Sarcasm: The True Art of Humor

That quiet girl that sits in the front of the class and barely participates in discussion or group activities might not be as shy as she appears, but suffers from over-active-sarcasm and lives in constant fear that she will offend someone when she opens her mouth. The possibility that her humor won’t be funny to classmates or professors causes her to glance downward as she stifles a giggle in the middle of a lecture, making her appear extremely reserved. The fact that not everybody understands sarcasm suggests a boundary that separates those who understand sarcasm and those who do not. Scrolling through articles, Psychology Today, study after study, research paper after research paper, I found to my dismay many negative articles on my favorite form of communication, sarcasm. My defense mode kicked in, motivating me to write this. I wondered is sarcasm all bad? Next, I grabbed “The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm” by James Napoli, Executive Vice President of the National Sarcasm Society (yes, there is a sarcasm society). This is a guide for all your sarcastic needs; as Napoli states on the back cover, “not that you give a crap” (Napoli). Upon reading this, I felt reassured that sarcasm is humorous—but what exactly is sarcasm? Sarcasm exists strongly in the English language, making a mark in our daily conversations; creating series of sitcoms, stand-up comedy, and humor columns in the New Yorker; establishing forums on the internet, memes on Facebook, and hashtags on Twitter—almost creating an entirely new language. Yet, not a universal one. So why is sarcasm difficult to understand and why does it have such a bad rap?

The word sarcasm comes from the Greek word sarkezein which literally translates as “to tear flesh” (“Sarcasm”). When we are sarcastic, we are not literally tearing the recipient’s flesh, yet like sarcasm itself, metaphorically, in many ways we are. The snarling comments often injure one like tearing of flesh. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” is a false adage indicating that words have no effect on us at all. This simply is not true. Based on the way in which our self-esteem levels fluctuate depending on approval from others, we depend on words to communicate the things that encourage us, help us differentiate right from wrong, and criticize us. Sarcasm is a statement of one positive meant to mean a negative opposite. Sarcasm sometimes forms as criticism or a compliment. Pazzanese, a Harvard staff writer, suggested that the “mental gymnastics” involved in the interpretation of sarcasm leads smart-alecks to believe they are intellectually better than the straight-forward. I myself have come to use the term sarcasm generously to refer to all inappropriate humor.

In my opinion, there is a difference between saying something cruel or cynical and laughing about it, and using abstract communication to express one thing by saying another. The line is blurred between sarcasm and passive aggression, between sarcasm and facetiousness. Sarcasm is a type of both, but in its purest self it is not either of these. It’s easier to examine what sarcasm is not, to better understand what sarcasm is. My friend recently started talking to a guy that asked for her number at her work. Naturally, my first question is: “When’s the wedding?” I say this to see her squirm uncomfortably. I’m pointing to an arbitrary concept that isn’t realistic—they aren’t getting married anytime soon, the idea of engagement isn’t in the picture. Its humor and we can laugh about it. I know exactly how that feels—its patronizing, but it’s funny. Plenty of people ask my boyfriend and I, “Am I invited to the wedding?” insinuating and pressuring us into uncomfortable rebuttals and lame come backs. But there is a line. Some people truly are hurtful when it comes to communicating their feelings about my relationship and they defend it by saying they were being ‘sarcastic’ or ‘facetious’. It’s exhausting and the humor is lost. “Did you get permission to go to the rodeo this weekend?” my boyfriend’s guy friend nudges him, speaking loud enough for me to hear. The message I get is that I’m controlling. I’m the stereotype of the manipulative, bossy significant other, a stereotype I resent. So what is the difference between the sarcastic and the facetious?

http://sarcasmsociety.com/

The Latin inscribed beneath the society’s tile translates to “This was a waste of time”—and I couldn’t agree more after I made the effort of creating a new tab and typing it into Google translate.

