Er asmus und das schlimme ist diese art Comedians füllen ganze Stadions mit ihres gleichen^^ sein wir ehrlich guter Humor muss schwarz sein, so schwarz das dein eigener Schatten dir noch ein Bein stellt probier mal serdar somuncu, volker pispers & co (kabarett)
Hmm, I understand why you described this video as "your most controversial" in another vid. You said that you think most germans simpley missed the point here. Well, while I get your notions about german humor and where they come from at least partially, I am not exactly sure you understand german humor. (Which only proves that humor is a serious thing and hard to get, since your insights into the german soul often are enlightening.) First, I think your notion about humor not being a part of social interactions is true. We do joke a lot, but this usually is amongst family, friends and co-workers, people we know. But while this "mallet-humor" and the thing with the strange look exists, this is not the only way humor is done in Germany and many people are in fact not too keen about this kind of funny. So I guess you have just missed the more intellectual or silent or profound comedians. Oh and... humor like this ectually exists in Britain as well. Do I really have to invoke The Baldy Man here? And to be honest, to me "Little Britain" is absolutely disgusting. But interestingly we Germans have a deep sense of black humor, you just have to discover it. In fact our humor is very close to the british humor sometimes, this is why "Monty Python" or "Black Adder" work so well for many Germans. And I recently had an interesting conversation with some guys from Israel and they claimed that the german humor sometimes is actually close to the famous jewish humor. So I guess german humor is more complex and versatile than you think.
Well, you say people "aren't too keen about this kind of funny" and yet it's very popular in Germany: it's all over the mainstream media. What the mainstream media give you is what is... well, mainstream, i.e. popular. Then you pick out a couple of exceptions like "Little Britain" and claim that disproves the general point, which it doesn't. The point here is that this is a generalisation, and also an exaggerated depiction of the truth (for comic effect). Monty Python, of course, is very popular in Germany because of the slapstick; but the slapstick is not actually the point of Monty Python and most Germans miss the subtle satire underneath -- and so, these days, do many British people -- because you have to understand Britain in the 1970s to really "get" Monty Python. But again, Python doesn't actually represent typical British humour. As for "Blackadder", it didn't work for German audiences at all. The scripts are virtually untranslatable, and to my knowledge it has been rarely shown on German TV. But you missed the point. Of course German humour is more complex than I depict it here. I'm not trying to make a half-hour documentary on the subject. I'm talking about the _stereotype_ non-Germans have of German humour, and where that stereotype comes from. My point is this: the brand of clownish, slapstick humour foreigners see everywhere when they come to Germany is not "worse" than any other type of humour: it's just different, because it serves a different function.
Woah, full broadside... :D No, I never wanted to or claimed to disprove your point with one or two examples, that was never my intention. I was under the impression that you hold the opinion that this kind of humor can not be found in England and I wanted to argue that. >>The point here is that this is a generalisation, and also an exaggerated depiction of the truth (for comic effect).>I'm talking about the stereotype non-Germans have of German humour, and where that stereotype comes from.
rewboss Well I guess your gerneralisation of German humor is quite correct. But you fail to point out why a lot of Germans like what literally translates to 'shallow amusement'. In my experience a lot of people just want to shut their brains down after a long day of work, yet they want to be entertained. How can you achieve this? Shallow humor! Germany has a long tradition of this kind of entertainment, it started back in the 60's when TV first got popular and Germany's population mostly belonged to the labouring class. As a German, I neither get this kind of humor nor do I like it. Myself, I like to be ironic and sometimes sarcastic, which really can be a problem, even in conversations with friends... It's like you have to put an imaginary winking smiley face after each ironic comment, so they don't get it wrong... Mainstream media isn't helping either. Shows like Mario Barth etc. are broadcasted at prime time, the more demanding stuff is either broadcasted late or on niche stations or both... So there IS clever comedy and I know a lot of people who appreciate that kind of humor, but I'm affraid the majority of people is pleased with what they can watch on RTL...
interesting discussion. I am a brit living in Germany. Although i dont know anything about German comedians or comedy shows, I have found it difficult to transmit the humor of the more ironic jokes to German people (in general). At the same time, my experience of some of the German jokes i have found to be more of the "obvious type". For instance, in the UK i can make a joke without making any facial expression, looking totally serious, and the Brits will understand i am joking, while the Germans are sometimes confused. lol. But this ofcourse depends on the person. I have some German friends who tell me those "scripted " "out of a book" jokes but at the same time laugh very loudly at my ironicism. I think we can all agree that there is a spectrum of humor in both countries while one country leans to one end of the spectrum and the other country to the other end. But what i would like to suggest is that perhaps its the communication which is also a problem. Much of English humor depends on a deep knowledge of the language....the same for German (so i have heard).
Duncan Barker "Much of English humor depends on a deep knowledge of the language....the same for German (so i have heard)." I believe this is true for every language. Some jokes etc will work even if you will only do a rough translation, because they work with absurd situations, surprising conclusions or an easy to grasp punchline. Other things will only work in case you are (more) familiar with the language and its atticisms, for instance because they are based on the play with words, the deliberate misinterpretation of words etc. Just take these lines from a tv show I happen to love very much... "I am the Doctor!" "Doctor who?" You can translate the words and even explain the joke, but your audience will most certainly don't think it is funny. The same is absolutely true for the german language, Russian, Portuguese and almost every other language. And sometimes jokes will only work for people with the same socialisation, because they are based on shared experience. You can make jokes about your youth in the 70's or 80's and someone who is 16 will most probably don't think it is so hilarious, even if he or she might get it intellectually. The best example might be nazi jokes. I am under the impression british folks just *love* them. German folks, for obvious reasons, not so much, they often even end up feeling ashamed and humiliated.
Why so many dislikes? It's very close to what I experience everyday, especially here in Cologne, supposedly the funniest city in the country. Well, if people think putting a red nose in their face and doing shit is funny...
I am sorry, but if you are really living that long in germany you should be familiar with proper Kabarett artists. The humor is maybe a bit darker than in other places,but you only showcase the humor of carneval - comedians. One of the most famous comedians is Dieter Nuhr. He is pretty calm and collected. I cant understand how you don't know them
One show I reallylike is the "Heute Show" it's set like a news show but is in fact a kabarett show where theymake fun of the politicans. It is very Funny and because I watch it almost every weak (Friday 10.30pm) I am one of the best in politic in my school :D
Well, looks like somebody didn't pay very much attention to the video. Try again, and this time see if you can hear me talk about "stereotypes" and other, similar subjects that might clue you in to the message behind it.
You know, I keep having to answer this one: "No, German humour is exactly like British humour, just look at this small list of comedians." But they're nothing like British comedians, really they're not. They're not worse than British comedians: it's just that humour is a product of culture, that's all. All these complaints talk about political satire, but what of, say, sitcoms? And all you're doing, by taking this little parody so seriously, is confirming the stereotype about Germans. Sheesh.
I think you're mostly right about German comedians, but the line 'stop taking this so seriously you're proving my point' is about the laziest recovery imaginable ;) You know, I've been thinking about it for a while now, why this 'hiding behind a mask'-phenomenon exists at all in Germany when it comes to comedy. I was going to say that it might have had its roots in a time when bourgeois values were very strictly observed in Germany. But then again, thinking back to the 1920 or even 30s, there definitely was very uncomplicated and 'honest' comedy around -- and not just in Berlin. It is weird, I'll give you that. Maybe there is some method to the madness though. Looking at other conservative societies like Japan, I think there's something familiar in the way they approach comedy as an extremely over-the-top silly contrast to respectable (real) life. Either way, I'm glad the Karneval-style humour seems to be on the decline. There's nothing less funny than formulated humour at social events. Now we only need to get rid of apes like Mario Barth and then -- maybe -- there is hope.
