Sketch 2: https://youtu.be/fxcyAYMHZ7Q

This week, we mostly explored the Benign Violation Theory (Warren, C. & McGraw, A.P. (2015) which delves into the idea of what makes a situation funny. The theory states that for something to be humourous, there needs to be a set-up of safety or some feeling of things being ‘ok’ (the benign), and then within that safety, a violation of some sort. Whilst violations may have originally been some sort of physical threat, it has grown to include things such as breaking social norms, or something absurd in a situation where it would be unexpected. I found this theory really interesting, as it explains why humour is subjective, which is due to people having different ideas of both the benign and what a violation may be. We also explored the world of silent comedy, and I definitely felt challenged by the need to come up with something that could be done with only physical comedy and/or an obscure situation.

 

My sketch involved someone getting changed for what they expected to be a cold day, and then discovering they looked at the wrong day, and it was going to be hot outside. Then they start to take off what seems like just a few layers, only to end up wearing a comical amount of clothes. I was quite focused on achieving the physical comedy in my sketch, and feel I did alright in the end. In terms of the Benign Violation theory, the benign was the fact that there were no real consequences – It was someone still in the house with only one other person there to question their behaviour but wasn’t a ridiculous response. The violation was obviously of the expectation that someone would wear a normal amount of layers, not the large amount that the character was wearing.

 

The feedback I received from friends and peers after week 1 was to play into the awkward length of things, as it works well in a lot of situations. Other feedback I got was also mostly positive, so I allowed space to just escalate a ridiculous situation as I did with the first sketch.

 

Citations:
Warren, Caleb and McGraw, A. Peter, Benign Violation Theory (February 2, 2015). Mays Business School Research Paper No. 2015-11, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2559414