Successful comedians who travel the international circuit learn to adapt and vary their act depending on audience response. The British-born Bob Hope was taken to the United States by his parents to live as a baby, and he received an honorary knighthood from the Queen in 1998 at the age of 95. Yet he did not go down well in the Middle Kingdom, where many of his sallies fell flat when he visited China in 1979. Conversely, Jerry Lewis has been a great success in France, even more so, some Americans will tell you, than in his native United States.
When Bob Hawke was Prime Minister of Australia, he made a speech before a group of (what are sometimes described by foreigners as) inscrutably-faced Japanese (McGregor, 1997:). 'I promise you this,' Hawke said, with his carefully placed punchline, 'We will never play silly buggers with you.' One wonders how the Japanese interpreters handled the situation. Myth has it that it came out as, 'We won't play funny homosexuals with you,' although this has been denied. It is frequently said Australian humour does not travel well. On hearing of the involuntary buffoonery of Hawke, one can understand why.
With some jokes and ways of telling them (like, 'Have you heard the one about the commercial traveller...?' [Chinese do not employ this kind of approach]), it is necessary to understand the cultural background of the country. To make it more difficult, as we have seen, some expressions are almost impossible to translate properly. A real-life comedian may have got over Hawke's situation by quipping: 'Please excuse; my Japanese is not yet wonderful. Please laugh now!' Such remarks could well have had the Japanese in stitches.
With some forms of humour, as found at the circus, music hall, or pantomime, language need not be a barrier. Charlie Chaplin's act included a blend of slapstick and pathos (Kao, 1946). He was a great tragedian and managed to arouse pity for himself among the audience. He was an immortal not only in the West but also in China. With his own blend of comedy, characterised by mistaken identity, embarrassment, horseplay, and physical action, including the pie in the face, the slip on the banana peel, and the falling petticoat, Chaplin was also a great success in Asia. He made fun of being miserable, and the Chinese saw ludicrousness in the pathos of life.
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Successful comedians who travel the international circuit learn to adapt and vary their act depending on audience response. The British born Bob Hope was taken to the United States by his parents to live as a baby and he received an honorary knighthood from the Queen in 1998 at the age of 95. Yet he did not go down well in the Middle King- dom where many of his sallies fell flat when he visited China in 1979 . Conversely Jerry Lewis has been a great success in France, even more so, some Americans will tell you, than in his native United States.
When Bob Hawk was Prime Minister of Australia he make a speech before a group of (what are sometimes described by foreigners as) in- scrutably-faced Japanese (McGregor, 1997:). I promise you this,' Hawke said, with his carefully placed punchline, 'We will never play silly buggers with you.' One wonders how the Japanese interpreters handled the situation. Myth has it it came out as, 'We won't play funny homosexuals with you,' although this has been denied. It is frequently said Australian humour does not travel well. On hearing of the invol- untary buffoonery of Hawke one can understand why.
With some jokes and ways of telling them (Like, 'Have you heard the one about the commercial traveller ...?' [Chinese do not employ this kind of approach]) it is necessary to understand the cultural back- ground of the country. To make it more difficult, as we have seen, some expressions are almost impossible to translate properly. A real- life comedian may have got over Hawke's situation by quipping: 'Please excuse; my Japanese is not yet wonderful. Please laugh now!' Such remarks could well have had the Japanese in stitches.
With some forms of humour, as found at the circus, music hall or pantomime, language need not be a barrier. Charlie Chaplain's act in- cluded a blend of slapstick and pathos (Kao,1946). He was a great tragedian and managed to arouse pity for himself among the audience. He was an immortal not only in the West but also in China. With his own blend of comedy, characterised by mistaken identity, embarrassment, horseplay and physical action, including the pie in the face, the slip on the banana peel and the falling petticoat, Chaplin was also a great success in Asia. He made fun of being miserable and the Chinese saw ludicrousness in the pathos of life.
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