Humor 101: Self-Deprecation

After reading the next three chapters of Tina Fey's memoir, I can proudly state that I've learned one of the many components on how to successfully emit humor through writing. The bantering tone, the visual references, the personal experiences - they all add up to form a specific tool. It took a great amount of laughing and highlighting on my iPad to understand what is it that makes it so funny. Tina Fey is very skilled when it comes to humor, and the first thing I noticed that she employed in her writing was self-deprecating humor.

There is no better way to make people laugh than by embarrassing yourself. It has happened to me (multiple times) and it definitely works. For example, look at how Fey makes fun of herself in the following passage: "I had grown up as the 'whitest' girl in a very Greek neighborhood, but in the eyes of my new classmates, I was Frida Kahlo in leggings" (Page 39). She just says what many people were thinking at the moment, but wouldn't say out loud. I completely relate to that, especially with a particular characteristic of mine: my height. I learned how to use bizarre (or in other words "unique") features about me in order to be humorous, and I decided to employ those skills into my Common App essay. I completely used self- deprecation to write that essay, making fun of my height but at the same time making it funny for the reader and at the same time showing emotional growth and maturity. At least the people who are revising it have laughed and it's proving itself to be successful. 

Wistfully: (adj.) Pensively sad;
melancholy

In terms of content, Fey narrated events that occurred throughout her college years. She included her relationship with her dad, the abundance of homosexual friends that surrounded her and whom she adored, and the way she was in love with "white boys" and how none showed interest in her, such as "Thomas Jefferson - another gorgeous white boy who would not have been interested in [her]" (Page 40). 

I want to continue reading and find another humorous lesson. There are still plenty of techniques that Fey implements in her writing, and I want to be able to learn every single one of them in order to begin incorporating them into my own pieces.