Impractical Jokers: What Is It?

Summary

The show Impractical Jokers as seen on the reality channel, TruTV is described as a series of “scenes of graphic stupidity among four lifelong friends who compete to embarrass each other.” This fusion of comedy and reality TV features Joe Gatto, known as Joe, Sal Vulcano, known as Sal, James Murray, known as Murr, and Brian Quinn, known as Q. These four companions who have known each other since high school experiment with each other, forcing them to perform despicable tasks while communicating with absolute strangers.

This crazy bunch of full-grown men put their buddies into extremely odd situations in which they are forced to communicate with total strangers under extremely unusual circumstances. The crew often poses as employees at common jobs such as hot dog salesmen, grocery clerks, sub shop sandwich makers, receptionists, etc. While posing as these job occupants, the characters are forced to make both themselves, and the other person feel extremely uncomfortable by performing whatever task with which they are presented.

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Certain skits force this posse of goofballs to perform one common task, such as making a stranger confide a secret with them, after having provided an embarrassing one of their own that is given to them by the other guys. In other instances, these gentlemen are given very vague instructions such as “Do and say whatever the other guys tell you to.” Although these skits are much simpler, the improvisatory element often causes them to be much funnier, and also more difficult to accomplish, because the character is never aware of what he will be required to do next.

Introduction

The humor of this show lies within the fortitude that is required for these gentlemen to perform the activities bestowed upon them by their friends, but just as much so, the reactions that these strangers have to the bizarre situations they have entered when engaging the characters of the series. In many ways, the unpredictability of the responses that these folks will receive is the most entertaining part of the show. The communications involved in this show include those such as, invasion of territory and personal space, vocal cues, and eye and facial behavior. The use of these nonverbal elements of communication causes an uncomfortable environment for both the performer of the task, and the stranger with whom the character is engaged.

Literature Review

The aim of this literature review is to explore the issue of nonverbal communication of one or more personalities from a reality television show and provide a comparison to empirical research findings about nonverbal communication. According to Patterson, M. (2014) there have been a “few important trends in the nonverbal research since the 1950’s” and “the range and volume of research have increased markedly over the last several decades” (p. 178). This paper will focus on 3 aspects of nonverbal communication which are congruent with Patterson’s discussion of trends in nonverbal research, including (but not limited to): personal space, vocal cues, and eye and face behaviors.

Patterson highlighted the emphasis in the early years on the importance of space in interactions including the impact of not only personal space, but how our gaze, appearance and nonverbal behaviors impact our interactions (2014). This led to further research and the focus shifted to the role of automatic behaviors in our nonverbal interactions. Making automatic and relatively accurate judgments of others in nonverbal communication, which has been keyed “behavioral mimicry,” serves practical and social goals in relating to others (Patterson, M., 2014); such as the use in reality television shows (including the one chosen for this manuscript) which rely on audience response, just as much as the entertainers actions/response, to provide the goal of entertaining others.

Much of the literature reviewed indicates that nonverbal cues may include a range of behaviors including tone of voice, facial expression, and body posture. According to an article by Moons et al. (2013) these nonverbal cues are “often conveyed unintentionally and without the displayer’s awareness, is difficult to control, and theoretically signals that person’s likely future actions” (p. 80). These nonverbal behaviors are oftentimes easily detected by others, and decoding of the behavior occurs effortlessly and in an automatic fashion (Moons et al., 2013).

The reality show demonstrates this through the audience’s response to the joker. Each joker has their own individual quirks that make their humor unique, a good portion of which are nonverbal cues. Although a good portion of the hilarity of this show lies within the verbal communication that these gentlemen exchange with the victims of their antics, their nonverbal cues and gestures make the show that much more entertaining to watch.

The two jokers that excel the most in the category of nonverbal humor are Joe and Murr. He is often challenged to shoot angry looks at strangers. For instance, at a mall, Murr was required to shoot vicious looks at complete strangers, until he gave this unusual nonverbal cue to the correct stranger, which had already been chosen by the other guys. Joe on the other hand, incorporates bizarre and uncomfortable faces into his skits without command. While playing a fortune teller on a beach boardwalk, Joe made people very uncomfortable with his facial expressions. The strange facial cues Joe made involved the widening of his eyes, the raising of his eyebrows, and moving his mouth in unusual ways with actions such as rapid tongue movement, unnecessary lip smacking, etc. The audience begins to pick up on the traits that each joker exemplifies from challenge to challenge, causing scenarios in which the jokers are able to display their quirks to be that much funnier.

Another trend noted in the nonverbal communication literature appraisal, is the impact of nonverbal communication (or lack thereof) in social media. Lewinski (2015) conducted a study that looked at nonverbal behaviors such as facial expressions and how they predict popularity of You Tube videos. The study included analysis of more than 25,000 video frames of 16 speakers’ 6 basic facial expressions. While this study was not conclusive, as one might expect, the results of this study demonstrated that “lack of facial emotions and the presence of facial nonemotions were important indicators of a video’s popularity” (p. 5). Television ratings depend upon audience reaction and approval, and as noted in this study, nonverbal communication plays an important role in the popularity of social media, such as television or YouTube.

These gentlemen have continued to succeed in ratings and viewership from season to season, because they illustrate excellent use of facial expressions and body language, which as stated above, are key ingredients to success in a television series. The reason the jokers continue to excel in this category of entertainment, is because they are interacting with real people. The actions of the guys would not be believable if their words were not paired with matching and genuine nonverbal cues and gestures such as hand movements, facial expressions, etc.

