'Hilariousness ensues': a rant on the subject of author assumptions about readers. · 12:21am Jun 28th, 2014
Sometimes I see stories that have the following words included in the description: "Hilarity ensues."
What sort of person preempts their reader's opinion by deciding that what they are writing is not only funny, but hilarious.
I get it, I get it, you're writing a comedy! Yay. Kudos for that. Writing good comedy is actually a very hard thing to do, much more so writing something that is honestly hilarious. Some of us use the comedy tag and hope that what we're throwing in there actually is funny to the person reading it too. There's a few out there, like Blueshift, or Arcainum, who honestly can write really funny stuff.
But to go and proclaim that hilarity ensues... well, that's quite the claim.
You see, here's what funny means:
fun·ny1 [fuhn-ee]
adjective, fun·ni·er, fun·ni·est.
1.providing fun; causing amusement or laughter; amusing; comical: a funny remark; a funny person.
2.attempting to amuse; facetious: Did you really mean that or were you just being funny?
3.warranting suspicion; deceitful; underhanded: We thought there was something funny about those extra charges.
4.Informal. insolent; impertinent: Don't get funny with me, young man!
5.curious; strange; peculiar; odd: Her speech has a funny twang.
And this is what hilarity (or something hilarious) means:
hi·lar·i·ty
həˈle(ə)ritē
noun
extreme amusement, especially when expressed by laughter.
"his incredulous expression was the cause of much hilarity"
synonyms: amusement, mirth, laughter, merriment, lightheartedness, levity, fun, humor, jocularity, jollity, gaiety, delight, glee, exuberance, high spirits; etc.boisterous merriment.
"the noisy hilarity of the streets"
Take a look at this picture:
That's what Google finds for me when I type 'Hilarious' and then go to images. You might notice that there's barely anything that is even remotely funny—even by accident.
It works the same way with stories. If you go and claim that your story is 'hilarious' most people will probably disagree.
They might find it funny... but hilarious? Please.
As a writer, you try to communicate ideas through your words. Images, feelings, critique, allegories, parody... whatever you want say or invoke. But as effective as you are, there's only so much you can make sure will go through to your readers. (Incidentally, that's why good grammar and sentence structure and all those things people here like to ignore, are important.)
But to claim that your story will bring hilarity to your readers in your description strikes me as a very pretentious thing to say. A description of a story accompanied with the words 'hilarity ensues' is something that someone else should say about it; not a claim you, as the writer, should make.
It reeks of assumptions about the readers as well. It's like dictating what they should feel is funny or not. It's condescending, really. Don't tell me that what I'm going to read is hilarious, mister author. Show it to me. And then, if it is, I'll let you know I thought so in the comments.
So... show, don't tell?
2239853 Yes
This post was hilarious.
Technically, you could say the same thing about the comedy tag in general, or any emotion-based tags, like sad.
I dunno. I think this sort of thing is mostly innocuous. A tad presumptuous, maybe, but nothing to get in a twist about.
2239863 Sad yes.... but "Comedy" is a genre, so that wouldn't fall in the same category. Something with a Comedy tag just says that it's supposed to be funny not that it is.
The phrase "hilarity ensues" is pretty much synonymous with "stuff happens" but sounds better. That is how it is being used.
well, if you take into account that the Author is that 'someone else,' what was written was in the Author's opinion ensued hilarity...
i can only agree or disagree with the 'Thumbs Up/Down' button after i read the piece...
tl;dr don't suck shit at descriptions
2239866
Comedy is a genre, yes, but one that's based around being funny. If it's not funny, then it fails as comedy, pretty much by definition. Therefore, you could argue - and I'm not doing so, but it seems like the logical conclusion of your complaint - that to put a comedy tag is, itself, an act of pretense, a statement of intent (just like claiming "hilarity ensues"). Both stand or fall on the basis of how well the story succeeds in its objective. An unfunny story claiming "hilarity ensues" is no worse a grievance than an unfunny story with a comedy tag.
I know I'm nitpicking. But frankly, I don't think things like "hilarity ensues" are a big deal. I don't think authors put it there as an act of arrogance so much as a point of advertising (again, like using the comedy tag).
