Today I watched a very short and very funny film about a certain flight of stairs in NYC.
At the 36th subway station, there's one step in a flight of stairs that is slightly off in size by a fraction of an inch. The result? Everyone trips on that exact step, all the time. The film is just a collection of people tripping over the same step throughout the course of the day.
The first thing that came to mind after watching this was schadenfreude, which is a German word for taking pleasure in another's misfortune. It's amazing how often I find people, or myself, laughing at schadenfreude. 'America's Funniest Videos' is basically just syndicated schadenfreude, so is 'Jackass', 'Candid Camera', or 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' or 'The Office', relying on a form of social schadenfreude.
Is it morally wrong to laugh at other people's misfortune? If it is, why does the laughter come so easily, almost automatically? Can it be wrong if it's a natural response? Even when I see people I know get hurt I sometimes laugh (think about people slipping on ice).
I've been considering this new theory on schadenfreude that maybe we aren't laughing at them because they are hurt or embarrassed, or even laughing because we're thinking "glad it wasn't me". Personally I feel a sense of relief watching people make simple mistakes because I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who makes them. I mean, I know people make mistakes but seeing it actually happens make me feel more like a regular person. So watching strangers trip over a stair makes me feel better about myself.
What do you think? Why do we laugh at schadenfreude?
You can watch the video here.
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