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OVERNIGHT SENSATION OF AN IMAGE: A Textual Analysis of The Grumpy Cat

(Positive Effects of Humor – Combination of Laughter, Facetiousness, Cuteness and Meme).

Overnight Sensation of an Image: A Textual Analysis of The Grumpy Cat

(Positive Effects of Humor – Combination of Laughter, Facetiousness, Cuteness and Meme)

Lucille E. Hood

Queens University of Charlotte

2016


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In their introduction to Who Laughs at What?, Arthur Berger and Aaron Wildavsky

(1994) note:

Humor has remained an enigma throughout the ages. Many of the greatest

thinkers, among them Aristotle (who is supposed to have written a book on the

subject, now lost), Plato, Hobbes, Kant, Schopenhauer, Bergson, and Freud, have

speculated about what humor is, how it works, and why people laugh. Humor still

remains a subject of considerable controversy, even though in recent years we

have begun to recognize its numerous powers and the role it plays in our lives

(p.82).


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My question is, how did The Grumpy Cat become so wildly popular? She generates

laughter so successfully that she has her “own” Facebook page. A person simply needs to glance

at The Grumpy Cat — posing on her own or juxtaposed with a caption to create a meme--to begin

to smile or laugh. Indeed, the memes are so popular, it is safe to say that many people would

agree that The Grumpy Cat embodies humor in a successful way and offers a high level of

satisfaction and entertainment to its audience. This paper will explore the nature of this success

by conducting a textual analysis on a specific set of images and memes to which thousands of

people have responded on The Grumpy Cat ’s images online. The Grumpy Cat provides Internet

users with a cute, healthy source of humor, while keeping that humor within a high ethical

standard.

Literature Review

The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of what makes The Grumpy

Cat so humorous that thousands of people will positively respond to it in an instant with

laughter. What makes The Grumpy Cat such an online phenomenon? I propose that The Grumpy

Cat offers audience members a healthy combination of attributes or modes that emerge from

various sources of humor that makes her a successful source of harmless — in fact beneficial —

entertainment.

My first response is that The Grumpy Cat became popular because she is cute. With her huge

eyes, furry features and disgruntled expression, The Grumpy Cat, draws audience attention

because, first of all, she is cute like Cabbage Patch dolls were cute. Why does the visual

attribute of “cuteness” attract people? My second response is that, once other signifiers such as


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costumes or captions are added to the image of the cat, a Grumpy Cat meme draws upon theories

of humor, factiousness, ethics, and even attractiveness, again, that generate audience responses

of laughter. The literature review begins with exploring the attribute of “cute.” Then the

literature review refers to studies that examine how humor works in many ways, and serve as the

starting point for understanding The Grumpy Cat phenomenon.

What Is “Cute”?

What defines “cute”? According to Little (2012), “Physical traits that are characteristic of

human infants are referred to as ‘baby-schema’ (e.g. Lorenz 1943), and there is a long history to

the notion that such traits might influence the perception of cuteness and elicit care giving from

adults” (p.775). Lorenz (cited in Golle, Lisibach, Mast, & Lobmaier, 2013) stated:

The Kindchenschema is characterized by pedomorphic features such as a

relatively large head compared to the size of the body, a relatively big cranium

compared to the facial bones, large eyes that lie below the horizontal midline of

the skull, a soft-elastic surface texture, and round protruding cheeks. Infants that

conform to the Kindchenschema are commonly described as cute and evoke

positive affective approach behavior (p. 1).

While both studies based their assumptions on Lorenz (1943), Golle et al. (2013) focused

on perceptual adaptation according to the specific traits described in Kindchenschema to

determine what makes something cute, whereas Little (2014) “systematically varied the

proportion of adult- and babyfacedness in cats, human babies, and adults by approximating their

shape to human adult and baby composite faces (Little as cited by Golle et al., 2013).


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Superiority theory explains why a person slipping on a banana peel is funny – people laugh

“because for a moment, we, who have not lost our balance, feel superior” to that person ( p. 82).

Once again, some individuals might consider such an incident humorous, while others may

respond with concern and empathy rather that laughter. Scholars and analysts do not suggest a

reason for this difference.

The third theory of humor, tied to “cognitive abilities and the way information is

processed” (Berger & Wildavsky, 1994) suggests how people understand materials they

encounter: how they find meaning and how their minds can resolve puzzles such as paradoxes

and play frames. According to Berger and Wildavsky (1994) this theory is also connected to

semiotic theories with explanation below:

Paradox and the moving in and out of play frames generates the kind of humor that

depends, in many instances, on the listener recognizing that the humorist is just kidding

or playing around and does not mean what he says (p. 82).

This theory will become the most important of the three in the discussion of The Grumpy

Cat phenomenon.

While Freud’s psychoanalytic theory with regard to aggression does not seem to play a

role in the Grumpy Cat phenomenon at first glance, it is worth describing it here even if to

highlight its difference. This theory “ties humor to masked aggression and other forces in the

unconscious. As Freud wrote in his Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (Freud 1963

p.101) ‘and here at last we can understand what it is that jokes achieve in the service of their


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purpose. They make possible the satisfaction of an instinct (whether lustful or hostile) in the fact

of an obstacle that stands in its way’” (Freud as cited by Berger, 2009, p. 210-211).

All of these theories suggest reasons we laugh.

Humor as ethical

As previously stated, humor has been controversial throughout history. According to

Smuts (2009):

Plato argues that laughter at comedies is a form of malice (Solomon, 2002);

Aristotle uses humor as an example of a characteristic that is best in moderation

and says ‘with regard to the pleasantness in the giving of amusement the

intermediate person is ready witted and the disposition is ready wit, the excess is

buffoonery and the person characterized by it a buffoon, while the man who falls

short is a sort of boor and his state is boorishness’ (Aristotle 1990, II 7); stoic

philosopher Epictetus argues that it is advisable to refrain from telling jokes since

joking can lead to vulgarity, which can lessen your esteem in the eyes of others

and says ‘go so far as to criticize the per son who has done it, and otherwise by

staying silent and blushing and frowning you will show that you are displeased by

what has been said” (Epictetus 1983, 24); Thomas Hobbes says laughter is

‘nothing else but a sudden glory arising from some sudden conce ption of

eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our

own formerly” (Hobbes 1999, 54-5); and Baudelaire says laughter is a ‘Satanic


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expression of our superiority over beasts and our frustration at our mere mortality’

(Baudelaire 1956), (p. 334-335).

As Smuts (2009) notes, all of these philosophers and the techniques they critique refer to

an ethics of humor. Smuts focuses on the way humor can cause harm and bases his study of

ethics on three interrelated approaches to humor: (1) attitude-based theories, (2) merited-

response theories, and (3) emotional responsibility theories (p. 333). Smuts argues for the

“effects-mediated responsibility theory, and holds that the strongest ethical criticism that can be

made of our sense of humor is that it might indicate some omission on our part. The omission

could only be culpable in so far as a particular joke could do harm to oneself or others” ( p. 333)

Smuts states, “The primary vehicle of the harmful effects of humor is laughter ” (p. 333).

