Customer Reviews

Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Freud did not see jokes as minor nonsense and insignificance. He saw them as deeper messages delivered to us from our unconscious. He saw them as telling the secrets about ourselves to ourselves and the world that we do not necessarily want to tell. He saw them as acts of aggression and as acts of self- defense. In fact Freud is one of the few theorists of jokes and laughter that the world has had. In my opinion while Freud's understanding of jokes is not exhaustive and all- comprehensive it does illuminate much about a certain kind of humor. And it does teach us something about ourselves which we had not really noticed before Freud taught it to us. Freud himself is of course a source of endless jokes today , but it is not wrong to say that at least some of these jokes should be about his great genius and ability to see and say where others before him did not.

The logic of Freud can sometimes be overbearing when he is dealing with the makings of a joke. However, he does at times seem to drop his guard, speak in easy to understand terms, and give information that can be understood. If anyone is pursuing comedy in any form, this book would be helpful, and will help you compare your analyzation of what you do with someone who knew very well how the human mind worked. I've applied several of his concepts on stage and have found them successful.

A great admirer of Freud recommended this book to me as perhaps the best of his many writings. Thus, my expectations were high and, perhaps because of that, I ended up a bit disappointed.

Freud analyzes the nature of humor, and specifically of jokes. Not surprisingly to those who know his other work, he finds that jokes work by releasing tension in the subconscious.

Freud argues cohesively and pursuasively - if one is prepared to follow his rather lengthy arguments. His examples are often the easier part of the reading and these are interesting and sometimes funny, although truth be told, it was mostly interesting to discover how lame many of the jokes are that in 19th century apparently were considered hilarious.

In the end, I found this reading interesting but not more than that, and did not come away with any particular new insights or ideas. For the afficianado this book is certainly a must. For the more peripherally interested, it would probably not be the first choice.