Both Sigmund Freud’s essay Der Humour and Simon Critchley’s response Why the Super-Ego is Your Amigo outline the characteristics and functions of internalised dark humour. In laughing at oneself, one is essentially splitting the super-ego from the ego, with the super-ego acting as the superior “parent” figure making fun of the ego. Someone can then essentially make fun of themself as if they were another person. This is especially present in what Freud calls “melancholic people”; people who are more anxious and depressed make fun of themselves more easily, which Freud says could indicate a higher level of self-awareness. Melancholia, too, can easily switch places with mania, as they are two sides of the same coin. Mania produces an aggressive laughter of tragic affirmation, which Freud calls “the eternal refrain”, while melancholia produces a more subdued, sarcastic type of humour and corresponding laughter. Critchley states, “Humour has the same formal structure as depression, but it is an anti-depressant that works by the ego finding itself ridiculous” (9).
Chris Fleming’s stand-up material is often self-deprecating and deals in dark themes, but his delivery is energetic and physical – arguably more manic than melancholic. His jokes themselves are hyper-specific and absurd. In this clip (mostly just the first minute and a half), he talks about his own mental illness (supporting Freud’s theory that melancholic and manic people are more likely to make fun of themselves) and how it’s not the kind that’s seen as acceptable or attractive in mainstream media. In casting himself as an outsider, he’s stepping outside of himself and making fun of himself as if he’s another person; the super-ego is making fun of the ego. Additionally, his understanding of the absurdity of his experiences – while playfully acknowledging that no one else seems to be willing to admit to them – shows a high level of self-awareness which Freud would associate with self-deprecating humour.
The type of mental illness which Fleming claims is more acceptable in society seems to fall into the “melancholic” category – what he calls “moping in a leather skirt.” The mental illness which he attributes to himself, though, is more bizarre, such as having to sing a full verse of a song before peeing and being found drinking out of his dog’s water dish in the middle of the night. This behaviour could be more accurately described as manic, the foil to the melancholic. The audience’s response, too, isn’t the subdued smiles that Freud and Critchley say come from sarcastic melancholia; it’s the uproarious, manic laughter of the tragic affirmation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUf575-98Bk
Critchley, Simon. 2002. On Humour. London: Routledge.
Fleming, Chris. 2023. Hot and Bi: Stand-Up. December 12.
Freud, Sigmund. (1953) 1981. The Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sigmund Freud. Vol. 21. London: Hogarth Press.