It is said that American and England are two nations separated by a common language. After living in both nations for a number of years I would tend to agree. One of these differences that you experience in every day life is humour.
One area that struck me right away when arriving in Britain was the sharp sense of ironic humour of many of the people that I met. It was a dry but highly witty humour even from people that appeared outwardly boring. I have since come to really enjoy British humour and comedy and frequently look at some of the old comedy programmes on the internet such as The Black Adder or Fawlty Towers and of course Mr Bean.
British humour is very ironic and a lot of it is directed at educated or informed people but it can also be very rude in an indirectly implied manner. It does require that you are aware of current events as well as a keen understanding of irony as a lot of it tends to be very subtle and you need to fill in the gaps to get the joke. In England you can easily be made fun of and not know it as so much of it depends on double meaning. It is said that Americans don’t get British humour, and in my experience most don’t.
In contrast American humour tends to be much more “in your face”, in the slapstick tradition, and thus a lot more physical at times such as the Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey or Ben Stiller films. It is pie in the face sort of stuff, which is OK when you are young but lacks wit and interest as you get older. American TV comedy programmes assume that the audience is stupid and does not know when to laugh, the jokes are telegraphed at the audience you are given many clues that you must laugh at a certain time. Also since characters are always broadly caricatured so it is difficult to empathise with them.
A great way to see the difference between the two styles of comedy is in the programme “The Office” which is originally a British comedy which was remade in the USA a few years later. The British version was a world wide success.
The British version is very funny and very intelligently written. It is subtle and at times it take some time to get the joke and at others it is hard to watch as you cringe in expectation of what is going to happen. However, you can relate to some of the people in the programme as they appear to be more real, just like people you would know at work.
The American version was also very successful but it lacks the wit and sharpness of the British original, it is much more “in your face” and telegraphed. Furthermore, the characters in the programme appear unreal, certainly not like any of the people I met in America.
Look up both versions on the internet, watch them and then send us your comments to discuss.
I also like the British political satire, a good programme to watch is The Thick of It. It is brilliant, but you do need to be up to date with your knowledge of world and British politics and characters.
The same applies to stand up comedy. England is big on stand-up comedy, people really love it. Watch the ones below as these also give you an idea of a range of British accents.
Milton Jones:
Michel McIntyre:
Rhod Gilbert:
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Some others programmes to watch:
- Extras
- The Green Wing
- Vicar of Dibley
Look these up on the internet. It is a good way to learn English as well and if you ever go to Britain you will be prepared to deal with their sarcastic but witty sense of humour.
On printed media there are some very smart cartoons such as Dilbert or The Far Side – check them out on the internet.
In summary, there is a lot of great comedy on both sides and the styles reflect the culture of each country. Best of all, it is a fun way to practice your English – enjoy.
See you soon !
Sobre a Autora: Meu nome é Luciana, sou professora de Inglês, leciono em São Paulo e recentemente criei o Inglês Interact. Morei e trabalhei por alguns anos na Inglaterra (Londres e Cambridge) e espero poder aqui no EE contribuir e ajudá-los com questões que envolvam a Língua Inglesa.
Comentários (29)
Good subject to talk about, I know that what im about to say has nothing do to with the subject, but let’s not say American or America when we mean USA or people from there. Im kinda sick of it and I think we got to stop this. Thanx.
Diego,
I agree with you as we are all Americans. However, unfortunately this is the world recognised name for people from the USA. You can’t say USAns or USA people is not quite right either, you have to say Americans – in any language.
I don’t agree but I am certainly not going to be able to change it around the world. So, the correct or recognized terminology to refer to people from the USA is Americans.
In the end, it does not matter, I like to be Brazilian or Mexican or Peruvian or Venezuelan.
Just for the record, both Dilbert and The Far Side are American comic strips, not British. There isn`t any doubt that British humour has an identity all its own, and that it can be ascerbic and subtle, but there is a similar trend in American humour as well, going as far back as Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken and many others. Anyone who has seen Seinfeld, for instance, will admire modern sophisticated urbane social comedyand sharp commentary on modern American society. For political parody, just look to “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, and the sharp arrows fired at Sarah Palin by impersonator Tina Fey in Saturday Night Live. There’s a lot more to American humour beyond pie in the face slapstick.
Henry,
Yes, certainly, I meant to say that on comic strips my favourites are Dilbert and the Far Side which are indeed American and very funny, cunning and sharp. Wanted to stress that there is good stuff that I like at both ends, I probably incorrectly assumed that people would know that these are American comic strips.
Something like Seinfeld is a good example as I know it was very big in the USA but, although it did show in Britain, it had limited appeal, including me :-). The same can be said for the original The Office which was big in Britain but limited appeal in the USA.
My point is that the tastes are different in many respects and one of them is comedy – no better or worst, just different. However, I do prefer British comedy as it is a lot more racy and requires a lot more knowledge of the world around you to understand it. American network TV is not really allowed to show racy stuff unless it is on Cable TV.
I did enjoy Tina Fey’s impersonation – but then again, making fun of Palin is rather easy :-) but, yes, very good indeed.
I have watched The Daily Show on the internet a few times, but umm….not my cup of tea. I find it too forced, and I enjoy the more subtle but incredibly sharp British political satire.
American and Britain are worlds apart in politics as well as what would be considered righ-wing conservative politics in Britain, in America it would be considered left-wing liberal. This certainly has an effect on political satire.
Just a matter of preference.
Luciana,
Here’s the Guardian’s closing comment in an article on the mystery of why Seinfeld didn’t seem such a success in Britain, compared to The Office, presumably Britain’s most successful comedy:
“It seems striking that while The Office, our defining sitcom of the 21st century so far, gave us an out-of-character happy ending with Tim and Dawn together and David Brent having at least not embarrassed himself on a blind date, Seinfeld ended with the four main characters, not married, not successful, not even happy, but sitting in prison about to start a one-year jail sentence. When it comes to comedy, perhaps we Brits are less sophisticated than we like to think.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/may/13/tenyearsagotomorrow75
It should be remembered that one of Ricky Gervais’ (from The Office) great performances was in an episode of The Simpsons, an American product.
No, i wouldn’t agree with you that Americans can’t do or appreciate racy stuff in mainstream media. Yes, it’s perhaps mixed in with tons of trivial stuff, but it’s there just the same.
As to politics, the US has had Reagan and Bush, while Britain had Thatcher and Blair. Thatcher and Bush 1 paired up for one war, while Bush2 and Blair paired up for another. You really think British and American conservatisms are very different? I have my doubts.
The Guardian – yes, quality writing and my favourite newspaper. Presents stories form all angles for a more balanced view of topics.
We will just have to agree to disagree – that is fine, it takes all sorts.
Politics – umm..!! yes, they are worlds apart. British conservatism would be considered left-wing in the USA (the war a different story, but even the approach to it differs). A good example is Obama’s new health care reform that so many oppose in USA, actually all Republicans opposed it. No European conservative party would touch such a limited proposal as this would be seen extremely right-wing in Europe. Same goes for education, welfare, pensions, elderly care, policing, etc, etc…. But that is a whole different discussion.
Just a matter of preference.
just thought i’d say that Rhod Gilbert is Welsh not English which is why his accent is so different.
Hi Luciana,
Good job! I loved your tips. I’m English teacher too but I’ve never travelled abroad.
If you don’t mind I’d like to keep in touch with you. Can you add me in msn? angelusmizael@hotmail.com
see ya!
Caro leitor,
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