The British* and American sense of humour are often compared. The Americans that I have met often say that they love the "British sense of humour" but as far as I can tell most people aren't sure what the "British sense of humour" even is. I did some pontificating on the subject.
*Okay, I'm going to get this out of the way right now, there's not enough time to wait until the bottom of the page. Britain is NOT a country. Britain is NOT England. Britain is composed of 4 countries- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Every time I type British I want to type English- it's the sense of humour I have the most experience with!
People, when I have pressed them to describe the British sense of humour, have cited Monty Python, sarcasm, and to a lesser sense deadpan delivery. The descriptions given to me by such people have confused me because Monty Python is a rather over-the-top silliness but the banter-based sarcasm of British humour is not as playful. This has been illustrated to me by Americans that have told me that they love Monty Python and really get the British sense of humour but have greeted sarcasm and joking with blank faces or goofy expressions, waiting for the punchline.
I think a better, deeper description of the British sense of humour is that the audience will make the joke funny for themselves. Details will be missed out by the comedian or sketch and not directly mentioned because the viewer or audience member are expected to work it out for themselves. The American sense of humour relies on mercilessly detailing the funny bits of the joke. To me it lacks nuance and at worst is obnoxious.
CASE STUDY!
Okay, bare with me. This example comes from "Our Robocop Remake", a scene by scene remake of the Robocop film with a comedic scope.
http://vimeo.com/85903713
Forward to 43.35 (beware of adult content if you are a bit too early). Robocop is an innocent, earnest (though mentally deficient) robocop trying his best in the big city after leaving home. This is a silly situation and is written quite nicely UNTIL 44.40. Throughout the scene we use our brain to work out that the narration and what we are shown do not line up. This is the precedent of the joke. 44.40 violates this unspoken precedent by lighting the joke up in neon and shouting "DO YOU GET THE JOKE NOW!?". If this scene had the "British" sense of humour the narration would say that it was the mayor's wife. The resolution of cognitive dissonance is the drive behind the joke, without it the fun silliness becomes dumb. In my opinion, of course!
CASE STUDY 2!
However, having said the above I think there are funny American comedians- some that are even popular! Louis C.K. is very funny. He doesn't say particularly shocking things like a British comedian such as Frankie Boyle or Jimmy Carr would say but he does challenge an audience. He steers clear of the cheap shots that make Bill Maher's audiences whoop with self-satisfaction and, from what I've seen, will not hit the audience over the head with what he thinks is the funny part.
Then there's the fringe with such examples as "Tim and Eric's" Cosmos sketch that, to me, are like the next evolution of the American sense of humour. I'm not saying it's incredible but I am saying that it's new and fun and different.
American's, I'm sorry to say that to the inhabitants of Britain, Belgium and Germany (nationalities that I have corroborated with), you generally have a very poor sense of humour. I'm also sorry to say that if you think you "get" sarcasm you probably don't. The British sense of humour and sense of sarcasm is deeply ingrained in our culture and has grown instep with our climate, you are already at a disadvantage I am afraid.
BUT, having said that you DO have things to be proud of and you are still finding your way as a nation. When you learn to not be so easily offended you can start to grow in all kinds of ways! Maybe one day you can look down on our sense of humour for its primitiveness :P
I'm so sorry everyone.
Josh.
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