The Mimesis of Hilarity -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 10:41:52 04/25/08 Fri
Author: Kiernan
Subject: The Mimesis of Hilarity

As I was walking past the TV here in the Olds lobby yesterday evening, I paused a second to look at the show which some of the girls were watching. Now, I never watch TV - ever - and I have no idea what show this was. In fact, I came in right at the end of the joke, so the male character said something both meaningless (to me) and incoherent, and then the "laugh reel" came on in the background. The girls on the couch started laughing. I had no idea what was funny, but I suddenly found myself laughing irresistably. As I walked back to my room, I chastised myself for laughing at something that I patently had no idea about. I mean, I was laughing at a joke I hadn't even heard. As I contemplated this, however, I realized why I was laughing - sheer imitation of the girls on the couch and of the laugh reel on the show. I had heard the sound of laughter, and therefore I had appropriated the idea of hilarity. The sheer senselessness of my laughter pointed to its mimetic character - I was simply imitating someone/something else.

This immediately made the use of a laugh reel make so much sense from a mimetic point of view. Producers know, instinctively, that if they make it sound as though people are laughing, however much we know that it is simply a recording, we will be unable to not imitate those mysterious external mediators.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Re: The Mimesis of Hilarity -- Katelyn R., 15:34:08 04/26/08 Sat
- Re: The Mimesis of Hilarity -- Caitlin, 18:48:48 04/26/08 Sat