American humour... I need YOU!

[Salvor]

I got a presentation to make on American humour and I'm having the hardest time finding funny American writers... I'm also wondering how to define American humour in a few words. How would you define it?

So I need help! And fast, cause my presentation is in two days :)

ps : If there are any typical American jokes I should know, please let me know about them.

[zmanjz]

Classic Jokes:

P1: Why did the chicken cross the road?
P2: "Random Answer Here"
P1: To get to the other side. (ok this one is so old it's not funny anymore)

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Two guys walk into a bar. The third one ducks. (This one's still funny.)

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P1: Guess What?
P2: What?
P1: Chicken Butt. (I HATE this one with a vengance)

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I'm not even going into the Knock Knock Jokes.

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I guess the key to American Humor lies in visualization and/or misdirection.

the suprise of unlikely circumstances. (Really, American Humor is similar to British humor with less emphasis on sexuality, and more on other forms of more absurd/unlikely causes of humiliation.)

Perhaps the most renound comedians in the history of the US are the Three Stooges. Few things are as widely considered funny as their form of humor.

However, these are general, and visually based forms of humor. If you are looking for humor in American Literature.... I really can't think of one off the top of my head.

[James]

From an outsider observation - as I am not an American but a devilishly cute Brit - American TV humour seems to focus on the following:

Man A: Makes a statement
Man B (or Man A): Then directly contradicts this statement without knowing it.

Fraiser and Cheers show classic examples of this technique. Of course there is more, but that has always struck me in US comedies - a strong reliance on this format. Not that's a bad thing. It never tires if the timing is right.. :)

[Bud 'n Lou]

zmanjz is right, a lot of American humor is visual/physical. There's also a certain cruel, "point-and-laugh" element to a lot of American humor. We like making fun of other people, especially public figures (Saturday Night Live). We like playing tricks on people (there are a few popular hidden camera shows here). And we like watching other people hurt themselves (Jackass). Of course, as zmanjz and SJJ pointed out, there are obviously other styles of humor. However, broad, physical comedy is the first kind that comes to mind for me. We've relied on this form of humor since the creation of motion pictures. More recently, there's been an evident attempt to break away from cultural taboos, so a lot of American humor can be pretty gross as well as antagonisitc.

[Daniel P]

American humor revolves around making fun of celebrities and public figures. George W. Bush is a favorite amoung humorists because of his grammer problems he had when he was governor of Texas.

[StarScream64]

Yeah, physical humor is a must. And we love to laugh at people getting hurt or doing stupid stunts because we just KNOW it could never happen to us. Like on America's Funniest Home Videos (which, truth be told, isn't all that funny, so you're probably not missing much.) there's always some guy crashing his bike into a wall, or a freak baseball hitting a guy, uh, where the sun don't shine. :D

We also go for one-liners. I stink at these so the only good example of one of those that I can come up with is Goofy's "How many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon?" from A Goofy Movie.

And anything unexpected or random seems to be funny. NARF!

[Andy Mancini]

And anything unexpected or random seems to be funny. NARF!
Yeah. Why do you think people find characters like Gir (Invader Zim), Homsar ("Homestar Runner"), or Excel (Excel Saga) funny? It's like this for many (myself included): Randomness = Wacky = Funny.

[TimTwoFace]

Yeah, don't rule out slapstick stupid comedy. That stuff is gold. When I think of that it's THREE'S COMPANY and DUMB & DUMBER for me - John Ritter and Jim Carrey are great physical actors in their own way. :)

-Tim

[Catlover]

I don't know any good american jokes, but I would recomend some books written by Louis Grizzerd and Dave Barry if you can find them. And I also recomend the Three Stooges.

[Andy Mancini]

Another thing that Americans find funny are things that make fun of stereotypes, like a culturally refined biker or Patrick Stewart reading rap lyrics.

[Lucky Bob]

Okay, first of all, it's "humor", not "humour". If we're talking about America, it's "humor." (And no, the actors don't get a "cheque", either!) :p

That said, I've always found one of the staples of American humor to be the famed "Situation Comedy", in which a character or a group of characters get themselves into an awkward predicament, try to use a semi-logical method for escaping that situation, and invariably end up making things worse until the end of the episode. It's a tried-and-true formula that NEVER tires if it's handled correctly. Good examples of this can be found in the old B&W Andy Griffith Show eps, I Love Lucy, and Perfect Strangers.

Hope that helps!

(And BTW, StarScream. I can vouch, there are AFHV-type shows in just about every country in Europe. Holland often shows the American version!)

[Daniel P]

I don't know any good american jokes, but I would recomend some books written by Louis Grizzerd and Dave Barry if you can find them. And I also recomend the Three Stooges.Ah, Dave Barry. That man is a comical genius. He never fails to make me laugh.

[The Landstander]

Beyond what everyone has already mentioned, parody has become a big part of American comedy. A good example of parody is the classic sitcom that Luckybob just mentioned. It has become so commonplace and regular in America that a lot of TV Shows has made fun of it (think "Family Guy", "The Brak Show", "That's My Bush!", "South Park", shows of that nature). Of course it doesn't end at sitcom (as pretty much everything is parodiable), but I think that's a good example.

[Terminatah]

American humor consists most basically of someone casually making light of inconsistensies and problems in our world.

As you will know, this includes elements such as corruptions in governing bodies or absurdities in social conventions. Our comedians do not wish for a better world, they merely wish to describe it in a clever way. We also enjoy hearing about everyday things such as pets or pop tarts.

-Terminatah

[Damien]

I think one of the best situational comedies is Seinfeld.
When it comes to telling jokes, nasty ones (sexual as well as gross) get the most laughs (I don't recommend them for class though)
There's also the classic phone pranking (like Crank Yankers).
And as was brought up before, silly stuff like Homestar Runner.

Wait..he said 2 days. How long has this thread been here? Oh well....

[Daniel P]

Wait..he said 2 days. How long has this thread been here? Oh well....It was started on the 11th, so I think we still have some time.

[turbomog007]

Like the old saying says Its all fun and games till someone gets hurt then it becomes comedy :) .

[Spastic Minnow]

To get the historical perspective reference Mark Twain. It would not be out of line to say that contemporary American humor stems from Mark Twain.

Check this out for an academic POV
Mark Twain and American Humor (http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?ID=327)

[Spastic Minnow]

I was thinking about this more and thought of another link between the humor of Twain and the modern American ironic humor. To really explain the unique American humor perspective you should also look into Will Rogers (http://www.willrogers.org/). Will Rogers used both the fronteir humor and wit of Twain as well as being a pioneer of sharp ironic political humor today used by such uniquely American humorists as Al Franken, Michael Moore and Dennis Miller.

[Salvor]

Thanks a lot to all of you guys! My presentation was this morning and it went really well... and thanks to you, I now realize American humor is all about Jackass :p

[zmanjz]

I now realize American humor is all about Jackass :p


Oh that is wrong on SO many levels. PLEASE tell me that was a joke...

(To compare it to current TV, It's more like Scare Tactics, Punk'd and various sitcoms).

but Jackass.... Most people over 27 can't stand that show (and even then, only a select few of their skits/stunts are actually funny.)