British Comedy

BRITISH HUMOUR

“It is clear that humour is far superior to humor.”

Oscar Wilde

What is Humour?

Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humors

What is Wit?

Wit like humour are two elements of the comic. The comic refers to any work of literature, whether a character, event, or utterance which is designed to amuse or to excite mirth in the reader or audience. The words wit and humour do have slightly different meanings. Wit signifies the faculty of human intelligence and inventiveness. (half-wit is the opposite)

Types of Humour

Sarcasm

Quotation marks around any word to make it funnier.

The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

Physical /Visual Humour Physical comedy, also known as slapstick is

a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.

Mr Bean

Charlie Chapin

The Three

Stooges

Satire Making fun of famous people in general. (

Political Satire)

The Macabre (Black Humour)

Monty Python sketch "dead parrot." In this sketch, a man tries to make another man believe that a parrot is dead

Death at a funeral

This was remade by the Americans

Pun/Sexual InnuendoA play on words where there is

a double meaning

Sexual innuendo is where one interpretation has a sexual nature.

Rainbow

ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the

characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule

Jack Black does Lord of the Rings

Topical or Cultural Reference Humour

This is humour that relate to the current issues in our society (and often be of a serious nature)

e.g. Muhammad drawings

Achmed the dead terrorist

How is British Humour different to US?

According to Stephen Fry

• Cruelty

British humour in particular can be cruel and sad.

Bullying and harsh sarcasm

Childish behavior

To laugh at people misfortune and bad luck

Racism

Making fun of the English and foreigners: Germans, French, Spanish, Irish,...

• More Smutty and innuendo in nature

•The Inbetweeners

Disrespect to members of the establishment:

Spitting Image and Margaret Thatcher

Other Sources to look athttp://www.buzzfeed.com/ministryoflaughs/10-reasons-british-comedy-is-

better-than-american

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/feb/10/comedy.television

http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/09/the-difference-between-american-and-british-humour/