Spider Dog

I’m startled by the sound of the alarm on my phone intended to wake me up from my nap. The time is 3:22. I’m definitely not making it to class on time. I slap on some clothes making me appear as if I literally just rolled out of bed (which I did). As I run to class, people turn the heads quietly judging me with their stares. “Look at this kid running to class. What a freaking dweeb,” is what they were probably thinking. I finally arrive to class and try entering in a stealthy manner until I trip as I walk in. I’m glad I could get everyone’s attention.

            Today in class Dr. Williams had a nice treat for us. It was the day of the spider dog. These videos were simply composed of a small, friendly dog wearing a spider costume. The real kicker was that this dog would chase random people during the late hours when no one was around. These videos were hilarious! The dog would literally scare the pants off of the people! My favorite part was whenever the spider dog chased an older man in the subway into a “spider web”. The man was stuck for a while frantically trying to get out of the clutches of the spider dog.

            Later on in class, Dr. Williams answered my prayers and searched for the videos with the cats versus the cucumbers. Who knew cats would be so scared of cucumbers. The little fur balls literally flew when they realized the cucumber was right next to them. It was as if this little green object was a threat to these poor, domestic cat’s lives.

            Watching these videos made class one to remember. However, they were more than just hysterical videos. These videos highlighted several themes that we have gone over in class. For instance, the video with the spider dog, elements for both superiority and relief theory were present. Watching the people pee themselves with fear was hysterical. Being that I knew before hand that this spider dog was in fact harmless, I am automatically superior to the person being scared off by this animal. Their misfortune in this case was fuel to my enjoyment. Relief theory was also present in this scenario. Seeing the random people’s misfortune of a lack of information of the situation makes one pity them a bit but in a laughing manner. This is somewhat due to the fact that nothing harmful was inflicted upon the person that was chased by this spider dog. The videos with the cats versus the cucumbers embodied more of the incongruity theory than anything. Everyone watching the video was completely caught off-guard by the reactions of the cats when they came into contact with the cucumbers. From literally running to class to experiencing the first known evidence of cats flying in households, this day was definitely one for the books. It’s crazy how laughter, which was once seen as a phenomenon to me, can somewhat be explained through different types of theories. One concern of mine was that this course would ruin the art of laughter for me through its dissection. However that proved that in fact my laughter is still in tact.