Comedy is abundant in most societies. Funny TV shows, movies, videos, and books are all incredibly popular, and most people use one or more styles of humor in many areas of their lives. Why is that? The answer that most quickly comes to my mind is that comedy acts as a source of relief from the tougher aspects of life, which helps us feel better so we can keep going. But I think comedy also does a lot more than that.
Comedy can be used to provide a different perspective to commonly-accepted ideas, which can help us decide if those ideas are worth supporting or abandoning. Many comedic movies and TV shows that are now considered classics did exactly that by pointing out flaws, contradictions, and other issues in contemporary people and institutions that were revered and seldom questioned at the time. Being able to laugh at something puts some distance between it and yourself, which allows you to think more critically and less passionately about it. In extreme cases, comedians can go so far with their work as to almost approach nihilism and begin to lose their sense of meaning to life. That can be a downside to taking a skeptical perspective toward nearly everything in life and poking fun at anything that pops up, so it’s best to not go overboard with that type of comedy.
Sharing laughter with another person also strengthens the bond between the two of you. This can be intentional in such cases as seeing a funny movie together or unintentional, such as both of you saying the same thing at once without planning it. Additionally, laughter helps defuse tension and facilitate relaxation; this, along with its ability to strengthen bonds, makes it effective (when done properly at least) in breaking the ice when meeting someone new.
Like many other things in life, comedy is a tool that can be used for good or bad purposes. Comedy is best used to help heal, bring people together, and discuss solutions to a variety of problems in the world. However, even when comedy is used in a negative way, the fault remains with the comedian as comedy itself is neutral rather than being inherently good or bad. And, when it comes to those who use comedy to cause pain, the best thing to do is ignore them and focus instead on those who use comedy to bring healing. That way we can all laugh together as we work together to make the world a better place.