Is my sense of humor really this sophisticated?

In My Humble Opinion
1

One of the great joys in my life is sharing jokes. When I see a cartoon that makes me laugh out loud I want to share it with somebody. Usually, the first person I share these things with is my roommate (he’s closest, after all).

Perhaps you can imagine my disappointment when I show him the cartoons and then have to explain the joke every single time. I’m sure we all know how explaining a joke ruins the fun.

My roommate is about my dad’s age - 60 or 61 years old. He has a Master’s degree in psychology. He worked for years as a marriage counselor. I find myself completely baffled that a person with that level of education, with a profession that utterly depends on being able to quickly understand words in the context they’re spoken, can be so utterly unable to figure out a joke.

It’s not just jokes, though. He completely misses the point in other things as well. My roommate loves black gospel music, so I rented a movie called The Gospel a while back, and watched it with him. The movie is essentially a modern retelling of the story of the prodigal son, set in the context of a black Southern Baptist-style church. After the movie he said, “So they’re criticizing money-grubbing TV preachers?” :smack: That topic was one very small part of the movie, but it wasn’t even close to being the main thrust of the story.

As far as the jokes go, though, my best friend was visiting one day and I was showing him one of the latest funny cartoons I’d found. My roommate asked him, “Do you understand the cartoons he shows you?” My friend said, “Usually, but we’ve pretty much got the same sense of humor.” Now, while that’s true, I don’t usually think the cartoons and jokes I share require a certain sense of humor. Perhaps they require a certain small amount of thought to understand, but otherwise the jokes are usually blatantly obvious to me and I “get it” immediately.

So I thought I’d try a little experiment. I’ll ask you to take a look at this cartoon and tell me if you “get it”. Don’t try to explain it in your reply - just answer “Yes” or “No”, or “I get it” or “I don’t get it”. Maybe indicate how long it took you to get it, and whether or not you thought it was funny.

Here’s the cartoon.

My answer: I got the joke immediately. Am I unusual? Is my sense of humor so sophisticated that I get it when most people don’t? Should I just save myself some discouragement and stop trying to share cartoons like this?

2

I get it. I don’t find it laugh-out-loud funny or anything, though.

3

I get it, but I didn’t find it all that funny.

4

It took me looking at it twice to get it. I think its pretty funny, but wouldn’t admit to it in real life since I might look like a horrible person.

5

I do love the PBF (the comic that the linked image is from), so I got it.

6

I got it. I’m also a big PBF fan though, so I’ve been sort of tuned to his style of joke.

I thought it was funny, too. :smiley:

7

I laughed aloud. Very funny.
In in post doc lab we had a page-a-day Farside calendar. My labmates would bring me the jokes to explain. Some are really hard- you get it or you don’t.
My 8 year-old daughter has been creating her own Farsides for years now- some are really funny. Her friends just don’t get them. She doesn’t understand why and it is rather frustrating for her, at times.

8

Me too.

Two parrots on a perch. One says “Can you smell fish?”

9

I got the example, but I didn’t think it was very funny, certainly not “laugh out loud funny”. I think there’s a generational quality to most comedy. Many of today’s stand ups don’t make me laugh, probably because many of their references are foreign to me. I also find most of the skits on SNL to be very juvenile and not very funny. I think much of Larson’s stuff is hilarious, but some go right over my head and it’s usually because I try to complicate the meaning. I’ve always enjoyed slapstick, if it’s done well. Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy are some of my favorites, but I always thought the Three Stooges and the Marx Bros.overdid it much of the time. I think comedy may be much like music, very personalized.

10

I got it right away, but I wouldn’t expend the extra oxygen required to laugh. It’s more of a “smile on the inside” kind of humor. If we were in the room together, you’d probably think I hadn’t gotten it, and might try to explain it to me.

11

I got it, but didn’t think it was funny.

12

I chuckled.

13

This is in no way whatsoever meant to be insulting, but in my opinion, this cartoon is the exact opposite of what I would consider to be “sophisticated humor”. Maybe my perception is off, but I’ve always considered someone like Woody Allen to be more of the sophisticated brand of humorist (I mean when he’s referencing Van Gogh and Nietzsche, not “I have a gub”). Jokes that you actually have to know the life story of the people he’s referencing in order to get the joke.

This cartoon here is basically a tasteless, mildly-funny-in-a-silent-laughter kind of way, possibly-a-sensitive-issue kind of joke. I mean, personally I wouldn’t be offended, but is it possible the people you showed it to were?

14

I got it. I laughed. I can’t for the life of me figure out what’s so hard to understand about the joke.

I know what the OP means thogh.

The other day I had to explain a cartoon to a friend of mine I thought was funny.

The cartoon was of a suicide terrorist that was standing at the pearly gates of heaven. Underneathe it read the caption; ST. Pete was yelling back to all his Angel buddies: “No, Seriously. He wants 72 virgins!” (all the other Angel buddies laugh in unison.)

15

I “got it” quick. Kinda funny.

16

I don’t get it.

The guy is being an asshole. Is that supposed to be the joke, or is there some subtlety that lends it additional humor?

I normally consider myself as having a very broad sense of humor, laughing at everything from Shakespeare to Bob the angry Flower to New Yorker cartoons. For instance, in the caption conest, I’m one of a very small number of people who understand why “Sorry I’m late” is a hilarious caption to go along with this picture.

17

I don’t get it as a joke. All I see is someone comparing the prosperity of the West with the poverty of Africa.

18

Not funny, but I get it.

19

I Smirked, but it’s not all that funny.

20

Not a clue.