Mad-Eye Moody: [handing out Polyjuice Potion] Fair warning, it tastes like goblin piss.
Fred Weasley: Have lots of experience with that, do you, Mad-Eye?
[Moody glares]
Fred: Just trying to defuse the tension.
Fred Weasley: Have lots of experience with that, do you, Mad-Eye?
[Moody glares]
Fred: Just trying to defuse the tension.
Comedy: it's deeper than simply making people laugh. A well-timed joke can ease tension and help people feel better, both through distraction and through an emotional release. This is why the Plucky Comic Relief exists, and why darker stories will Shoo Out the Clowns. Relieving heavy feelings with comedy is such a well-understood practice that sometimes it isn't just a narrative tool, but an in-universe effort by someone who wants to lighten the mood.
All that's required here is for there to be some tension, and for one character to make a joke designed to make everyone laugh in spite of said tension. Ideally, the joke will work, and people will begin to feel better. This isn't always the case, and a failed attempt still qualifies for the trope as long as the intention was there, but the results are wildly different. To work, the joke needs to be well-timed, appropriate, and sufficiently funny. Failing either of the three components will result in the attempt being botched, sometimes with the tension only growing worse, especially if the joke only managed to upset people.
Given the situation, the characters who successfully pull this off are more than just your average jokester. In fact, they may not even be a typical jokester at all most of the time. They're level-headed, smart, and funny enough to get a good joke in here and there, but not to the point of being a clown. They could just be a Deadpan Snarker who excels at making some well-timed quips. They may be The Ever-Calm, whose cool head allows them to solve the situation. They may be a Sad Clown, also weighed down by the stress, but wanting to make everyone else laugh even if they themselves can't. Sometimes they're just someone who saw the opportunity and took it, to great success. Who they are doesn't matter as much as what they do, but some personalities are just better at it than others.
While this may seem simple, it can actually be a very important task. The joke might do more than just stave off some bad moods. Enough tension can result in hostilities and conflicts, and defusing such tensions can result in the jokester doubling as a peacekeeper. Jokes in the form of Casual Danger Dialogue, Gunpoint Banter, and Gallows Humor are common in these scenarios, showing the jokester's ability to keep a cool head and provide humor even in the most dire situations. They might even Win Them with Laughter, using comedy as an olive branch to befriend enemies. This can make such a character invaluable to their group's dynamic, perhaps even making them a leader of sorts. On the downside, other characters might become too reliant on them, resulting in problems if the jokester is missing for any length of time.
A form of In-Universe Bathos or Mood Whiplash, and sometimes for the audience as well. If the joke doesn't land for the audience, see Humor Dissonance. Overlaps with Cheer Them Up with Laughter, for when the stressed are also sad, and Tension-Cutting Laughter, for laughter as a response to sudden relief, whether or not a joke was present. Contrast The Killjoy, for characters who hates others being happy and tries to spoil the fun. Compare and contrast Mirthless Laughter, for laughter that's caused by stress and pain, and may or may not make the situation better.
Examples:
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Comic Books
- Nightwing: One of the reasons Dick Grayson is wildly beloved among the superhero community is because he knows when to be serious (unlike someone more flippant like, say, Guy Gardner) and when to defuse tension with a quip (unlike his infamously grim and unsmiling mentor Batman). It's telling that there are times when heroes (and villains!) will turn to him for leadership over even the likes of Batman or Superman, simply because they like him more.
- Spider-Man: Originally, this was one reason why Spider-Man was so disliked and distrusted by other heroes like the Avengers or X-Men. He would try to defuse a tense situation with a quip or a joke, but to the other, more mature heroes, it came off as him being flippant and not taking the situation seriously. As time went on and they became more familiar with him, this became downplayed: on one occasion, Captain America's internal narration noted that Spider-Man's quips were helping the other Avengers keep their spirits up during the fight, with even the otherwise serious Thor making a joke or two. It impresses Cap so much that he offers Spidey membership in the Avengers, though he is personally embarrassed when the offer is vetoed by Henry Peter Gyrich.