I tried to be mad (well, not really), but couldn't. That outro music is sooooo joyful and catchy, I just downloaded it. my neighbours will hate me :D :D
I guess laughing about this video (in a positive way) proofs a good taste in humor. Greetings from Germany. And please check out Atze Schröder, he's exactly the German humor cliche you're talking about. Most people I know hate him or at least only laugh about him when they're horribly drunk.
@Crofaino Actually, in this case it was a typo. But the American spelling "humor" is not wrong: it is the only correct way to spell the word in US American English.
Their sense of humor is very subtle. They _do_ understand other nations sense of humor though. Comedy Central, Adult Swim shows and loads of U.S. and U.K. humor does very well in Germany and worldwide.☝🏻😎
That's partly true. However, it is also true that Germans in general have a shared culture: the education system, TV and radio, and so on. It may be technically true that we each have our own private sense of humour, but generally speaking, significant numbers of people sharing a culture also have many shared expectations of humour. That's hard to explain, so we say "German humour" as a short cut, so we can actually have a meaningful conversation, even if our language is imprecise.
Hey, rewboss, when you made faces about the German "Pumpernickel", it actually reminded me a lot of Rowan Atkinson in Mr. Bean....so, is it typical German now, or what? :-)))))
Well, let me just say that Mr Bean was never as popular in Britain as he is in Germany. In fact, it's one of the things that make the British think the Germans have no sense of humour. See here: Germans are mad for Bean!
I exaggerate for comic effect, of course, but the observation holds true in most cases. A classic case is the British TV show "The Two of Us", remade in German as "Unter einer Decke". The differences are subtle, but most obvious are the differences between Ashley and his German version Siggi. German audiences would find Ashley too boring and bland; British audiences would find Siggi too clownish.
This dear sir, was hilarious in a very unusual way :) And I have to admit (as a german) that you perfectly found the essence of german humor. We never laugh. unless we´re wearing funny hats. Cheers!
...Serdar Somuncu comes from a completely different culture, and Volker Pispers developed his brand of humour while he was living in England. Of course there is more to this, as I explained in my follow-up video. But generally speaking, although there is a wide spectrum, and some overlap, different cultures have different, often incompatible, senses of humour. Re Monty Python: Germans love the slapstick and the surrealism. But to understand it, you must understand Britain in the 70s...
Hahaha! Not completely the same thing but a German choir came to visit our choir in California a couple years ago. While we were out one night having fun me and my friend were being mean to each other and then laughing. We always do it and it's nothing serious. When they heard it they didn't laugh and seemed shocked. Hahaha and we had to tell them we are only playing around. =] Great video.
As for Hape Kerkeling -- sorry, are we talking about the same Hape Kerkeling who has an array of grotesque caricatures in his repertoire? Horst Schlämmer? Siggi Schwäbli? You're citing him as evidence to support your case? Are you really sure about that?
The strange this is that I have never met an American or a Brit living in Germany who thinks German humour is like British or American humour; and yet almost no Germans seem to think there are any differences. I never understand why Germans take their comedy so seriously.
If you examine the shows carefully, you'll notice that while the format may have been copied, the humour is actually very different. Harald Schmidt, it is true, could probably have come close to American-style humour if only he hadn't pulled his punches so much; but generally, different cultures laugh at different things and for different reasons. Also, Eddie Izzard used to dress as he did not to be outrageous or comical, but because he was genuinely more comfortable in "girl mode".
There is no translation for "Büttenrede" -- the concept is alien to British and American humour. Mittermaier was in NYC trying his hand at American stand-up, so of course he was doing it American style (and getting it wrong). Volker Pispers learnt his craft in England, and his set proves the point: he's very different from almost every other German comedian. The problem with your comment is that you don't understand what caricature and generalisation are.
i totally agree with u rewboss. im german, didnt grow up in germany. grew up with british and american humor. when i came back to germany, it took me a while to get used to german humor. its either (like u said in the video) ppl like cindy aus marzahn or atze schröder, or its a dark kind of humor. its totally different to, say, chris rock, monty python or whatever.
In english there is a difference between "I read." and "I am reading." In German both those sentencing are expressed with "Ich lese." Context tells you which they mean. So Germans have a tough time knowing which one to use as it's an entirely new concept for them. It's like in Spanish "para" and "por" both me for. They are used for different situations where in English all situations use for. So we just guess which one we think is right and say it meaning we get it wrong a lot.
I'm just wondering if you've been approached by Germans to explain some British humor on a film they've recently seen. For example, I just saw "Kingsmen" and my German husband wondered about the humor on it... my response was that it's British!
Have you seen Urban Priol's hair? Volker Pispers, I will admit, is very close to the British style of standup, but he does political satire rather than comedy. Still, he is the exception that proves the rule; however, I wasn't criticizing German comedy, I was merely pointing out that it is different.
Ich habe deine Surviving Germany Videos jetzt an Weihnachten meiner Familie gezeigt. Es wurde viel gelacht und gerade aus diesem Video (in Verbindung mit dem Sarkasmusschild aus der Big Bang Theory) entwickelte sich ein regelrechter Running Gag ("Hab ich wieder vergessen das "Humor"-Schild hochzuhalten?"). Thumbs up big time, man erwartet, dass ich die Familie informiere, sobald neue Surviving Germanys hochgeladen werden :)
I think you're doing the other German thing of not understanding what a generalisation is. I am making a general point about culture, but you insist on citing a few individual cases that appear to go against the grain as proof that I am wrong about the general point. But they're atypical of German humour, just as Benny Hill is atypical (as you yourself point out) of British humour. My point is that it is you who is cherry-picking.
I think you misunderstood the point I was making. It is that German humour only *appears* dreadful to Brits and Americans because it's used in a different way. There are always exceptions (you mentioned Monty Python, although Alfred Biolek introduced Python to Germany because he found it unusually intelligent and well-acted, very unlike what he saw as German comedy). You get dry, understated humour in parts of Germany, but I've always been taken seriously whenever I made a dry joke in Germany.
I wonder what your take would be on Jan Böhmermann. On his podcast with comedian/singer-song writer Olli Schulz, he once went into a longer monologue about some of the same things you mentioned, e.g. humour being segregrated and devalued compared to "reality". He particularly mentioned the saying "Spass bei Seite", saying that a saying like that could only exist in Germany (which incidentally is not true, I'm from Denmark and we have the saying "spøg til side" which means the same). I get lot of what you mean, but I also think that nowadays, there are definitely (younger) German comedians that have learned not to "reduce" humour into something fake or second-rate to other forms of expression.
They say that because English grammar is as difficult for a German to learn as German grammar is for an English-speaker. Once you've struggled with German cases, separable verbs and the subjunctive, you realise how tough it is to learn a new language, and you'll stop finding it hilarious.
Well your portrayal is a little bit superficial, but still quite spot on for a 3 minute video. It explains the appearance and exaggerated accents of leading comedians like Maddin Schneider, Mario Barth, Johann König und Olaf Schubert.
This isn't an issue of quality -- there are good comedians and bad comedians in all cultures -- it's an issue of type and use of humour. Irony, for example, is almost never a feature of German humour, although sarcasm often is. The irony here is that you have completely missed the point of my video and are thus conforming to the stereotype of humourless Germans, a stereotype I'm trying to debunk.
Of course it's more complex than the video suggests. But just to be sure: Monty Python, Little Britain, Mr Bean and Benny Hill are not typical British comedy. One of the reasons the British think the Germans have no sense of humour is actually their apparent obsession with Mr Bean.
I never said that Germans have no sense of humour or that Germans cannot laugh. I said that different countries have different types of humour. Germans do have a great sense of humour, it's just that British and American people don't understand it. What I show about German humour is what other countries *think* of German humour. As I said in the video: "This is a prejudice with no basis in fact."
That's because there is no sarcasm. I explicitly state in my video that the popular conception of Germans laughing at people yelling "Pumpernickel!" is a false one, and then I explain where I think this misconception comes from. I explained all this in the video, I explained it again in a follow-up video, and I don't understand why I still have to explain this in the comments section.
