opinions // no. 18 theotherpress.ca Defending dark humour » Especially during a pandemic, jokes have great value in restoring mental health Janis McMath Editor-in-Chief I preparation for Halloween, retailers always offer topical costumes. Perhaps predictably, the year of 2020 featured many a coronavirus costume. Markets in Mexico were reported to have sold avery popular COVID-19 costume with a scary face and fluorescent green skin, and Amazon retailers tried the same with similar mask— until some of those retailers were banned from the platform after critics slammed the costume as a “terrible lapse in judgement.” While I understand the offense taken—as the topic is related to serious tragedy— there has not been enough consideration to the value of gallows humour. The term gallows refers to the often wooden structure used to hang people sentenced to death. Gallows humour is used to describe comedy that is dark and uncomfortable—but all the while hilarious. Studies have repeatedly found that dark humour serves as an effective coping mechanism for those undergoing extreme stress. Seeing the reputation humour has in combating anxiety, it is not surprising that it is often used by those in psychologically draining professions such as those in medicine and the military. Dark humour is one of the most common methods in dealing with high pressure careers; a study by flight paramedic Victoria Corum found that of 608 emergency-health service workers, nearly go percent stated that they used gallows humour to cope. In comparison, the study showed that discussing issues with coworkers; enjoying family time; and working out as coping methods respectively earned 37, 35, and 30 percent. Do movie ratings serve a purpose anymore? » Every generation has a new R-rated movie to sneak into Angela Frye Contributor hen my mother was a teenager, she saw a movie called The Beast with Five Fingers. | know this because it scared her so much that she never stopped talking about it as my siblings and I grew up. When I was a teenager, I saw Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis and it scared me so much that I hated walking alone at night. I was permanently convinced there was a man with a knife following me. Now, my son is a teenager who has seen a lot of horror films and does not seem to be fearful at all. It seems that we all have followed the time-honored tradition of sneaking into an R-rated movie while young. Long ago, there was the Hollywood Hays Code which strictly dictated “proper” movie etiquette, such as women having at Additionally, through observation and interviews, the study “Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion” finds that hospice workers report using dark humour as a coping mechanism against “stress, emotional burnout, and dissatisfaction with work.” Using such humour helps change disturbing experiences into bearable ones. And the military certainly has a reputation for dark humour—look no further than VetTV, a streaming service made by and for veterans. It’s described as an offensive show that deals with a wide array of controversial topics, including the high suicide rate among ex-military. The suicide rate of veterans is one and a half times that of non-veterans; additionally, veterans are at-risk of depression and substance abuse. The job comes with weighty stressors, so clearly the value of least one foot on the floor in love scenes. After the Hays Code came the modern grade codes, and these offered more freedom to the studios—and some guidance for parents. This rating system was put in place November 1, 1968 (the day after Halloween I might add) by the Motion Picture Association of America. This was done to control the growing artistic and moral risks taken by directors as the studio system fell apart. In order to avert controversy, a rating board will suggest edits for a more lenient rating and studios, knowing that a PG can garner more summer movie dollars than an R-rating will comply. Some films have famously gone ahead with the director's vision. Last Tango in Paris earned a controversial X-rating initially (it was reclassified as their commonly used coping method should be taken seriously. Comedy in the face of tragedy allows a person to change their focus—this is called cognitive reappraisal. This method is revered for helping prevent depressive symptoms and also as a very adaptive coping method. For those who often are faced with traumatic events, a comedic perspective can be crucial in preventing debilitating symptoms. Trauma from horrific events like the Holocaust have also been survived with the help of a little laughter. A 1998 study by Ostrower included this testimony from a Holocaust survivor: “When I was interviewed [...] and they asked me, what I thought was the reason | survived, they probably expected me to answer good fortune or other things. I said that I thought it was laughter or humour.” NC-17 in 1997) and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover starring the future dame Helen Mirren, stands at an NC-17, disregarding any suggestions that may have been offered. Obviously, it isn’t just sex and nudity that makes for an R-rating, violence and horror are big contributors as well. But not all horror is created equal. The pre- rating The Beast of Five Fingers may have been petrifying in the 1940s but is only melodramatic now. And while I have been thrilled with certain films, like Ridley Scott’s original Blade Runner or Alien and shocked by Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, | Another survivor of the Holocaust, Antonin J. Obrdlik, wrote an article detailing the value of gallows humour during every phase of the horrific historic event. He speaks of dark humour as a morale booster to those facing the pressing threat of Hitler’s army. Obrdlik also argues that it is “destructive for the oppressors” as it undermines their morale in their conquest for power. This pandemic has yielded a lot of research on mental health—and the common conclusion is that stress is on the rise. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) reports that “50 percent of Canadians reported worsening mental health since the pandemic began.” The situation seems to have hit workers harder, as 81 percent of Canadian workers report that COVID-19 has put a big dent in their mental health. Canadians are suffering and are looking for methods to cope—and for example, may find comfort in a Facebook group that shares dark humour coronavirus memes. Psychologist Lori Day has created such a page and of it she says “Humor like this might rub some people the wrong way. But everybody’s different [...] There are people in the group that are COVID- positive, and they’re literally laughing from their beds or their hospital rooms.’ And while of course there are lines to consider in what dark jokes are moral and sensible— and which ones go too far—I feel it is important that society looks to understand the value in dark humour. As research and culture has shown, gallows humour has several important (and scientifically proven) purposes. We should not be quick to assume that those who make dark jokes have poor intentions. — - ss ra : a Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo wouldn't recommend them to everyone seeing as they certainly deserved their R-ratings. These ratings do well to act as a guideline for parents and to begin a discussion about appropriateness (Get Out, yes; Zombieland, maybe not) but they have never been a replacement for actual parental discretion nor have they discouraged a person from sneaking into a movie underage. Unfortunately, they can’t predict how scary they will be to the viewer. For instance, I saw the rated PG Jaws in the theatres when I was a kid and am still scared to this day.