OMG! I Miss American-Style Humor So Much!

The other day I got an INCREDIBLY funny video from my friend Kouichi (bro, you’re always sending me cool stuff, thanks!). This Funny or Die Sketch was probably was about Captain Planet. Does anybody remember that cartoon? There were the five teenagers (I assume they were teenagers anyway) from different parts of the world who were each given a magic ring. There was an earth ring, a fire ring, a wind ring, a water ring, and the heart ring. I don’t know about you guys, but if I was the dude that ended up with the heart ring, I would be been like “Hell naw, Gaia (the spirit of the earth), you’re gonna have to get me another ring.” LOL. Needless to say the aims for the show were quite wholesome. It was a cartoon based on ecology, and I don’t know how they pulled off the marketing, but a lot of kids ended up watching that cartoon. The cartoon was so wholesome, but this Funny or Die sketch puts a crude, macabre, and slightly creepy spin on Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Some of you may have seen it already, but if you haven’t, I’ll just tell you in advance that it has pretty strong language, but I really thought it was funny. I was nearly in tears:

I really miss comedy like this, not because I’m not able to see it, but because there aren’t a whole lot of people to share it with, people who’d fully appreciate it.

Humor really varies from country to country. Japanese humor is somewhat different from American humor. I sometimes can’t grasp a lot of humor because I’m still working on the language. But there are some Japanese comedians that are really funny without having to understand a lick of the Japanese.

I sometimes find that even with other English-speaking foreigners (Australia, England, New Zealand…), there is sometimes a different take on what’s funny and what’s not.

While some American comedians are more in your face funny. There is a lot of British humor (and I’m guessing that it might be similar in New Zealand and Australia) that’s more high brow. Not to say that high brow comedy isn’t funny, because it can be, but it’s not the type of comedy I grew up watching. I grew up listening to Eddie Murphy’s foul-mouthed stand up and thought it was hilarious. I used to watch Saturday Night Live religiously (during that Chris Farley, David Spade, Cheri O Teri, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey…era).

I find if I mention some of the comics I like (who I assumed were just universally funny) with other non-American, English-speaking foreigners, Chris Rock, Dave Chappell, Will Ferrell, etc. …they kind of get brushed aside like “I’m not really a fan.” Whereas in America, a lot of people can identify with those comedians.

It could be because comedy can sometimes builds on some type of context or assumption. Maybe for people who come from other English-speaking countries, an American comedian may be delivering from a context they may not be familiar with. Even for those living in America, if you grew up in a different region, there may be some differences in what you find funny and what you don’t.

Well, regardless of whether or not people appreciate it or not. I’ll still keep watching my very direct, sometimes a little-edgier-than-it-should-be comedy, because it really makes me laugh. But I do sometimes miss watching a good, side-splitting comedy with a group of my friends. There’s no having to explain humor or the context, no worrying about whether or not the people with you are going to like it, nobody’s going to be offended or put-off…it’s effortless.

Back to You Tube I’ve got to feed my comedy need.

See you tomorrow,