You still don't get it: I do portray the stereotypical image, but in order to argue AGAINST it. And no, I don't think I'm cherry-picking: I'm generalising, which I freely admit, but that's a different thing. Of course there are German comedians that don't fit the mould, as there are in all cultures. But consider: Georg Schramm uses a range of caricatures for his political satire, but sells himself as one who blurs the line between fun and seriousness, that being what makes him stand out...
Sort of. There are still massive differences, though. Young Germans still laugh at Mr Bean: the British found him amusing but can't understand why Germans love him so much. Even so, the whole point of this video is that these clichés are... clichés. I explore where those clichés come from, that's all. Fundamentally, the cliché arises because humour is a cultural phenomenon. That's all.
Seems there is more science in your videos, than people expect. They are not used to read a subtext between the lines. If comedy doesn't happen on stage, I often have trouble in finding out, wheter someone is serious or making a joke. Also this "are you kidding" phrase is not as common as in English, cause this would be considered a prank, rather than humour. Somehow, laughing is often related to slam a non-present person.
Hey, as a native born and raised German I totally agree with what you are saying! You describe the average "German humor" that was popular up to the 80s or 90s (Didi Hallervorden, Otto Waalkes, Sketchup and others) that was pretty "albern" indeed. But I can clearly see a development to the better. Also we have a growing scene of very intelligent, very respectless humorists, most of them also political, who entertain at least the better educated part of the society.
I would agree with you to the extent of German comedy 40 years ago. The Comedy scene in Germany has evolved immensely over the past few decades (have you ever actually seen any of late?) Atze Schroeder may wear a wig and large sunglasses, but this is a character he has developed and it helps with privacy. Michael Mittermeier is hilarious in both English and German and he generally wears jeans and a t-shirt (they both fit), There are too many to list with the limited space, but educate yourself
Wenn er 12 Jahre alt ist, darf er überhaupt kein UA-cam-Konto eröffnen. Ist er minderjährig, darf er UA-cam nur mit der Zustimmung eines Erziehungsberechtigten benutzen. Auf jedem Fall lösche ich Kommentare nur sehr ungern: jeder hat das Recht auf Meinungsfreiheit, muss aber lernen, dass die Ausübung dieses Rechts auch Folgen hat.
...which is why Python remains so popular in Germany, but in the UK has pretty much run its course. And no, I don't think you lack humour because you disagree. I think you're saying things that in my culture would be interpreted as lack of humour. Not because your humour is inferior, but because my culture evaluates these things differently.
What you are saying is - unfortunately - true for most German comedy but at the same time that kind of stuff is aimed at ... well ... let's call em the easy to please. I feel like your sense of humour does rely profoundly on your level of education. I'm not quite sure but I guess "Kabarett" is something that pretty much only works in German and combines political and social critique with irony, sarcasm, puns and other plays on words. So there is indeed an instance where reality and humour are combined (and I dare to say it works out well). If you happen not to know what I'm talking about, you should check out Rainald Grebe or Hagen Rether. Denn: Auch Anarchisten kämmen nachts heimlich ihr Haar. Besides that we got the concept of anti-jokes which are, to put it simply, sentences (or really short stories) that don't make any sense like "Durch'n Wald ist kürzer als zu Fuß."
Yeah, but the definition of "nasty joke" is one that is intended to cause offence and is therefore not funny. I could, if I wanted to, make some very nasty jokes about German humour, but I won't. This video isn't even supposed to be a nice joke about German humour, just a light-hearted exploration in cultural differences. I wish more people would actually listen to what I was saying, and then they'd realise I wasn't criticizing anybody at all.
well but this is also up to the region you are living in... i live e.g. in the rhineland (in a small town near bonn) and when you talk to the "original" (people born here, who were raised in the dialect) you get as well as never a serious answer. it is almost always in some way ironic or sarcastic and leads to many people who moved here and are not acustomed to it, to actualy feeling insulted, since they are not used to getting mocked by, for example, some cashier.
As a German, it's absolutely true that we don't incorporate humour into everyday (professional) life. Humour in Britain is seen as a sign of wit, in Germany it is seen as a sign of not taking important things seriously. As a result, we certainly also spend less time practicing being funny. Since comedy is not as respected, we don't have an established industry for comedy as it is the case in the UK, so less people are encouraged to be funny or consider it as a career. Hence, the German comedy scene is indeed weaker than the English. However, non-Germans will often be surprised that Germans definitely like to have a laugh when they are among friends. And there also are a number of exceptional German comedians, who would probably be recognized as such by non-Germans as well if it wasn't for the language barrier. Main difference though is that German comedy often focusses on political comedy, taking the piss out of the powerful and also joining into the good old German tradition of complaining about everything that isn't perfect. Second major difference (an this really is a shame) is that the German language is not suited for humour about the human body and sex etc. That's due to the fact that the respective German words either sound very clinical and too realistic/descriptive for comedy, or they sound incredibly vulgar. There is no mid-level like in English, where words like nob, fanny, humping etc can actually sound quite funny and not that vulgar at all. So therefore German comedy loses a big area of comedy to tap into.
I'm from Germany and I don't get why anyone would find this video offensive. I think it sums everything up pretty well and I laughed quite a few times while watching it :D Good job :)
Kabarett ist typisch deutscher Humor, wohingegen Comedians wie Mario Barth oder Michael Mittermeier eher als "antilektuelle"-Folterinstrumente zu betrachten sind. ;) Kleiner Tipp für gute deutsche "Comedy" bzw. Kabarett sind Volker Pispers oder Dieter Nuhr.
This has nothing to do with German sense of humour. The German sense of humour, as all sense of humour, draws from the absurd. Only, what is perceived as absurd differs from country to country. "This parrot is dead!" - "No it isn't, it's just resting!" Is as funny as "Herr Müller-Lüdenscheidt!" - "Herr Dr Klöbner!" Context is important.
@PlattiJr Nee, genau das wollte ich nicht bemängeln, sondern erklären. Der Grund dafür, dass so viele deutsche Komiker sowas haben/brauchen, ist nicht der, dass ihr Humor nicht taugt, sondern dass es in der deutschen Kultur der Humor sich vom Alltag unterscheiden soll. Das sind natürlich alles Verallgemeinerungen; aber hätte gedacht, meine klare Aussage, der Vorurteil, Deutsche hätten keinen Sinn für Humor, stimme nicht, unmissverständlich wäre...
Haha! This is exactly spot on! If you listen to any of the cartoon voice overs of any series the voice actors try to be funny instead of just let the comedy speak itself. For the same reason Germans don't understand sarcasm AT ALL.. They think you're being serious if your voice is serious. Funny thing is also to see so many down votes on this video. Some people have been here too long :D
I think it might be a city vs countryside thing really, most people from Berlin and Cologne I interact with are, much like myself, very sarcastic individuals with a dry sense of humour whereas people from the countryside never seem to be able to tell when I'm being sarcastic.
i would say the most popular types of comedy in germany, however, are parody and satire - particularly aiming at domestic things, such as well-known german personalities, tv shows, regional stereotypes etc. thus the perception relies on the audience's knowledge and familiarity with the things being parodied...
Von welchen Komikern ist denn hier die Rede? Vermutlich sehe/höre ich die falschen Sendungen. Interessant finde ich übrigens, daß Monty Python seinerzeit mit "Das Leben des Brian" mehr Probleme zu Hause hatten als hier.
It really depends on where you are in Germany. Your analysis might be partially true for the south, in the north the people actually have a very british-like sense of humor with all the wit, sarcasm and self-deprecation.
Exactly, that is the point I am making. Quite explicitly, in fact: I was careful enough to mention this several times in this video, and still I was forced to make a follow-up video explaining this in more detail, and still Germans interpret this as "rewboss thinks Germans aren't funny". BTW, "Stromberg" is the German version of "The Office", originally English, but there's also an American version. Maybe your girlfriend just had no sense of humour...?
