Who decides if a joke is funny?
I have come across a funny conundrum. Who decides if a joke is funny?
No, really, who actually makes that decision? Who has the right to make that decision?
It is of course up to the writer and story-teller to communicate the story to the audience the best way; be it written or spoken, or both. There is of course many ways to tell a story, so you might say it all depends on how it is told. What words you use and how the sentence build up is, that is what is important.
If you have written a good story, there is really no reason to fail, right?
You can not please everyone, that is for sure; but in the end it is always depends on how many you please. Even if you had a few that really laughed at what you wrote or said, and now almost treat you like God; that does not mean your story was that funny. It just means you got a few admirers.
As I see it, in the end is up to the audience to let you know what is funny or not. The majority can be wrong, as they were about the earth being flat, but with certain things the majority can be spot on.
In the end, if no one likes your joke, you can not claim it is still funny.
If everyone were their own critic and judge we would all probably be masters at telling jokes.
You have of course the right to claim that you are the best joke writer, or teller; but in the end, if no one laughs, how can you be sure you are the best?
I think you can transfer this over to any type of writing. It does not matter what your intention was when you wrote something or some people did not get your own personal sublime message; in the end, if you are unable to captivate your readers, you have failed. You can not blame any one else than yourself.
Of course, it does not mean that you should give up. It just means you failed this time.
Note: Written a few days ago and posted in a haste while being dead tired; ignore everything that might be wrong with this article. Thank you.
