Sense of humours around the world

[caitaintdead]

Not for the first time, one of my posts has been deleted for reasons unbeknownst to me. I figure that this is because Australian's have a very distinct sense of humour that does not always translate well to people from other countries, much the same way a lot of American comedy does not appeal to me. I don't for two seconds think that the people here do not have a sense of humour and I would love to hear your thoughts about your countries sense of humour and what you relate to.

I found this on the official Australia government website which I feel is incredibly telling about the way Australia sees humour. Here is the link to the full article - Australian humour | australia.gov.au

And a few of my favourite parts:

Our humour is dry, full of extremes, anti-authoritarian, self-mocking and ironic.

The country itself is the ultimate joke; the wave you body-surf into shore after a day at the beach could contain a shark or a rip-tide and, when you get back, your house could have been burnt to the ground in a bush fire. That's where the whole 'no worries' thing comes from.
Mark Little

A black sense of humour - A (perhaps unintentional) example of this is the naming of the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Pool in Melbourne after a Prime Minister who disappeared whilst swimming in the ocean in 1967.

In Australian literature - The work is described by the author as 'a tale told by a vulgarian, full of slang and blanky, signifying nothing'.

In film - Films have found humour in mocking authority. Strictly Ballroom (1993) and The Castle (1997) are prime examples of finding humour in situations where the little guy stands up to authority and wins.

So tell me, what is your sense of humour? Where are you from? Do you feel like your country has a specific sense of humour that other countries do not understand?

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Does someone really delete your posts, threads and now your are complaining about it. Or as your post states:
Not for the first time, one of my posts has been deleted.. ..
Ever thought it might be that persons sense of humour to remove all your posts, and now, because of your complaining they are having hysterics.
Thing is, if this post stays here and it isn't deleted are you complaining about nothing?
Wouldn't it be funny if this post was deleted.

 

[AnthonyCordova]

That sounds a little different, but not terribly different from my sense of humor. I especially can relate to black humor. It might be less an issue of the kind of humor you use and more an issue of how it's expressed...(?). I have no idea though, I can't recall details of your past posts. Internet etiquette is tricky when expectations don't match what you are accustomed to. Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself if what someone posted as a response to me was intended to be baiting, insulting, back-handed, or if I am just reading into the post something that actually isn't there somehow. People also post fairly casually and with little thought after the fact most of the time, so sometimes it can be a matter of carelessness.

I get what you mean though (the frustration). In Chicago (and also California) people are more blunt, honest, less concerned about being offensive or pc, etc. and when my friends go to these places with me they often get offended, when in fact they don't realize that it isn't personal, that's just how people are conditioned there. Colorado people are nice, real nice...excessively nice actually. After being in Chicago awhile I at first appreciated how nice everyone in Denver was...but after awhile I begun to resent them a little bit too for being so sensitive about every last thing. And after awhile in Chicago or Cali I start to yearn for nice Colorado people again lol. I know this has little to do with your question about senses of humor, but it might help contextualize what might be happening to you and your posts.

 

[Blaze]

I think you have a point about the differences in culture and humour. Not only that, but even within a country different culture tend to have different humour. For example, I cannot stand American humour, at least not the kind of humour shown in movies (which is of course not representative of the whole country, but Hollywood humour does not appeal to me). But a darker humour, more subtle, I love. I tend to enjoy British comedies.

But even in Canada, the French and the English have a very different definition of funny. English people tend to be much more PC, less blunt, and they joke on entirely different things than the French. It's really funny when I'm hanging out with friends and half are English and the other French, because what we think is hilarious they usually look at us like were nuts, and than they laugh over stuff and were like really? That's not funny! But overall French humour is a lot more crude, it's definitely not for everyone.

Another issues not related to culture, but more so to the internet, is that often the tone of the message and humour, or sarcasm, does not translate on screen. So it can be hard to interpret a certain post. Sometimes something that is meant as funny comes off as rude over the internet.

 

[HowiMetdaSlayer]

I'm an American gal (midwest) and don't find lots of american comedies that funny. To be fair, that's probably true of comedies (TV & films) from other parts of the world. 😉

 

[Puppet]

As is often said where I'm from; if people call the British sense of humor 'dark', then the Danish would be 'black' 🙂