Response to "That's Cringe"

I read Alexis' analysis of this Cody Ko video before watching it, and I must say that she brought up some good points. Her assertion that both the benign-violation and superiority theory are utilized here was clearly spot on, although they were not used very effectively: Cody and Noel's use of mocking comes off more as cruel than benign. Furthermore, the superiority theory applies more to the TLC Virgin Diaries series itself than to their ridiculing of it. Regardless of one's virginity or lack thereof, anyone could laugh at Skippy because of his awkwardness and even creepiness in some instances. His actions are truly cringe-worthy. However, I would argue that Cody and Noel's video eliminated my initial amusement through superiority over Skippy due to my fear of being perceived as smug or downright dick-ish, as the two came off to me. I didn't think their video was funny at all. I found it lacking in creativity, and I think their vulgar language, contrary to what Alexis pointed out, did not enhance it, but rather served as a lame substitute for any real content. This reminds me of the use of mockery in politics, as we saw in the 2016 presidential election. Many late-night television and talk-show hosts, both Republicans and Democrats, made fun of the presidential candidates in ways that honestly weren't that funny, and that provided no real critiques of their policies or actions. In this way, I think humor has devolved from the subtle art of making a valid point while amusing an audience to simple-minded bullying that is completely unproductive and not as funny as true comedy. Maybe this is just my preference - although I certainly find my fair share of vulgar humor hilarious - but I was not a fan of this video, and I hope to never again be forced to waste 16 minutes and 34 seconds of my life rolling my eyes at the crude and lifeless humor of Cody Ko.

Comments

  1. Shane HerronOctober 3, 2018 at 12:47 PM

    I did go back and forth between finding it very funny and just being horrified and embarrassed. It certainly tests the limit of some of the benign theories of comedy.

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  2. Caroline BassOctober 5, 2018 at 1:03 PM

    I agree that they certainly relied too much on crassness and cruelty in the form of superiority theory as opposed to a thoughtfully structured benign violation. I usually have a high tolerance for crude humor, but I found myself feeling more uncomfortable than laughing for this particular video.

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  3. UnknownOctober 7, 2018 at 5:37 PM

    I would have to say that I found this video funny but like you pointed out, I was more focused on the actual "Virgin Diaries" and the uncomfortableness of Skippy's character, rather than the commentary by Cody Ko. It is certainly interesting to think about how humor has evolved into the "simple-minded bullying" as you stated in your post. I would definitely agree with the statement and I feel that is where the superiority theory comes into play.

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  4. Hannah ThomasOctober 9, 2018 at 3:52 PM

    You make an extremely powerful argument. Like you, I could not laugh at this video and could not get over how rude Cody Ko and Noel's jokes seemed. I find it intriguing how differently people can view the jokes told in this one video. Some view the jokes as flat out hilarious while others view them as absolutely ridiculous. I wonder if I would have laughed at Skippy's video without the commentary. I believe it is a possibility.

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