Response to "Experimental Case Study"
Friends - The One in Vegas: Part 1
1) Overall Perceived Funniness: 7
2) Overall Reported Enjoyment: 5
3) Types of Humor Evident in the Episode: putdown humor, wordplay humor, sarcasm, joking socially, self-deprecation, incongruity, people doing stupid things, a sight gag, naughty humor
The Office - The Dundies
1) Overall Perceived Funniness: 8
2) Overall Reported Enjoyment: 9
3) Types of Humor Evident in the Episode: putdown humor, sarcasm, joking around to fit in, joking socially, incongruity, people doing stupid things, dark humor, sick humor, naughty humor
This is such an interesting phenomenon! I actually found the episode of The Office much funnier than the episode of Friends, and I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with the lack of a laugh track for two reasons: reality and relatability. To me, Friends feels more staged than The Office. I've even noticed, having watched Friends all the way through, that the same laughs are often repeated (there's always that one obnoxious laugh that stands out) which can detract from the show's feeling of genuineness in my eyes. The Office, on the other hand, feels much more real because of the way it is filmed and the uncut way in which it is presented. Furthermore, The Office is more relatable, and I believe this is largely due to the silence where a laugh track would be. The gaping holes left unfilled by laugh tracks enhance the awkwardness of daily life: uncomfortable pauses are real and happen on a daily basis, so I feel like the audience can better relate to situations portrayed in the show when we laugh of our own accord instead of when prompted. Hannah's cited studies help support this idea of a "reversal of the expected laugh track impact" (Lieberman 506) and corroborate with my personal results: the show without a laugh track is funnier. In addition, it was really nice to take a break from stressful homework to do fun homework... I got to rewatch episodes from two of my favorite shows! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this experiment and look forward to discussing it in class.
Jake's Way Better Feedback Than Theo's: Really good stuff! Similar ideas to what I wrote. You really lay out your argument well, and hell, even have an in-text citation. A+
Great Feedback, 10/10
Theo's Bad Feedback Which is Subjective But I Digress: I agree that it's very well written and articulated, I also notice when they repeat laugh tracks on certain shows. I remember that they did that on iCarly a ton and it was really annoying. I like the "deadpan to the camera" move that the Office does and how that's more or less a stand-in for the laugh track.
Accurate. Nuff said.
Accurate. Double nuff said.
1) Overall Perceived Funniness: 7
2) Overall Reported Enjoyment: 5
3) Types of Humor Evident in the Episode: putdown humor, wordplay humor, sarcasm, joking socially, self-deprecation, incongruity, people doing stupid things, a sight gag, naughty humor
The Office - The Dundies
1) Overall Perceived Funniness: 8
2) Overall Reported Enjoyment: 9
3) Types of Humor Evident in the Episode: putdown humor, sarcasm, joking around to fit in, joking socially, incongruity, people doing stupid things, dark humor, sick humor, naughty humor
This is such an interesting phenomenon! I actually found the episode of The Office much funnier than the episode of Friends, and I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with the lack of a laugh track for two reasons: reality and relatability. To me, Friends feels more staged than The Office. I've even noticed, having watched Friends all the way through, that the same laughs are often repeated (there's always that one obnoxious laugh that stands out) which can detract from the show's feeling of genuineness in my eyes. The Office, on the other hand, feels much more real because of the way it is filmed and the uncut way in which it is presented. Furthermore, The Office is more relatable, and I believe this is largely due to the silence where a laugh track would be. The gaping holes left unfilled by laugh tracks enhance the awkwardness of daily life: uncomfortable pauses are real and happen on a daily basis, so I feel like the audience can better relate to situations portrayed in the show when we laugh of our own accord instead of when prompted. Hannah's cited studies help support this idea of a "reversal of the expected laugh track impact" (Lieberman 506) and corroborate with my personal results: the show without a laugh track is funnier. In addition, it was really nice to take a break from stressful homework to do fun homework... I got to rewatch episodes from two of my favorite shows! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this experiment and look forward to discussing it in class.
Jake's Way Better Feedback Than Theo's: Really good stuff! Similar ideas to what I wrote. You really lay out your argument well, and hell, even have an in-text citation. A+
Great Feedback, 10/10
Theo's Bad Feedback Which is Subjective But I Digress: I agree that it's very well written and articulated, I also notice when they repeat laugh tracks on certain shows. I remember that they did that on iCarly a ton and it was really annoying. I like the "deadpan to the camera" move that the Office does and how that's more or less a stand-in for the laugh track.
Accurate. Nuff said.
Accurate. Double nuff said.
Apparently someone actually invented a laugh machine in the 60s. I don't know if they were still using it by the 90s, as the laugh track sounds a bit different. But it had very noticeable characteristics including things like "that one obnoxious laugh that stands out" or "that laugh that trails off after all the others." I did enjoy fun homework too, I have to say. Much better than grading! (I love reading papers, just to be clear, but grading them is not so fun...)
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