Henri Bergson’s first point in ‘Laughter’ focuses on how ‘the comic does not exist outside the pale of what is strictly human’. An animal is made funny when it is made to resemble a human, or when it takes on some human quality, stating that ‘you may laugh at an animal, but only because you have detected in it some human attitude or expression’. Season 3 Episode 16 of Parks and Recreation (‘Li’l Sebastian’) is an example of this, with the plot focusing around the planning and performance of a grand funeral to celebrate the life and death of the town of Pawnee’s celebrity miniature horse (the eponymous Li’l Sebastian). In this case, Li’l Sebastian does not resemble a human, rather it is the way that other characters treat him as such that has the potential to create a moment of laughter here.
This first clip shows the characters’ initial reactions upon hearing the news of Li’l Sebastian’s death. The miniature horse is shown more respect by Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) than he shows to the large majority of the actual humans in the show. He describes that he was initially gleeful at hearing that some important citizen had passed (an unusual but in-character response to such an event), however when he learned that it was Li’l Sebastian, he produces an atypical display of respect and sympathy. Ron’s positioning of this miniature horse on a level of higher importance than most other people get goes one step further than Bergson’s reading. Not only is the animal now placed in the position of the human, but the roles are reversed entirely, as Swanson views the majority of human beings as simple and unworthy of note while Li’l Sebastian is treated with respect.
Bergson also describes how laughter can only occur when it is unimpeded by any other emotion. In this episode, the main characters decide to throw an exaggerated and over-the-top city memorial service in memory of the miniature horse. Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) tasks Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) with composing a memorial song ‘5000 times sadder than ‘Candle in the Wind”, so naturally he writes a song entitled ‘5000 Candles in the Wind’, as seen above. In order to find this absurd sequence funny, the viewer must focus on that absurdity and forget/ignore the sad fact that Li’l Sebastian has actually died. As Bergson writes, ‘we must put our affection out of court and impose silence upon our pity’ in order to find the scene entertaining.
This is one of the best episodes of P&R! I like how you bring up Ron’s reaction — treating the animal as if he were not only human, but better. You’re right that a horse in itself would not be funny but ordinary, and he has to be somewhat anthropomorphized.
This is such an interesting application of Bergson’s reading, and one that works very well! I found that your explanation of Bergson’s description of laughter existing in ignorance of other emotions and its application to this example helped me to understand this part of Bergson’s argument- the comedy of the scene/episode arises from focusing not on the potential sadness of Li’l Sebastian’s death, but on the absurdity of the P&R characters’ reactions to it!
I cannot believe this is where your mind when after the readings like it’s so good. I wasn’t sure where you would go with it after reading the title but you smashed it because it makes so much sense. He very much is given the human status.
I think the animal-as-human phenomenon can’t be more accurately defined than through Lil’ Sebastian. I also remember another scene from Parks and Recreation where they hire a Lil’ Sebastian impersonator, revisiting the in-joke through the notion of a doppelganger, which is another inherently uncanny entity.