JOKING-DOWN & JOKING-UP on ONE'S IDENTITY: (1)

Hey guys,

Thursday night is our Choir Rehearsal. In every choir member's pigeon hole are 20 or more song sheets. Of the 20, we usually practice about a dozen. So, 15 minutes before the rehearsal starts, all members have to arrange the song sheets based on what the choir conductor is planning to have us sing that night.

One Thursday, as we were sorting our individual song sheets, a Caucasian guy sitting near me was having problem looking for one of the songs. He was about to give up, when I stood up to help. The song sheet was right on his nose, on top of the others song sheets, which he placed aside. I said, "Be thankful that I have a broad nose!" and we all laughed our hearts out.

Now, listen to this very brief You Tube clip on Carlos Mencia's humor on the Filipinos. (Oh, sorry guys, when I checked it on You Tube again, the clip was deleted.)

However, if you would still like to listen to it, check it out by entering on search, video detective:Carlos Mencia in The Best of Funny is Funky Scene.

Anyway, Carlos Mencia's joke was like this:

Filipinos!
What's your name? (Talking to a Filipino in the audience)
John. (The guy's response)
What are the original Filipino names? You don't know? Is your father from the Philippines? Does your father still not pronounce the /f/?
(The audience laughs)
No, people from the Philippines have no /f/ in their vocabulary. So, that's why when you ask them, they'll say, "I'm prom the Pilippines!"
(The audience laughs)


Carlos humor is based on truth. However, would you find it funny if you are a Filipino?

Would you still consider it funny if you'd know that Carlos Mencia is Latino? (Yes, his father is Honduran; his mother is Mexican.)

Kindly write me your thoughts, either right under this blog or through my email, edMindustan@gmail.com. I would like to have a hearty discussion on joking-down and joking-up on one's identity and what it's got to do with "being comfortable in your own skin".

Have a good weekend, guys.

Jokes: Why They don't Click Cross-culturally?

As a Filipino, who resides in Los Angeles County, I regularly watch Channel 18's Kababayan LA, the only locally produced Filipino TV program in the USofA. While watching it on Thursday, July 17, I was intrigued with the response of Allan K, the well-known Filipino comedian and a mainstay of the #1 Philippine noontime TV showEat Bulaga, when he was asked on the difference of the Filipino from the American jokes. Allan K shied away from the question by saying that Filipino audience are very sensitive that comedian should be tactful when cracking jokes with them.

Trained to systematically observe social interaction among members of society, I never considered Filipino sensitivity, per se, as a difference between American and Filipino jokes. Every member of society has his or her sensitivity. Why? I tell you why. When a message is sent, the receiver has to sift it through his/her culture (i.e. language, morals, values, educ., arts, etc.)and his/her psychological self. The person's culture and psychological make-up make the difference in understanding and responding to a message. Whether you are a Filipino, British, or American, the process of communication is still the same.

A joke is a humorous message. The audience needs to understand the joke to respond appropriately. Culturally, we, Filipinos, usually crack jokes with antic. We also tend to repeat or explain the punchline. The antic and the premature unveiling of the punchline make Filipinos laughing, and allow me to exaggerate, even before the joke is said and done. Americans don't (although I have been seeing changes nowadays, when I watch the TV program, The Last Comic Standing); they say the punchline once, at the very end of the joke. Then, the comedian stops. Those whose mother tongue is English and those completely assimilated to the American society, could laugh right away in response to the joke because they imediatley get the message; for those whose mother tongue isn't, they tend to smirk. They consider it unamusing. Why? Because the culture (i.e. the language,morals, etc.) and the intellect (i.e. the grasping of the meaning) take awhile to process the joke.

Ability to understand the language used in the joke is highly important with how people respond to it. Sensitivity (maybe the best term is cultural norm) is just part of it. I bet you, many American English speaker would find this British joke unamusing: "I used to dress off the peg, but now my neighbours take in their washing at night." Those who don't know that peg to British is a clothespin would respond to this joke differently.