In regard to attitude-based theory, Smuts (2009) explores the role of an individual’s

attitude which endorses the humor of a joke (p. 336). Smuts states that merited-response theory

suggests that “moral shortcomings can count against the humorousness of a joke and, as a result,

some jokes are not funny even if some people think so” (p. 341). In short, “finding something

funny that was not funny” (p. 343) could be a crime, but there is no absolute proof that this fact

is morally unethical…a person can’t have “meaningful control over what they find funny” ( p.

343). The emotional responsibility theory suggests that though an individual may find an

“inappropriate” joke humorous, they can be held responsible (emotionally): “In as much as we

are responsible for our sense of humor, we could be held responsible for the harm caused by

finding something funny” (p. 343).


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Smuts (2009) argues convincingly that “insult jokes” can lead to laughter , and then

laughter can cause harm to the person to whom the “insult joke” was directed. This argument

extends into the details of why or why not an individual might be found guilty for finding

something humorous. The opposing point to that argument is just as viable to consider as people

do not necessarily have control over their laughter or what they may consider humorous. The

culmination for this part of his literature could be summed in his following notation:

“To restate the responsibility diminishing dynamic that I am arguing for: On the

effects-mitigated emotional responsibility view, one is responsible for their sense

of humor, and the experience of humorous amusement is a culpable omission, in

so far as it reasonably could have been blocked but, instead, snowballs into

harmful laughter; conversely, one is not responsible for the effects of laughter is

so far as the laughter is involuntary” (Smuts, 2009, p.345).

Smuts concludes (in summation):

“Telling jokes, encouraging jokes, and laughing at jokes are actions with clear

ethical significance – they are all capable of producing harms. However, at this

point we are standing on shaky ground if we say that merely finding any given

joke funny is itself reprehensible... In so far as humor can be controlled, we might

be responsible for finding something funny. Most plausibly, this responsibility

can only lead to culpable wrongdoing if some harm, to self or others, results or is

likely to result… Even if laughing at jokes is a clear source of harm, amusement


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could at most be an error of omission – a failure to adequately train oneself to face

suspect cognitive pleasures” (Smuts, 2009, p.346).

Given all this information on possible “ethics of humor” leads one to believe that there

are elements of humor and its techniques as well as its lead into amusement / laughter that could

be considered harmful by virtue of certain perspectives. However, there is no study that shows

unequivocally that this an absolute truth, thus I propose once more that for further discussion in

this paper – I believe the humor surrounding The Grumpy Cat to be “ethical” and lacking in

producing “harmful effects” toward it’s recipients.

Humor as Behavioral Prompt

Kuiper, Kirsh, and Leite (2010) categorize beneficial and harmful styles of humor:

Two adaptive styles are affiliative and self-enhancing humor; whereas the two

maladaptive styles are aggressive and self-defeating humor. Affiliative humor involves

funny, non-hostile jokes, and spontaneous witty banter to amuse others in a respectful

way. Aggressive humor, on the other hand is intended to put others down by using

sarcasm, teasing, and ridicule. As such, the use of this maladaptive humor style may hurt

or alienate others. Self- enhancing humor is often used as an adaptive coping mechanism,

allowing the individual to adopt a humorous outlook on life and maintain a realistic

perspective in stressful situations. Self-defeating maladaptive humor involves self-

disparagement and allowing oneself to be the ‘butt’ of the joke, in order to gain the

approval of other (p. 237-238).


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The psychologists showed positive and negative effects of exposure to these positive and

negative categories of humor with regard to how participants would relate to others.

Other scholars have studied humor to evaluate positive or negative effects on individuals, I have

not seen a study about humor focusing on one example that uses multiple modes of humor to

draw thousands of people to respond to it. This is a gap in the literature to which I am

responding.

Hypothesis

I propose that The Grumpy Cat ’s humorous effects depend on the combined effect of a

number of modes of humor. Further, the modes rely on mechanisms that do not cause emotional

damage, offense, or harm to others. In fact, I might characterize the humor as “facetious” but not

harmful.

For the purpose of this paper, the following questions arise:

R 1 - What are the ways that visual attention and verbal cues work together to make

The Grumpy Cat memes successful?

R 2- What kinds of humor or approaches to humor seem most successful in this form?

R 3 - Do the memes suggest an overall theme?

R 4 - Can I theorize what makes The Grumpy Cat so darn humorous? That is, can I

theorize why the phenomenon has garnered such a degree of success?

R 5 - Does The Grumpy Cat’s audience identify any negative responses to its humorous

memes?


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R 6- Are humorous techniques surrounding The Grumpy Cat ethical? If so, what is the

relationship between “ethical,” “positive,” “facetious,” and successful?

Methodology

To support my hypothesis, I conducted a qualitative study to analyze images/memes

featuring The Grumpy Cat online phenomenon that went viral in 2012.

Procedure:

First I had to choose The Grumpy Cat images/memes I wanted to analyze. I used the

search engine bing.com. I searched the term “top grumpy cat images.” Then I chose the 10

images that most easily made me laugh. To perform the analysis I started by considering the data

chosen and searched for potential evidence of a theme to grumpy cat’s messages in order to

determine if my findings would support my given hypothesis and answer my research questions

regarding the humor surrounding The Grumpy Cat online phenomenon.

After choosing the 10 memes and evaluating them for a theme or themes, I analyzed each

image according to Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs to start to determine what makes it humorous.

The rhetorical proofs explain how persuasion works on audiences who are prepared for a

particular message. Aristotle identified three rhetorical proofs: ethos; pathos; and logos. Ethos

involves the credibility of the message sender and focuses on three key points: (1) perceived

intelligence (practical wisdom); (2) virtuous character; (3) and goodwill (Griffin, 2012, p. 293).

Pathos is an emotional proof which comes from the feelings the message draws out the audience

members (p. 294). In particular, I focus on Aristotle’s identification of the emotionality of Love


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or Friendship versus Hatred reasoning, by which an audience identifies with similar goals,

experiences, attitudes, or desires with the message-sender (p. 294).

Data

These 10 images of The Grumpy Cat provide examples of the kinds of humor Grumpy

Cat delivers to her audience. The text usually appears in capital letters, and rarely includes

punctuation. All images appear on the website:

(https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=top grumpy cat images)

1. In this image, in the center of the frame framed by green

foliage, Grumpy Cat looks up from under her eyelids and

appears as she always does – grumpy. The text across the top

of the frame states in capital letters, “I’m not angry,” then,

subordinated in size and case, the text across the bottom of the

frame states, “I’m happiness challenged.”

