Text / Xiao Guanping
Contents: Chapter 1: A Brief Talk About British Humor Chapter 2: Little Britain Chapter 3: British and Chinese Chapter 4: British and American
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The British are the people that make me the happiest.
The British unit comedies I have watched mainly include "Mr. Bean", "IT Madman", "Black Bookstore" and this "Little Britain". (Pressed in 2018: I also watched TV series such as "Please Speak Mandarin", "Yes, Minister" and "Miranda", but they were not as impressive as the first four.)
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△ Briefly on British Humor
When a person does things that are completely inconsistent with his identity, he doesn't take it seriously, and others don't find it strange.
British comedy attaches great importance to interactivity, emphasizing the contrast between the actors and the bystanders. Although there are often one-man performances similar to "Bean", in general, the audience's laughter is still concentrated between the two. comparison.
Most British comedies in the post-Bean era have two male protagonists, who can fight each other and complain, but when I say "between the two", I mean more of the rivalry between the protagonist and the passerby.
For example, in "Master Ma", Fan Debiao had vivid rivalry with the public faces who only appeared once, such as vegetable saleswoman, road duty, tea house waiter, gangster, traffic policeman, drunk guest, dream interpreter, etc. (Northeast humor and British humor have some There are many similarities, which will be described later).
British humour is often built on seriousness and rigidity . Lin Yutang felt that the British and the Chinese have the same restrained temperament, and I think this similarity can be reflected in the philosophy of humor.
The British like to deny themselves, laugh at themselves anytime and anywhere, think in reverse, and turn the world around. He said he liked you, but he obviously hated you in his actions. He just praised you for your good performance today, and will treat you like before in a while. This is the contrast produced under the guidance of one's own thinking, which is different from the one between the two as mentioned above, but is completed independently by oneself.
In my article "Interpreting British Humor", I summarized the characteristics of British humor in the form of an outline as follows:
Seeing unusual things as ordinary, contrasting, ambiguity, basing happiness on other people's pain, bullshitting, boring debates, new ideas that don't make sense, imitating someone, superfluous, trying to do something, inconsistency in words and deeds, speaking without intention Beating yourself in the middle, extreme disharmony, doing something repeatedly, being relaxed at critical moments, avoiding important things, starting from small things in life, acknowledging other people's wrong views, suffering is a blessing, there is no silver here, no spirit, nothing to do, nothing to do Looking for trouble, two people constantly fighting, unexpected touching, a series of misunderstandings, out-of-time dress, accidental reversal of good and evil, bad words passing by, repeated mistakes, unnecessary seriousness, joking about anything, small things, not pressing Common sense, rambling, eternal metaphors, personification and childishness, word games, blind use of allusions, superfluous and cumbersome, wrong emphasis, self-righteousness, jokes that are not jokes, idiots, making fun of natives, making fun of friends , satirizing anyone, seriously digressing, magnifying a detail or feature, the counter-effect of being flexible...
These are just my rambling thoughts. To truly understand British humor, not only need to watch more British dramas, but also learn more about British history, culture and language. The complexity and variety of English help the British to form a humorous character, while the single rigidity of German makes the Germans solemn and dull . These two equally strict and conservative countries have very different people's personalities.
If we can start from the principle of humor itself and compare and summarize the characteristics of comedy in various countries, I believe it will be more helpful to understand and improve.
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The drama "Little Britain" has inherited the consistent British humor, full of creativity and funny. Some scenes make people laugh, but some are also unpleasant. As a fan of British dramas, first of all, we must support the BBC's continuous release of excellent works. Here I mainly comment on a few series of scenes I like in this play.
Part 1 Fake lame Andy and friend Lou
Andy, a big boy in a wheelchair, has disheveled hair, maroon glasses, a tight vest, and a fat body. Because of his limited mobility, his life is not very pleasant. Fortunately, he has a good friend Lou who is devoted to him, taking care of him all the time, attentive, careful, patient, and meticulous.
At any given moment, Lou would ask Andy which one he wanted, and Andy would never look at it, just point to the side, and say the classic line in a London accent with a blank face: "I want that one.” . After repeated confirmation, Lou followed his friend's wishes, and every time he got it, Andy would regret it.
Whenever there is a new and interesting or important reality, Lou will explain it vividly to Andy, and Andy will never impatiently say "Yes, I know." In fact, he does not know anything at all, but he uses innocent and The indifferent expression said that sentence, indicating that he knew a lot.
What's even more ridiculous is that Andy is not actually a lame man. Whenever Lou leaves Andy to go shopping or ask for directions, we will find that Andy is doing all kinds of thrilling actions behind him, and he is more vigorous and brave than normal people. , When Lou finished shopping, Andy was back in the wheelchair safely... This reminds us that "Zhou Xingchi" who was in prison could get out of the prison railings and get back naturally after finishing his work.
The stories between them are basically the same, only the Scenes and objects are changed, but the comedy effect is very obvious. British humour finds joy in the numbing repetition, and while Andy is always nasty and Lou is always stupid, I really like them.
Andy is like a naughty child. He is always inattentive to what his parents say, and he often plays pranks. And Lou is not so much a friend as Andy's parent, always doting, protecting and indulging his child, lost his eyes by the child's innocence, and can't see Andy's true colors. A little accident is a kind of fun, the friendship between them is the most tender part in "Little Britain", and their story is also the most memorable.
Part 2 Easy loading front desk
"The efficiency of the British people is very low, especially the hospital registration office and the travel agency registration point." This sentence can be used as the slogan of this scene series.
