Singapore Radio

sprite · Post by **sprite** » Thu, 13 Dec 2007 8:09 pm

Statistically many more men are comics. Take at Monty Python for example. They'd rather dress as woman rather than hire any.

EADG · Post by **EADG** » Thu, 13 Dec 2007 9:55 pm

dunno really

the things which make my pre-teen nieces & nephews laugh loudly, while I marvel at them for their precious innocence, do not have quite the same effect on me

perhaps the price one pays for entering adulthood

Super_Star wrote:Just reading this thread here... and so totally relieved that I am not the only one who thinks this way! Maybe Singaporeans just have a different sense of humor... err... if people like us... can even call it a "sense of humor" in the first place... There is so much lacking. And what they call funny... I can't even begin to comprehend!?!??

Think the bottom line is that all this is attributed to cultural differences. There, I rest my case.

EADG · Post by **EADG** » Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:19 pm

don't fret, like a great single-malt, some American humor is an acquired taste

that is, when it's not no taste at all.....

a movie like The Incredibles seen in Singapore is a fine example of this, as I witnessed some rather clever nuggets sailing over the not-guffawing-for-one-moment heads of most of the audience

some things are far to localized or regionalized to travel well, and maybe better left that way, otherwise too much to explain

Wind In My Hair wrote:I was with a bunch of people today and one guy kept making inane remarks and the other guys laughed. The women were not amused. I've also heard American men joking among themselves and I didn't find it the least bit funny. So I conclude that the problem is not with Singaporeans, but with men. So there!

Dyum · Post by **Dyum** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 2:03 pm

Sometimes the DJs just try to hard.

markhed · Post by **markhed** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 2:08 pm

Maybe they are just s**t...

local lad · Post by **local lad** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 4:16 pm

How many of you enjoy slapstick comedy?

sprite · Post by **sprite** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 4:19 pm

Slapstick ***shiver***

Let's face facts: slapstick it the instrument of clowns & I hate clowns.

markhed · Post by **markhed** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 4:20 pm

give an example

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 5:49 pm

Vaudeville (slapstick) went out 75 years ago unless you are here in Singapore then all you have to do is switch to channel 8!

sprite · Post by **sprite** » Fri, 14 Dec 2007 6:03 pm

I need to disagree here Sunday. Vaudeville was a form of entertainment that did indeed lose popularity before WWII, really around the 20s as cinemas featuring films gained wider audiences. A Vaudeville show however was a fore-runner to the variety show and as such was made up of different types of entertainers: musicians, dancers, comics, etc... All performing in separate, distinct acts.

Slapstick is broad physical comedy in the vein of the Keystone Cops and The Three Stooges.

I do agree with the Channel 8 part. And would add locally produced programs on Channel 5 as well.

earthfriendly · Post by **earthfriendly** » Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:05 pm

EADG wrote:
Lars: an even scarier slice of the demographics - people laughed at every little thing and none of it was intended to be funny in an otherwise poingnant movie - the few other ang mohs and mixed couples in the audience were not laughing either - at a couple of points I stopped watching the movie to watch the audience, utterly and completely fascinated, trying to salvage a ruined evening

Laughter is commonly associated with humour but Singaporeans do more than that. Some may laugh when they are embarassed, sad, tense, bewildered etc... They probably do it to diffuse the situation and intensity of their own emotion. An american-filipino coworker was describing an incident in which she was put in a spot and she interjected the narration with laughter. She said that's her way of handling stressful situation. She tries to laugh it off.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sat, 15 Dec 2007 1:14 pm

earthfriendly wrote:
EADG wrote:
Lars: an even scarier slice of the demographics - people laughed at every little thing and none of it was intended to be funny in an otherwise poingnant movie - the few other ang mohs and mixed couples in the audience were not laughing either - at a couple of points I stopped watching the movie to watch the audience, utterly and completely fascinated, trying to salvage a ruined evening
Laughter is commonly associated with humour but Singaporeans do more than that. Some may laugh when they are embarassed, sad, tense, bewildered etc... They probably do it to diffuse the situation and intensity of their own emotion. An american-filipino coworker was describing an incident in which she was put in a spot and she interjected the narration with laughter. She said that's her way of handling stressful situation. She tries to laugh it off.

In a movie theater?

Wind In My Hair · Post by **Wind In My Hair** » Sat, 15 Dec 2007 5:22 pm

EADG wrote:don't fret, like a great single-malt, some American humor is an acquired taste

that is, when it's not no taste at all.....

a movie like The Incredibles seen in Singapore is a fine example of this, as I witnessed some rather clever nuggets sailing over the not-guffawing-for-one-moment heads of most of the audience

some things are far to localized or regionalized to travel well, and maybe better left that way, otherwise too much to explain

Well their American wives weren't laughing either, so it's not an American thing. Just a man thing.

As for the Incredibles, sometimes people here, myself included, sometimes have difficulty merely deciphering the words due to differences in accents and prounciations etc. And if you can't even make out the words, how are you expected to catch the joke? Different background, different experiences, different norms, that's all.

I've watched the Holiday series and Caddy Shack and American Pie and watched my non-Singaporean friends roll on the floor laughing when I just found the jokes base and stupid. So I can understand how some of you feel about Singaporeans laughing at what you find dumb.

On this topic, what does each of you think is the funniest line you've ever heard?

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sat, 15 Dec 2007 6:38 pm

Wind In My Hair wrote:On this topic, what does each of you think is the funniest line you've ever heard?

or for real?

EADG · Post by **EADG** » Sat, 15 Dec 2007 6:41 pm

hi EF, long time, nice to hear from you

I know you know that the kind laughing you mention is not limited to Singaporeans

having said that, I've always wondered why some people choose to laugh when they are embarrassed when it only draws more attention to themselves and makes them look foolish, where most anyone witnessing would otherwise excuse whatever embarrassment they caused themselves

gotta agree with SMS here, in the cases I mentioned these people found humor in ways that revealed ignorance and questionable intellect, you kinda had to be there....

earthfriendly wrote:Laughter is commonly associated with humour but Singaporeans do more than that. Some may laugh when they are embarassed, sad, tense, bewildered etc... They probably do it to diffuse the situation and intensity of their own emotion. An american-filipino coworker was describing an incident in which she was put in a spot and she interjected the narration with laughter. She said that's her way of handling stressful situation. She tries to laugh it off.

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