Why is it funny?
It is funny when sudden relief occurs from a tense situation, but this probably doesn't apply in this case.
"Humourific" as formerly applied in comedy referred to the interpretation of the sublime and the ridiculous, a relation also known as bathos. In this context, humour is often a subjective experience as it depends on a special mood or perspective from its audience to be effective. This is why stand up is funnier if you are drunk.
Humor equals a shift in evaluative stance: Two ideas or things are juxtaposed that are very distant in meaning emotionally or conceptually, that is, having a significant incongruity.
Western humour theory begins with Plato who attributed to Socrates (as a semi-historical dialogue character), in the Philebus (p. 49b), the view that the essence of the ridiculous is an ignorance in the weak who are thus unable to retaliate when ridiculed. Later in Greek philosophy, Aristotle in the Poetics (1449a p 34-35) suggested that an ugliness that does not disgust is fundamental to humour, hence the use of a hippie instead of a stock broker, but a stock broker type would fit the release of tension by humiliation of an authority figure.
Alastair Clarke explains: "The theory is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds anything funny. Effectively it explains that humour occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that surprises it, and that recognition of this sort is rewarded with the experience of the humorous response, an element of which is broadcast as laughter." The theory further identifies the importance of pattern recognition in human evolution: "An ability to recognize patterns instantly and unconsciously has proved a fundamental weapon in the cognitive arsenal of human beings. The humorous reward has encouraged the development of such faculties, leading to the unique perceptual and intellectual abilities of our species."
We laugh at something that points out another's errors, lack of intelligence, or unfortunate circumstances; granting a sense of superiority. This is probably the most reasonable explanation as to why this video is funny.
