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Discomfort
Wednesday, May 11th, 2005 by joelI mentioned in a previous article that I accidentally have a college degree in psychology, much to the enthusiasm of Other Joel. With this comes some basic knowledge of statistical analysis.
Now when I say I have some basic knowledge of statistics, I need you to understand exactly what I mean by ‘basic’. Let us say that the nonprofessional’s knowledge of statistics is something like a 17th century feudal peasant’s understanding of the science of chemistry. The peasant would say of chemistry, “Its witchcraft of the most evil sort! They consort with devils and imps to bring about unholy machinations of the four elements!� My superior knowledge is such that I could come along and say, “Yes, and they use test tubes.�
That said, I couldn’t help but notice a recent trend in cinema and television. This is the trend of basing comedy on extremely uncomfortable or embarrassing events or circumstances. Now this has always been a mainstay of comedy, however it seems as if we are getting more extreme.
This is understandable. As a society, we have been forever attempting to outdo ourselves. It’s only to be expected that comedy should follow this trend. However, the things we seek out in entertainment are generally a good indicator of how we are as people. Therefore, what does it say about us that we are laughing at the utter embarrassment and abasement of others?
It is difficult to say off the top of my head, but my suggestion would be that perhaps it means we are getting ruder as a people. After all, if we become jaded to the discomfort or embarrassment of others, then we are losing our inhibitions against protecting others from discomfort or embarrassment. On the plus side, perhaps it also means we are less easily offended.
