Page 33 - Issue 48

ELITE
Vol.1, Issue 48, October 2022

Laughter at Times of

Disaster

Aliaa Ali - Level 4 - Political Science
“If you can’t change what you are dealing with, you can at least change how you
view it. Humor gives us the power to do that”

Right after the Central Bank of Egypt announced
the Floatation of the Egyptian pound, there was a
flood of memes about the issue on all social media
platforms. This reaction, however, is not
surprising. Remember when the Evergreen ship got
stuck in the Suez Canal and disrupted global trade?
Or when the Corona virus started to spread and
governments all over the world imposed a
lockdown? People had a similar reaction, they
created memes about these issues! I’ve gotten so
used to this reaction, that I didn’t realize how odd
it was. How come we create memes about such
serious matters? But apparently, there’s a
relationship between comedy and tragedy.
Psychologists assert that humor during tough
situations is very beneficial. To clarify, humor This phenomenon is not limited to Egyptians,
helps us cope, recover and heal from stressful it’s universal. However, let’s take a closer
situations. It helps us “detach” from the trauma for look at the Egyptian character in particular.

a few moments and have a break from the Egyptians are known for being sarcastic,
emotional chaos. Laughter helps neutralize and humorous, and funny. Nevertheless, this
release energy-draining emotions such as anger or doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re happy
tension and restores our sense of balance. It makes people.
us feel stronger, hopeful, and resilient.

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