#american comedy

[roeiswriting]

how to: with john wilson daughter or joe pera talks with you son

[yonderghostshistories]

work in progress :3

(incase you were wondering, this is an art study of Gianmarco Soresi, one of my fave American comedians as of recent <33)

[vilevexedvixen]

US-centric discussions of autism

I've felt for a while now that discussions of autism are overly dominated by the US, and wealthy western countries more generally. Sure, the US has for the longest time dominated the English-speaking side of the internet since its inception and so naturally their perspective would be pervasive. What bothers me is that this fact isn't acknowledged much except in discussions of international politics, because it affects pretty much all topics of discussion at least a little. If we can acknowledge the clear limitations of the scope of Asperger (may he burn in hell)'s research on autism (being only on a small sample of young cis white boys), then surely we can extend that same awareness to the US-centrism of most discussions and research of autism.

This video is great on its own, but the stark cultural differences in styles of comedy between the US and UK got me thinking about cultural norms and autism. In many ways, the consistent bewilderment of American comedians trying to navigate the unspoken rules of British banter and panel shows feels reminiscent of the autistic experience (the Americans being autistic and the British being neurotypical, in this framing). Focusing on the prize or taking the game too seriously, or not seeing a point in taking it seriously if the points are given arbitrarily, generally having a harder time playing off of each other unless the panel show structure is swapped for improv, etc. Yet of course most of those Americans were not autistic and there are plenty of autistic British comedians who navigate the scene just fine.

I'm not great with social cues or vocal tones, but the meaning of tones do seem to differ greatly between the UK and US. The vocabulary and assumed tone also differ online, and American autistics have interpreted me as angry / aggressive when I wasn't and failed to pick up on my genuine anger / aggression when it arises. I can't remember their username (I will add it the next time I stumble across his stuff), but this guy does a great job of capturing the different meanings of the same phrase depending on how it is said. Which all easily get's lost in translation.

Weirdly, despite the use of tones (indirect communication throuh vocal tone) I find British people are more receptive to direct communication than Americans, especially when it comes to discussing negative things (death, shortcomings, things going badly and such) since a sort of positive nihilism seems to pervade Britain. Basically "Wa-hay! You're shit! I'm shit! We're all shit and this country fucking sucks!". Like a slightly absurdist riff of Russian Doomerism, coupled with a similar suspicion towards people who are overly friendly or smile "too much" (I have a resting smile, which was met with a fair bit of aggression since it is my smile and posture that people took issue with).

In the various American shows discussed in the video, it seems like Americans tend to be more clearly taking turn almost like a turn-based visual novel game rather than bouncing off of each other naturally as British comedians tend to do. It feels overly scripted, even when it's not. When an American is blunt, it tends to be in the form of an exaggerated declaration - whereas when a British person is blunt it's more understated. E.g. "WOW! That's SO disturbing!" versus "Well, that's disturbing.". Neither is better or worse but it can lead to the sincerity of either group's statement being misunderstood. I often cannot tell when an American is being sarcastic, and vice versa.

Most autistic rep (good and bad) is American, and I feel like a beneficial cultural exchange (other than broader autistic representation from across the globe) at least when it comes to the UK is having, for example, autistic chav characters in media. You do not show off your achievements or possessions (with some exceptions) in the UK. Nobody likes a showoff here, as you are more likely to be met with resentment rather than admiration. This culture of informal conformity leads plenty of autistic kids, but especially those born into (specifically white) chav families / communities to suppress sharing their special interests and spikey skill profile because the resentment it fosters often leads to alienation and potentially violence (being shanked in a park, hair pulled at a bus stop, etc.). Whereas in the US you're very much seemingly expected to show off and being "poor" is actively mocked or looked down on in a lot of communities (which never made sense to me).

This all is a bit of a ramble, but I just dislike how much of most conversations are from a US perspective especially when it's clear some societal norms lend themselves in favour of or against different autistic traits - leading to a fairly different autistic experience beyond the general differences of living in a different country.

[honeynon11]

Hi everyone I am currently completing my dissertation for uni. I am looking for people who identify as British or American to take part in an interview online that looks at the difference between British and American comedy.

If you are over 18 and would like to take part, please let me know.