2. In this image, Grumpy Cat shares the frame. She appears

in the arms of a woman side-by-side with another cat. The

woman’s neck and shoulders appear in the background. The

text above the cats’ faces states, “Got a friend.” The text

below their faces states, in the same size and style, “Still

Grumpy.”


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3. In this image, Grumpy Cat appears with her chin on a

desk beside a computer keyboard. The text at the top of

the frame states in small capital letters, “I keep hitting the

escape key…” Below the image, text in the same size

and style states, “but I’m still here.”

4. In this image, Grumpy Cat lies on a metal

table-top confronting the viewer head-on. The

text across the top states in capital letters, “I’m

sorry that I offended you when I called you

stupid.” Across the bottom in a smaller size but

the same capital letters, the text states, “I honestly

thought you knew.”

5. In this image, Grumpy Cat appears a little off-center to the

left, half in and half out of a golden glow. The whiskers on the

right side of the cat’s face appear completely in the frame, in

full focus and reflecting the light. The out-of-focus

background reveals the golden glow at the top of the photo,

and shade at the bottom that provides a successful contrast to

the whiskers in the foreground. The text at the top of the frame, just above Grumpy Cat’s ears,

states in small capital letters, “I don’t like morning people.” Along the complete bottom of the

frame, text in the same size and style states “Or mornings.. Or people.”


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6. In this image, Grumpy Cat looks up from her

furry bed and off to the left, out of the frame. The

background features a whiteboard with lines of blue

writing out of focus. Across the top of the image in

a font that resembles a message printed by hand in

upper and lower case letters appears this phrase in

two lines: “Maybe you should eat makeup so/ you will be pretty on the inside too.”

7. In this image, a portrait of Grumpy Cat appears to have been

painted by Van Gogh, with Starry Night as the background.

8. In this image, Grumpy Cat appears in the center of the

frame. She looks up from heavy, almost closed eyelids off to

the left of the frame. In the foreground of the frame, a dozen

roses face the viewer. The long stems fade out of focus

diagonally back and to the right. Grumpy Cat’s paw covers the

stems just behind the flowers.


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9. This meme comprises two separate images.

(1) In the first image Stevie Wonder appears sitting at an electric

piano, with his head back and smile wide. The text appears in a

serf font in three lines that fill the space beside Wonder’s head. It

states: “I just called/to say/I love you.”

(2) In the second image, Grumpy Cat appears to be lying on a

pillow. She appears smaller than she usually does, with more of

the frame around her given to the image of the crumpled sheets

and empty bed around her. The text appears in the same serif font but a larger size. It states:

“Wrong number.”

10. In this image, Grumpy Cat’s photo

appears in the center of the frame in the

hand of Garfield standing on a blue desk

in front of a man with a brown suit on

sitting in a red chair. The background

shows a non-colored book shelf with

books, a picture frame and a plant in a pot placed next to it (these are left of the frame). The right

of the frame shows a non-colored door in the background. Across the top of the image in small

font text, printed in two lines and two sentences is the statement: “Listen pal, how can this

Grumpy Cat phenomenon explode, when it’s my thing to/be grumpy and be a cat. You’re my

agent, Jerry! Do something!”


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Analysis

In this section, I analyze the images by applying the concept of rhetorical proofs to

determine what makes each so humorous. The rhetorical proofs that will be used are Aristotle’s

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos modes of persuasion.

Ethos: This establishes credibility of a speaker or message sender with an audience. Ethos

deals with the character of the speaker (a first impression to the audience one might say). The

way the speaker portrays themselves through verbal message, body language, facial expression

as well as elements such as their physical appearance, actual vocabulary and popularity is

important because these factors determine how an audience will receive or accept the speaker’s

message. Through ethos a message sender can reveal their personality, likes, distastes, etc. that

will allow an audience to relate to them or not. Each of the images I chose uses ethos to establish

credibility of the Grumpy Cat.

The public (audience) has received her as having a sense of practical wisdom or

perceived intelligence, a virtuous character making her a good and honest cat, and a carrier of

goodwill meaning she holds a positive judgement of intention toward her audience. The public

audience in general are adults or children who can relate to the type of messages that are being

sent via Grumpy cat, those persons who can relate to being grumpy for one reason or another.

The proof behind these statements lies in the very nature of the explosive phenomenon

surrounding her presence online and thousands of comments and responses that can be found

there in relation to her image / memes. This can be proven by searching online as I did and

noticing the sum of her popularity on websites and social media platforms such as Facebook and


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Instagram. In order for an audience to respond to a message sender, that speaker must have

established credibility for the audience to listen or hear what is being said. The Grumpy Cat has

accomplished such credibility via her visual impression, arrangement and style of delivering

messages.

Pathos: This is the means by which the speaker can engage an audience through their

emotional response or reaction toward the given message. The speaker or message sender can

draw an audience in by addressing some mutual commonality that the audience can relate to such

as a belief system, story-told experience, or set of values to give examples. Dependent on which

technique or topic the speaker uses, this will determine the level of how an audience may judge

or criticize the message. In the case of Grumpy Cat, many of the messages given either verbally

or nonverbally tend to elicit commonality on how the audience relates emotionally to being or

feeling grumpy or in a bad mood in general or toward specific topics. This makes grumpy cat’s

scope and extension of reach toward audiences large and versatile.

Once an image of the grumpy cat is juxtaposed with a written message or additional

object, Aristotle’s pathos mode of persuasion comes into effect. Recall that pathos is an

emotional proof meaning when the audience receives the message of the sender, the result is an

emotional response from the audience giving proof that the audience was affected by the

message. Grumpy cat visualized in this form regarding several of the following images lends

credence in particular to Aristotle’s Love or Friendship versus Hatred reasoning of pathos

(meaning the receiver or audience finds similarity of common goals, experiences, attitudes, or

desires with the message sender / speaker).


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Logos: This has to do with the line of argument in a speech and whether or not the

argument can be proven. This is Aristotle’s method of rhetorical reasoning to present an

argument that appears to be sound to its audience. The logic or rhetorical reasoning of an

argument is based on the audience’s perception of reality. In this case, the public audience has a

disposition that can relate to the reality of having a bad day or being in a bad mood. I will

analyze how grumpy cat uses the relationship of facts given in her speech towards the reality of

her public audience.

Having stated this and acknowledging that The Grumpy Cat has ethos credibility and her

messages do use this mode of persuasion, each image / meme will now be further analyzed by

applying Aristotle’s pathos mode of persuasion in relation to his Love or Friendship versus

Hatred reasoning of pathos and also applying the logos mode of persuasion in gr umpy cat’s line

of arguments per humorous twists.

