중년 남성의 아재 개그와 멜랑콜리 – 숨겨진 종교성을 찾아서

Abstract

This study is designed to understand the psychology of middle-aged men who practice ajae-gag. Ajae-gag is a kind of game played with words or language. Unfortunately, the game doesn't turn out so well. Why can't they stop this unproductive play? I believe that melancholy may reside inside the middle-aged men who repeat ajae-gag with poor endings. This melancholy is like a trace that has been established in the unconscious due to their early experiences of losing their mother, their first love. The experience of emotional separation from the mother around the age of three or four years leaves scars of an unbearable loss. Especially in the case of boys, the loss was so harsh and complex that it left a mark of melancholy in the child. The trace has become a melancholy self and is deeply located in the hearts of men. This melancholy self cannot be completely healed, so it seeks remedies, such as honor, hope, and humor. Donald Capps says these three remedies become the characteristic of men’s religious pursuit. He believes that humor is the most effective one of these three. Middle-aged men constantly seek ajae-gag to escape from the burden of excessive responsibility promoted by melancholy. However, why would they select unsuccessful and low-quality ajae-gag instead of elegant and cool humor? I think it is a way to re-experience the unanswered mother, deeply internalized in their unconscious. Given the negative feedback from the audience, middle-aged men unconsciously confirm their melancholy self and the memories of abandonment that provide the basis of the self. It is also the safest way for middle-aged men to maintain a bond with their unconsciously internalized mother. Therefore, I claim that middle-aged men's ajae-gags have their own unique meaning and even have a religious meaning.