some stuff about some humor

I am sitting here trying to gather my thoughts, which usually isn't that difficult, but our neighbor seems to be tap-dancing on the goddamn wall. Since our houses are connected, this is a major pain in the ass. In addition to this, my adorable husband seems to have taken his inner monologue and turned it inside out. As I am usually the one accused of doing this (not by him, but by any individual who has been in my presence for more than five minutes) it causes a unique reaction. The traits I possess myself, when displayed in other people, simultaneously invoke endearment and annoyance. I've done enough reading in my life to understand that this is apparently common to most of the human race.

It is because of this that I have both a serious love and serious limits with British humor. The line sits somewhere between "The Office" and "Borat". I think it settles just this side of "Peep Show"? But I love "Mitchell and Webb", and they are the equation that brings "Peep Show" to life.... argh. This is so complex. Why the hell is this so complex.



British television has a knack for bringing to life that unique reaction that explains EXACTLY why my husband doing what I usually do to unknowingly annoy people makes me feel like a yin-yang on crack. On the one hand, there is that comforting and relatable familiarity about everything. You feel like you could dive into the moment on the T.V. screen and be at home there. Even when you aren't from Guildford (where apparently everyone in this whole country comes from) and you've never seen people on BBC breakfast go on and on about nothing in particular, you still feel like you could be one of those really englishy English people in some comically embarrassing scenario involving too many peas. I love it already, and it isn't even real.

I'm not even joking about this - there is an actual famous comedy sketch where someone goes into a shop and is chronically misunderstood. He says one thing, the shop owner thinks he's said something else, and for all I know no one is speaking English the whole time. And I laugh at it nonetheless. It is still funny to me and I have no idea what the hell is going on. Something about forks. Or candles. Candle forks, whatever. I love these people. They make hilarity out of absolute air.



But then there is the other hand. The other hand involves showing the populace what happens when you take the bits everyone can relate to and amplify them. This is where I get caught. The comedy sketch or show or film starts out with characters that you empathise with, laugh with, and then things BUILD. And then they pull crap that you would never pull. But they TAKE YOU WITH THEM nonetheless. How the hell do they do this? I end up empathising with some magical relatable assholes. Then I get to a point where I can't tell who I am laughing at more: the crappy individuals on screen, or myself for being such an idiot for emotionally following them into some antics that I would never normally follow them into.

I'd put a youtube clip as an example, but that would defeat my point. You have to watch the full episode of whatever to truly get to the point where it all falls in place and you are deeply embarassed for the characters.

This is why British humor is so effective. If you get that far into the whole thing, you are laughing in multiple dimensions. The reason I get part of the way in and then can't deal with it is because I take a moment and analyze the crap out of whatever I am watching. It only takes a few seconds and you start mentally backpedalling. British humor does not accommodate this. You have to just go with it, or you're fucked. The funny is gone. And then you are just uncomfortable, and the British people you are watching the funny shows with get to laugh in three dimensions - at the show, at themselves, and at you for sitting there like a tosser and being embarrassed for people that don't even exist.