1a. Ethos: Grumpy Cat offers credibility to this image via

her facial expression and stance with her paw placed on a

surface near her face. The mere visual view of her image cues

the audience in on the “fact” that she may be grumpy. Grumpy

Cat’s facial features in this image immediately bring to mind

the study of Kindchenschema. Recall from the literature

review that certain traits or characteristics may cause a viewer to have the perception of cuteness

when seeing these features. She has a relatively large head, large eyes, round face and protruding


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cheeks. Images such as this can bring an immediate smile to an individual’s face because they

have perceived it as “cute”.

1b. Pathos: Grumpy cat’s cute face juxtaposed with the written message “I’m not angry,

I’m happiness challenged” could bring forth an emotional response ( pathos mode) from an

audience. The audience could respond to this meme because of emotions felt in commonality

with reading her message having to do with their own personal experiences and attitudes when

having to face unhappy circumstances. Though the message may have a negative grumpy

connotation it actually becomes humorous because there is a seeming attempt to make it positive

by stating “I’m happiness challenged” instead of “angry.”

1c. Logos: What makes this image amazing is that though Grumpy Cat may appear to be

in a bad mood, the “fact” that there might be an undertone of facetiousness in her message makes

it humorous. Because it can be read in such a manner, this also brings a sense of stress relief

because reading this message with a facetious undertone can bring about laughter which can also

be healing to the audience. I do not see any negative effects from the combination of this image

juxtaposed with the written message it is sending and believe it has a positive humorous effect on

its audience and can offer stress relief to them as well.

Line of argument:

All people get angry.

I am a person.

I can get angry.


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Humorous Twist from Grumpy Cat argument:

All people get angry.

Except for me.I am only “happiness challenged” and that is a different story.

2a. Ethos: In this image Grump Cat establishes her

credibility as always with her grumpy facial expression and

body stance or position. Her head is tilted slightly and she

appears to be in a bad mood. This time she also is

positioned next to a friend and being held it appears by a

woman who is holding them close together.

2b. Pathos: These two cats juxtaposed with the written message “Got a friend still

grumpy” could garner an immediate emotional response from the audience in relevance to

Aristotle’s Love or Friendship versus Hatred reasoning in keeping with the pathos mode of

persuasion. Again grumpy cat is cute and so is her friend. I am sure the audience could relate to

this message via their own personal experiences or attitudes. There are times when one might be

placed in close proximity socially to someone they don’t find particularly that appealing or there

may be times when the are in close proximity of a happy friend and just don’t feel like smiling

because they are in a bad mood.

2c. Logos: Friends will generally try to get their friend to become happy rather than

grumpy, but in the end, every person I know has had their time of being grumpy no matter what

kind of external circumstances are surrounding them. Since a public audience can generally

relate to grumpy cat’s “cuteness” in combination with this message, I see positive humorous


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effects from it because it can lead to laughter considering one’s own personal circumstances. If

grumpy cat can be cute and grumpy simultaneously (facetious), then can so can anyone else! I do

not see negativity in this message.

Line of argument:

Most people have friends.I am a person and have a friend.

Having a friend generally makes me happy.


All people have friends.

Except for me.I get a friend that should make me happy, but I’m in a bad mood and thus, I am “still

grumpy” which is a different story.

3a. Ethos: Grumpy Cat establishes credibility to this

message with her body positioning and facial expression

amidst her surrounding which appears to be a work space

or an office in nature.

3b. Pathos: Here the audience can find commonality

with Grumpy Cat because of the nature of the written message juxtaposed with not only her

image but other objects placed around her. One can infer from the keyboard and computer that

she might be at work or someplace she does not want to be because of the stated written

message. A keyboard has an “escape” key on it and as referenced by this meme…grumpy cat

keeps hitting that key but cannot escape. Because of the setting and her cute image in

combination with the written message, one cannot help but smile or laugh. Anyone in a similar


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situation would be able to relate to her experience, attitude, or desire be somewhere else and

laugh as is suggested by the pathos mode of persuasion. Laughter would help reduce stress

which means there is a positive humorous effect on the aud ience receiving grumpy cat’s message

here and I do not see negativity.

3c. Logos: Who has not ever wanted to escape a long, boring day at work or other

unfortunate circumstance. Once again the facetiousness of this cat wins an argument.

Line of argument:

Most people have a job or work some place.I am a person and have a job.

I generally like my job and / or tolerate it.


Most people have a job or work some place.

Except for me.I might have a job but I don’t have to like it or tolerate it and would rather hit the “escape

key” and disappear which is a different story.

4a. Ethos: Grumpy cat establishes credibility in a

body stance that looks like she’s ready to fight at

or fight back at someone. Again her facial

expression appears grumpy and she looks ready to

take on an argument.

4b. Pathos: Grumpy Cat’s cute image is

juxtaposed with this written message once again with a facetious tone to it, as such it can then


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All people can appear stupid or become annoying to others.

It would be rude to verbally state that notation aloud.I have no problem with letting feelings come out verbally in order to vent emotion and Ihave no fear of offending anyone; if so, then I will apologize and that is a different story.

5a. Ethos: Credibility is established by Grumpy Cat’s

grumpy facial expression and the lighting she is presented in

relative to her message.

5b. Pathos: This image and written message is similar to 4b.

If an individual in general were to state this message out loud,

they may be considered a negative person who does not like

anyone or anything. However, since grumpy cat is relaying this message through a pathos mode

of persuasion, any individual could find commonality with this sentiment due to personal

experience or attitude toward mornings and morning people. This could lead to laughter because

the message is true for many people but exaggerated in this presentation. This makes it

humorous.

5c. Logos: Again in a facetious manner, I see the combination of grumpy cat’s image

juxtaposed with a written message in combination to provide a positive outlet for negative

emotion that can actually create a positive humorous effect toward the receiver of the message

without inducing negativity to anyone.


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Line of argument:

All people are either unhappy in the morning “grumpy” or happy in the morning known

as “morning people.” I am one of these people either happy or unhappy in the morning.Although I might be an unhappy “grumpy” person in the morning, I would never say out

loud that “morning people” irritate me for fear of offending someone.


All people are either unhappy in the morning “grumpy” or happy in the morning known

as “morning people.” I am one of these people either happy or unhappy in the morning.

I happen to be “grumpy” in the morning and need to vent the emotional response I may

have toward “mornings..or people” or “morning people” in order to continue throughoutmy day and that is a different story.

6a. Ethos: Credibility is established with Grumpy Cat’s

grumpy facial expression as usual and her placement on

what seems to be a comfortable pet bed with some

writing on a board behind her suggesting a casual place

for dialogue.

