How Dark Can Dark Humor Get?

It's not uncommon for people to joke about violence, disease, and even death, but many question how far they can go before cracking a new one.

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As rightly quoted by the great comedian Charlie Chaplin, “a day without laughter is a day wasted”. For many, good humor is an indicator of a happy life, and the pursuit of it usually affects how people find entertainment and whom they select as friends or life-partners.

Furthermore, humor has been proven to be a source of relief and it can benefit a person physically. The production of the so-called “happy hormones” such as dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin, can help reduce the adverse effects of depression or physical pain. Sometimes, laughter is the best medicine.

But what makes something funny? There are many theories about the origins of humor, from analyzing the semantics of jokes to examining instances of incongruity. Then comes the Benign Violation Theory (BVT), developed by Peter McGraw in collaboration with Caleb Warren. Based on the work of linguist Tom Veatch, it integrates previous theories to propose that humor occurs under three conditions that must be considered jointly; a situation must be appraised as a violation, it must be appraised as benign, and these two appraisals must co-occur.

We can see an example of this in one of Jerry Seinfeld’s standup shows, “so they’re showing me on television the detergents getting out bloodstains – is this a violent image to anybody? Bloodstains. I think if you’ve got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn’t your biggest problem right now. Maybe get the harpoon out of your chest first.”

Humor like this can often be classified as dark humor, also known as black, morbid or gallows humor, it can touch sensitive topics such as death and violence. But it can also be the perfect reunion of the three BVT conditions.

As is quoted in When Dark Humor and Moral Judgment Meet in Sacrificial Dilemmas, a study by Emmanuelle Brigaud and Nathalie Blanc, “humor invokes a conversational rule of levity, that is, humor communicates an implicit message to the receiver that the usual rules of logic and expectations of common sense did not apply”. In other words, what qualifies as funny is the absurdity of the joke being told.

This absurdity is usually the transgression of social and moral norms. What makes the humor so dark is that it indulges in cynicism and perfectly presents a tragedy as trivial. For example, a coroner might joke that if they see a headless body, they don’t need to check for a pulse before signing the death certificate.

So, when does dark humor go too far?

Have you ever heard the phrase “too soon” after cracking a dark joke? Or ever felt uncomfortable while hearing a comedy bit that hits too close to home?

Indeed, there's a fine line between something being funny and what's actually offensive, but what McGraw points out in one of his studies is that there must be a psychological distance, be it spacial, social, temporal or hypothetical, and this distance reduces the extent to which we can find something threatening. Or, as Mark Twain once put it, “humor is tragedy plus time”.

Usually, the reason we laugh at jokes about violence, disease, natural catastrophes, and death is because we have or need distance from them. Even if it’s something we are experiencing in the moment or have experienced in the past, we use dark humor to gain power over it, as a way to cope with the negative emotions.

Often, dark humor is also used as a way to connect with others; by laughing together at a sinister suggestion, a sense of complicity is created. Most of the time, friendships can be strengthened by making jokes about a traumatic event one or both have experienced.

However, while it's true that we can minimize the emotional impact of a tricky situation, many people can not be familiar with the joke´s context, which may create a distance rather than connect people. In other words, know your audience.

For example, in a 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live, Louis C.K. gave a nine-minute opening monologue where he admits to mild racism, joking about how unusual he would think it was to see four black women running a pizzeria. Kind of funny there, have to admit. But then, things get much darker when he starts comparing pedophilia to his love of Mounds bars.

This monologue elicited many responses not only from the audience, who groaned and guiltily laughed as he continued the bit but also from many Twitter users who condemned the jokes about sexual abuse.

“Just watched Louis CK's monologue from last night's SNL. The "mildly racist" part was funny. Huge swing-and-miss w/ child molester jokes”, wrote Drew R. Garabo (@DrewOnTheRadio).

As well as a comment from BunB.eth (@BunBTrillOG), “I grew up on SNL. Huge Louis C.K. fan. I know they both push the line. I get that. But that opening monologue...”.

There has always been a role for humor in dark times, as a way to cope, be a source of shared comfort, and make witty observations about society that might not be brought up in other contexts. So, if you’re thinking about ripping a new one, try to keep in mind just how benign it might be. You could end up hurting a few susceptibilities, or giving someone the biggest laugh of their day.

Originally published on The Social Talks on December 19th, 2022.