Facetious originated from the Latin word facetus, meaning witty (“Facetious”). Merriam Webster says the word is “used to describe speech that is meant to be funny but that is usually regarded as annoying, silly, or not proper” (“Facetious”). Sarcasm is defined as “the use of words that mean the opposite of what you want to say, especially in order to insult someone, to show irritation or to be funny” (“Sarcasm”). The confusion between these two has resulted in the broadening of the usage of the word sarcasm. We generalize it and overuse. We think all inappropriate humor is sarcastic. We define personalities by either being sarcastic or not having a sense of humor, as if it’s one or the other. Sarcasm navigates deeper than surface level humor in our psychology; it functions as our coping mechanisms, sometimes through passive aggression. In some ways I even confuse sarcasm with inside jokes. I always thought that sarcasm was a sort of specialized, unique form of expressing information that only few people will get. But that is the exact definition of an inside joke: “a joke that is understood only by people with special knowledge about something” (“Inside joke”). The differences between these types of humor is crucial in understanding the uniqueness of sarcasm.

The negative aspects of sarcasm are abundant, especially psychologically. Have you ever had a compliment about your outfit in the form of a snide comment, leaving you wondering if it was actually a compliment or a form of subtle bullying? Sarcasm can leave people immune to compliments, making them think that when someone says something nice, it’s a joke. When someone is rude, they laugh it off, because that too might be sarcasm, but how can they truly ever know?  “You can’t take a joke anymore,” my friend said. To which I wanted to respond, “I can’t take your passive-aggression anymore.” Our relationship is summarized by snide quips and mean remarks, accentuated with a laugh and smirk. You have to be thick skinned to hang out with us, but why? Why must we poke at each other, especially when it isn’t funny anymore? The not-so subtle counterparts are the passive-aggression that blare through the sarcastic comments. Criticism tries to hide in sarcasm, but it is difficult for it to squeeze its big furry butt behind the narrow tree of humor.

At times we hide behind sarcasm to insinuate things of deeper and problematic meaning. Instead of straightforwardly saying that we don’t like something the other person did, maybe it was something they said or did to us, maybe they forgot to take out the trash after repeated requests or called you that name you specifically told them not to call you. I am not a white girl, I swear—as I order my Venti Extra Whip Strawberry Vanilla Frappuccino.

Once, my boyfriend wore a hideous striped sweater that he simply could not pull off. The whole night, through drinks, dinner and the movie after, I made backhanded remarks about how I was sure Steve from Blue’s Clues was missing his sweater. I held my hand up to the side of my face in the shape of a phone, “Bill Cosby called; he wants his shirt back.” I thought it was subtle, but based on the glares I got it was not. Later he asked, “Seriously, is this sweater that bad?”

            “No,” I said. “No, not at all. No. Of course not. It’s great. It’s great!”

            “One more ‘great’ and I’ll believe you,” he said.

            “It’s great,” I said smiling. “How’d you find Sheldon Cooper’s wardrobe?”

Okay, that last one was a stretch—I mean, Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory wears some pretty strange shirts right? This is a mild example of criticism in the form of sarcasm, so we’ll take it a step further. However, the only sarcastic comment in this exchange was when I said, “It’s great.” Because I truly meant the opposite.

A problem I have encountered personally as a result of sarcasm is the inability to communicate effectively because sometimes people don’t know if I actually mean the opposite of what I’m saying. How can this be resolved? I’ve been so wounded that somebody compliments me and I take it the wrong way, I take it as the opposite. Being able to understand sarcasm and see the possible opposite of every statement comes with problems.

“You clean up good!” a well-meaning husband says to his wife.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she retorts.

The compliment turns offensive when she assumes he means she doesn’t always look good, that it is only at this point in time that she has achieved beauty. Then why is sarcasm so fun?

 “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence,” stated Oscar Wilde (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky). A well-known quote by a well-known author.  Science suggests that this is true. “The prefrontal lobe is known to be involved in pragmatic language processes and complex social cognition. The ventromedial section is linked to personality and social behavior” (Adam). Any sort of loss in these areas makes it impossible for a person to understand and interpret irony and sarcasm. “First the language center in the brain's left hemisphere interprets the literal meaning of words. Next, the frontal lobes and right hemisphere process the speaker's intention and check for contradictions between the literal meaning and the social and emotional context. Finally, the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex—our sarcasm meter—makes a decision based on our social and emotional knowledge of the situation” (Adam). Irony is a major component to sarcasm, a term that we often heard in our high school English class regarding the short story we read. I usually thought it referred to something that wasn’t logical, yet it is the statement of one thing to mean the opposite. Now, the amount of effort it takes to follow this sort of communication makes it easy to see why some people won’t be able to understand it.