6b. Pathos: This visual expression in combination with this written message could bring

out an emotional response in an audience who finds commonality with the suggested type of

situation. I do not interpret any self-negativity in this message however, I could see where an

audience could be moved to feel a senses of justice in this statement meaning Grumpy Cat seems

to be calling out a bad behavior from someone in her space. Each individual at some point in

their lives has had to deal with negativity from someone who otherwise might appear to be

flawless. I see grumpy cat’s image juxtaposed with this written message as a healthy outlet for

negative emotions. I would say this message may be humorous to some and not as humorous to


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others, but would continue to argue that it presents positive effects toward its audience in that it

is a positive and healthy outlet for any possible negative emotions. This remains in line with

Aristotle’s pathos mode of persuasion via his Love or Friendship versus Hatred reasoning

because the audience can find commonality with Grumpy Cat through similar experiences,

attitudes, or desires with the message being sent.

6c. Logos: Grumpy cat still holds an undertone of facetiousness but also seems to hold a

little more weight toward seriousness in this meme. Although it may not be humorous for

everyone, it would still hold positive effects toward an audience as a positive outlet for negative

emotion which could reduce stress.

Line of argument:

All people look better with make-up on.

Most people could look better with make-up on.I look better with make-up on.


All people look better with make-up on.

Most people could look better with make-up on.You are a jerk with make-up, so maybe you should “eat make-up so you will be pretty on

the inside too because make-up does not make you look better inside or out and that is a

different story.

7a. Ethos: There is no written message however the visual scene

infers that grumpy cat does own credibility and presents this in the

form of a Van Gogh type of paining. In this image, Grumpy Cat

appears painted as a “Van Gogh” cat with a Starry Night


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background which in itself lends credibility to The Grumpy Cat phenomenon. Someone holds her

in high esteem enough to compare her to a Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. I see a definite

mode of ethos persuasion through its presented form.

7b. Pathos: In regard to the pathos mode of persuasion I would say that the audience

could have several different emotional responses to this image of grumpy cat but none of the

responses would necessarily be negative. Responses could only have the potential to be negative

if viewed through the eyes of an art aficionado, but given The Grumpy Cat phenomenon

credibility this is doubtful. Her facetious personality and cuteness evoke positive effects in the

sense that an individual appreciated her enough to paint her as Van Gogh would and that could

be considered and honor with a tinge of humor at the same time. What makes it humorous is the

oddity of the fact that an image of a grumpy cat painting could be held in comparison to the

greatness of a Van Gogh painting and still place a smile on an individual’s face or evoke laughter

because of this ironic comparison.

7c. Logos: There seems to be sound rhetorical reasoning as to why Grumpy Cat was

painted in such a manner. The “fact” that she was painted in such a manner lends to an irony that

makes this “fact” humorous!

Line of argument:

All people enjoy aesthetic things, one such example being art.

Many people know of the famous painting “Starry Night” by artist Vincent Van Gough

Those who love this painting hold it in high esteem.


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All people enjoy aesthetic things, one such example being art.

Many people know of the famous painting “Starry Night” by artist Vincent Van Gough Those who love The Grumpy Cat will hold this painting in just as high of an esteem asVan Gogh’s “Starry Night” which might be similar but YET is a different story.

8a. Ethos: Credibility is established by Grumpy Cat’s

placement and facial expression one again.

8b. Pathos: Generally speaking, a person might interpret this

text as a cat who hates roses, but because of the known

personality of this grumpy cat, it is easier to infer she dislikes

more than just the roses, rather she dislikes what they stand

for which is Valentine’s Day! (Proof found via online search) Because this sentiment is common

to thousands of people on this particular holiday, this image evokes a combination of laughter,

facetiousness, cuteness, and unspoken meme. For those that are unable to verbally state how

frustrating this holiday might be for single people, grumpy cat says it all in this text without even

verbally saying a word. This is most definitely humorous with positive effects as an outlet for

any possible negative emotion and gives evidence for the rhetorical proof of pathos.

8c. Logos: When searching for grumpy cat images online, common sense allows for

logical inferences to be made. Of course during the time frame for which an image is posted and

also due to the setting of the image, one could infer the message of a text. In this case, for this

image, grumpy cat is disgruntled with a holiday, Valentine’s Day! The roses are a signifier for


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and becomes humorous with positive effects to release the tension of an uncomfortable situation.

Stevie Wonder’s hit lyrical message is stated as a loving sentiment and grumpy cat responds in a

humorous facetious fashion toward that notion. Again Aristotle’s reasoning for the pathos mode

of persuasion works here. There is a comical emotional response toward a loving message

rhetorically answered with facetiousness. The audience can find commonality with personal

experiences of love being offered through an affectionate message from someone whom they did

not want to receive it. In answer to such a message, people can often times avoid the

discomforting situation through being facetious.

9c. Logos: An audience that can relate to an unwanted message of love from someone

they are not interested in would find this meme humorous in relation to their own reality and

experience.

Line of argument:

All people want to be loved.Many people appreciate receiving loving messages from someone they desire to be close

to.

There are moments when such a gesture or loving message can be unwanted andundesired if the recipient is not interested in the giver of the message.


All people want to be loved.

Except for me.

Even if you’re famous like Stevie Wonder and calling to say “you love me” I’ll let youknow that you definitely have gotten the “wrong number” just to throw you off of my

scent, and that is a different story.


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10a. Ethos: Credibility is established via

Garfield the cat’s fame and his issue with

this Grumpy Cat’s rise in popularity

visualized through the combination of

Grumpy cat, Garfield cat, and man images

juxtaposed with background and written

message content. In terms of credibility, even Garfield the famous cartoon cat can recognize The

Grumpy Cat phenomenon and raise issues regarding her popularity in a humorous form.

10b. Pathos: This image differs a bit in that a known celebrity cartoon named Garfield

delivers a written message that is surrounding grumpy cat’s image which once again, evokes an

emotional response due to commonality with the audience and their similar experiences. The

audience could respond in laughter toward the irony of how popular Garfield was to his getting

frustrated over this new overnight sensation The Grumpy Cat . For people familiar with Garfield

the cynical cat who publicly debuted as a cartoon comic strip on June 19, 1978 (Retrieved April

09, 2016, from http://garfield.com/jim-davis), this text could be extremely humorous.

10c. Ethos: Based on historical background, the audience could view the “fact” that

Garfield who was always known as being humorous for his cynical view of the world could be

angry with the new rising popularity of Grumpy Cat who is facetious and able to make others

laugh through the same route of humor. Both cats could be described as using humorous twists in

their lines of argument surrounding a given topic. This meme is even more humorous because of

the competition between both personalities.


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Line of argument:

All people like to laugh and like cats.

Many people receive humorous messages out of facetious statements due to viewing orhearing an opposite response from the message receiver in response to the message giver.Garfield and The Grumpy Cat are those types of message deliverers garnering similar

audience responses.


All people like to laugh and like cats.Many people receive humorous messages out of facetious statements due to viewing or

hearing an opposite response from the message receiver in response to the message giver.