Personally, I see "hilarity ensues" as almost an anti-joke. The kind of thing where you have a comic where all the dialogue has been replaced with mock-ups like <scathing retort> or <slightly racist opinion>. The result is, I don't see it as pretentious, really, but at the same time it does have sort of a lacklustre sitcom quality to it that's hardly flattering.
I will agree that comedy is in the eye of the beholder, though. Two of the most recent groups my story has been added to are "Dark" and "Misery Misery Misery" (pending acceptance). Figure that one out for me*.
* I can only assume it's because I've been a little hard on Celestia, but still!
2239877
This so much.
~Skeeter The Lurker
I agree completely. Well, about 95%. What if the feedback and comments confirm this? Then, after 1,500 views with a majority of likes, don't you think that would be an appropriate time to put 'hilarity ensues' into the description, possibly with a well made link directly to the comments? That way, people could see the review and confirm that the story is legitimately funny.
What's even worse is those assholes who just keep saying they're mediocre or bad at writing, even putting themselves down in their names somehow. UGH GROW A SELF-ESTEEM
Wanderer D rants about hilarity ensuing.
Hilarity ironically ensues.
Just for, you, D, I will write a story just for you. :V
I'm a little disappointed in you. You didn't open up a single weird tab for us to laugh at when you took that screenshot. That would have been funny... nay... HUMOROUS!!
What if hilarity does ensue, but you claim it will not? That even worse? Why am I commenting here? I should be finishing up that entry for the Obs Dangerous Game contest
2239867
And also the name of a trope. Writers that are into TVTropes might use it to describe pieces of work simply because, for them, it's actually a reasonable description without really attempting to be pretentious.
2239958
TV tropes are meta and should never be used to describe your own work directly. But yes.
In today's blog, Wanderer D beats people over the head with a dictionary, and hilarity ensues.
2239857 If I giggle EVERY time I see your avatar, does that make it hilarious?
If so, I blame peaches. If not... I still blame peaches.
If I should ever write a comedy, I will put "funny ensues."
2240094
It does indeed make it at the least a coincidentally humorous comment
I think when people say "hilarity ensues" what they really mean is "antics happen."
I think "Shenanigans ensue" would be a much more appropriate phrase to use
2240286
I'm sure the D was aware of this, but that's actually worse if you ask me.
You're not saying 'There will be funny' you're saying 'I literally can't come up with a better way to describe my story than a phrase commonly used to mock cliche comedy plots'
Seriously, other than fanfiction I have literally only seen 'hilarity ensues!' used to mock. That's not a good sign.
Give him a beer, D is starting to get sober again.
2239958
Goddammit, now I'm on a wiki walk.
2239890
I see it that way too. "Hilarity ensues" has become a kind of Internet meme that doesn't necessarily imply something is funny. Example "Goonswarm invades The Amarr Empire's space, hilarity ensues", i.e. a massive battle. You could almost rephrase it "chaos ensues" most of the time and not change the meaning. I guess, because the Internet finds chaos funny.
So basically, the Internet is Discord. Is anyone surprised?
I'm not sure if using "hilarity ensues" ironically is better or worse. On the one hand, you're acknowledging the overuse. On the other, you're still using it, and likely with even less justification than normal.
...Yeah, it's worse.
2240094
Peaches ensue?
Eh. I just assume that they're not using the phrase in the literal sense, more as a way of saying "And then silly things happen!"
It's one of those cases where few consider the actual implications behind a word/phrase because it's been popularly used in a less correct context for so long.
*goes to check that I haven't put this in any of my stories descriptions*
Interesting.
Not if you're using hilarity ironically in the context of disaster. That's always funny.
What r you talking about? If I put hillarious in the title of my story, it is obviously hilarious. You guys are just hating my style. Seriously, next the people of fimfiction aren't going to be able to recognize satire.
Oh, wait.
Comedy is pretty subjective. I found a decent number of them funny, and I know a few people who I'm sure would find most of them funny. On the flipside, there are more than a few that were cringeworthy. It's pretty much the same as someone who labels themself a comedian. You might not find them funny, but maybe other people do.