If not could you please share this post

Thank you all ❤️

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: What do you think about John Oliver? (The British American comedian and talk show host.)

I honestly have no strong opinions about John Oliver only because I haven’t avidly watched all he’s done. What I have seen of his HBO show ‘Last Week Tonight’ left me lukewarm if not indifferent.

In England Oliver followed a well trodden path of most British comedian-satirists. He went through the Cambridge Footlights comedy club as a student at Cambridge - the seed bed of talent that included half of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Ayoade, and other notable writers and actors. But after that he reached what I say the second tier of British comedy fame by doing comedy gigs at Edinburgh every year, appearing on lots of BBC light hearted satirical news panel shows, and then briefly a podcast for the Times. So not a stand out success story.

But I don’t really blame John Oliver for that. It’s just how the comedy culture is in the UK. There just isn't that much room in Britain for non-standup comedians. It’s a very small ecosystem. If you're a stand-up (and I suspect, if you're represented by Avalon, the big UK comedy agents), you can get on the panel shows, do one man comedy tours, and probably get a sitcom gig - and thus make a decent living. If you're not quite that sort of comedian, or more of a writer/character comedian, you either scrape a living from Radio 4 for writing gigs, or you look elsewhere.

America came to Oliver’s rescue. He only really got visibility when his run of the mill stand up routines caught the attention of the producers at John Stewart’s Daily Show where he started as a writer. And the rest is history as they say with his own weekly satirical news show on HBO ‘Last Week Tonight’.

I don’t think it’s controversial to say he’s still not really known back in the UK. He’s an American citizen now from what I gather and so I’m sure he’s not too bothered given his own glittering achievement in the US.

But how may I explain why I feel underwhelmed towards the comedy of John Oliver?

I was comparing notes about the differences between American and Brit humour with an American work colleague who was at Harvard and almost did stand up comedy as alternative career in NYC but bombed. He really liked Oliver and really liked his humour. I couldn’t understand it until it dawned on me that Oliver’s brand of humour isn’t really British per se but very Americanised. I find a lot of his humour revolves around shouting things in a state of exasperated disbelief. In effect Oliver has that British sarcasm which, in the British accent, comes across as authoritative to the American ear and therefore more humorous. But he also has that classic American shouting and gawping aspect which typifies American comedy styles.

I think that type of humour isn’t really British and doesn’t go down too well as I think Brits prefer humour that is either more surreal or dry but delivered with more restraint, at least when it comes to political humour. I suspect a lot of Americans see him as the token ‘funny British guy’. That plays very well to American audiences. But I doubt being British in-and-of-itself isn't as easy to add to your comic persona if you're performing to a Brit audience.

Not to get meta but I think Oliver wants to have his cake and eat it. I get the suspicion that his performance is a performative in the sense that he plays what he thinks Americans like about British humour but it’s utterly watered down to the American market - in other words as dull as dish water and not very risqué or edgy that Brits are used to - or were until the cancer of woke infecting British comedy, case in point the canceling of foul mouthed but funny Scottish black comedian Jerry Sadowitz from the Edinburgh Fringe festival).

Worse, Oliver comes across as too polished for a Brit audience - “All tits and no teeth” as one comedian writer friend of mine at the BBC told me once.

I think if you see enough of his own show ‘Last Week Tonight’ you can lift the Wizard’s curtain and see the simple formula played on repeat each week.

Leaving aside the low hanging fruit easy gags (e.g. against Trump and Republicans in general). I have no issue going after politicians - I loathe them all - but it’s just not funny. Going after corporates is also fine. But I don’t think it’s particularly informative most of the time and especially where he is liable to misunderstand or twist facts. Not surprisingly his views on gender affirming care for children (ie mutilation and sterilisation of pre-pubescent children) is predictable hot mess of sheer ignorance and virtue signalling.

It’s not so much a criticism but as much older friends have pointed out that in many ways he’s mimicing an iconic satirical news show from the 1960s, David Frost’s ‘That Was The Week That Was’ that first broadcasting in 1962 and was a satire hit charting and subverting the changing nature of British society and cultural life in the 1960s. It didn’t last long but what it did was explode a satire bomb under British society for decades to come. In many ways it paved the way for Monty Python and Private Eye (a satirical magazine that still is the bane of the British political, media, and arts establishment).

