Sense of humour
An old woman goes to the greengrocers: “Can I have a kilo of potatoes but each must be different, I am fed up with twins.”
The only people laughing right now should be Poles, because the above is a fairly typical example of a translated Polish joke. Of all the things in life one can embrace in a new country, the sense of humour is the one thing I have yet to fully get to grips with here in Poland. I must have been the target of about a thousand Polish jokes over the years and so far I think I’ve laughed at three and that was only because they were taking the piss out of Bush or some other recognisable figure. Your average, run-of-the-mill Polish joke leaves me cold as a frozen turkey.
The Poles seem equally unable to grasp anything other than what I consider to be the worst of British comedy. They say silly things like “You British have such a great sense of humour. I really love Mr Bean, Benny Hill & Keeping Up Appearances!”. I smile. We move on to the next subject. I was browsing the “Polish Press” blog I link to on this site and there was an article about “Little Britain” being shown on Polish state TV. The fact that they would choose such drivel to show in the first place says a lot about how they see British humour. To then censor it quite severely to remove any rather course punchlines (in this instance regarding gay priests), thus removing its one and only claim to fame, is just plain stupid and shows how little they really understand. Buying the rights to “Little Britain” and then removing all the “dodgy bits” is a bit like buying a cheap car and then taking the wheels off. It was crap to start with and now it is useless crap!
I know “Little Britain”, Keeping Up Appearances”, “Benny Hill” and similar so-called comedy was very popular in the UK but is that any excuse to export it and contaminate other cultures? This stuff should be treated like nuclear waste and be carefully disposed of after use in concrete shelters way below ground in Siberia.
I’m not sure what to make of all this. Is this good, because I still retain what I consider to be the best sense of humour in the world, cutting-edge, intelligent, British. Or is this bad because it means I still have an incredibly long way to go before I can say I have fully embraced the Polish culture?
Hi;)
That’s an interesting bit…. Did you see, by the way, what kind of stuff does BBC serve Polish viewers on their own foreign markets channel? ‘Two beers and a pocket of crisps’- and likes, when the comedy department is considered.
As a proud Polish owner of a sky digibox
I still find it dificult to name shows with high-bro comedy. ‘Shameless’? ‘8 out od 10 cats’?
I think, tell me if I’m wrong, the thing with British humour is that you can find it in all sorts of shows that aren’t plain comedies. Series, Dramas etc. And since often it involves things like reference to stuff from British culture, known mostly to the British, or not-so-funny for foreigners – it just doesn’t make through…
Pawel
Sunday, 9 December, 2007 at 11:06 am
Pawel,
We get BBC Prime through Aster City and so I know the kind of nonsense they push out as being “the best of the BBC”. The comedy there is mostly junk but I suspect this is more because that’s what there is demand for, worldwide, rather than because they think it’s the best. Then again………
You’ll have to help me work out how to get Sky working here for less than a million złote. I was thinking about getting it installed again.
British humour, the kind that I like anyway, is definitely more subtle than most of what we’re talking about here and does come up in programmes that are not sit-coms although there can be the odd sit-com that is good. The problem is that it is very transient. Something can be excellent when it first comes out but then quickly becomes outdated, boring and unfunny.
I have more difficulty defining what I like and giving examples, than I do saying what I don’t like!
I see you’re from, or “are”, the Polish Press blog. I only found it today, you’re doing a great job!
scatts
Sunday, 9 December, 2007 at 11:21 am
Good British comedy? Where does one start…
Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Dads Army, Porridge, Fawlty Towers, Alexei Sayle, Black Adder (series 2 to 4), The Young Ones, Bottom, Victor Lewis-Smith, Red Dwarf, Fast Show, Harry Enfield, Alan Partridge, Chris Morris, The Day Today, The Office, Extras and of course ‘Withnail and I’. I could go on.
Polish comedy? “Trzynasty posterunek”? As funny as being born dead with cancer. The only Pole that can really make me laugh is Przekrój cartoonist Marek Raczkowski, my tip as Poland’s Top Humourist of our times.
