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posted by Fnord666 on Friday May 05 2017, @04:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the funny-or-die? dept.

We're all aware that there are stereotypes. The British are sharply sarcastic, the Americans are great at physical comedy, and the Japanese love puns. But is humour actually driven by culture to any meaningful extent? Couldn't it be more universal – or depend largely on the individual?

There are some good reasons to believe that there is such a thing as a national sense of humour. But let's start with what we actually have in common, by looking at the kinds of humour that most easily transcend borders.

Certain kinds of humour are more commonly used in circumstances that are international and multicultural in nature – such as airports. When it comes to onoard entertainment, airlines, in particular, are fond of humour that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries for obvious reasons. Slapstick humour and the bland but almost universally tolerable social transgressions and faux pas of Mr Bean permit a safe, gentle humour that we can all relate to. Also, the silent situational dilemmas of the Canadian Just for Laughs hidden camera reality television show has been a staple option for airlines for many years.

These have a broad reach and are probably unlikely to offend most people. Of course, an important component in their broad appeal is that they are not really based on language.

Humor is no laughing matter. Levity can kill. But can it also bind us together?


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  • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Friday May 05 2017, @08:52AM (11 children)

    by inertnet (4071) on Friday May 05 2017, @08:52AM (#504737) Journal

    Each country is targeted with its own kind of jokes, Germans are humorless engineers, French are silly romantics, Scots and Dutch are stingy and so on. And per country different groups of people, cities or even villages receive jokes about their supposed traits.

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  • (Score: 1) by anubi on Friday May 05 2017, @09:28AM

    by anubi (2828) on Friday May 05 2017, @09:28AM (#504748) Journal

    I am still very partial to Canada's "Just For Laughs", which I believe they actually improved on Allen Funt's "Candid Camera", which was my favorite laugh show when I was a kid.

    ( I thought the kid serving mints in the mall that he was apparently was getting out of the urinal [youtube.com] ( 1 min 37 sec ) was a classic! The look on those women's faces with the mint in their mouth was priceless. )

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 2, Flamebait) by Phoenix666 on Friday May 05 2017, @01:18PM (9 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday May 05 2017, @01:18PM (#504822) Journal

    How different countries are construed varies a lot, too. When I watch British shows I am frequently struck by English stereotypes of Scots, which don't track with stereotypes of Scots in America. For example, yesterday I was watching an episode of Dr. Who and there was a flippant remark about how he could now complain a lot because his new incarnation seemed Scottish. To me Scots seem least likely to complain, being more stubborn and willing to put their heads down and get through difficulty.

    Also Germans are not humorless engineers, but either Nazis or black turtleneck wearing Mods whose favorite pastimes are S&M and abstract art.

    Dutch? Dutch are nothing. What's a 'Dutch?' Is that a country?

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Friday May 05 2017, @01:40PM (8 children)

      by inertnet (4071) on Friday May 05 2017, @01:40PM (#504836) Journal

      Obviously you're not from Europe.

      Look up Scottish jokes, for instance: "Little known fact - copper wire was invented by two Scotsmen fighting over a penny".

      Typical German joke: "What is the thinnest book? Answer: A Millennium Of German Humor".

      And the Dutch are people from the Netherlands, or Holland as our country is often mistakenly referred to, while "Deutsch" is the language of the Germans.

      • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by Phoenix666 on Friday May 05 2017, @02:23PM (5 children)

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday May 05 2017, @02:23PM (#504860) Journal

        Pfah. "Dutch" is when you make the girl split the check with you at the end of the date. Everybody knows that.

        The correct answer to the question, "What do you call someone from the Netherlands?" is, "Huh?"

        The right response to, "'Deutsch' is the language of the Germans," is "I'm sorry, but I don't speak Spanish. I mean, I took it for three years in high school, but..."

        And Europe? We totally saved yer asses. America, fuck yeah!

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
        • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @02:36PM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @02:36PM (#504871)

          "Dutch" is when you make the girl split the check with you at the end of the date.

          Scotch is when she pays the whole bill.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:48PM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:48PM (#504938)

            What is it when you drag her behind a dumpster and rape her?

            • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday May 05 2017, @04:16PM (1 child)

              by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday May 05 2017, @04:16PM (#504968) Journal

              20 to life?

              --
              Washington DC delenda est.
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:36PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:36PM (#504981)

                20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life

          • (Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Friday May 05 2017, @08:28PM

            by Jeremiah Cornelius (2785) on Friday May 05 2017, @08:28PM (#505135) Journal

            "A Scotsman took his new young lady friend to the boardwalk pier, and arm-in-arm, they enjoyed the afternoon sights and sounds of the seaside. After passing by the Aquarium and the roundabout, neither of which he took notice, his companion exclaimed, 'They're cooking up chips, doesn't that smell delicious?'

            Not one to miss a hint, the Scotsman replied, 'Aye, they do! If you're game, we can stand a bit closer for a better smell of 'em!'"

            --
            You're betting on the pantomime horse...
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:53PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:53PM (#504941)

        If you think the Scots get it bad, you don't know the Irish. There's a whole class of jokes that begin "An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman walk into a bar....". Clue: the punchline is always about the Irishman.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Friday May 05 2017, @04:30PM

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday May 05 2017, @04:30PM (#504976) Journal

          Indeed. But who do the Irish make fun of, the Manx? The Cornish?

          The thread still hasn't revealed what Dutch are known for, but the Flamebait mods suggest they share traits with Drax the Destroyer. They are clearly a literal people who cannot detect metaphor or tongue-in-cheek remarks that are actually mocking of how many Americans do or would regard specific European nationalities.

          Me, I think Dutch are incredible engineers who are innately practical and level-headed. Germans are a dynamo that sometimes doesn't know when to quit. English are indomitable when it comes to contesting with outsiders but strangely supine when it comes to freeing themselves of their oppressive social caste system. They are all admirable and have a lot to teach others. So it's funny to learn how they lampoon each other. It's a bit like watching a real life dysfunctional family dramedy like the Royal Tenenbaums.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.