Styles of Humor

I've been thinking about this for a couple days now and a conversation tonight prompted me to try to chronicle different styles of humor and their characteristics. This could become a very long topic that I continually come back to.

Reaction Humor - Best example: The Office. I consider reaction humor a unique type of humor because of where the comic beat falls. It falls upon the reaction and not the joke itself. The Office is the perfect example of this type of humor, where the Gervais or Carell character says or does something painful and we see the reaction of other characters (often multiple) and sometimes even the Gervais or Carell character himself. And the laugh generally comes from identifying with the uncomfortableness of the reacting characters - rather than anything objectively funny.

Observational Humor - Best example: Seinfeld/Curb. Did ya ever notice? This is the type of humor where you find yourself nodding your head in agreement, totally relating to the exact same situation because it undoubtedly happened to you at some point. Again, more of a subjective form of humor that relies on cleverness and aloofness as opposed to pain, which I think reaction humor relies on.

Clown Humor - Best example: Borat, but also Kramer. I could see Borat falling into a Gervais-like humor category based upon pain and discomfort and also relying upon reaction...however, I think there is a fundamental difference between when you laugh at Borat vs. when you laugh in the Office. I laugh AT Borat because of what he is doing. In the Office I'm laughing WITH the characters reacting to Gervais. When Borat is trying to take the wine glass from the wine taster - I don't relate to the wine taster, I'm laughing at the way Borat is interacting with the wine taster.

More to come later on....

Mike Meyers and Repetitive Humor
Dave Chapelle and Imitative Humor
Stephen Colbert/Chris Rock and Disguised Truth Humor
The Sopranos and Morbid Humor
Tina Fey and Wacky Humor
The Onion and Written Humor