Michael Dembinski
Sunday, 9 December, 2007 at 5:32 pm
hmmmmm. Tricky thing humour.
As one of three brothers growing up to Polish parents in London I remember when my mum used to come and tell us a new really funny Polish joke she’d just heard, laughing herself silly whilst we looked at each other blankly wondering where we’d missed the punchline. 13ty posterunek I always took as the polish version of english comedy – and believe it or not it worked sometimes – honest:)
Polish mother in law joke – man rushes home to his wife and starts runnig round in a panic telling everyone to get the house tidy, clean the car, the kids rooms …His wife runs after him and says ‘ so how’s my mum then,, you rang and you said the doctors called you into hospital, is she coming home? what’s wrong, is she o.k? talk to me… The man is trying to get dressed, shouting at the kids, not now he says, his wife is crying’ what’ happened? , tell me is she very sick, what did they tell you? finally she grabs him ‘ What did the doctor say?!!’
‘He told me to expect the worst’
AdtheLad
Monday, 10 December, 2007 at 12:28 am
Ok, three things:
1. In the joke that opens this post is the reference to “twins” political, or is it about the astonishing prevalence of twins in Poland generally. I only ask because I’m engaged in a long-running debate in which I contend that there is a twin obsession in this country. I seem to see them all the time and am always coming across references.
2. Pawel is polishpress!? For some reason I was sure that polishpress was a Pawlina rather than a Pawel.
3. Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps is deeply funny, but only if you’re English, or possibly only if you’re me.
island1
Monday, 10 December, 2007 at 1:33 am
Michael: Alternatywy 4? Was the first time I laughed at Polish humor.
island1
Monday, 10 December, 2007 at 1:39 am
1. Don’t know but from what you say there may actually be some sense in it. I’ll have to find a better example of what I mean. Shouldn’t take too long!
2. Pass again. I just clicked the “Pawel” above and got sent to that site. Perhaps someone will explain.
3. Only if you’re you, I think.
scatts
Monday, 10 December, 2007 at 9:59 am
I think AdtheLads joke is universal when it comes to MIL jokes. I am otherwise not too familiar with Polish Jokes. I know British humour from PBS, Are You Being Served, Monty Python Flying Circus, Benny Hill, and Mr Bean. I did get the Polish joke about the potatoes but only because of reading the Polish news.
Chris
Tuesday, 11 December, 2007 at 7:52 pm
hello again:)
1. as to having sky in Poland there are three options, none of them really good;)) option one is to buy a used digibox on eBay and watch Channel4 and 5 for free (won’t work with a new set). Option two is to have your digibox registered in the UK and have someone pay the subscribtion fee (my option, thank you mum and dad heheh). Option three is to buy a digibox from one of the half-legal companies selling sky subscriptions to Europe. There is fourth option, which is complicated as hell, and unless you have masers in IT you won’t know how to do it:). there are some pretty good hackers who can hack the codes of satellite cards, and then they put it on the internet. You only have to buy some fancy receiver that is nearly as complicated as DOS computer, set it up, download something on it, and voila. Or at least that’s how I understood it.
One more thing. You won’t be able to watch any of BBC, RTE or ITV channels unless you have a 3 metre dish (i’m not joking). These channels are transmitted, I heard, at a very weak signal to prevent copyright infringement by anauthorised access from the continent:)) 90cm is enough to get C4, C5, Sky3 and SkyNews (free) and all other channels (if you have subscribed of hacked them)
2. word of explanation to scatts: I’m Pawel and I run Polishpres – that’s why a link sent you there:) island1 and I have read each other’s blogs before (i love his, but can’t visit it too often as it’s so entertaining and funny that I end up spending too much time on the internet). I also run this: fab.blog.pl but maily to keep in touch with all the friend who relocated Britain;)))
3. Island1: I’m not Pawlina, although I’m gay, and I’m a bit camp so you weren’t that wrong;)) lol
4. To Michael Dembinski: all those examples are old and long boring. It IS difficult to name a contemporary high-bro British comedy title. At least one’d have to think about it.
Pawel
Wednesday, 12 December, 2007 at 2:16 am