Let’s talk a bit about writing and humor. It’s not something I’ve explored much here or in my academic work, but it’s a rather interesting subject.
I’ve always admired authors and writers who were able to incorporate humor into their writing. As a philosopher, there is little opportunity to add humor into works destined for academic journals. But I do try. While academic philosophy might not give one space to flex your humor chops, there are a number of writers who use humor well. David Sedaris, Christopher Moore, Dave Barry, and Roxane Gay are all great examples of masterful humor writers. Many authors explicitly write to be funny or to get folks to laugh. They write use humor for its entertainment value. But as readers of this Substack/blog know, entertainment isn’t the extent of the value of humor—though it is obviously pretty much the top. So now I get (finally) to the point of this post and the next one. I want to review the last couple posts on Andy Weir and his use of humor and use that as a backdrop to explore two ways humor is used. The first is artfully expressed in Weir’s Project Hail Mary and the other way comes through in the TV show The Last of Us. I want to explore the role humor has as a form of entertainment as well as something that does more than entertain. Humor as an important part of how we grow and develop.
Let’s begin with the instrumental value of humor as we can see from author Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. One can see from the interview I did with him and from reading Project Hail Mary, that the humor in the story is there because of what it does for both the characters and the reader. The humor does something. It serves a specific role or function. For the reader, the humor is designed to give them a break from the heavier moments in the novel. The levity provides respite. It allows them to breath and let the negative feelings go for a moment or two. Emotional experiences that are too heavy, too deep, for too long can wear a reader out. Good writers, whether in fiction or for the screen know how to use humor to help the audience relax and recuperate. Humor provides ways for the reader to escape those feelings if only for a moment—and often that’s all that’s needed. Humor allows the reader or audience not to become swallowed by a sea of bad feelings.
The humor also worked as a sort of self defense mechanism for the main character of Ryland. He used humor to deflect issues, deal with troubles, and otherwise navigate emergencies. His wittiness and his use of sarcasm is most evident when he is coming out of his induced sleep. He’s snarky towards the robot arm, he makes wry comments to himself about what he’s learned, and is overall rather liberal in his use of humor. Humor is clearly a main part of his personality—something Weir consciously worked to achieve Ryland even uses humor with his alien friend. While clearly an important feature of Ryland’s personality, his humor is also the vehicle through which the reader gets their moments of reprieve from the very stressful environment into which he has awoken. The humor has a double duty.
That’s enough for this week. Have a good week and laugh often and much.
Sharing this with the WV Writers Group - we're having a conference this weekend!