
"Things are only funny if one understands the expected norms of a situation. This explains why young children often do not understand jokes; they do not know the accepted societal patterns of behavior well enough to realize when and how these patterns have been disrupted."
—Melanie Wilson, "One May Smile, and Smile, and Be a Villain: Grim Humor and the Warrior Ethos,"
Riddle Me This, Batman!: Essays on the Universe of the Dark Knight (2011)