According to a study, “both sarcasm expressers and recipients reported more conflict but also demonstrated enhanced creativity” (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky) Sure, sarcasm stipulates plenty of problems: passive-aggression, criticism. But where is everybody’s sense of humor? The study by Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School, Adam Galinsky, Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, and Li Huang of INSEAD, the European business school examines this. They state that sarcasm “can facilitate creativity by increasing abstract thinking” (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky). Attending a Liberal Arts college, abstract thinking is the premise of the curriculum. I value this. Sarcasm as a method of communication leads to potential problems: misunderstanding, confusion, and hurt feelings. Yet, even in the workplace, sarcasm can be beneficial when mutual trust exists between the two parties. The expresser of sarcasm views it as “more amusing and less aggressive” than the recipient (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky). The same goes for the observer. It makes sense that the recipient, at whose expense the joke is directed, perceives more aggression. Sarcasm functions at the expense of the recipient who in turn experiences and benefits from no form of creativity, like the observer and expresser. However, the true humor and fun in sarcasm is the ability to respond, quickly and ingeniously, firing back a response. I enjoy people who not only understand sarcasm, but effectively show their wit by responding with sarcasm. An exchange like this can happen spontaneously, say on a plane, two strangers joking at the expense of the flight crew, sharing an instant mutual trust that did not exist before.

A key factor in successful sarcasm for communication is interpersonal trust. “That helps reduce the relational cost of sarcasm for both parties but still allow organizations to take advantage of its creative benefits” (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky). “A literal positive meaning to communicate a negative message” (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky). A boss says to an employee sitting lazily at his desk, “Don’t work too hard!” (Huang, Gino, and Galinsky) Literally, it is a kind message from the boss warning the worker not to strain himself. Sarcastically, it is a snide way to tell the employee that he needs to pick up the pace. The verbal irony of sarcasm relies on pitch inversion, utterance elongation, and nasalization (Krueger). Is the boss sincerely concerned the worker will put in so much effort that he will pass out from exertion, or is he criticizing how little energy and enthusiasm he sees from the employee? Context and tone of voice makes this clearer, but how many ways could this be misinterpreted?

Sending sarcasm through written word such as email is rarely effective unless the recipient reads the message in their head exactly how you would have said it. This is problematic. One cannot know for sure how something will be interpreted—tone is a major component in sarcasm. A How I Met Your Mother episode showed this. It’s Halloween, Robin is dating a new guy. Over email she in her mind, jokingly said they should dress up as Hansel and Gretel. A knock at the door revealed a Hansel in full costume; Robin was going as herself.

            “Where is your costume, Gretel?” he asks.

            “You thought I was—oh, I was just kidding. I gotta stop making jokes in emails. It’s so hard to convey tone,” Robin said.

Robin stated that they should dress up for Halloween, but meaning the opposite. We need a font for sarcasm. The phrase “good one” is an interchangeable term of endearment or criticism. Someone makes a half-court basketball shot and a buddy high fives him saying, “Good one!” My friend cracks a joke and I roll my eyes saying, “Good one..” What’s the difference between these two? Context and tone. I can almost bet that you read the latter with a scoffing tone with the voice residing in your head.

From an outsider’s point of view, my discussions with friends, especially my roommate, may sound cruel and mean, rather unnecessary. But that is how our relationships function, how we keep conversations lighthearted, and crack a smile when it seems impossible. Gino states, “To create or decode sarcasm, both the expressers and recipients of sarcasm need to overcome the contradiction between the literal and actual meanings of the sarcastic expressions. This is a process that activates and is facilitated by abstraction, which in turn promotes creative thinking,” (Pazzanese). Sarcasm requires a sort of “mental gymnastics,” a factor that makes it more fun and entertaining (Pazzanese).

