Oral Presentation

BRITISH HUMOUR

The topics which we can find in the world of British humour are:
· Irony: Irony is the core of Humour, it consists of meaning the opposite to what we are saying. We can see a difference in the intonation and body language when irony has an aggressive intention it is called sarcasm but after we say it. Normally irony is written with exclamations to emphasize the irony.
Example: Charlie Chaplin: was a character who when he talked with irony in his films like City likes. This film represents a dramatic irony.
· Bullying and harsh sarcasm: the sarcasm is a language intended to mock, wound, or subject to contempt or ridicule, generally saying the opposite of what the statement really is.
Example:
- Blackadder , comedy TV series: this comedy was translated in Catalan “Escurçó” and it was a TV3 series, nowadays we can see it on 300. And this comedy we can find Mr Bean, a very important person in this world because he was a start.
- Tom Sharpe: he is a written and he has the ability to laugh at the absurdities at life and at oneself. His most important books are: The Wilt and The Grope. We can say that Grope is a book that he dedicated to the medial assistance in Catalonia.
· Smut and innuendo: it consists of sexual and scatological themes.
Example: Carry on: is a long-running series of low-budget British comedy films. They are an energetic mix of parody , farce and slapstick. And we can find British comedy postcard also.
· Disrespect to members of the establishment: it refers to disrespect to members of the establishment and authority.
Example: Not the Nine O’clock news: It originated in 1972 to 1982. This comedy series made the originals episodes and its moment that was the news at the time. We can emphasize the Mr Bean character and others.
· The absurd: is a genre of comedy that relies upon "a violation of causal reasoning," with events that are "logically inappropriate”. It’s absurd and surreal.
Example: Green Wing: an experimental sitcom that utilizes surrealism.
Monty Python: it was a British television comedy. For example Monty Python sketch “dead parrot” In this sketch, a man tries to make another man believe that a parrot is dead. Here is a transcript of this sketch.
· The macabre: consists of Black Humour, in which topics and events that are usually treated seriously are treated in a humorous way.
Example: Death at a funeral it’s a film that reflects black humour. Because very serious topics like death are shown with humour.
· The humour inherent in everyday life: The humour, not necessarily apparent to the participants, inherent in everyday life.
Example: The Prince of Belair it was a comedy series showing a family and their problems in everyday life (drugs, adolescents, ) with humour. The Simpsons
· The British Class system: consists of making fun of the situation in the class system.
· The embarrassment of social ineptitude: consists of the embarrassment of social ineptitude.
Example: Mr. Bean: it was a British comedy television series that made fun of all kinds of situations.
· The lovable rogue: consisted of making fun of love.
Example:The Likely Lads was a black and white British sitcom.
· Making fun of foreigners: Making fun of foreigners is especially common in television sitcoms and films of the 1970s.
Example: 'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BCC from 1982 to 1992. It was a serie comedy set during World War II. This series made fun of the French.
Conclusion: If we can’t find British humour on a television comedy series, can find it in magazines or postcards or on radio stations. We can see that there are many topics than we can find on television. The general conclusion is that the topics that are most successful are irony with Charlie Chaplin, the humour inherent everyday life with The Prince of Bel air and the Simpsons and the British class system and the embarrassment of social ineptitude with Mr. Bean. I said these topics because they are the topics that arrived in Europe and they also had success.
If we have enough time we can see a video of Mr. Bean.