Nonverbal Communication Observed

Territory and Personal Space

One of the considerably more uncomfortable elements of the series Impractical Jokers is the frequent requirement for the jokers to invade people’s personal space. Unconsciously, we as humans keep a safe distance around us when we interact with one another. This space between us and other people forms invisible walls that define how comfortable we feel in our current situation. Humans by nature are often taken back by others invading their personal space, especially complete strangers. For most Americans, the usual distance in social conversation ranges from 1.5 to 4 feet (Knapp, Hall, & Horgan, 2014). Less space in the American culture may be associated with either greater intimacy or aggressive behavior.

One of the more difficult challenges the jokers face in the series is one where they are required to spin two wheels, each one designating a body part. The guys are then forced to establish contact between the body part determined by the first spin, to a part on a stranger’s body determined by the second spin. Although certain people react in different ways to invasion of personal space, under no circumstances in a normal public environment is it justified to touch one’s butt to another’s chin. Much of the humor from this skit comes from the derivation of the plan that the joker will undergo in order to succeed in the task with which they have been forsaken.

Vocal Cues

There is an accepted and understood manner in which the English language is inflected in terms of single words, short phrases, and even long sentences. Prosody is the word used to describe all the variations in the voice that accompany speech and help convey its meaning (Knapp et al. 2014, p. 323). Although English is not a pitched language, the connotation of a word can change with pitch and inflection and sentences can be interpreted differently depending on factors such as volume, rate, rhythm, or pitch. Thus, vocal cues play a major role in determining responses in human communication.

The jokers speak almost exclusively using vocal cues, as they spend a good portion of their time on camera attempting to act serious about the completely ridiculous things that they say and do. Since only the characters are aware of their challenge at hand, it can be very difficult for them to say their required lines in a serious manner when speaking to the citizens with whom they have been commanded to communicate.

An example of vocal cues given by the goofballs is present in a skit in which they go out into public, posing as political figures advertising for their campaigns. However, their platforms are determined by the other guys, leaving the character to face the challenge of justifying the outlandish campaign goals they have been given.

Eye and Facial Behavior

Eye behavior is a complex aspect of nonverbal communication. From eye gazing to winking, eye contact can be suggestive, a sign of respect, or in regards to Impractical Jokers, a bit awkward. The textbook defines gaze as an individual looking at another person; mutual gaze refers to a situation in which two interactants are looking at each other, usually in the region of the face (Knapp, Hall, & Horgan, 2014, p. 296). Gazing can serve many interpersonal functions and can be influenced by distance, physical characteristics, cultural background, and so forth.

In addition, facial cues in human communication are just as important as the words we speak, if not more important. Knapp et al. (2014) stated, “Of all the areas of the body, the face seems to elicit the best external and internal feedback, which makes it easy for us to follow a variety of facial rules” (p. 293). The amount of eye contact in addition to the expressions we make provide support for our verbal communication (congruency). What comes out of our mouths and what our nonverbal facial cues show should be congruent, but oftentimes it can be two totally different meanings, which makes it difficult for others to interpret.

For example, eye and facial behavior make up a high fraction of the humor in the show, as the guys’ challenges are often based around them. Activities such as staring contests with strangers, shooting mean glares at innocent bystanders, and giving ugly forced smiles to strangers make for very bizarre situations, which cultivate highly confused and concerned responses from the victims of the guys’ shenanigans.

In a challenge where Sal is posing as an employee at a deli counter, he is mandated to “stare into the soul” of a customer that approaches the counter, without saying anything or justifying his actions. This situation takes an adverse turn when the customer looks directly back into Sal’s eyes, and maintains eye contact with him for upwards of thirty seconds, without even being aware of the circumstances.

Discussion

Overall, based on the appraisal of the evidence within the literature reviewed and the viewing of the reality show, Impractical Jokers, I believe the joker’s personalities and the television show are real. Each joker has their own individual personality, which makes them unique. Nonverbal behavior, such as vocal cues and eye and facial behavior can in fact be rehearsed, or practiced, although the joker’s take these cues to a different level.

In addition, the success of the show is dependent upon the reaction of others, both nonverbal and verbal responses, and the personalities in this reality television show are far too spontaneous to be fake. Patterson’s article (2014) transcends time and supports this assumption as he notes that nonverbal interactions are “all limited in two important ways. First, they were all reactive in nature. That is, they started with a given pattern of nonverbal involvement from a partner and then predicted the subsequent behavioral adjustments…..and second, the early theories were all affect-driven and failed to account for the possibility that an individual’s behavior may be inconsistent with underlying affect” (p.173).

The element of improvisation that is provided by the joker’s leaves little room for a complete script to be written. Often times, an impractical joke may not go as expected, this is where the jokers must think fast and pull the conversation, verbal and nonverbal, in the intended direction. This is difficult to achieve if “faking it”.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the communications involved in Impractical Jokers include those such as, invasion of territory and personal space, vocal cues, and eye and facial behavior. The use of these nonverbal elements of communication causes an uncomfortable environment for both the performer of the task, and the stranger with whom the character is engaged. As a result, the humor of this show lies within the fortitude that is required for these gentlemen to perform the activities bestowed upon them by their friends, but just as much so, the reactions that these strangers have to the bizarre situations they have entered when engaging the characters of the series. In many ways, the unpredictability of the responses that these folks will receive is the most entertaining part of the show.