Underwater Humor

June 5, 2021 Pacificklaus

After years of shooting photographs and videos underwater I have come to the conclusion that the sense of humor is under-represented underwater. Humor is one of humanity’s most noble drives, the capability to laugh at things is one of the few abilities which truly distinguishes us from our cousins in the animal kingdom; I want to add that a sense of humor also distinguishes the wise man from the ideological fanatic.

Now, it seems to me that in the realm of underwater image making a few people take them selves a tad too seriously. Scuba diving is truly enthralling, and this emotional high which comes with a dive (also for me, still, after many years regularly venturing underwater) inhibits the sense of ridicule. You don’t usually joke about life-altering experiences. Quite a few divers also think of themselves as an environmental vanguard, as raisers of awareness about the indeed often pretty sad state of many marine ecosystems. That’s a good thing in my eyes, but it makes folks too serious and it furthermore inhibits a sense of humor.

Diving can be quite funny, in fact. The joke about teaching a fish to dance, seen in the video below, originated during the dive where we shot that video. My dive buddy Matt saw that juvenile sweetlip move in its usual erratic pattern, and decided to copy it:

I am an Artist!

I think that another reason for the relatively sparsity of underwater photo and video humor is that too many underwater photographers and videographers think of themselves as amazing an artists; As an example, nudibranchs (sea slugs) are incredibly beautiful animals, and the first time anyone takes a picture of one, he will be enthralled by his or her photograph. But, it’s generally the beauty of the slug and not the quality of the photograph which is responsible for the aesthetics of the shot. However, the photographer doesn’t want to admit that. Being a serious artist is a serious issue. Da Vinci and Picasso didn’t include slapstick in their works. Hence, no humor.

All of these factors come together in making humor an afterthought in underwater imaging. There are very notable exceptions, of course. I’m also trying to counter this trend, and while my main aim when I dive with a camera is to document nature, I enjoy making a goofy video once in a while – these two aims don’t even have to be in contrast with each other.

Anal Crab

I really like the video below, because it combines both footage of a rare and unusual small crustacean, and some fairly silly humor. This crab actually lives in the anal sac of a sea urchin. Obviously that’s endless material for jokes, including the design of a special scuba hand signal for this crab:

Nemo? Nope!

Very often when I tell someone that I enjoy scuba diving, the response is “Did you see finding Nemo”? Not only did I not watch this movie, I don’t even like “Nemo”. Anemonefishes are aggressive and rude, and no one should make a fuss about them being cute. When I and my buddy Matt dive, we disrespect “Nemo”. Watch us doing that in this video:

Silly Walks

This is only funny if you know the famous Monty Python sketch with the “Ministry of Silly Walks”, but if you don’t know this sketch, you should watch it asap – one of the highlights of the body of work of the famous British comedy group, a great parody of pointless government bureaucracy. The acting in the original sketch is great too, with super convincingly silly walking on display. We did the same thing underwater, the script is right from the Monty Python original:

Air Sharing Can Be Funny Too

There is a new style of air sharing under covid19 pandemic protocols. Better use a sanitizer before passing the alternative air source! Poking fun at things can make an unfortunate situation more bearable.