Is laughter the best medicine?

Mel Brooks famously said when he wrote “The Producers,” that he wanted to tear down Hitler by ridiculing him.

He said this was the best way to destroy his power.

I wonder if that was really true.

It seems that in some situations, laughter is the best way to resolve the horror.

For example, the Holocaust is not and never should be funny. But the mindset and the steps one has to take to think that such a thing is plausible is easily made fun of for the ridiculousness of its logic.

There’s a strange, degenerative quality to it as well.

Sure, “The Producers” is funny, but in trying to ridicule Hitler’s Germany it also numbs us to the fact that such tragedy was possible.

In keeping with the editorial published Monday, I’ve had the opportunity to once again reflect on Lauren Spierer and the tragedy of her disappearance.

Of course Spierer weighs, and has weighed, heavily on the minds of every student living in Bloomington.

There is also a trend, it seems, to laugh about it — as if by finding humor in the situation we can ward off the same boogeyman.

Laughter can be helpful, even calming, but it is not the cure.

It allows us to ignore the seriousness of a situation.

It affords us a manner in which to comfort ourselves without addressing a
problem.

Don’t shut out a horror because it is too great for you to handle. That can be harmful and counterproductive.

It doesn’t allow for cognitive understanding but only for a brief recognition of a tragedy.

And, while it ultimately gives you a brief moment of relief, it still doesn’t solve anything.

So laugh, but laugh responsibly.

­— ewenning@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Emma Wenninger on Twitter @EmmaWenninger.