@rewboss I know it's not wrong as such, but to me it is, and the British spelling is the 'correct' spelling. I just don't like the American spelling and pronunciation of some words. But I know it's not acutally wrong.
You know, comments like this just reinforce the perception that Germans have no sense of humour. Loriot is the glorious exception that proves the rule, Valentin is from two generations ago and Erhardt one generation ago, and both are now dead; and Astor affects a strong Franconian accent and often wears very outrageous outfits. But it's fascinating all the same: I make a video explaining that Germans do have a sense of humour, and all the people complaining about the video are Germans. ::sigh::
I am not German nor British but I lived in both countries and my observation is: in GB it is positive if you manifest a good sense of humour at work, it shows you are intelligent and that you have social skills. In Germany showing sense of humour at work makes you unprofessional. I find it very short sighted (in private I say fucking stupid).
Or maybe you have badly misunderstood both the content and the intent of this video, and assume, like so many other Germans, that I am criticizing the German sense of humour when in fact I am doing the opposite: I am explaining that the prejudiced view that Germans have no sense of humour comes from cross-cultural misunderstanding.
Hi @rewboss, I'd be interested to know, if you would say the same as in this video now 12 years later again, or if you would maybe add something? 😊 I personally think, this is correct speaking of German comedy. Applying it to German humour generally does not draw a full picture though, as the Germans do have an everyday sense of humor, and that works without weird voices and stuff, but mainly with sarcasm.
As a German I lived in Britan for a year and I have to say, that people would not understand that what I sad was ironic... They would just assume, that I am stupid/mean...
Of cause you can find the kind of humour in Germany "rewboss" describes, but mercifully that's not all. Humour is a big part of my everyday life, without I would go crazy. An other reason why (especially American) think we have no humour, is that many Germans don't think average American comedy is funny. That's not because we don't understand the jokes, it's because most of them are extraordinary dull.
It's a common trick in British WW2 humour to mix up Present Simple and Present Continuous. It's funny. /watch?v=7QBCpzHEEf0 At 1:19 you can see "Doctor House" in the uniform of a Hauptsturmführer saying:"You are not believing what, please?":) That's obviously wrong. 'Believe' is not an action.
if you are searching fo "different" humour in Germany, look out for Serdan Somuncu. He's not originally german, but is very successful in Germany. And he's applying all "no-gos" in Germany. You'll probably like it.
hmm, maybe you should take the difference between comedy and Kabarett into account. There is something true in what you say, especially conscerning jokes like "the police officer" but there is a wide field of humoristic styles (i hope thats a proper word) in Germany and to my mind you only focused on one part of that field. (that's just what i personally think)
I focus on foreigners' prejudices about German humour and try to explore where those prejudices come from. To this day I don't understand why Germans don't understand this.
rewboss First let me thank you for your interest, it's always nice to get a response. Secondly i have to admit that my point of view is pretty much limited to an "indoor perspective" of germany while you have impressions from both points of view. I think that I and many others indeed missunderstand your intention.I've watched this video several times now and as far as i can see there are 2 prejudices mentioned in this video. First: Germans have no sense humor. You point out that this predjudice comes from a different kind of jokes made here that are not funny for people from other nations. I totally agree with you so far. But the second Prejudice that i personaly believe to see here is hidden in your very general characterisation of german humor i already mentioned in the comment before. What i'm trying to say is that you somehow clear up the first prefudice by producing and using another one. (this would not be the case if the whole presentation of german humor was not slightly but totaly ironoíc, but idon't think so because otherwise the whole thing would not make any sense to me :D ) I hope that i could at least give you an idea of what might be the commucational problems between you and all the germans or at least what was the problem that i had :)
I (in my honest opinion) think that my humor and the humor in my close proximity is strongly dependent on Schadenfreude and realism. I and my friend enjoy jokes about missunderstanding, mistakes and the failures of others. One example. "Ein Vater geht auf Montage und die Mutter hat eine Affaire. Der Sohn versteckt sich im Schrank. Plötzlich kommt der Vater nach Hause und die Mutter versteckt den Liebhaber auch im Schrank (bemerkt den Sohn aber nicht). Sohn: Ganz schön dunkel hier. Liebhaber: Ja. Sohn: Willst du meine Fußballschuhe kaufen? Liebhaber: Wieso sollte ich? Sohn: Das ist mein Vater da draußen! Liebhaber: Okay. Wie Viel? Sohn: 500 Wütend zahlt der Liebhaber den Preis. Eine Woche später selbes Spiel. Mutter hat ihren Liebhaber da, der Vater kommt nach Hause und der Liebhaber landet beim Sohn im Schrank. Sohn: Ganz schön dunkel hier. Liebhaber: Ja. Sohn: Ich habe einen Fußball. Der Liebhaber seufzend: Wie viel? Sohn: 1000 Wieder zahlt der Liebhaber den Preis. Am nächsten Samstag bleibt der Vater daheim und will mit dem Jungen Fußball spielen. Sohn: Geht nicht hab alles verkauft. Vater: Für wie viel? Sohn: 1500 Vater: Sohn du gehst in die Kirche und beichtest dein Sünden. Wie kannst du dein Freude nur so übers Ohr hauen. Der Sohn geht zur Kirche und setzt sich auf den Beichtstuhl. Sohn: Ganz schön dunkel hier. Pfarrer: Lass den scheiß.
Well.. there is the stuff which gets the 50+ year olds in big groups but political satire is a strong part of german humor and more young people are interested in that. Although maybe just the intellectuals since I'm surrounded by students.
Hello from my sickbed in Berlin, down with the flu, like so many. You have really cheered me up :) I would love to see a video about the Germans fear of drafts and air conditioning vs. their obsession with airing out their apartments.
Humor ist eine ernste Sache. (Siegmund Freud) I found the police-man parody very accurate (I even laughed...) - it is mainly about our concept of seriousness, which mades our humour so dry. English has much more ways to play with the language itself, which is why the mere number opportunities for puns a.s.o. is not playing in our hands. Btw. there are sooo many dull comedians being `pushed´ on the telly, it sickens me.
Wir können nicht über ausländische Witze lachen, weil sie nicht effizient genug sind und nicht den Regeln der deutschen Witzekunst unterliegen.
Er asmus
und das schlimme ist diese art Comedians füllen ganze Stadions mit ihres gleichen^^ sein wir ehrlich guter Humor muss schwarz sein, so schwarz das dein eigener Schatten dir noch ein Bein stellt probier mal serdar somuncu, volker pispers & co (kabarett)
Typisch Deutsch ist zum Beispiel dass es Leute gibt die was du sagtest Ernst nehmen :D
3 Nazis laufen in eine BAR. Ich finde der geht auch auf Deutsch gut.
English: 3 nazis walked into a BAR.
***** kapier ich nicht, BAR?
Browning Automatic Rifle. LMG aus dem 2. WK. Also laufen 3 Nazis in ein LMG... *badumm tss*
I think the "Pumpernickel" Part is actually very funny xD
Same
Ich mag es, wie er Vorurteile auflöst, nur um sie mit Vorurteilen zu ersetzen. *GOODjob*
Hmm, I understand why you described this video as "your most controversial" in another vid. You said that you think most germans simpley missed the point here. Well, while I get your notions about german humor and where they come from at least partially, I am not exactly sure you understand german humor. (Which only proves that humor is a serious thing and hard to get, since your insights into the german soul often are enlightening.)
First, I think your notion about humor not being a part of social interactions is true. We do joke a lot, but this usually is amongst family, friends and co-workers, people we know.
But while this "mallet-humor" and the thing with the strange look exists, this is not the only way humor is done in Germany and many people are in fact not too keen about this kind of funny. So I guess you have just missed the more intellectual or silent or profound comedians. Oh and... humor like this ectually exists in Britain as well. Do I really have to invoke The Baldy Man here? And to be honest, to me "Little Britain" is absolutely disgusting.
