the "two hands up" appeal for a kiss. If humor truly serves as a social function for determining what is acceptable, it was heartening to see that Noel and Cody degraded Skippy for pressuring a girl for a kiss who was clearly uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that vines are mostly a result of the superiority theory, and Cody Ko carried this over to his videos when he makes fun of other people and reacts to other videos. Skippy is also a perfect example of the superiority theory because he essentially makes us feel superior to him since we would likely never do most of his cringe actions.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely agree that this video embodies the superiority theory of humor perfectly. I would also agree that Vine generally does the same thing by encouraging viewers to laugh at the misfortunes of others, so it's likely that Cody Ko just uses the same techniques he used on Vine to produce his videos. And that's probably why they are largely successful: Cody's viewers don't expect anything more than his making fun of others, so he continues to give them exactly what they want.
ReplyDelete