The nurse at the registration office and the front desk at the registration point (both played by David Walliams) have always been impatient in the face of all the guests who come to see a doctor or book tickets, always shaking their heads innocently and answering "Computer say no." Let others sympathize with her helplessness.
In fact, every time she just randomly pressed the keyboard a few times, nothing was entered in the computer, and those stupid patients and passengers actually believed her crazy words and discussed them seriously.
This kind of fake situation is also one of the important methods of British humor. If the hospital is a welfare unit, it is a lazy way for nurses to drive patients away in such an irresponsible way, then the travel agency is a profit-making place, and the front desk should try their best to drive customers away. However, the stupider you are, the more British you are.
What's even more unbearable is that whenever a guest eats a closed door or gets confused, he is in a very bad mood. The lady at the front desk even coughs badly at the customer and spreads bacteria and waste gas to others. British people The prank is so innocent, it makes people extremely shocking.
Part 3 Owner and customer
A customer goes to a different store every time to buy something, and the owner is always the same person. Although the decorations and items sold in each store are different, the buyers and sellers who appear are always the same, and there is no change in their dress.
Every time this guest comes, he will ask for something very specific and detailed, which is actually a "special" item that is impossible to buy in reality (for example, he wants to buy a movie that already knows all the details, but may not have been filmed; such as He's going to buy a painting of "Desperate Horse," which has no hope).
And the owner of the store is not familiar with the things in his store. He is like a new migrant worker. He doesn't know anything. Every time he encounters a problem from a customer, he will suddenly have an idea and step back mysteriously. Approaching the door of the warehouse, and then shouting "Margaret! Margaret!" , it will take a few seconds for a woman to answer, and this woman will never be heard.
In these spare seconds, the owner will make an embarrassed and shy expression to apologize every time, and the customer will smile in a friendly and devious smile. This detail is often depicted in close-up, so it is full of joy. . Then came the mysterious clerk Margaret, the owner repeated it, the customer replied, and the owner repeated it again. He became the communicator for the clerk and the customer, and he became non-existent and a ridiculous and ridiculous character.
This series reminds me of the scenes in "Master Ma" where Van Debiao bought eggplants and bargained and solved the disputes with people in the dream hall. The British humor and the humor of the Northeast have a lot to figure out, both of which can be used in ordinary and vulgar life. Find the little fun that others can't see.
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There is too much corrupt culture in this play, which is not "pure" compared with "Mr. Bean", "IT Madman" and "Black Bookstore", but due to the acting skills of the two leading actors, David Walliams and Matt Lucas, it is very exciting. Vision, so it also conquered us fans of British dramas. What is even more commendable is that the screenwriters of the entire play are also these two geniuses.
Speaking of which, Northeast culture has also begun to have a tendency to become corrupt. In an episode of "Benshan Happy Camp", Zhao Si asked Wang Changgui to send him a separate New Year's text message, saying: "As long as you don't let me live with you, I can do anything else. "After that, she beat Wang Changgui like a woman, and said coquettishly, "Why are you doing this to me?" It's similar to "Little Britain".
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△British and Chinese
"I want that one."
"Yes, I know."
"computer say no."
"Margaret! Margaret!"
These four sentences are the finishing touches in several units of the play. Just like the classic lines in Zhou Xingchi and Zhao Benshan's works, they can be blurted out and used in any occasion.
There are many people who like British humor, but few people think about the relationship between British humor and the works of Stephen Chow and Zhao Benshan, and think that Hong Kong-style comedies and Northeastern comedies have nothing to do with Britain.
But from the perspective of humor, the works of Zhou and Zhao are the closest to British humor in all parts of the world, but the cultural connotations of the three places are different, so they need to be expressed in different artistic forms. Mainly sitcoms, Zhou Xingchi mainly focuses on movies, and Zhao Benshan mainly focuses on sketches and TV series.
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△ British and American
"Hot humor", which is relatively easy to understand in the United States, often comes from the mouths of smart people (such as Mark Twain, the master of American humor), which will make people smile slightly, more like a kind of "wit", modern Hollywood movies More to comedy as an important funny means.
The "cold humor" of the British is not easy to understand. It often comes from the mouth of stupid people, which makes people laugh out loud from the bottom of their hearts . ), even difficult to stop, that is a kind of "clumsy".
Americans also describe stupid people, but their stupid people are eccentric in shape, strange in character, and exaggerated in expressions. At first glance, they are deliberately acting.
And the stupid people in the British drama come alive, from the royal cabinet to the dealers and pawns, they can all be stupid, often surprising and believable.
I can't wait to fly to London right now and experience the life of stupid people.
However, I heard from a few friends who studied in the UK that the real life in the UK is not as interesting as in the TV series. I think it is because life itself is boring and boring, and the British will enjoy this boring and turn dullness into a fun. , is their uniqueness.
Americans have too many fun things to do, so they spend their energy on exciting challenges, not like the British who are boring enough to tease the bits and pieces of life.
I prefer "IT Maniac" to "The Big Bang Theory". An article in the newspaper summed it up well: "British people have always looked down on American humor as unintelligent, vulgar and stupid, while Americans also satirized British humor as cold and callous."
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The 2012 London Olympics is about to be held. I wonder what interesting things these conservative and clumsy British people will bring to audiences around the world? Let's wait and see! (Press in 2018: Bean did make people laugh at the opening ceremony.)
Whatever, I love the British people.
2012.5.5 first draft 2018/7/10 revision
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