But interestingly we Germans have a deep sense of black humor, you just have to discover it. In fact our humor is very close to the british humor sometimes, this is why "Monty Python" or "Black Adder" work so well for many Germans.
And I recently had an interesting conversation with some guys from Israel and they claimed that the german humor sometimes is actually close to the famous jewish humor. So I guess german humor is more complex and versatile than you think.
Well, you say people "aren't too keen about this kind of funny" and yet it's very popular in Germany: it's all over the mainstream media. What the mainstream media give you is what is... well, mainstream, i.e. popular.
Then you pick out a couple of exceptions like "Little Britain" and claim that disproves the general point, which it doesn't. The point here is that this is a generalisation, and also an exaggerated depiction of the truth (for comic effect).
Monty Python, of course, is very popular in Germany because of the slapstick; but the slapstick is not actually the point of Monty Python and most Germans miss the subtle satire underneath -- and so, these days, do many British people -- because you have to understand Britain in the 1970s to really "get" Monty Python. But again, Python doesn't actually represent typical British humour.
As for "Blackadder", it didn't work for German audiences at all. The scripts are virtually untranslatable, and to my knowledge it has been rarely shown on German TV.
But you missed the point. Of course German humour is more complex than I depict it here. I'm not trying to make a half-hour documentary on the subject. I'm talking about the _stereotype_ non-Germans have of German humour, and where that stereotype comes from. My point is this: the brand of clownish, slapstick humour foreigners see everywhere when they come to Germany is not "worse" than any other type of humour: it's just different, because it serves a different function.
Woah, full broadside... :D
No, I never wanted to or claimed to disprove your point with one or two examples, that was never my intention. I was under the impression that you hold the opinion that this kind of humor can not be found in England and I wanted to argue that.
>>The point here is that this is a generalisation, and also an exaggerated depiction of the truth (for comic effect).>I'm talking about the stereotype non-Germans have of German humour, and where that stereotype comes from.
rewboss Well I guess your gerneralisation of German humor is quite correct. But you fail to point out why a lot of Germans like what literally translates to 'shallow amusement'. In my experience a lot of people just want to shut their brains down after a long day of work, yet they want to be entertained. How can you achieve this? Shallow humor!
Germany has a long tradition of this kind of entertainment, it started back in the 60's when TV first got popular and Germany's population mostly belonged to the labouring class.
As a German, I neither get this kind of humor nor do I like it.
Myself, I like to be ironic and sometimes sarcastic, which really can be a problem, even in conversations with friends...
It's like you have to put an imaginary winking smiley face after each ironic comment, so they don't get it wrong...
Mainstream media isn't helping either. Shows like Mario Barth etc. are broadcasted at prime time, the more demanding stuff is either broadcasted late or on niche stations or both...
So there IS clever comedy and I know a lot of people who appreciate that kind of humor, but I'm affraid the majority of people is pleased with what they can watch on RTL...
interesting discussion. I am a brit living in Germany. Although i dont know anything about German comedians or comedy shows, I have found it difficult to transmit the humor of the more ironic jokes to German people (in general). At the same time, my experience of some of the German jokes i have found to be more of the "obvious type". For instance, in the UK i can make a joke without making any facial expression, looking totally serious, and the Brits will understand i am joking, while the Germans are sometimes confused. lol. But this ofcourse depends on the person. I have some German friends who tell me those "scripted " "out of a book" jokes but at the same time laugh very loudly at my ironicism.
I think we can all agree that there is a spectrum of humor in both countries while one country leans to one end of the spectrum and the other country to the other end.
But what i would like to suggest is that perhaps its the communication which is also a problem. Much of English humor depends on a deep knowledge of the language....the same for German (so i have heard).
Duncan Barker "Much of English humor depends on a deep knowledge of the language....the same for German (so i have heard)."
I believe this is true for every language. Some jokes etc will work even if you will only do a rough translation, because they work with absurd situations, surprising conclusions or an easy to grasp punchline.
Other things will only work in case you are (more) familiar with the language and its atticisms, for instance because they are based on the play with words, the deliberate misinterpretation of words etc. Just take these lines from a tv show I happen to love very much...
"I am the Doctor!" "Doctor who?"
You can translate the words and even explain the joke, but your audience will most certainly don't think it is funny.
The same is absolutely true for the german language, Russian, Portuguese and almost every other language.
And sometimes jokes will only work for people with the same socialisation, because they are based on shared experience. You can make jokes about your youth in the 70's or 80's and someone who is 16 will most probably don't think it is so hilarious, even if he or she might get it intellectually. The best example might be nazi jokes. I am under the impression british folks just *love* them. German folks, for obvious reasons, not so much, they often even end up feeling ashamed and humiliated.
Why so many dislikes? It's very close to what I experience everyday, especially here in Cologne, supposedly the funniest city in the country. Well, if people think putting a red nose in their face and doing shit is funny...
Cologne is supposed to be the funniest city in Germany? I think nobody outside Cologne knows that...
@@jom4882 Yep, that's just the point I'm making ;)
I am sorry, but if you are really living that long in germany you should be familiar with proper Kabarett artists. The humor is maybe a bit darker than in other places,but you only showcase the humor of carneval - comedians. One of the most famous comedians is Dieter Nuhr. He is pretty calm and collected. I cant understand how you don't know them
One show I reallylike is the "Heute Show" it's set like a news show but is in fact a kabarett show where theymake fun of the politicans. It is very Funny and because I watch it almost every weak (Friday 10.30pm) I am one of the best in politic in my school :D
Well, looks like somebody didn't pay very much attention to the video. Try again, and this time see if you can hear me talk about "stereotypes" and other, similar subjects that might clue you in to the message behind it.
You know, I keep having to answer this one: "No, German humour is exactly like British humour, just look at this small list of comedians." But they're nothing like British comedians, really they're not.
They're not worse than British comedians: it's just that humour is a product of culture, that's all. All these complaints talk about political satire, but what of, say, sitcoms?
And all you're doing, by taking this little parody so seriously, is confirming the stereotype about Germans. Sheesh.
I think you're mostly right about German comedians, but the line 'stop taking this so seriously you're proving my point' is about the laziest recovery imaginable ;)
You know, I've been thinking about it for a while now, why this 'hiding behind a mask'-phenomenon exists at all in Germany when it comes to comedy. I was going to say that it might have had its roots in a time when bourgeois values were very strictly observed in Germany. But then again, thinking back to the 1920 or even 30s, there definitely was very uncomplicated and 'honest' comedy around -- and not just in Berlin.
It is weird, I'll give you that. Maybe there is some method to the madness though. Looking at other conservative societies like Japan, I think there's something familiar in the way they approach comedy as an extremely over-the-top silly contrast to respectable (real) life.
Either way, I'm glad the Karneval-style humour seems to be on the decline. There's nothing less funny than formulated humour at social events. Now we only need to get rid of apes like Mario Barth and then -- maybe -- there is hope.
I tried to be mad (well, not really), but couldn't. That outro music is sooooo joyful and catchy, I just downloaded it. my neighbours will hate me :D :D
Pumpernickel!
Devil's farts!
How many Germans do you need to change a light bulb? One. We're efficient and have no sense of humour.
I guess laughing about this video (in a positive way) proofs a good taste in humor. Greetings from Germany. And please check out Atze Schröder, he's exactly the German humor cliche you're talking about. Most people I know hate him or at least only laugh about him when they're horribly drunk.
i like atze. otto waalkes is great if you speak enlish and german because most of his jokes are language based.
That is not true.
@Lasers04 ?
@Crofaino Actually, in this case it was a typo. But the American spelling "humor" is not wrong: it is the only correct way to spell the word in US American English.
PUUUMMPPERRNICKEL!!! Geil! LMAO jedes Mal wenn ich es höre und sehe:-)
Their sense of humor is very subtle. They _do_ understand other nations sense of humor though.
