schadenfreude \SHAHD-n-froy-duh\, noun:
A malicious satisfaction in the misfortunes of others.
Actually, the direct translation from the German term schadenfreude into English is “damage joy” or characterized as “sick pleasure”. Perhaps the more subjective approach to the translation would be that we derive pleasure and delight from the misfortune of others.
I’m here, I am schadenfreude, get used to it! So now that I’m out of the closet, let me tell you something about being schadenfreude. It really isn’t as bad as you think. I’m being honest with myself. I can’t help it if there are some people who can be so stupid. I’ve been told many times now that I’m evil. Well, boo hoo! Live with it! Recently, I was out with a couple of friends, this girl fell flat on her face behind us. I heard the loud thump so I turned around. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but apparently, I had a smile creeping up on my face. What can I say? I can’t help it! However, I’m quite sure that I only suffer from a mild case of it.
I’m not talking about the misfortune of tsunami victims or anything or anyone with misfortunes of such magnitudes. It has to come out of the stupidity of that person. It has got to be caused by his or her own idiocy. For example, deriving pleasure from the fact that your nemesis was scolded for being incompetent… in terms of sick pleasure, what about scaring someone and getting a kick out of it? I think it’s hilarious. It might be one of the oldest ones in the book, but it sure is funny. There was this one time when a friend was late. She apologized profusely and explained that she had fallen on the way. I asked her how she fell, and she explained further that she had slipped on a banana peel. Now, I don’t know if you can see the hilarity of the whole situation, but after she left the table, I could not help but laugh my head off. I didn’t know that people actually slipped on banana peels!!! I know… I’m really mean.
One other thing I like to do is laugh at these videos I've got. You see, I have 2 videos of dance competitions going on. In both, there’s this one clip where you see a girl fall flat on her butt. One was because she tripped over her own feet (now that is so bloody funny! HAHAHAHA). The other, she and her partner completely missed each other so he couldn’t get a hold of her hand in time to balance her. As a result, she tilted too far backwards, with her hand flailing in front of her trying to grab on to anything, and landed flat on her butt.
However, looking at Schadenfreude from a different perspective, it may also mean the feeling of being “Blessed” because no matter how deep in a valley you may seem, there is always someone worse off than ourselves. It is the state of being thankful that it is they instead of us being unfortunate. Ultimately though, it is never used in that sense in German. Instead, it always carries a negative connotation.
Here are just some German quotes on Schadenfreude I found online;
▪ Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude (denn sie kommt von Herzen). Schadenfreude is the most beautiful kind of joy (since it comes directly from the heart).
▪ Neid zu fühlen ist menschlich, Schadenfreude zu genießen teuflisch. It is human to feel envy, but it is diabolic to enjoy Schadenfreude.
Apparently, the term was used in English long before, but it gained popularity after it was used in a dialoque in an episode of the Simpsons. Here is the extract of conversation between Homer and Lisa;
Lisa: Dad, do you know what Schadenfreude is?
Homer: (sarcastically) No, I do not know what Schadenfreude is. Please tell me, because I'm dying to know!
Lisa: It's a German term for 'shameful joy', taking pleasure in the suffering of others.
Homer: Oh, come on Lisa. I'm just glad to see him fall flat on his butt!
Although Homer apparently does not understand Lisa's explanation, his emotions towards Flanders are precisely what Schadenfreude is. So see, I’m sure everyone of us has a Schadenfreude streak in us. No matter how much you want to deny it, every one of us is a little Schadenfreude. If you found Home Alone 1 funny, you're definitely a little Schadenfreude!!!
p.s. It's no wonder my favourite character in Will & Grace is Karen Walker! Really, the show should be called Karen, or Jack & Karen in the least!
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3 comments:
Hello there my schadenfreude friend...!
Thought I'd just leave a message to say hi.
I'm not sure that schadenfreude as a pure concept itself is a good thing. I mean, at the bottom of things, it's still taking pleasure of someone else's misfortune, and deep in my heart, I still feel that this is fundamentally wrong.
Alright, I agree that if I take my own view to the extreme, I should not watch any comedies involving the use of pain in order to get its audience to laugh - but then again, I suppose that IS what I advocate.
If, by watching such films, we develop a tolerance towards finding others' misfortune funny, I think the world might be a better place without such films.
When you differentiate between people causing their own misfortune by their own stupidity or carelessness, this can STILL encompass the tsunami victims from which you drew the line.
For example, two people riding bikes were talking to each other, so that one of the bikers fails to spot a pothole in the road and consequently falls head over heels on the dusty track. This might be funny in the conventional sense.
Contrast with the sea drawing back and exposing 100s of metres of extra beach. Curious sunbathers decide to take a look and walk onto the previously sea-covered seabed. Then a huge wave sweeps them back like twigs in a river. Careless, even stupid, but not funny even in the conventional sense...
Pleasure from other peoples' misfortune, whether they deserve it (which would be your value judgement) or not, is fundamentally wrong in my view!
I have to admit that I'm using the term rather loosely, and yes, it's highly unlikely it's a good thing. I'm just making it good for my own purposes. Like I said, I'm extremely evil.
I think I have failed to make it clear how I differentiate people who cause their own misfortune and those who are victims of misfortunes by other means, using the example of tsunami victims again...
The fundamental distinction I am trying to make here is that people who create their own misfortune because of their carelessness and stupidity, using your example of bikers, i.e. not looking where they were going and failing to spot a pothole, had created their own misfortune since it was perfectly clear that if they had been more careful and observant, the whole incident could have been avoided.
Using the example of Tsunami victims, it is likely that had they been more careful, and fleed the premises even before the true nature of the situation had unfolded, they would STILL be deemed victims of a tsunami. There isnt much they could have done unless they were warned about the tsunami in advance. However, if they had stayed out of curiosity, you can't reasonably have expected them to have realised the severity of the situation as the sea drawing back and exposing 100s of metres of the shore would certainly be something phenomenol! It just doesnt happen everyday, unlike potholes which are arguably common occurrences. Also, it wasn’t due to their carelessness and stupidity that the earth decided to move thousands of feet under water causing the tsunami.
The distinction between a tsunami and a pothole being that the tsunami is a force of nature capable of wiping out entire villages, cities and anything in it's path, causing mass destruction that no one could have stopped, whereas the pothole remains in it's position, waiting for an idiot to not observe it. Of course if I argued that tsunami victims should have been given a warning first, then potholes should not have been covered or some fair warning should have been given. However, it must be said that talking whilst cycling and not paying attention would be deemed (in my view) to being so careless as to creating their own misfortunes by not observing the pothole in advance.
The only similarity in the two examples is that in both, they both might have failed to mitigate their situations. However, in the first, something perfectly obvious like avoiding potholes could have been easily been done. Getting swept away by a tsunami is something entirely different. It just does not happen everyday.
As for Schadenfreude being fundamentally wrong... in my defence, I'd have to reiterate the two qoutes I had posted in my blog;
▪ Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude (denn sie kommt von Herzen). Schadenfreude is the most beautiful kind of joy (since it comes directly from the heart).
▪ Neid zu fühlen ist menschlich, Schadenfreude zu genießen teuflisch. It is human to feel envy, but it is diabolic to enjoy Schadenfreude.
However, I am not trying to endorse Schadenfreude... merely clearing up the air about me being a little Schadenfreude perhaps! ;-p
Ps. I also have to make it clear that I am not trying to lay down the entire and true definition of Schadenfreude. I am only putting up the description I found online and merely described my own mild case of Schadenfreude...
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