Garfield can’t handle the “fact” that The Grumpy Cat is a better message deliverer ofhumor due to their “grumpiness” than he is! This makes the meme extremely humorous.

Discussion

What makes The Grumpy Cat so wildly popular? There are many attributes relative to

data and findings in relation to the research found surrounding humor and cuteness that make

this Grumpy Cat so communicable. For this discussion, I will begin answering relevant research

questions.

R 1. What are the ways that visual attention and verbal cues work together to make The

Grumpy Cat memes successful? Recall the study of kindchenschema or baby schematics as

previously referred to in the literature review. The traits and features of the grumpy cat’s face

and her expression clearly fall into line with the description of what could cause an individual to

perceive an image as “cute”. This is one attribute that lends to her popularity, she is cute even

when she is grumpy. Due to this attribute Grumpy Cat is able to work verbal cues or text in

correlation with her image to present a humorous message that is catching to audiences. The


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reason behind her catching messages can be found in gaining a deeper understanding via

Aristotle’s rhetorical proof known as Pathos. Because the reasoning of rhetoric relies on how an

audience’s reality can relate through commonality or similar experience with a given message

about a situation or circumstance, this had led to an explanation of why The Grumpy Cat has

garnered such attention and popularity. She is able to use her own method of style and

arrangement to deliver messages that her audience can relate to through commonality and

similarly shared experiences depending on the audience’s reality. The term reality is used

subjectively here. Each individual has their own version or reality of a circumstance or situation

they have had to respond to or deal with. Grumpy cat happens to relay facetious humorous

responses to similar circumstances which can then lead her audience into laughter which in turn

can be therapeutic or healing for them. This very finding engenders reasoning to introduce how

humor can be therapeutic and thus have positive effects on people.

Humor as Therapy

Nancy Mooney (2000), as a director of nursing gives a prime example of how humor can

be used as therapy in citing Schunior:

“In his poignant article “Nursing and the Comic Mask,” Schunior (1989) tells the story of

a dying oncology patient, Henry, who tells the following joke to his caregivers about two

ministers meeting St. Peter at the Pearly Gates:

… So then St. Peter told the Methodist minister, “You loved money so much you married

a woman named Goldie. We can’t let you in. So the Baptist minister turned to his wife

and said, “Let’s go, Fanny, ain’t no use our waiting in this line!”


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Amazingly, this patient found humor as a method of coping with his own personal pain,

and managed to entertain his caregivers at the end of his life (p.88).

I believe there is truth to the fact that there are times when humor may be inappropriate,

however in this example, I can see the value of the patient’s need for laughter. “Humor is an

important part of the human condition…we ‘laugh until we cry’ (Mooney 2000). That statement

has a literal element to it as evidence has been shown to prove that humor does have

physiological effects on the human body. Mooney (2000) notes the following regarding this

matter: “William Fry, Jr. (1986), a physician who has studied the physiology of laughter for

many years, tells us that ‘mirth and its mirthful behavior have an impact on most of the

physiologic systems of the body’ – by increasing the respiratory activity and oxygen rate,

increasing muscular activity and heart rate, and increasing the production of catecholamines in

the body. Laughter, he says, is an ‘aerobic experience,’ an internal stationary jogging” (William

Fry, Jr. as cited by Mooney, 2000, p.89).

The fact that laughter has such a positive effect on the human body in the midst of

negative circumstances reinforces the practical use of humor as a therapeutic tool. Laughter can

even help increase our endorphin levels, “for example, laughing with a group of friends, the

scent of fresh flowers, or the sight of a newborn baby. These things make us smile, block our

daily troubles for a few moments, and generally make us happy” (Mooney 2000).

One of the reasons The Grumpy Cat is so successful is because of how she presents visual

images and verbal cues together in a manner that her audience can relate to and find

commonality with. Because the audience can do this, they often end receiving the messages with


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a response of laughter. Because laughter can have such a positive effect on the human body in

the midst of negative circumstances, The Grumpy Cat messages, images, and memes can be used

as humor and be considered as therapeutic for those who receive the benefits of such messages.

These findings considering that humor can be used as a therapeutic tool, do support a

portion of my proposed hypothesis that The Grumpy Cat ’s modes of humor rely on mechanisms

that do not cause emotional damage, offense, or harm to others. In fact, I might characterize the

humor as “facetious” but not harmful. It is important to note also that the definition of facetious

according to the online Merriam -Webster dictionary is by simple definition:

“— used to describe speech that is meant to be funny but that is usually regarded as

annoying, silly, or not proper .”

For further definition of the word facetious, the site defines it as such:

1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately: waggish

2 : meant to be humorous or funny: not serious

facetiously adverb

facetiousness noun

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facetious)

R 2. What kinds of humor or approaches to humor seem most successful in this form? In

my research I found three of four theories which were presented by Berger and Wildavsky to be

applicable to The Grumpy Cat phenomenon. The four presented were as follows: 1) Incongruity

theory, 2) Superiority theory, 3) Cognitive Ability and Process theory, and 4) Freud’s


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Psychoanalytic theory. As suggested in the literature review, the first three theories became the

most relevant in explaining The Grumpy Cat phenomenon and the third being pertinently so.

The first, Incongruity theory is relevant to The Grumpy Cat phenomenon because it’s

explanation states that “there is a difference between what we expect and what we get in jokes,

cartoons, plays and other humorous works” (Berger, 2009, p. 10) This proves to be true with

Grumpy Cat because her messages present a reasonable line of argument but then catch her

audience by surprise causing laughter via her humorous “facetious” twist regarding the given

topic or circumstance to which she is relating.

The second theory of Superiority I found to be most relevant toward data image #6:

Due to how this theory deals with the fact that people laugh because they feel a sense of

superiority “about those (people, animals, objects) they laugh at” (Berger & Wildavsky, 1994, p.

82). Superiority theory explains why a person slipping on a banana peel is funny – people laugh

“because for a moment, we, who have not lost our balance, feel superior” to that person (p. 82).

Some people would consider this type of incident funny and others may not. I find a similar

structure for this reasoning in data image #6 because we are each individual and unique as to


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how we respond with laughter toward a given message. Some people might find this meme

hilarious while others might consider a bit more serious rather than facetious, either way, in my

analysis I found this meme’s message to have a positive effect on its audience because it can be

used an outlet to release negative emotions in a positive way as one can relate to a similar

circumstance or situation and need to laugh to reduce tension.

The third theory being the most relevant in the case of The Grumpy Cat phenomenon

explains the reasoning relationship of how an indivdual’s cognitive ability relates to the way they

process information in regard to humor. It reveals how a person finds meaning and how their

minds can resolve puzzles such as paradoxes and play frames according to Berger and

Wildavsky (1994). These researchers also suggest that this particular theory is tied to Semiotic

theories and provide the following explanation which I found to be most relevant to

understanding The Grumpy Cat phenomenon:

Paradox and the moving in and out of play frames generates the kind of humor that

depends, in many instances, on the listener recognizing that the humorist is just kidding

or playing around and does not mean what he says (p. 82).