Comedy Central, Adult Swim shows and loads of U.S. and U.K. humor does very well in Germany and worldwide.☝🏻😎
That's partly true. However, it is also true that Germans in general have a shared culture: the education system, TV and radio, and so on. It may be technically true that we each have our own private sense of humour, but generally speaking, significant numbers of people sharing a culture also have many shared expectations of humour. That's hard to explain, so we say "German humour" as a short cut, so we can actually have a meaningful conversation, even if our language is imprecise.
Hey, rewboss, when you made faces about the German "Pumpernickel", it actually reminded me a lot of Rowan Atkinson in Mr. Bean....so, is it typical German now, or what? :-)))))
Well, let me just say that Mr Bean was never as popular in Britain as he is in Germany. In fact, it's one of the things that make the British think the Germans have no sense of humour. See here: Germans are mad for Bean!
Iołko
I exaggerate for comic effect, of course, but the observation holds true in most cases. A classic case is the British TV show "The Two of Us", remade in German as "Unter einer Decke". The differences are subtle, but most obvious are the differences between Ashley and his German version Siggi. German audiences would find Ashley too boring and bland; British audiences would find Siggi too clownish.
This dear sir, was hilarious in a very unusual way :)
And I have to admit (as a german) that you perfectly found the essence of german humor.
We never laugh. unless we´re wearing funny hats.
Cheers!
...Serdar Somuncu comes from a completely different culture, and Volker Pispers developed his brand of humour while he was living in England.
Of course there is more to this, as I explained in my follow-up video. But generally speaking, although there is a wide spectrum, and some overlap, different cultures have different, often incompatible, senses of humour.
Re Monty Python: Germans love the slapstick and the surrealism. But to understand it, you must understand Britain in the 70s...
Hahaha! Not completely the same thing but a German choir came to visit our choir in California a couple years ago. While we were out one night having fun me and my friend were being mean to each other and then laughing. We always do it and it's nothing serious. When they heard it they didn't laugh and seemed shocked. Hahaha and we had to tell them we are only playing around. =] Great video.
As for Hape Kerkeling -- sorry, are we talking about the same Hape Kerkeling who has an array of grotesque caricatures in his repertoire? Horst Schlämmer? Siggi Schwäbli? You're citing him as evidence to support your case? Are you really sure about that?
The strange this is that I have never met an American or a Brit living in Germany who thinks German humour is like British or American humour; and yet almost no Germans seem to think there are any differences. I never understand why Germans take their comedy so seriously.
If you examine the shows carefully, you'll notice that while the format may have been copied, the humour is actually very different. Harald Schmidt, it is true, could probably have come close to American-style humour if only he hadn't pulled his punches so much; but generally, different cultures laugh at different things and for different reasons.
Also, Eddie Izzard used to dress as he did not to be outrageous or comical, but because he was genuinely more comfortable in "girl mode".
This is spot on! There is good German humor in some magazines or books, but stand-up and TV humor is exactly as you describe it here.
There is no translation for "Büttenrede" -- the concept is alien to British and American humour. Mittermaier was in NYC trying his hand at American stand-up, so of course he was doing it American style (and getting it wrong). Volker Pispers learnt his craft in England, and his set proves the point: he's very different from almost every other German comedian.
The problem with your comment is that you don't understand what caricature and generalisation are.
i totally agree with u rewboss. im german, didnt grow up in germany. grew up with british and american humor. when i came back to germany, it took me a while to get used to german humor. its either (like u said in the video) ppl like cindy aus marzahn or atze schröder, or its a dark kind of humor. its totally different to, say, chris rock, monty python or whatever.
Daumen hoch, wer ab 2:11 tatsächlich gelacht hat.
In english there is a difference between "I read." and "I am reading." In German both those sentencing are expressed with "Ich lese." Context tells you which they mean. So Germans have a tough time knowing which one to use as it's an entirely new concept for them. It's like in Spanish "para" and "por" both me for. They are used for different situations where in English all situations use for. So we just guess which one we think is right and say it meaning we get it wrong a lot.
You're not the first to mention this, and you're missing the point. I made a follow-up video to this one explaining.
I'm just wondering if you've been approached by Germans to explain some British humor on a film they've recently seen. For example, I just saw "Kingsmen" and my German husband wondered about the humor on it... my response was that it's British!
I really like your series of videos! They're informative and quite witty!! Keep 'em coming!
Have you seen Urban Priol's hair? Volker Pispers, I will admit, is very close to the British style of standup, but he does political satire rather than comedy. Still, he is the exception that proves the rule; however, I wasn't criticizing German comedy, I was merely pointing out that it is different.
Ich habe deine Surviving Germany Videos jetzt an Weihnachten meiner Familie gezeigt. Es wurde viel gelacht und gerade aus diesem Video (in Verbindung mit dem Sarkasmusschild aus der Big Bang Theory) entwickelte sich ein regelrechter Running Gag ("Hab ich wieder vergessen das "Humor"-Schild hochzuhalten?"). Thumbs up big time, man erwartet, dass ich die Familie informiere, sobald neue Surviving Germanys hochgeladen werden :)
I think you're doing the other German thing of not understanding what a generalisation is. I am making a general point about culture, but you insist on citing a few individual cases that appear to go against the grain as proof that I am wrong about the general point. But they're atypical of German humour, just as Benny Hill is atypical (as you yourself point out) of British humour. My point is that it is you who is cherry-picking.
I think you misunderstood the point I was making. It is that German humour only *appears* dreadful to Brits and Americans because it's used in a different way. There are always exceptions (you mentioned Monty Python, although Alfred Biolek introduced Python to Germany because he found it unusually intelligent and well-acted, very unlike what he saw as German comedy). You get dry, understated humour in parts of Germany, but I've always been taken seriously whenever I made a dry joke in Germany.
I wonder what your take would be on Jan Böhmermann. On his podcast with comedian/singer-song writer Olli Schulz, he once went into a longer monologue about some of the same things you mentioned, e.g. humour being segregrated and devalued compared to "reality". He particularly mentioned the saying "Spass bei Seite", saying that a saying like that could only exist in Germany (which incidentally is not true, I'm from Denmark and we have the saying "spøg til side" which means the same). I get lot of what you mean, but I also think that nowadays, there are definitely (younger) German comedians that have learned not to "reduce" humour into something fake or second-rate to other forms of expression.
They say that because English grammar is as difficult for a German to learn as German grammar is for an English-speaker. Once you've struggled with German cases, separable verbs and the subjunctive, you realise how tough it is to learn a new language, and you'll stop finding it hilarious.
Well your portrayal is a little bit superficial, but still quite spot on for a 3 minute video. It explains the appearance and exaggerated accents of leading comedians like Maddin Schneider, Mario Barth, Johann König und Olaf Schubert.
This isn't an issue of quality -- there are good comedians and bad comedians in all cultures -- it's an issue of type and use of humour. Irony, for example, is almost never a feature of German humour, although sarcasm often is. The irony here is that you have completely missed the point of my video and are thus conforming to the stereotype of humourless Germans, a stereotype I'm trying to debunk.
i actually laughed at the "Pumpernikel" part :D im german :D
Of course it's more complex than the video suggests. But just to be sure: Monty Python, Little Britain, Mr Bean and Benny Hill are not typical British comedy. One of the reasons the British think the Germans have no sense of humour is actually their apparent obsession with Mr Bean.
Right. But interestingly, Mr Bean is far more popular in Germany than he ever was in Britain. Few Germans have even heard of, for example, Blackadder.
I can finally begin my german comedian career! Thanks a lot!
I never said that Germans have no sense of humour or that Germans cannot laugh. I said that different countries have different types of humour. Germans do have a great sense of humour, it's just that British and American people don't understand it. What I show about German humour is what other countries *think* of German humour. As I said in the video: "This is a prejudice with no basis in fact."