Fanfic
- Saruman of Many Devices: At the behest of his master Saruman, Lurtz the Uruk and his regiment attends Elrond's council to discuss the destruction of the One Ring. When the Artifact of Doom in question is brought out, its allure catches everyone, but Lurtz and his men manage to break the spell with a series of jokes that gets everyone chuckling.
Lurtz: Hey, lighten up. It's pretty, sure, but if we melt it down I think we could add a gemstone.
Glod: It's probably not even real gold. Gold is soft enough you can mark it with your teeth, and that's the best way to check.
Lurtz: Besides, it's not exactly faithful. Was everyone else getting the promises of power? Because if we all were, it's the most promiscuous thing I've seen since that night at the inn three years ago!
Film — Animated
- Alpha and Omega (Lionsgate): The purpose of the omega wolves in each pack is to lighten the mood and remind the others to have fun even in times of stress. This also results in them being peacekeepers, whose jokes ensure that the mood is good enough to stave off conflict between packs. Notably, with Humphrey as the leader of his pack's omegas, he's also a highly skilled and dedicated peacekeeper who, along with the other omegas, manages to prevent a battle through jokes. Unfortunately, when he's missing, the other omegas are shown struggling as hostilities rise between packs, and the ones who try aren't given a good reception.
- Sleeping Beauty (1959): Played with, as it's not a joke but an inadvertently caused funny event; when King Stefan and King Hubert are discussing their children's future while having a drink, they end up in an argument that escalates to the point where Hubert grabs a fish from a nearby plate and proceeds to use it as a weapon. Of course, it's completely ineffective, and once it dawns on both kings how absurd the whole situation is, they have a good laugh about it, their whole argument forgotten.
Film — Live-Action
- An Adventure in Space and Time: Near the end, William Hartnell is getting ready to (unwillingly) hand over the lead role of the show to Patrick Troughton and, trying to be a good sport, tells him how he told the producers there was only one man who could take over the show. Troughton sweetly defuses the tension by asking, "Couldn't they get him?"
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle: After Madison's defeat and death by falling into a fire, Natalie is despondent while Alex and Dylan have pensive expressions. Alex then jokes "She is so fired," which slightly lifts the mood.
- Deep Impact: After the mission to destroy the comet fails, resulting in a smaller fragment impacting Earth, the commander of the Messiah spaceship says that the only way to save the planet is to set off the remaining nuclear warheads inside the larger fragment. When a crewmember asks how they're supposed to get back to Earth if they barely have enough fuel to maneuver to place the nukes on the comet, to which the commander responds: "we don't." As it dawns on them what they need to do to save the rest of humanity, another crewmember quips: "Well, look on the bright side. We'll all have high schools named after us."
- The Descent: While moving through the cave, Sarah gets stuck in a very narrow passage, and is the last one in it, so she has a severe panic attack. Right after realizing Sarah is missing, Beth backtracks to her and first helps her to calm down, and when Sarah is still tense and barely responsive, she switches to a quick dirty joke. Sarah snaps back to reality - not due to the lame joke, but the sheer confusion of what the hell is Beth talking about.
Listen to me, you'll love this one: How do you give a lemon an orgasm? [Beat] You tickle it's citrus.
- The Firm: Mitch and Abby go to see Lamar and Kay, only to find out both of them are upset upon finding out Kosinski and Hodges, two lawyers from the firm, are dead (killed by The Mob that runs the firm). As Mitch and Abby drive home, they're both somber, until Abby tells Mitch how Kay has two quarter horsesnote , and Mitch responds, "Does that make up half a horse?", at which point Abby starts laughing.
