The point from Henri Bergon’s Laughter Essay was the point of laughter having “social significance” (p. 8), where a feeling of isolation from others can diminish this crucial feat (p. 5). A laugh-track is one way that can make us feel like we are laughing with others even when we watch a sitcom alone, making sure we don’t feel isolated from others while cluing us in on what is intended to be funny. However, over the past couple of years, sitcoms have moved away from the traditional laugh-track entirely, trusting that the jokes can reach audiences without it. Does Bergon’s claim that laughter depends on some social importance still hold? I believe so.
Although the majority of sitcoms now omit the laugh-track, there is still a clear connection to some societal significance. Shows like Friends and Seinfeld that included the laugh-track seem to be structured in a way that requires the laugh track to be funny. The clip below demonstrates how a previously “funny” scene from Friends become awkward and slightly creepy when the laugh-track is removed.
However, in this clip from New Girl, the scene proves comical without the need of the laugh-track.
Despite Bergon’s implications that a social setting is best to view comedy, we can still laugh without the push of the laugh-track to make us feel like we are in a social setting. The question now is why can we find this scene funny even if we watch it alone? The answer is its structure: it is structured differently than the clip from Friends is, as it flows like a normal conversation would. What made the Friends scene feel weird was that it felt unnatural with its awkward pauses that normally would be filled in by the laugh-track. Shows that do not have the laugh-track must then be structured in a way that allows for a smooth and consistent conversation/argument that makes us feel as if we are part of it. And that is how sitcoms like New Girl can make the audience feel included rather than isolated without the laugh-track; and thus supporting Bergon’s overall implications.
My mind also leapt immediately to laugh tracks when I read that, and I think you’ve described this much better than I could have. I often find that in the shows with laugh tracks I feel less attached to the characters, but with recent comedy shows it’s easier to relate to them even if they’re outrageous. I don’t watch much It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but I can honestly say that I find the characters in it more charismatic than the ones in Friends or Seinfeld and I think the laugh track is a huge part of that.
I find your connection between laugh tracks and societal importance fascinating. I would have never made that link, but after reading your post, the first example that came to mind was the Big Bang Theory. It is often criticised for its use of laugh tracks and similarly to friends when in isolation the jokes simply do not land. I think it’s important to create this social situation in shows like the Big Bang Theory because while they might deal with relatable situations, the characters themselves are geniuses, who use some (at times inaccurate) complicated terminology. So laugh tracks do help create this social setting needed.
I agree that Friends clip is less immersive. Especially with a meta show like Seinfeld, a laugh-track draws too much attention to Jerry’s conscious construction of the show. However, like Chaplin’s appealing “immediate recognizability,” Friends and Seinfeld have established audience familiarity through their iconic status that may make them enjoyable despite—or even due to—being clearly contrived (North 4).
^One day I will figure out how to italicize text on here, but clearly today is not that day haha
I really liked your idea that shows that do not have laugh-tracks make us feel as if we ourselves participate in all the arguments/jokes together with the characters.
I was also thinking about the third type of sitcoms’ use of laugh-tracks, that is the pre-recorded laughter or laughter which belongs not to the audience which is present on set during the making of the show, but the one that watches the already finished episode in a theatre or studio. I believe that How I Met Your Mother used this tool and thus, if we take out the laugh-track in that show, it would not have the awkward pauses that Friends have, since the actors in HIMYM do not wait for the audience to stop laughing after each joke (since there is no audience on the set) but keep talking, similarly to what they do in sitcoms that do not use laugh-track at all.
This is interesting because Friends (and the Big Bang Theory) were filmed in front of live studio audiences, so the laughter was genuine and informed the director and the cast on how to improve the episode. To my knowledge, the laughter was never compulsory, and was always dependent on whether the joke was actually funny. So perhaps the TV audience is just receiving the same experience as the studio audience of laughing more at things because the people around them are.
Also, I actually did find the Friends scene funny without the laugh track, though I think the pacing was off because the cast was waiting for the laughter to stop…