The concept that sarcasm requires creative and abstract thinking, shows how complex it is—especially used through written word. The internet has captured a form of humor that is not quite sarcasm, but humor that requires a sort of previous shared knowledge. The internet increased accessibility to many things, but the aspect that is not accessible to everyone is the understanding of the humor discourse. This humor has resulted in an internet sensation of memes. From football players being ridiculed, actors being quoted out of context to criticizing presidential candidates, we use these memes, sometimes in the form of moving GIFs to entertain and express ourselves. Matthew McConaughey’s phrase “Alright, alright, alright” circulates the internet. One Tumblr user commented on the phenomenon of internet humor. The user under the name of marelie states, “I really love our generation’s joke trend of like, very calm but incredibly inflated hyperbole. Like nobody says “oh she’s pretty” anymore we say “I would willingly let her murder me” and everyone is just like “lol same” (Marelie). The language used on the internet is unique and continually evolving. The way we communicate has become more concise and efficient. She continues. “I think “same” is also great and “me,” I love when somebody reblogs a picture of like, a lizard, and just says “me” and we all know exactly what they mean. The current online Humor Discourse is remarkable because we trade exclusively in metaphors and implications and nobody ever, ever says anything outright and yet everybody understands each other perfectly” (Marelie). A one word statement is enough to establish meaning, proving how much understanding and “mental gymnastics” we use in order to create humor (Pazzanese).

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The many layers behind this meme require prior knowledge of McConaughey’s Lincoln car commercial—satirized by Ellen Degeneres—and knowledge of the origin of his catch phrase “Alright, alright, alright”—the movie “Dazed and Confused.” But this is a characteristic of an inside joke—not sarcasm.

Pondering why we use sarcasm, I examined my own life and the instances that sarcasm is most prevalent. It’s a coping mechanism. It is a way for me to express my thoughts inadvertently. It’s a method for my brain to process complicated, uncomfortable things in a humorous way. It’s the comic relief to my life.  Last night my friend said, “Now I have to live at home with my parents.” My roommate says, “Who wouldn’t want to do that!” And in that moment I realized what sarcasm really is. Because I can literally think of many people who would not want to live with their parents. Sarcasm happened so rarely that the entire night we were simply being facetious—making inappropriate jokes, insulting jabs, and sexual innuendos. And that’s when my appreciation for sarcasm spiked. Crafting sarcasm, one must be analytical, one must say the opposite of what they mean in a way that presents itself as humorous. Sarcasm requires a lot of thinking and it’s only funny if the thinking is done rapidly. Interactions with sarcasm are unique—there are drawbacks to it, evident in my life when I can’t seem to handle my problems, much less a joke—but there are benefits that outweigh this in a trusting environment. Sarcasm potentially tears relationships apart, but it also does the opposite. So the quiet girl in the front of the class may be more complicated than she looks, her mind races with sarcastic responses and inappropriate jokes, her brain on overload at all times. That blank stare she directs at the blackboard results from a numbing abundance of humor, sometimes she’s facetious and she has her inside jokes, but sometimes, when she formulates the perfect response, she is sarcastic. Sarcasm: the true art form of humor.

Works Cited

Adam, David. "Highest Functions of Brain Produce Lowest Form of Wit." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 23 May 2005. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

"Facetious." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Huang, Li, F. Gino, and Adam D. Galinsky. "The Highest Form of Intelligence: Sarcasm Increases Creativity for Both Expressers and Recipients." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 131 (2015): 162–177. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

“Inside joke.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Krueger, Joachim. "Sarcasm Bites." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 11 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Marelie. "I really love our generation’s joke trend..." We are Born with the Dead. 2015, Tumblr.

Napoli, James. The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm: A Lexicon for Those of Us Who Are Better and Smarter than the Rest of You. New York, NY: Sterling Innovation, 2010. Print.

Pazzanese, Christina. "Go Ahead, Be Sarcastic." Harvard Gazette. The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 24 July 2015. Web. 09. Mar. 2016.

"Sarcasm." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.