Difference Between British and American Humor?

[mrhappyface]

Why is American Humor so Different from British Humor? I recognized this difference when I turned off the Monty Python movie to watch the South Park movie showing on TV. Although I would say American humor is more crass and is willing to cross more boundaries, I would say British is a little bit more sophisticated, if not completely foreign or incomprehensible to my undeveloped American brain, but why the huge difference?

 

[tomtom94]

It's because Americans aren't clever enough tend to appreciate a different kind of humour. It's the same with Germans and French, every country has its own brand of humour.
Personally, I liked Krod Mandoon (a big example of "American humour") but Americans don't seem to take to British humour quite so easily for some reason.

 

[Steveh15]

We in Britain like to think we have the most sophisticated sense of humour. That for some reason American's can't understand irony, sarcasm or whimsy.

Well that's bullshit. By and large American comedy is just as good and just as sophisticated as UK comedy. I don't see that many differences to be honest.

 

[ribonuge]

British humour has intelligence. I can't say too much for the latter.

 

[Griphphin]

A big part of comedy is referencing everyday situations and issues, which differ from country to country obviously.

 

[FactualSquirrel]

Well the difference is probably to do with the evolution of cinema/tv in the different countries, although I wouldn't know.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

All I've noticed is that British stand-up is a LOT better. Oh apart from Reginald D Hunter, he's pretty good.

 

[Dark Knifer]

I find british comedy more elaborate and sophisticated. American comedy is more straight forward, just has some very random in between bits.

 

[Kortney]

It depends on what you mean. British humor today is very subtle and clever. More so than American humor generally.

In the past however, British humor was slightly wacky. Monty Python was incredibly "random" at times, and it was more wacky than anything America was running.

 

[Flames66]

We in Britain like to think we have the most sophisticated sense of humour. That for some reason American's can't understand irony, sarcasm or whimsy.

Well that's bullshit. By and large American comedy is just as good and just as sophisticated as UK comedy. I don't see that many differences to be honest.

There are differences. Some are just a bit difficult to spot.

British humour has intelligence. I can't say too much for the latter.

I would disagree with you there (this coming from an English person). I would say that the one of the main differences is that American humor is more obvious, while British Humour tends to be more sarcastic and, apparently for Americans, harder to see.

British humour is often about how unsatisfactory life is, followed by how amusing this is when looked at in an abstract way. In my experience (I do not claim to be an expert, I'm just loquacious), Americans don't see this as humor, they seem to see it as complaining and just stating events and occurrences.

I often find myself not laughing at American humor because I find it too obvious. I would explain this by saying that American humor drawn too much attention to itself for my taste. British humour I have always found is more subtle. This is not a matter of intelligence, but of taste. (btw i used humor to refur to American stuff and humour to talk about British stuff, just to be clear)

 

[Booze Zombie]

I feel that Americans are more in your face, whilst the British seem to play around with words and make the audience guess what the punch line is, hide it a bit.

 

[Kiefer13]

British Humour is funny.

[small]and is spelled correctly.[/small]
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[small]Note: Before you start flaming me, realise I'm being a tiny bit facetious. (On the spelling front, anyway)[/small]

 

[Peanut Butter]

Subtlety

 

[ribonuge]

British humour has intelligence. I can't say too much for the latter.

I would disagree with you there (this coming from an English person). I would say that the one of the main differences is that American humor is more obvious, while British Humour tends to be more sarcastic and, apparently for Americans, harder to see.

British humour is often about how unsatisfactory life is, followed by how amusing this is when looked at in an abstract way. In my experience (I do not claim to be an expert, I'm just loquacious), Americans don't see this as humor, they seem to see it as complaining and just stating events and occurrences.

I often find myself not laughing at American humor because I find it too obvious. I would explain this by saying that American humor drawn too much attention to itself for my taste. British humour I have always found is more subtle. This is not a matter of intelligence, but of taste. (btw i used humor to refur to American stuff and humour to talk about British stuff, just to be clear)

I agree with you there. American humour is too obvious, hence making it less intelligent. Irony and sarcasm are more advanced forms of humour in my opinion. I just don't like American comedy apart, with Bill Hicks being the exception. Although even he, can be somewhat predictable. My sense of humour is odd, and is fed by the likes of David Mitchell and Peter Serafinowicz. So when I see American comedy, it just feels like it is lacking something.

 

[GreyWolf257]

It seems to me like Brits can either be extremely stupid with their humor (Monty Python) or extremely crass (About everything else). If I were to make American comedy, I would start by saying "Haha, that guy said 'crass,' and crass has the word ass in it." To be truthful, I love both kinds of humor for different reasons.

 

[Steveh15]

Sorry but I have to disagree that American comedy is less intelligent and generally all around not as good. I think it's fair to say that the UK has a better stand up scene, but that's because of the size of our country essentially. It's the same with Indie music and the such, because we've got national TV and radio and that a new act can play in a new city, sometimes even two cities, every single night means we have a far more dynamic stand up scene and it's easier for smaller acts to get going.

But on the other hand, The Daily Show, Arrested Development, Demetri Martin, Seinfield and Curb Your Enthusiasm, David Cross and the sketch show he did. The list goes on. I recently saw a hilarious American Duo called the Pajama Men.

American comedy at it's best is just as good as British humour. You yanks need to stop putting yourself down.

 

[Xhu]

Just look at the difference between UK comedy, and US adaptations of the same shows. Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a good example.

 

[inmate655321]

There are large gaps in the way we perceive things. As an American, I prefer English humor, honestly. But its different in some cases. I prefer the American version of the Office to the British version. Spaced was one of the best shows I've ever seen and it only had 14 episodes

Why are british sitcom series so short? I've always been curious about that. Two seasons of Spaced were 7 episodes each.

Most American sitcoms are just dumb with canned laughter. Empty, mindless humor. British humor is a bit more verbose and general. Less topical.

 

[Kiefer13]

There are large gaps in the way we perceive things. As an American, I prefer English humor, honestly. But its different in some cases. I prefer the American version of the Office to the British version. Spaced was one of the best shows I've ever seen and it only had 14 episodes

Why are british sitcom series so short? I've always been curious about that. Two seasons of Spaced were 7 episodes each.

Most American sitcoms are just dumb with canned laughter. Empty, mindless humor. British humor is a bit more verbose and general. Less topical.

I'm pretty sure it's usually because they tend to have smaller creative teams. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BritishBrevity]