Would jokes where Dilbert’s pointy-headed boss says idiotic things be less funny if the boss were replaced by a co-worker? If so, does that suggest bosses are Hated Enemies, and Dilbert jokes bring false laughter?
Dilbert is less a satire and more a documentary. The amusement comes from us realizing how screwed up it is that large corporations work this way. We laugh like a man who just realized he was mortally wounded and none of his savings accounts he sacrificed earlier opportunities at hedonism for matter anymore.
I’d call that character humor, where the character of the boss is funny because of his exaggerated stupidity. It wouldn’t be funny if the punchline was just the boss getting hit in the face by a pie (well, beyond the inherent humor of pie-to-face situations). Besides, most of the co-workers say idiotic things too!
Would jokes where Dilbert’s pointy-headed boss says idiotic things be less funny if the boss were replaced by a co-worker? If so, does that suggest bosses are Hated Enemies, and Dilbert jokes bring false laughter?
The pointy-haired boss is presented as a Hated Enemy, but not just because he’s a boss; it’s because he’s a boss and an idiot.
Dilbert is less a satire and more a documentary. The amusement comes from us realizing how screwed up it is that large corporations work this way. We laugh like a man who just realized he was mortally wounded and none of his savings accounts he sacrificed earlier opportunities at hedonism for matter anymore.
I’d call that character humor, where the character of the boss is funny because of his exaggerated stupidity. It wouldn’t be funny if the punchline was just the boss getting hit in the face by a pie (well, beyond the inherent humor of pie-to-face situations). Besides, most of the co-workers say idiotic things too!