Why is the pain of others amusing?

[Crystalite]

I guess this is supposed to be some kid of discussion about human nature, I would really like to understand this:

All the internet is full of it, there are shows on television about it, an many of the oldest circusclown acts are based around this:
Images of people getting hurt, often quite severely, seems to be the pinnacle of humor and amusement for many people. This includes the pain of children and often lets the viewer wonder if the victim even survived his accident.

Do you laugh at things like these? Do you know what makes it funny?

And why is it funny, if a father smacks his toddler in the face with full force while playing kinect:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107352-Playing-Kinect-Results-in-Child-Abuse
But a mother giving her child hot sauce as punishment is not?
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.261551-Poll-Mother-punishes-adopted-child-by-forcing-him-to-drink-hot-sauce?page=4

Is it about intention? The pain of the first child is sure to have been much worse.
I´m not trying to be offensive, I don´t understand.

 

[BENZOOKA]

I don't understand at all why it should be analyzed why something is funny.

I did laugh like a maniac to the Kinect accident video. You shouldn't worry about it. It was an accident and kids are robust as hell.

 

[Drakane]

In your example, ones an accidents... and though accidents due to negligence can be called abuse, some times shit happens.

Its funny because... its not us? Watching some twit trying to learn a front flip on roller-blades on a half pipe is funny as hell to watch cuz the pain that results was well deserved. So I'm told, from my friends, who saw me attempt this example. This isn't the reason all the time, but atleast some of it.

 

[JoJo]

Well I didn't laugh at all at the kinect video, and judging by a lot of the comments on the thread about the video a lot of people didn't find it funny either. I don't mean to be offensive to anyone but I can't see why anyone in their right mind would find a small child being hurt amusing. Then again I'm generally more protective of kids than your average person so that might factor into it somewhat.

 

[dakorok]

It's funny when it's an accident, because you can go "well, that was dumb".
When someone intentionally harms another, it gets serious, especially when it's a child.
Make no mistake, it can still be really funny to watch two crazy chicks going at each other, but it's a different kind of humor.

 

[Croaker42]

It's funny when it's an accident, because you can go "well, that was dumb".
When someone intentionally harms another, it gets serious, especially when it's a child.
Make no mistake, it can still be really funny to watch two crazy chicks going at each other, but it's a different kind of humor.

This

And I would like to add that it helps if its not happening to me.

 

[Crystalite]

Yeah, the accident thing is probably it, being the common factor.
But then why don´t we laugh at accidents with no pain involved?

As for the kid video, yes, that shocked me. Not so much because it was a child, but because I have had blows to the face and nose (also per accident) and know that is the most disgusting and demoralising kind of pain.
I can´t help but feel with people. That does make me oversensitive perhaps, but I just cannot see anything funny about pain, simply because I feel it myself.

Also, about the robustness: Yes, older kids are very resilient, younger ones are not. Shaking a baby or young toddler will kill it. I dunno, probably has something to do with the bones of the skull needing time to set... Anyway, my first reaction is always to worry, and not only about children, either.

 

[BRMXJzjsoawk321]

That should sum most of it up.

I personally will laugh at almost anyone in pain. I smile to myself when I punch my little brother in my stomach and he starts to cry a bit. I mean I try not to smile I gotta act like I care but I really don't. Hm.

 

[Crystalite]

yes, I can see that its because of the accidental factor, that being the common point of these things...

The thing is, I can´t help but worry, especially about children. The may be quite tough in an older age, but a baby or toddler can be killed just with shaking. Something to do with the skullbones having to set, I think.

Also, I always tend to feel the pain I see, on some level. I have had accidental blows to the face and nose, and it is the most disgusting, demoralising pain I have ever felt...
Maybe that makes me a wuss, but I will always feel sorry for people in pain, even if it was dumb what they did.

Why don´t we have as many videos of accidents where no one gets hurt?

 

[Crystalite]

I personally will laugh at almost anyone in pain. I smile to myself when I punch my little brother in my stomach and he starts to cry a bit. I mean I try not to smile I gotta act like I care but I really don't. Hm.

Well, to be honest, when I was a kid I felt the same sometimes. But I find that I care more and more about people, the older I get (not to say that I´m old ;-)). And incidentaly, the more pain I have felt myself.
Punching siblings is a part of growing up, I think... Even if it is one that many are very much ashamed of after the process.

 

[LunarTick]

As Mel Brooks has put it: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."

It's just that it isn't happening to us, some kind of relief that makes us laugh.
And yeah, intention plays a role in this.

 

[DMonkey]

Because the internet is full of sad angry people who want to appear to be uncaring assholes for....whatever reason. Shock value?

I don't get it either.

 

[Dragonpit]

It's depends on a lot of things. For example: one of the reasons why the kid getting clocked in the kinect video is funny is simply because we can see that the blow was not intentional. The father simply had no awareness of his surroundings and the girl got caught in the 'crossfire,' as it were. It was an accident, there was no serious injury. Therefore, we don't regret laughing at it. This, of course, does not apply to everyone. Other people may have different reasons for laughing, and not exactly happy reasons at that, but I believe that is the main reason.

The reason why the kid being punished with hot sauce is not funny is for the same reason. We know he's being punished and is being fed the hot sauce deliberately. This removes any entertainment value by making it somewhat inappropriate to laugh. Maybe it's because for all we know, he deserves it, or maybe the fact that it is meant to be a punishment is what turns us off to it. I can't say for sure. However, that is the long and short of it.

We're not laughing to be mean; we're laughing because we can tell from the situation just how big a deal it really was. I guarantee you, if the father didn't respond to his daughter after he'd accidentally hit her, we would've found it a lot less funny. On the flip side, if the kid had eaten the hot sauce by himself without provocation, we'd be laughing all the harder. It's all about the situation.

 

[Crystalite]

Because the internet is full of sad angry people who want to appear to be uncaring assholes for....whatever reason. Shock value?

I don't get it either.

Well, its not just the internet. Where I live, they show stuff like that on television, and I know for a fact that they do in the USA as well.

I am also aware of the mel brooks quote, I just don´t get it. Just because he said it, does not make it true, and I fail to see why someone falling in a sewer and dying is funny.
I would probably laugh pretty hard at that, if it was fictional, and maybe Brooks is speaking of comedic fiction. But these videos are real...

 

[Crystalite]

The reason why the kid being punished with hot sauce is not funny is for the same reason. We know he's being punished and is being fed the hot sauce deliberately. This removes any entertainment value by making it somewhat inappropriate to laugh.

I don´t think its because it is inappropriate to laugh, its because no one was amused. Many people where disgusted, some where indifferent, but not one person seemed to be laughing.
And many people admitted that it was inappropriate to laugh at the kinect thing, but did so anyway.

Of course I´m not saying one should only do what is appropriate ;-)

 

[Dragonpit]

The reason why the kid being punished with hot sauce is not funny is for the same reason. We know he's being punished and is being fed the hot sauce deliberately. This removes any entertainment value by making it somewhat inappropriate to laugh.

I don´t think its because it is inappropriate to laugh, its because no one was amused. Many people where disgusted, some where indifferent, but not one person seemed to be laughing.
And many people admitted that it was inappropriate to laugh at the kinect thing, but did so anyway.

Of course I´m not saying one should only do what is appropriate ;-)

Ah, but if he had hit his best friend and not his daughter, people would have reacted differently, would they not? It is because it was a child that was hit that people thought it was inappropriate (a sentiment not without ground, I should say). Otherwise, people might found it all the funnier instead. You get me?

 

[ICanBreakTheseCuffs]

Well, most of the time the accidents in the videos aren't intended, which makes them all the more funny