That's because there is no sarcasm. I explicitly state in my video that the popular conception of Germans laughing at people yelling "Pumpernickel!" is a false one, and then I explain where I think this misconception comes from. I explained all this in the video, I explained it again in a follow-up video, and I don't understand why I still have to explain this in the comments section.
You should distinguish between stand-up-comendy and cabaret (Kleinkunst). Totally different fields!
You still don't get it: I do portray the stereotypical image, but in order to argue AGAINST it. And no, I don't think I'm cherry-picking: I'm generalising, which I freely admit, but that's a different thing.
Of course there are German comedians that don't fit the mould, as there are in all cultures. But consider: Georg Schramm uses a range of caricatures for his political satire, but sells himself as one who blurs the line between fun and seriousness, that being what makes him stand out...
man this one is funny :)) I like the sharp way of putting out the differenz between two humor cultures.
Why do you think I don't like Germany?
you should check out the difference between nothern and southern german humor, there is quite a difference
Sort of. There are still massive differences, though. Young Germans still laugh at Mr Bean: the British found him amusing but can't understand why Germans love him so much.
Even so, the whole point of this video is that these clichés are... clichés. I explore where those clichés come from, that's all. Fundamentally, the cliché arises because humour is a cultural phenomenon. That's all.
Seems there is more science in your videos, than people expect. They are not used to read a subtext between the lines.
If comedy doesn't happen on stage, I often have trouble in finding out, wheter someone is serious or making a joke.
Also this "are you kidding" phrase is not as common as in English, cause this would be considered a prank, rather than humour.
Somehow, laughing is often related to slam a non-present person.
Hey, as a native born and raised German I totally agree with what you are saying! You describe the average "German humor" that was popular up to the 80s or 90s (Didi Hallervorden, Otto Waalkes, Sketchup and others) that was pretty "albern" indeed. But I can clearly see a development to the better. Also we have a growing scene of very intelligent, very respectless humorists, most of them also political, who entertain at least the better educated part of the society.
I would agree with you to the extent of German comedy 40 years ago. The Comedy scene in Germany has evolved immensely over the past few decades (have you ever actually seen any of late?) Atze Schroeder may wear a wig and large sunglasses, but this is a character he has developed and it helps with privacy. Michael Mittermeier is hilarious in both English and German and he generally wears jeans and a t-shirt (they both fit), There are too many to list with the limited space, but educate yourself
You might want to give Stand-Up comedy a go, You seem to be a natural at it
I did do some stand-up when I was living in Berlin. There's not much opportunity for me here.
+rewboss
Don't be silly. All you have to do is wear a hat labeling you as a "Standup Comedian (laugh politely)"
Wenn er 12 Jahre alt ist, darf er überhaupt kein UA-cam-Konto eröffnen. Ist er minderjährig, darf er UA-cam nur mit der Zustimmung eines Erziehungsberechtigten benutzen. Auf jedem Fall lösche ich Kommentare nur sehr ungern: jeder hat das Recht auf Meinungsfreiheit, muss aber lernen, dass die Ausübung dieses Rechts auch Folgen hat.
...which is why Python remains so popular in Germany, but in the UK has pretty much run its course.
And no, I don't think you lack humour because you disagree. I think you're saying things that in my culture would be interpreted as lack of humour. Not because your humour is inferior, but because my culture evaluates these things differently.
1. About 19 years, almost half my life. What is it that I have wrong? 2. I don
Maybe a second video. Today's oppinion. Has it changed?
What you are saying is - unfortunately - true for most German comedy but at the same time that kind of stuff is aimed at ... well ... let's call em the easy to please. I feel like your sense of humour does rely profoundly on your level of education. I'm not quite sure but I guess "Kabarett" is something that pretty much only works in German and combines political and social critique with irony, sarcasm, puns and other plays on words. So there is indeed an instance where reality and humour are combined (and I dare to say it works out well). If you happen not to know what I'm talking about, you should check out Rainald Grebe or Hagen Rether. Denn: Auch Anarchisten kämmen nachts heimlich ihr Haar.
Besides that we got the concept of anti-jokes which are, to put it simply, sentences (or really short stories) that don't make any sense like "Durch'n Wald ist kürzer als zu Fuß."
Du bringst es auf den Punkt!
Yeah, but the definition of "nasty joke" is one that is intended to cause offence and is therefore not funny. I could, if I wanted to, make some very nasty jokes about German humour, but I won't. This video isn't even supposed to be a nice joke about German humour, just a light-hearted exploration in cultural differences. I wish more people would actually listen to what I was saying, and then they'd realise I wasn't criticizing anybody at all.
well but this is also up to the region you are living in... i live e.g. in the rhineland (in a small town near bonn) and when you talk to the "original" (people born here, who were raised in the dialect) you get as well as never a serious answer. it is almost always in some way ironic or sarcastic and leads to many people who moved here and are not acustomed to it, to actualy feeling insulted, since they are not used to getting mocked by, for example, some cashier.
I don't think Chanel is supposed to be funny. But I don't wear designer clothes anyhow, so it's a bit irrelevant.
As a German, it's absolutely true that we don't incorporate humour into everyday (professional) life. Humour in Britain is seen as a sign of wit, in Germany it is seen as a sign of not taking important things seriously. As a result, we certainly also spend less time practicing being funny. Since comedy is not as respected, we don't have an established industry for comedy as it is the case in the UK, so less people are encouraged to be funny or consider it as a career. Hence, the German comedy scene is indeed weaker than the English. However, non-Germans will often be surprised that Germans definitely like to have a laugh when they are among friends. And there also are a number of exceptional German comedians, who would probably be recognized as such by non-Germans as well if it wasn't for the language barrier.
Main difference though is that German comedy often focusses on political comedy, taking the piss out of the powerful and also joining into the good old German tradition of complaining about everything that isn't perfect. Second major difference (an this really is a shame) is that the German language is not suited for humour about the human body and sex etc. That's due to the fact that the respective German words either sound very clinical and too realistic/descriptive for comedy, or they sound incredibly vulgar. There is no mid-level like in English, where words like nob, fanny, humping etc can actually sound quite funny and not that vulgar at all. So therefore German comedy loses a big area of comedy to tap into.
I'm from Germany and I don't get why anyone would find this video offensive. I think it sums everything up pretty well and I laughed quite a few times while watching it :D Good job :)
Kabarett ist typisch deutscher Humor, wohingegen Comedians wie Mario Barth oder Michael Mittermeier eher als "antilektuelle"-Folterinstrumente zu betrachten sind. ;)
Kleiner Tipp für gute deutsche "Comedy" bzw. Kabarett sind Volker Pispers oder Dieter Nuhr.
Torsten Sträter ist auch ziemlich genial.
Gerade den Pispers halte ich für unerträglich.
This has nothing to do with German sense of humour. The German sense of humour, as all sense of humour, draws from the absurd. Only, what is perceived as absurd differs from country to country.
"This parrot is dead!" - "No it isn't, it's just resting!"
Is as funny as
"Herr Müller-Lüdenscheidt!" - "Herr Dr Klöbner!"
Context is important.
@PlattiJr Nee, genau das wollte ich nicht bemängeln, sondern erklären. Der Grund dafür, dass so viele deutsche Komiker sowas haben/brauchen, ist nicht der, dass ihr Humor nicht taugt, sondern dass es in der deutschen Kultur der Humor sich vom Alltag unterscheiden soll. Das sind natürlich alles Verallgemeinerungen; aber hätte gedacht, meine klare Aussage, der Vorurteil, Deutsche hätten keinen Sinn für Humor, stimme nicht, unmissverständlich wäre...
Haha! This is exactly spot on! If you listen to any of the cartoon voice overs of any series the voice actors try to be funny instead of just let the comedy speak itself. For the same reason Germans don't understand sarcasm AT ALL.. They think you're being serious if your voice is serious. Funny thing is also to see so many down votes on this video. Some people have been here too long :D
I think it might be a city vs countryside thing really, most people from Berlin and Cologne I interact with are, much like myself, very sarcastic individuals with a dry sense of humour whereas people from the countryside never seem to be able to tell when I'm being sarcastic.
i would say the most popular types of comedy in germany, however, are parody and satire - particularly aiming at domestic things, such as well-known german personalities, tv shows, regional stereotypes etc. thus the perception relies on the audience's knowledge and familiarity with the things being parodied...
