What Are You Laughing At? A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event

by Dan O'Shannon

If you're looking for a book that will teach you how to write comedy, we suggest you keep moving. You still have time to pick up a copy of Writing Big Yucks for Big Bucks before the store closes. However, if you want to understand the bigger picture -- what is comedy, why do we respond to it the way we do -- then you've come to the right place. What Are You Laughing At? presents an entirely new approach to comedy theory. It challenges long-held beliefs and shows how the three main theories of comedy (incongruity, superiority, and relief) are not in conflict; but rather, work as parts of a larger model. There are many examples pulled from the author's own experiences, writing for shows such as Cheers, Frasier, and Modern Family. By the end, you'll have an understanding of just what happens when man meets comedy. It will change the way you hear laughter.

Genres: Humor, Writing, Comedy, Nonfiction, Psychology

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2012

Reviews

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried reading Freud's "Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious" a couple months ago b/c I was interested in an analysis of what makes comedy work. Holy Christ, was it turgid and unclear. (Could've been the translation but it was a Penguin edition so I assume it was at least competent.) Anyway, I gave up after about 30 pages.

I came across an interview with O'Shannon on Ken Levine's blog. This is a wonderful book. O'Shannon, a professional comedy writer with decades of experience, shows how the popular theories of comedy fall short (incongruity, aggression, superiority) yet at the same he integrates all of those theories into a larger framework. He doesn't just analyze jokes, he analyzes the entire context of what he calls the "comedic event" -- the person hearing the joke, the joke itself, and any other factors that can enhance or inhibit the laugh.

Sound boring? It isn't. O'Shannon is an engaging writer, he illustrates his points with lots of examples, and he's funny. I laughed out loud more than a few times, which is, uhhh, a good sign if the book is about comedy.

Is there another work on this topic that's even in the same league as this one?

[Matt Champagne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impossible to enjoy. Didn't finish it. Threw it into a trash can at a commercial audition.

[Giorgos Tselios · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I thought this book was intended for comedians, and not being of one those, I thought that it wasn't meant for me, a layback reader.Then when I skimmed through it I found it more engaging every time. To be honest, it's my long-standing need to be a jack-of-all-trades that brought me to this book, and, I admit, it's a good book for us jacks.

"Humor Theory" as it stands, is vastly interesting. I'm sure there hasn't been a day where you haven't laughed or smiled at something, and it's a behavior that's as human as it gets. Knowing all this - and reading about how humor really works, block by block, layer by layer - doesn't take the fun out of it or make it less interesting, it simply makes you appreciate it all the more.

The book's prose is straight and clear; it's approach to humor felt all-inclusive; it contained numerous graphs and charts, which aided my understanding of how everything aligns; it even had brain stimulating exercises for the conscientious ones.

Read it, and you may never look at laughing the same way again.

[Juliana Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly technical, with lots of charts and graphs (oh, the triangles!), but it was also readable and informative. O'Shannon is a TV comedy writer, and this book is more useful for analyzing performed comedy than written humor, but I still found it interesting and useful.

[Michael LaMarca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Examples on how to deconstruct comedy and actually understand the various factors that contribute to the laughing experience. Clearly well researched and from a reputable source.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A text book for those who want to write comedy - sketch or stand-up primarily. I learned some things, but it was dry. It's interesting that some of the examples in the book that were probably funny when the book was written in 2012 are in poor taste today.

[Jason Cady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent beginning to a serious analysis of comedy. O'Shannon disputes many of the wrong theories about humor, yet at the same time he also builds upon them.

I hope O'Shannon writes another book on comedy, particularly writing.

[Juanita Jenkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's something very off handed about the information. Too much so.

[Lindsey.parks · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of these reviews are funny.

[Michel Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about humor theory. I recommend it a lot since it gives you new perspectives on the topic.

[Murtaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique way to look at jokes and humor. The book will interest only the mathematical mind though. I don't think other people will like it at all.

[Jen Crichton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best for those writing comedy who want to pull back the curtain and analyze the structure of jokes and see how situational they are -- ie it's all about the audience. I would like to take what he's written and re-write as a sort of Bergsonian mulling over of comedy and why people laugh. So I'll return one day when I have time for those mental rambles and astute study of the best sit coms and why they work. For now I'll drop the curtain and sit in the audience, trying not to see the wires on the marionettes as they dance and sing and flail their arms to smack each other silly.

[Machi Umachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is remarkable in it's structure. I for one always felt like I had a knack for comedy. This book breaks down comedy down, perfectly. In away that comedy becomes more a science rather than instinct.

[Kurt Basham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly serious look at every type of comedy, from Noel Coward to the fart joke.

[Lewis Lockwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of concepts. Very informative. Read through again with highlighter. Basic principles very handy to dissect humour.