Oliver’s show doesn’t have the comic wit and charisma to pull off great satire.

For me the irksome problem with Oliver is that he’s consciously manufactured being a British guy playing at being an American version of a British guy doing comedy. So the way he acts just doesn’t seem quite right to Brits looking in. Something smells off even as he looks and sounds so sanitised.

His brand of satirical comedy of speaking truth to power schtick doesn’t work in the UK if only because it’s already been done very well (Stewart Lee) or done really bad (Nish Kumar).

Moreover BBC shows like the long running ‘Have I Got News For You’ would be our equivalent of the Daily Show but as a panel show. Over its twenty odd years it been really good or just averaging, but it ticks that box of British self-deprecating style of humour while also dishing out cutting barbs. But whatever Oliver does still doesn’t come close to what British satire does (or used to do). 

Thanks for your question.

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[twnenglish]

Lessons From The Movie- THE INTERN

The American comedy The Intern, written and directed by Nancy Meyers, stars Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. The protagonist is a 70-year-old widower who works as a senior intern for an online fashion company.

The problem is that Ben Whitaker (Robert De Niro), who believes retirement will be too repetitive, applies to a program for senior adults who wish to intern. He is full of life and has a great life, but he needs something to focus on now that his wife is gone. He studied Mandarin, yoga, and other topics, but his true passion is for work. It, therefore, seems that he will gain a lot from this internship. He sends in an application to a quickly growing e-commerce fashion startup, wows everyone, and is hired. The company's creator, Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), is one individual who is not very fond of the concept.

The company's founder, Jules Ostin, is portrayed by Anne Hathaway. She is first dubious, but as the narrative goes on, she comes to appreciate how amazing Ben is.

Numerous lessons that are revealed during the course of the film and the growth of their relationship are what we want to concentrate on today. These are some life lessons that this movie might teach you.

Lessons From The Movie- THE INTERN

1. Trust

Even the accumulation of all the books, novels, movies, and other media won't be able to help you understand the significance of this value and the worth it contains. Once you've had the experience, you can fully know this. It's amazing how the characters' credibility grows with time. Being able to trust someone is pure happiness; cherish and protect it since it is fragile despite being important.

2. Your Dreams

Our aspirations and we have a similar relationship to a child and his parents. Only the parents can make educated guesses about how their child is doing, and it is unlikely that any other parent could fully comprehend another parent's child. The same is true of your dream; only you have the capacity to comprehend the significance it contains. It's doubtful that anybody else would, once more. Even close family members occasionally fail to comprehend how important your ambition is to you. You must make sacrifices and learn to pursue and love your ambitions on your own since you cannot rely on others to understand you or your dreams.

3. Take some time out of work

Because it is implied, this is one of the lessons you must discover for yourself. Jules Ostin's character, Anne Hathaway, spends so much time working on her endeavour that she barely ever has time for her family. And as the film progresses, she herself discovers its worth. She had mental chaos as a result of not spending much time with their family, on top of her other responsibilities. And when the entire world is crushing you, you certainly don't want your family to be there to support you.

4. Entrepreneurship sucks without access

One of the most significant lessons to take away from this film is this. It is displayed right away and appears often throughout the picture. You'll witness Anne (Jules) riding bicycles across the floor where she works, greeting everyone as she passes by each workstation. Through this gesture, she conveys the idea that in order to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must be approachable to practically all of your subordinates. They want to be heard the most because both your and their careers are just getting started, therefore they want to make sure their ideas are considered as well.

5. Never Underestimate others

Again, this is a brilliant notion that we frequently overlook due to a variety of personal factors, the most well-known of which are ego, overconfidence, etc. You will learn how Anne undervalues the aid of veteran interns in their company, where everything must be kept as current as possible. However, she quickly learns that the counsel from the elderly is not really helpful after all. Instead, the conversations you will see in this film all include subliminal implications for millennials and generation Z, who appear to be outdated and useless. However, it is precisely these signals that alter the lives of others in their immediate vicinity. One of these teachings is to always carry two handkerchiefs and act like a gentleman. Yes, I can see the smile on your face as you scoff at the lesson. Well, watch the movie to find out how many times it has saved lives. You'll observe how a simple handkerchief almost prevents the end of a relationship.

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