- The Green Mile: After the technically successful (but horribly botched) execution of Eduardo Delacroix, Hal Moores, the head of the prison, comes down to voice his complaints and concerns, such as the fact that they would never get the stench of vomit from the sickened crowd of witnesses out of the room. He also complains that you can hear prisoner William "Wild Bill" Wharton singing about the execution upstairs. Paul breaks the tension to start a reasonable discussion by saying, "Yeah, but can he carry a tune?"
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1: As the Order of the Phoenix prepares to transform into decoys of Harry before escorting him out of Privet Drive, a dangerous mission that could get them killed, Mad-Eye Moody warns that the Polyjuice Potion they're about to drink "tastes like goblin piss". Fred Weasley quips, "Have lots of experience with that, do you, Mad-Eye?", then responds to Mad-Eye's Death Glare with a casual, "Just trying to defuse the tension!"
- Moonstruck: During the end scene in the Castorini kitchen, most of the main characters are assembled together, but an awkward silence hangs over the table following the drama of the morning (and the sudden appearance of Ronny, Johnny's brother). In the midst of the discomfort, Grandpa Castorini irritably attempts to invoke this trope.
Grandpa: (to the table) Somebody tell a joke.
- Rocketman (2019):
- When Elton and Bernie are talking to an American band about their progress, one of the Americans ends up outing Elton as gay to Bernie after he talks about having a girlfriend. Things get tense, with Elton dreading Bernie's reaction, Bernie unsure if it's true, and nobody else talking. After Elton asks if it would matter, Bernie quietly says that it doesn't matter to him... but jokes that it might matter to Elton's girlfriend. Everyone laughs, Elton included, and he just responds with a light-hearted "Oh, fuck."
- After Elton finishes recounting the story of his ill-fated marriage and inevitable divorce with Renate, he acknowledges that she didn't deserve what happened and that she was just dragged into his madness, the mood heavy. When asked if being married gave him any happiness, he manages to get a joke out by snarking "Not really, I'm gay." This makes everyone, including him, laugh and lightens the moment. It also shows that he's finally beginning to feel comfortable and is gaining the ability to find some humor in his situation, even if it's still very serious.
- Dr. McCoy attempts one in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country while he and Kirk are on trial for the assassination of the Klingon Chancellor where he answers the question "What is your current medical status?"note with "Aside from a touch of arthritis, pretty good." which goes over like a lead balloon with the exception of one Klingon laughing his ass off in the background.
General Chang (the prosecutor): You have a singular wit, Doctor.
Literature
- Harrow the Ninth: Gideon and Ianthe aren't happy to see each other in the climax, given their violent parting in the previous book, but with a massive crisis closing in, they banter their way through a truce. Gideon's forced to admit that Ianthe's Actually Pretty Funny.
Ianthe: What can I say, I love a little gall on gall.Gideon: Reverse everything I just told you. Let's get married.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: After he loses an ear while disguised as Harry to divert the Death Eaters, George Weasley half-heartedly cracks a joke about it to defuse the tension. His twin brother and partner-in-antics Fred chastises him about it, not only out of relief concerning the circumstance, but also because it was a very groan-worthy joke.
Live-Action TV
- The 100: Occassionally used for levity on a show that is otherwise dark as night. Exemplified in season 2, when Raven has to undergo a Meatgrinder Surgery without anesthetic to remove a bullet from her spine. Finn holds her hand through the surgery and is also clearly traumatized by the situation, but tries to cut the tension in the aftermath with a joke that borders on Refuge in Audacity. It kind of works.
Finn: [mock complaining] We always talk about you. Do you want to hear about my day?
- The Expanse: After Miller moves in with the Rocinante crew in the first episode of season 2, there is quite a bit of tension between them, especially after he picks a fight with (and gets his ass handed to him by) Amos. Nonetheless, all of them realize they need to work together by the end of the episode, and come together for a home-cooked dinner, where Miller finally gains the acceptance of the crew by telling a story from work that basically amounts to an elaborate fart joke.
