Not Just for Laughs: a Functional Analysis on Comedy Bars

Abstract

Laughter is a unique behavior exhibited only by humans. Therefore, questions like "what purpose is there in humor and laughter?” arose (Palmer, 1994). Filipinos are considered a Happy People and are known to laugh at almost everything, even at the face of adversities and disaster. What makes us do so? One manifestation of the Filipinos’ incessant want and need to laugh is the increasing number of comedy bars in the Philippines especially in the metropolis areas. These comedy bars, as the name implies, showcases stand-up comedy as well as Karaoke performances However, these establishments are somewhat criticized by some to be vulgar and incongruent to the ideal Filipino values. Using the Functionalist perspective, which assumes that every variable in the society which exists must serve a function for the solidarity of the society, the researcher aimed to find the different functions of comedy bars through inferring from the reasons why some members of the society avail of the services provided by this kind of establishments. Thus, the irony of taking humor seriously began for the researcher. For the study to be empirical, the researcher interviewed an owner of a comedy bar as well as two performers of the same bar to gain insight as to what services comedy bars have to offer the people as well as to get a view on their perceived functions of comedy bars in the society. For the most part, the paper discusses the results from interviews with several respondents, all of which are customers or patrons of three comedy bars namely, The Library, Laffline and Zirkoh. Questions which were mainly aimed to reveal the various reasons why people go to comedy bars were asked by the researcher. The reasons provided by the respondents chiefly provide an insight to the needs of the members of the society which comedy bars cater to. From identifying these needs, the researcher deduced the possible societal functions that these comedy bars fulfill. Aside from the functionality of the comedy bars per se, the researcher also delved into the Filipino psyche on humor, as humor is the main attraction and the main “product” that comedy bars sell. From the interviews conducted, the researcher was able to identify some reasons for the unmistakable search of Filipinos for laughter; and from these, the researcher identified some possible functions of humor and laughter for these individuals. Recommendations for future related studies were also provided by the researcher as well as ways to further improve the study itself and make the results more extensive as well as more valid and reliable.