In conclusion

Marie Gillespie Marie says:

A day when you haven't laughed is a day when you haven't lived. Having a laugh and a joke are almost as important as the air we breathe and the ground beneath our feet. They are a vital part of human communication and friendship. And to make someone laugh is a great trick and a treat – something I've been trying all my life – not always with great success!

But still I try because I love to get a laugh out of someone. Laughter is contagious, and watching people joking and laughing in the joke booth brought with it many laughs. And even if not everyone is a good joke teller, everyone has the capacity to be funny.

Working on the joke survey and the series has been a lot of fun but it has also been very challenging. Trying to make sense of the jokes themselves is one thing. Looking at who tells them, how they are told and how they are used to achieve certain effects – not just laughter - raises a lot of awkward questions.

The joke butts are always fascinating to study because they tell us about the taboo and the forbidden. They also tell us about power and social relations. They help us cross borders and break boundaries – in our imagination. But how jokes relate to social life is complex. One thing's for sure: to analyse jokes, you need to look at them in the social contexts in which they arise and spread. Jokes come out of everyday spontaneous humour. They have no authors and no fixed serious meanings. They can be interpreted in many ways.

In the commentaries I've tried to show the value of bringing different perspectives to bear on their multiple realities and meanings – just like OU courses do to other aspects of social life. And that's more than just a bit of fun!