Locating humour in The Lonely Island: Absurdism and comedy in millennial humour

Abstract

Humour traditionally referred to any type of speech, writing, or composition that was ludicrous or amusing. In the past few decades, humour has been rapidly included in the online world, often in the form of visual media. From stand-up and satire, to sketch comedy and parodies, YouTube has emerged as a flexible medium of communication. With the expansion of what is considered “funny,” various niche forms of comedy have emerged, including absurdist comedy. The Lonely Island is a sketch comedy trio comprising of Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone. It has gained massive popularity on YouTube and the American show Saturday Night Live. This paper attempts to understand the essence of the humour used by The Lonely Island by analyzing their most formidable digital short, The Shooting (Dear Sister), and two of their songs (Like a Boss, and YOLO). In this process, the paper explores how absurdist or ‘stupid comedy’ is rich with data that provides insight into millennial and internet psychology. The analysis of their original content is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the manner in which absurdism can be transformed into a unique brand of humour that is both popular and contextually relevant.

Keywords:

• Humour
• absurdism
• millennial psychology
• internet psychology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Poorva Parashar

Poorva Parashar is a graduate student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Social Work with a specialisation in Mental Health after graduating with a 1^st division B. A. (Hons.) Psychology degree from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Her research interests include LGBTQIA+ issues, feminist psychology, humour and comedy, and macro level mental health concerns. She has also published several papers in these areas of study. Her undergraduate dissertation was titled ‘Exploring the Psychological Underpinnings of the #MeToo Movement.’

Parul Tewari

Parul Tewari is a graduate student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She is currently pursuing an M.A. Applied Psychology (Clinical and Counselling) after graduating with a 1^st division B. A. (Hons.) Psychology degree from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. She has a keen interest in research and has written and published multiple papers in the area of social, cultural and media psychology. Her undergraduate dissertation was titled ‘Fear of Missing Out: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study.’