- Friends: Early in the series, it's revealed that Chandler started doing this as a child to cope with his parents' divorce. As an adult, he tends to combat many stressful situations with jokes. When Rachel and Ross break up for the first time and fight any time they're in the same room, Chandler starts telling jokes non-stop in an attempt to ease the tension. He also smokes to cope, but the joking is far more prevalent.
- The Irrational: In "Ghost Ship", the only surviving witness in an apparent violent mutiny aboard a ship is a Vietnamese immigrant named Quan, but he's too shell-shocked to speak, and the authorities accidentally make things worse when they interrogate him as a potential suspect. In order to win Quan's trust, Alec brings him over to his father's house for dinner. The home-cooked meal and a bit of alcohol help loosen him up, and then once the elder Mercer tells him an amusing story that gets a laugh out of him, he finally trusts Alec enough to talk to him about what happened.
- K.C. Undercover: In the fourth episode "Off the Grid", K.C. and Ernie wake up to find their parents missing. Other than a vague memory of them talking about a last minute mission after dinner, they have no clue what happened. K.C. calls the Organization, and learns (due to the director's accidentally telling the kids) that their parents are off the grid, meaning they could be in very real danger. Ernie keeps trying to tell bad jokes as K.C. works out what to do, earning one Death Glare after another from his sister.
- M*A*S*H has a lot of this going on, which is Truth in Television as far as the stress of war is concerned, but Hawkeye stands out as using humor to defuse a different kind of tension: the kind where people are trying to praise him and he doesn't think he deserves it.
- It happens twice in "Of Moose and Men": first Hawkeye uses a crude sexual innuendo to deflect Margaret's genuine praise for his surgical skill in working on Colonel Spiker, and later he attempts several rather lame jokes to escape from Spiker's rough, clumsy, but nonetheless genuine attempt to thank him for saving his life.
- In "That's Show Biz", Hawkeye performs an emergency appendectomy on a USO singer, probably saving her life. Afterward she is genuinely thankful and there's a real chance of romance between them, but Hawkeye believes that he shouldn't take advantage of her gratitude (and also that she's much too young for him), so rather than meeting her advances, he gently turns it aside with some good-natured joking.
- Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide: Discussed, invoked, and exaggerated in "Guide to Class Clown"; when the school Class Clown has to move away, the entire class becomes heavily depressed and burnt out, with the teachers gleefully exploiting the lack of jokes to pile on more work and keep them tense. On top of that, a storm appears, and the school becomes dark and gray. Ned and his friends are desperate to find a new class clown, and they specifically discuss how they need some comedy to lighten the mood and prevent burnout. At the end, they convince a Deadpan Snarker named Morris to fill the role, and his jokes not only cheer up the class, but the storm disappears to make way for sunlight.
- Psych: Shawn constantly quips and makes jokes when working cases. This gets examined in An Evening With Mr. Yang when Gus calls out Shawn for making jokes when a woman has been kidnapped by a serial killer. Shawn explains that the reason he's making jokes is to defuse the tension and keep the killer from getting into his head. He asks Gus to be the comic relief so he can focus on the case. Gus tries, but his jokes fall flat.
Tabletop Games
- Dungeons & Dragons: The Jester, a 2nd Edition kit for bards, had a class ability that granted allies a bonus to saving throws against fear by telling a joke or making a witty one liner.
Toys
- Transformers:
- The Monsterbot Grotesque is a fine warrior, a skilled and talented strategist, and a tough 'bot to boot. His monster alternate mode is considered especially ugly by fellow Transformers, leading him to joke that while blessed with intelligence, strength and durability by their god Primus, said god had perhaps too much to drink when granting him an alternate mode. His toy bio even opens with the line, "He says nothing frightens him, except when he looks in the mirror." He weaponises this aspect of his personality in his role as military strategist, making quips and pithy comments to defuse tensions or shore up flagging morale. This incidentally makes him a good foil to the other major Autobot strategists Prowl (who is primarily focused on logic) and defense strategist Trailbreaker (who is sometimes prone to bouts of self-deprecation due to feeling he doesn't contribute much to the war effort).
