Yeah, I was thinking substituting "mean"? Although it is not always manifested physically, so???
The ritual element is strong, and I'm wondering too how far back the rituals go. I can see them in professional wrestling and circus as well.
Breaking down the rituals of a Popeye scene, I recall the theme music, the opening of the spinach can, the eating of the spinach, some legit slapstick, and the inevitable falling-down of whatever was punched up into the sky, which usually had been broken to pieces, and then re-assembled into something else.
Gilligan's Island had some slap-happy moments too, but I don't know if the elements were more ritual or formula, or if that means the same thing here?