Superiority Theory: Adrian Bardon and T. Bradford Bitterly

Adrian Bardon argues that “The Superiority Theory is the theory that the humor we find in comedy and in life is based on ridicule, wherein we regard the object of amusement as inferior and/or ourselves as superior.” (2005, p. 463). Bardon discusses Superiority Theory in relation to Incongruity and Relief theory, citing various works such as Henry Bergson’s essay Laughter (1912/2014) and John Morreall’s The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor (1987).

Bardon continues “In other words, laughter results from a feeling of pleasure at seeing others suffer the misfortune of being deluded about their own wisdom.” (p. 463), but in what might seem like a contradiction to this, also:

The “person of great gravity” “falling” is not necessarily a literal translation and could be describing someone of high social standing finding themselves in a situation where they have “fallen” into the metaphorical gutter, which frequently occurs in Blackadder (The Blackadder, Lloyd, 1982-1983; Blackadder II, Lloyd, 1986; Blackadder the Third, Lloyd, 1987; Blackadder Goes Forth, Lloyd, 1989) when his or Baldrick’s “cunning plans” backfire spectacularly. The object of amusement tends to argue against Morreall’s statement that we cannot ridicule situations, yet if the situation is the object of amusement, it enables the sense of superiority to take over – the audience would never allow themselves to be caught in a situation like that!

T. Bradford Bitterly discusses power relations within humour (2022) stating that “humor is intricately linked with power. Individuals who use humor well can elevate, maintain, and solidify their position within the social hierarchy.” and that “attempting to use humor is risky”. (p. 125). They use real life examples of political figures losing their status and careers due to inappropriate jokes or comments, as well as examples of humour being used diplomatically as a political icebreaker of sorts. They use these examples to support their comparison between humour and power.

An individual may use humour to express power over a group or a hierarchy and within a situational comedy setting this person may also be the one who attempts to control the most power. This person may also express power through their joke telling and awareness of a situation. Blackadder’s observations are usually based on sarcasm, and he attempts to keep control of situations through humour, such as when General Melchett visits their dugout in various episodes of Goes Forth. Blackadder is powerless to Melchett but can keep control of his power over George and Baldrick through humour.

A key point Bitterly raises is that “Humor is also cognitively distracting, making it helpful for pulling attention away from negative information”, though they warn “Humor can be profoundly beneficial, but a humor attempt is not always successful. Attempting to use humor and failing can have dire consequences”. (p. 126, their emphasis) – a critical and frequently used theme in Blackadder. This use of humour to convey power can backfire: “Humor which targets individuals with less power might be particularly risky and lead to losses of status and power” (p. 127), which plays out in Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (Boden, 1988) when loved and respected nice-guy Blackadder is shown an alternative reality where he is mean to people but holds tremendous power. Blackadder rather likes this potential future and immediately acts contrary to his character and, as a result, he loses this potential power and progression.