- The Throttlebot Rollbar is described as doing this unintentionally. In the absence of Goldbug, Rollbar is de facto leader of the team. The reason for this is that despite the Throttlebots having disparate personalities (e.g. Freeway is cruel and foul-mouthed, Searchlight is quiet and serious, Wideload is vain and judgemental), he tries to defuse tensions within the team. However, his bio specifies he speaks in corny, macho cliches that make his fellow Throttlebots laugh, but he is so earnest that they still admire and respect him.
- Invoked by Freeway, another Throttlebot. His bio notes he is the Throttlebots' self-appointed comedian, allegedly as a way to defuse tensions and keep up morale. In truth, he simply insults and mocks others, and as a result he is deeply unpopular. He wisely avoids pulling this sort of thing with the more violent and dangerous Autobots such as the Dinobots or the Monsterbots, who would have no issues arranging for him to have an accident on the field.
Video Games
- Mother 3: When Claus goes missing to avenge his mother Hinawa after she's brutally killed by a chimerized beast, his father Flint and grandfather Alec go off to search for him. Flint has barely recovered from a Heroic BSoD and is even more quiet than usual. He's clearly not in a good way, and Alec awkwardly tries to cheer him up: "Don't worry, Flint. And release the tension in your shoulders. It'll never go well if you're all wound up." Eventually, he resorts to cracking terrible puns and fart jokes throughout the trek, in a desperate attempt to somehow make the grieving Flint laugh.
- Roots of Pacha: Whenever Koli gets into an argument with her dad, she threatens to move out, only to just move her tent a tiny bit. This actually eases the tension between them.
Western Animation
- The Amazing World of Gumball: In "The Parents", a reunion between Nicole and her estranged parents is very tense as both sides refuse to talk to each other. Gumball tries to lighten the mood going by telling a joke.
Gumball: Hey, how about a joke? I like my coffee the way I like jokes about the way I like my coffee... I don't.[Smash Cut to Nicole and her parents arguing and throwing things in the background.]
- Family Guy: In "The Thin White Line", Brian has a tearful breakdown during an intervention about his cocaine addiction, so Stewie tries to lighten the mood with a joke.
Stewie: I guess now we know what kind of dog he is. A melan-collie! [laughs] Nothing? Oh, wait, wait, wait! I should have said... I should have said, "Chi-wah-wah!" [laughs; nobody responds] ...I don't have to fucking impress you!
- Miraculous Ladybug: In "Sublimation", Marinette has spent the whole episode trying desperately to make friends with Sublime, Adrien's new running partner, but her attempts keep going disastrously awry, culminating in her accidentally getting suds on Sublime's prosthetic legs, causing one of them to slip and break during a run. At the end of the episode, Marinette apologizes profusely for her actions, but Sublime calmly tells her that it's okay, as long as Marinette doesn't pull her leg again. After Marinette realizes that Sublime actually made a joke about her own prostheses, she laughs and finally relaxes. The end card shows them and Adrien going out for ice cream together.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Pinkie's role as a party planner and jokester in Ponyville is reframed in "Magical Mystery Cure". When the Cutie Marks get swapped, she's stuck working at Sweet Apple Acres while Fluttershy tries and fails to make everyone laugh. With Pinkie out of action and Fluttershy unable to fill her hoofprints, the town becomes depressed and cranky. When Pinkie comes back, she's able to brighten the mood enough to make everyone smile. Applejack even makes sure to throw some Groucho glasses on her before sending her out in front of the crowd.
Real Life
- In June 1951, the comedian Red Skelton was on an airline flight from Rome that lost two engines and seemed likely to crash. Skelton improvised a routine
that managed to keep the children onboard entertained until the plane made an emergency landing.