Self-referential humor relies on making light of itself in some manner. For example, a comedy play that featured the story of a group of fictional thespians attempting to put on a comedy play would be fertile ground for self-referential humor. A more concrete example would be the Stargate SG-1 episode "Wormhole X-Treme!". Another example would be Rowan Atkinsons sketch No one called Jones in which he plays a teacher telling students with names like 'Genital', 'Myprick' and 'Zipper' to stop making smutty puerile jokes.
Self-referential humor is sometimes combined with breaking the fourth wall.
See also
