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Appreciating English HumourWhilst humour is a universal of the human race, the way it is conveyed in cultures is often very different to the point that the same kind of humour displayed in a different cultural context can come across as totally unfunny and even downright offensive.
English humour is quite sophisticated. Some of it is very easily appreciated worldwide and some not at all so. The French and Dutch seem to have a really hard time understanding our humour. The Germans are better than most people think at understanding it but they are just not good at expressing their appreciation of it! Asians I’ve found are surprisingly good at understanding our humour provided it is well translated. Americans sometimes comprehend it but it seems that many still fail miserably given that many successful UK comedy shows launched in the States become flops. When Americans buy into our shows they often completely reformat the show in an attempt to make it culturally more familiar as they did with the Office. I don't know why is it that there so many Americans don’t appreciate the subtleties of English humour? I’m surprised because America is culturally very diverse and they speak the same language. I wonder if it’s partly because their myriad of cultures are mostly kept within socially insular and isolated environments. The less one is exposed to different humour the less one will appreciate it. Could it be that the average American is not exposed to the great variety of humour across the world because they are so immersed in their own flamboyant culture and way of life? Thankfully, it seems there are a growing number of Americans who are more culturally aware and really do appreciate our British humour.I also love American humour. It’s often incredibly witty and I can often find myself rolling around the floor in uncontrolled belly laughter… no seriously I do, I’m as mad as King George maybe but some of the funniest stuff I’ve known comes from America. Among my favourite American TV comedy shows are Friends, Everybody loves Raymond, Frasier, the Simpsons, South Park, Will and Grace... So I've decided I should do a blog entry dedicated to American comedy. It's coming soon so please… watch this space.
Below is a small selection of some my favourite English comedy shows. The clips I've selected are not more than 3 minutes a piece. So please take a moment to enjoy them... and don't forget to drop a comment. Thanks!
- Anonymous
I have seen all the American comedies excepting Southpark. Friends and Fraiser were my personal favourites. I just don't know why. May be it is the script, the chemistry between the stars and may be it is so much that I could relate to at any rate.
Sure, as you mentioned, my mom would be able to recognise only chaplin and atkinson (although in the name of Bean) outside her native tongue as comedians. I saw the series of The Black Addar and it is great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great post phil.
Hi, Part of the reason that Americans don't "get" British humor is that we really are not exposed to much of it. There are 150 channels and nothing worth watching on, most of the time. Television here seems to aim at the lowest common denominator. I used to watch Benny Hill, Dave Allen, Monty Python, and Dr. Who when I could find them (I put Dr. Who there as I thought Tom Baker was hilarious). My son and I are both crazy about Absolutely Fabulous. Send the shows over here, there's an audience waiting!
Thanks to Gumlofujai (Ken), Anonymous & Donna for your comments. I really appreciate them.
Thursday 14 September 2006 - 12:40AM (GMT)
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