Von welchen Komikern ist denn hier die Rede? Vermutlich sehe/höre ich die falschen Sendungen.
Interessant finde ich übrigens, daß Monty Python seinerzeit mit "Das Leben des Brian" mehr Probleme zu Hause hatten als hier.
It really depends on where you are in Germany. Your analysis might be partially true for the south, in the north the people actually have a very british-like sense of humor with all the wit, sarcasm and self-deprecation.
Thanks, that made my day, that's the best youtuber-trolls-back-a-troll-comment I've seen so far!
Exactly, that is the point I am making. Quite explicitly, in fact: I was careful enough to mention this several times in this video, and still I was forced to make a follow-up video explaining this in more detail, and still Germans interpret this as "rewboss thinks Germans aren't funny".
BTW, "Stromberg" is the German version of "The Office", originally English, but there's also an American version. Maybe your girlfriend just had no sense of humour...?
Sorry, normal service will be resumed shortly.
@rewboss I know it's not wrong as such, but to me it is, and the British spelling is the 'correct' spelling. I just don't like the American spelling and pronunciation of some words. But I know it's not acutally wrong.
You know, comments like this just reinforce the perception that Germans have no sense of humour. Loriot is the glorious exception that proves the rule, Valentin is from two generations ago and Erhardt one generation ago, and both are now dead; and Astor affects a strong Franconian accent and often wears very outrageous outfits.
But it's fascinating all the same: I make a video explaining that Germans do have a sense of humour, and all the people complaining about the video are Germans. ::sigh::
I am not German nor British but I lived in both countries and my observation is: in GB it is positive if you manifest a good sense of humour at work, it shows you are intelligent and that you have social skills. In Germany showing sense of humour at work makes you unprofessional. I find it very short sighted (in private I say fucking stupid).
"Little Britain" ist nicht typisch für britischen Humor. Wie immer gilt: Die Ausnahme bestätigt die Regel.
Or maybe you have badly misunderstood both the content and the intent of this video, and assume, like so many other Germans, that I am criticizing the German sense of humour when in fact I am doing the opposite: I am explaining that the prejudiced view that Germans have no sense of humour comes from cross-cultural misunderstanding.
how about ... no.
Hi @rewboss,
I'd be interested to know, if you would say the same as in this video now 12 years later again, or if you would maybe add something? 😊
I personally think, this is correct speaking of German comedy. Applying it to German humour generally does not draw a full picture though, as the Germans do have an everyday sense of humor, and that works without weird voices and stuff, but mainly with sarcasm.
As a German I lived in Britan for a year and I have to say, that people would not understand that what I sad was ironic... They would just assume, that I am stupid/mean...
Of cause you can find the kind of humour in Germany "rewboss" describes, but mercifully that's not all. Humour is a big part of my everyday life, without I would go crazy.
An other reason why (especially American) think we have no humour, is that many Germans don't think average American comedy is funny. That's not because we don't understand the jokes, it's because most of them are extraordinary dull.
This video was brilliant...
It's a common trick in British WW2 humour to mix up Present Simple and Present Continuous. It's funny.
/watch?v=7QBCpzHEEf0 At 1:19 you can see "Doctor House" in the uniform of a Hauptsturmführer saying:"You are not believing what, please?":)
That's obviously wrong. 'Believe' is not an action.
if you are searching fo "different" humour in Germany, look out for Serdan Somuncu. He's not originally german, but is very successful in Germany. And he's applying all "no-gos" in Germany. You'll probably like it.
hmm, maybe you should take the difference between comedy and Kabarett into account. There is something true in what you say, especially conscerning jokes like "the police officer" but there is a wide field of humoristic styles (i hope thats a proper word) in Germany and to my mind you only focused on one part of that field.
(that's just what i personally think)
I focus on foreigners' prejudices about German humour and try to explore where those prejudices come from. To this day I don't understand why Germans don't understand this.
rewboss First let me thank you for your interest, it's always nice to get a response. Secondly i have to admit that my point of view is pretty much limited to an "indoor perspective" of germany while you have impressions from both points of view. I think that I and many others indeed missunderstand your intention.I've watched this video several times now and as far as i can see there are 2 prejudices mentioned in this video. First: Germans have no sense humor. You point out that this predjudice comes from a different kind of jokes made here that are not funny for people from other nations. I totally agree with you so far. But the second Prejudice that i personaly believe to see here is hidden in your very general characterisation of german humor i already mentioned in the comment before. What i'm trying to say is that you somehow clear up the first prefudice by producing and using another one. (this would not be the case if the whole presentation of german humor was not slightly but totaly ironoíc, but idon't think so because otherwise the whole thing would not make any sense to me :D )
I hope that i could at least give you an idea of what might be the commucational problems between you and all the germans or at least what was the problem that i had :)
Sehr möglich, ja. Aber das ist doch mein Problem, oder?
I (in my honest opinion) think that my humor and the humor in my close proximity is strongly dependent on Schadenfreude and realism. I and my friend enjoy jokes about missunderstanding, mistakes and the failures of others. One example. "Ein Vater geht auf Montage und die Mutter hat eine Affaire. Der Sohn versteckt sich im Schrank. Plötzlich kommt der Vater nach Hause und die Mutter versteckt den Liebhaber auch im Schrank (bemerkt den Sohn aber nicht).
Sohn: Ganz schön dunkel hier.
Liebhaber: Ja.
Sohn: Willst du meine Fußballschuhe kaufen?
Liebhaber: Wieso sollte ich?
Sohn: Das ist mein Vater da draußen!
Liebhaber: Okay. Wie Viel?
Sohn: 500
Wütend zahlt der Liebhaber den Preis.
Eine Woche später selbes Spiel. Mutter hat ihren Liebhaber da, der Vater kommt nach Hause und der Liebhaber landet beim Sohn im Schrank.
Sohn: Ganz schön dunkel hier.
Liebhaber: Ja.
Sohn: Ich habe einen Fußball.
Der Liebhaber seufzend: Wie viel?
Sohn: 1000
Wieder zahlt der Liebhaber den Preis.
Am nächsten Samstag bleibt der Vater daheim und will mit dem Jungen Fußball spielen.
Sohn: Geht nicht hab alles verkauft.
Vater: Für wie viel?
Sohn: 1500
Vater: Sohn du gehst in die Kirche und beichtest dein Sünden. Wie kannst du dein Freude nur so übers Ohr hauen.
Der Sohn geht zur Kirche und setzt sich auf den Beichtstuhl.
Sohn: Ganz schön dunkel hier.
Pfarrer: Lass den scheiß.
Well.. there is the stuff which gets the 50+ year olds in big groups but political satire is a strong part of german humor and more young people are interested in that. Although maybe just the intellectuals since I'm surrounded by students.
Sry my Question....
Why do you live in Germany for so long, if you don't like Germany?
Where do you life there?
it is this simple: if u do not like something on the internet: do not hate and do not visit. less pain in the ass for everyone.
Hello from my sickbed in Berlin, down with the flu, like so many. You have really cheered me up :) I would love to see a video about the Germans fear of drafts and air conditioning vs. their obsession with airing out their apartments.
Humor ist eine ernste Sache. (Siegmund Freud)
I found the police-man parody very accurate (I even laughed...) - it is mainly about our concept of seriousness, which mades our humour so dry. English has much more ways to play with the language itself, which is why the mere number opportunities for puns a.s.o. is not playing in our hands. Btw. there are sooo many dull comedians being `pushed´ on the telly, it sickens me.
What about Loriot, Otto or Heinz Erhardt?