This is true in regard to Grumpy Cat’s humorous messages and the fact that they are often

delivered with a facetious tone. The fonts are often all the same size, large, and capitalized to

denote the cat speaking “loudly”. Because we are each so unique and individual, researchers

cannot pinpoint exactly what prompts each of us to laugh, however these theories come close to

explaining why we do and in particular prove why we might laugh at The Grumpy Cat and why

we would consider her so credible and humorous.


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Grumpy cat has the ability to deliver her humorous messages in such a mode, the hard topics

become humorous and her humor becomes a positive outlet for negative emotions! No wonder

she is so successful and popular with thousands of people.

In regard to the two maladaptive styles, recall that Aggressive humor is intended to put

others down by using sarcasm, teasing, and ridicule. As such, the use of this maladaptive humor

style may hurt or alienate others according to (Kuiper et. al, 2010). This of course would be

harmful to recipients and I did not find this type of humor style used with the Grumpy Cat. Also

self-defeating humor is described as one using self-disparagement and allowing oneself to be the

‘butt’ of the joke, in order to gain the approval of other s (Kuiper et. al, p. 237-238, 2010). Again

I do not see Grumpy Cat using this form of negative humor, her messages are always rendered

outward toward a general point of reference and never specifically pointed toward any particular

person negatively.

The definition of these humor styles sheds a realistic light on how unique and individual

we all are when considering one’s sense of humor and how two people may consider the same

topic resulting with one person laughing and the other person being offended. This brings to

mind a consideration for how people take in humorous information and what results from an

occurrence of that nature. Obviously finding these types of results would be reason for further

research, but for now, the focus of this paper is just to analyze how a grumpy cat can become a

positive source of joy for anyone. There are not many humorous works with this magnitude of

popularity that I have found that can do this. My belief is that Grumpy Cat can bring about

laughter in combination with facetiousness and cuteness to produce a wonderful outlet for humor


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through an image itself or juxtaposed with text that almost anyone can find comfort in as

opposed to finding offense or hurt. I believe this is why she is so successful in presenting

humorous / facetious messages that help her audience to cope with potential negative emotions in

a healthy way.

R 3. Can I identify an overall theme? Upon reviewing literature presented from Berger in

regard to what makes us laugh there is a key point that is worth further discussion, that is the fact

that he himself researched, studied, and developed “Forty-Five Ways to Make People Laugh”

(Berger, 2009, p. 7). He categorized his findings as 45 techniques that make people laugh “the

what,” and the techniques were classified according to what their base was. For example,

Berger’s slapstick technique could be classified as “Action,” exposure could be classified as

“Identity,” absurdity could be classified as “Logic,” and facetiousness could be classified as

“Language” (Berger 2009, p.7). This is an intriguing tool that can be used to deconstruct jokes

(text) (p. 6-10). I would like to further discuss this deconstruction method in regard to analyzing

Grumpy Cat.

My analysis found an overall theme to The Grumpy Cat phenomenon involving facetious

statements relevant to particular circumstances used to induce laughter resulting from her own

personal style of humor. I believe Grumpy Cat has a combined style of both aforesaid styles of

adaptive humor named Affiliative and Self-enhancing. This particular mixture of style in

correlation with Aristotle’s rhetorical modes of persuasion can be deconstructed with the usage

and understanding of some of Berger’s described techniques that are used to make people laugh.


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Absurdity is often used in humor surrounding Grumpy Cat. For example, data images 1,

3, 4, 6, 7, and 10 contain such an element in their messages. According to (Berger 2009, p.7), the

technique of absurdity could be classified under the basis of logic. This is an interesting

correlation with Aristotle’s rhetorical mode of persuasion named logos. Recall that logos has to

do with the line of argument in a speech and whether or not the argument can be proven. This is

Aristotle’s method of rhetorical reasoning to present an argument that appears to be sound to its

audience. The logic or rhetorical reasoning of an argument is based on the audience’s perception

of reality. If we reason that Grumpy Cat’s messages have a basis of logic according to Aristotle’s

logos mode of persuasion and combine that with Berger’s reasoning that logic may also be

portrayed in the guise of absurdity, then the humor techniques used in combination with Berger’s

development of deconstruction methods and techniques makes this Grumpy Cat phenomenon a

rather genius idea.

Another correlation between Aristotle’s ethos mode of persuasion in combination with

Berger’s techniques comes in the form of Berger’s facetiousness technique being classified under

the basis of language. Recall that ethos establishes credibility of a speaker or message sender

with an audience. Ethos deals with the character of the speaker (a first impression to the audience

one might say). The way the speaker portrays themselves through verbal message, body

language, facial expression as well as elements such as their physical appearance, actual

vocabulary and popularity is important because these factors determine how an audience will

receive or accept the speaker’s message. Through ethos a message sender can reveal their

personality, likes, distastes, etc. that will allow an audience to relate to them or not. Each of the

images I chose uses ethos to establish credibility of the Grumpy Cat.


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If we reason that Grumpy Cat’s messages have a basis of credibility in their presentation

or language according to Aristotle’s ethos mode of persuasion and combine that with Berger’s

reasoning that language may also be portrayed in the guise of facetiousness, then once again the

humor techniques used in combination with Berger’s development of deconstruction methods

and techniques makes this Grumpy Cat phenomenon a rather genius idea.

Further research could be done on this particular area regar ding Grumpy cat’s overall

style and method of humor, but for now suffice it to say that these findings assist with proving

my proposed hypothesis that The Grumpy Cat ’s humorous effects depend on the combined effect

of a number of modes of humor. Further, the modes rely on mechanisms that do not cause

emotional damage, offense, or harm to others. In fact, I might characterize the humor as

“facetious” but not harmful.

R 4. Can I theorize what makes the Grumpy cat so humorous? That is, can I theorize

why the phenomenon has garnered such a degree of success? Overall I would theorize that The

Grumpy Cat phenomenon has garnered such a degree of success and is considered to have an

excellent form of humor resulting in positive effects toward the audience because of Grumpy

Cat’s own personal usage of humor styles in combination with usage of Aristotle’s rhetorical

modes of persuasion. Her overall arrangement of messages with the usage of these techniques

and methods has enhanced not only her online presence and message delivery, but has also

increased her popularity status online. This is evident and can be measured by viewing how

many responses she has gained from her public audience to how her presence has spread not only

by virtue of messaging and memes, but she also has established her own website and line of


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products featuring her image juxtaposed with additional text. More often than not, her viewers

respond with an emotionality response in line with Aristotle’s explanation of Love or Friendship

versus Hatred reasoning which falls under his pathos mode of persuasion. My theory is that the

culmination and brilliant usage of these combined methods and techniques has allowed for a new

form of humor that draws in an audience via ethos credibility and holds audience attention

through a pathos mode of persuasion and attracts the audience to respond in a positive manner

due the humor’s positive resulting effects on the audience.

R 5. Does The Grumpy Cat’s audience identify any negative responses to its humorous

memes? My research was limited in this area as I only analyzed images and text. I did not

analyze literal responses to these images. This leaves room for further research and it would be

interesting to see if any negative results were found.

R 6. Are humorous techniques surrounding The Grumpy Cat ethical? If so, what is the

relationship between “ethical”, “positive”, “facetious”, and successful? My research revealed a

study of ethics that focused on the way humor can cause harm and discussed three interrelated

approaches to humor: (1) attitude-based theories, (2) merited-response theories, and (3)

emotional responsibility theories (p. 333). Smuts argues for the “effects-mediated responsibility

theory, and holds that the strongest ethical criticism that can be made of our sense of humor is

that it might indicate some omission on our part. The omission could only be culpable in so far

as a particular joke could do harm to oneself or others” (p. 333) Smuts states, “The primary

vehicle of the harmful eff ects of humor is laughter” (p. 333).


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I agree with Smuts’ latter statement in so far as laughing so hard that your sides may

begin to “hurt” could cause harm. Obviously this does not pertain to damage or hurt caused by

the message per say.

In regard to attitude-based theory, Smuts (2009) explores the role of an individual’s

attitude which endorses the humor of a joke (p. 336). Smuts states that merited-response theory

suggests that “moral shortcomings can count against the humorousness of a joke and, as a result,

some jokes are not funny even if some people think so” (p. 341). In short, “finding something

funny that was not funny” (p. 343) could be a crime, but there is no absolute proof that this fact

is morally unethical…a person can’t have “meaningful control over what they find funny” (p.

343). The emotional responsibility theory suggests that though an individual may find an

“inappropriate” joke humorous, they can be held responsible (emotionally): “In as much as we

are responsible for our sense of humor, we could be held responsible for the harm caused by

finding something funny” (p. 343).

In a nutshell, Smuts concluded that:

“Telling jokes, encouraging jokes, and laughing at jokes are actions with clear

ethical significance – they are all capable of producing harms. However, at this

point we are standing on shaky ground if we say that merely finding any given

joke funny is itself reprehensible... In so far as humor can be controlled, we might

be responsible for finding something funny. Most plausibly, this responsibility

can only lead to culpable wrongdoing if some harm, to self or others, results or is

likely to result… Even if laughing at jokes is a clear source of harm, amusement


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could at most be an error of omission – a failure to adequately train oneself to face

suspect cognitive pleasures” (Smuts, 2009, p.346).

Upon reviewing Smuts’ literature, I concluded that any possible “ethics of humor” would

lead one to believe that there are elements of humor and its techniques as well as its leading into

amusement / laughter that could be considered harmful by virtue of certain perspectives.

However, there is no study that shows unequivocally that this an absolute truth, thus I propose

once more that I believe the humor surrounding The Grumpy Cat to be “ethical” and lacking in

producing “harmful effects” toward it’s recipients.

Given the overall findings of research throughout this paper, I believe The Grumpy Cat

humor has been arranged and presented in a manner that leaves the audience with positive

resulting effects that invites them to come back for more humor therapy in order to relieve

stressful events or circumstances. I did not find any unethical usage of methods or techniques

regarding delivery of messages through the Grumpy Cat.

Since The Grumpy Cat humor could be considered ethical, I believe the relationship

between “ethical”, “positive,” “facetious,” and successful is evident. Grumpy cat has a genuine

way of delivering her messages as well as an individually unique style (by mixture of positive

adaptive humor styles) for presenting them. She is ethical in the fact that she never directly

pinpoints a target in relation to any potential negativity in her messages which then causes her

messages to be a healthy outlet for the audience’s possible negative emotions. Because of this

healthy outlet, Grumpy Cat is considered positive rather than negative even though she uses a

facetious tone with her messages. Recall that facetious is not defined as being harmful or causing


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harmful effect but rather it is defined as being used to describe speech that is meant to be funny

but that is usually regarded as annoying, silly, or not proper.” This being the case in The Grumpy

Cat phenomenon means she is not harmful and does not cause harmful effects from her delivered

messages via usage of facetious humor. The culmination of all these explained elements tie in to

the fact that Grumpy Cat has in fact become a phenomenon with a wide and varied exposure and

presence online.

Conclusion

The Grumpy Cat phenomenon has garnered such a degree of popularity and has become

viral due to a useful and positive combination of humorous techniques and rhetorical modes of

persuasion combined in a unique and healthy platform. This platform is used to present messages

to a public audience that can use laughter and humor as a therapeutic method to heal and retain

positive effects emotionally and physically due to the specific form of humor used.

The research conducted, literature review, and analysis performed result with a solid

ground to stand on in argument for the Grumpy Cat’s humor relaying a sound message in an

ethical way to its audience while producing positive effects toward the audience as well. Grumpy

cat is ethical, positive, and facetious in her arrangement of humorous messages which result in a

successful delivery to thousands of people who have received her online presence with joy and

have caused her personality and image to go viral online.

My proposed hypothesis was supported, “The Grumpy Cat ’s humorous effects depend on

the combined effect of a number of modes of humor. Further, the modes rely on mechanisms that


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do not cause emotional damage, offense, or harm to others. In fact, I might characterize the

humor as “facetious” but not harmful.”

Limitations of this study and suggested future research:

The explanation of various humor styles brings to mind a consideration for how people

take in humorous information and what results from an occurrence of that nature. Obviously

finding the types of results mentioned regarding the humor styles would be reason for further

research. Additional research could also be conducted in regard to the correlation between the

use of Aristotle’s rhetorical methods of persuasion in combination with Berger’s humor

techniques and their bases. Further research could be done on this particular area regarding

Grumpy cat’s overall style and method of humor .

My research was limited in the area of collecting data in regard to literal responses to the

images / memes that were chosen. I did not analyze literal responses to these images. This leaves

room for further research in the future and it would be interesting to see if any negative results

were found by analyzing the actual responses to these images / memes.

Appendices …

References

About Creator Jim Davis. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://garfield.com/jim-davis

Berger, A. A. (2009). What’s So Funny About That? Soc Society, 47 (1), 6-10.


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Berger, A. A. (2013). Why We Laugh and What Makes Us Laugh: 'The Enigma of Humor'

Europe’s Journal of Psychology EJOP, 9(2), 210-213.

Berger, A. A., & Wildavsky, A. (1994). Who laughs at what? Society, 31(6), 82-86.

Bing. (n.d.). Retrieved April 08, 2016, from https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=top grumpy

cat images

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