Differences in humor between blacks and whites

submitted by [deleted] from self.debatealtright

Not a crucial issue, but I just find this interesting.

Tom Green (for lack of a better example) and others in the same vein of 'nonsense' humor just doesn't click with blacks at all, and with Hispanics it's similar. It's not even really just "Tom Green" type of humor, it seems blacks don't much like any type of "offbeat" humor. I personally always kind of been into weird/random humor. Blacks just seem perplexed by it. They often seem to respond by classifying it as "corny". I also don't think blacks understand self-deprecating humor.

Granted, humor is no doubt different in cultures all around the world. But in this case, blacks are sharing the same turf as whites and are actually exposed to the aforementioned types of comedy. And not only do they not find it funny, but it doesn't even seem to process with them. They just don't know what to make of it and often just get irritated. I'm not sure what it is exactly about blacks that prevents them from finding such humor funny. Strangely enough, Eric Andre stands as a notable exception to my paradigm. Although he seems like a fairly smart black guy who can navigate white culture better than most blacks by far.

At a very young age, I realized that a joke that had gotten a laugh out of whites might very well fall completely flat among blacks and hispanics (let alone be ridiculed). What other differences have you noticed with black and white humor?

all 13 comments
sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun

[–]Nombre27 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Coming up with and understanding good comedy takes smarts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Andre#Early_life

[–][deleted]  (8 children)

[deleted]

    [–][deleted]  (5 children)

    [deleted]

      [–][deleted]  (4 children)

      [deleted]

        [–]antireddit 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

        I agree with what your saying. There are a lot of famous Jewish comedians who just arent really that funny and it amazes me they ever made it big. John Stewart is a great example. It's almost painful to watch him.

        Still I like Larry David and some others.

        [–]literalotherkinNorm MacDonald Nationalism 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

        Even in shows which are heavily Jewish that I love -- Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show being two good examples -- I always find myself attracted to the Gentile. Kramer in Seinfeld is the only Gentile in the main cast and also, not by coincidence I think, the only likeable person in the show -- not to mention the funniest. The Larry Sanders show is nearly as Jewish as Seinfeld was and Rip Torn as 'Artie' is probably one of the greatest characters in sitcom history. He steals the entire show. He even got to say these lines on TV which is pretty funny: 'Hank, this town is run by Jews. Gay Jews. And you don't want to get on their bad side.'

        [–]SoylentCapitalist 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

        Hannibal isn't though and he's still funny.

        Hannibal is funny only in combination with Eric.

        [–]Fitter_HappierWhite Nationalist 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

        C'mon man, If you don't like Monty Python you ain't White.

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [deleted]

          [–]SoylentCapitalist 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

          His black parent was also probably more intelligent than the average black.

          He was a psychiatrist so he probably had an IQ on par with the average Ashkenazi Jew. Which probably explains why he was married to a Jew in the first place.

          [–]literalotherkinNorm MacDonald Nationalism 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

          There's a massive difference I think even within the White race when it comes to humour. It seems to me that Latin cultures like much broader comedy than say Anglos. When I think of my favourite comedy things that come to mind are shows like Alan Partridge which is very ironic and a bit more cerebral -- BTW I'm not saying that type of comedy is better and there's heaps of broader comedy I like but AP just suits me better. I just can't see Meds in large numbers really enjoying a show like that. With Blacks it seems the same. Some of my favourites are guys like Eddie Murphy and Patrice O'Neal especially on his appearances on the old Opie and Anthony show but I think their comedy had a really broad appeal which roped in a lot of Whites unlike say Tyler Perry or that awful bastard who does the films where he dresses up like a grandmother. That's the type of thing I think of when I think of Black comedy.

          I'd actually love any Slavs to let me know which way their comedy leans -- I'm guessing to the broader side -- or if they think comedy is for fags and the only comedy they enjoy is that dying horse dream sequence in Crime And Punishment.

          [–]antireddit 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

          I've known a few Russians, I found them to have a really dry sense of humor. Some of them were pretty funny. That's my only experience with slavic humor and I have no idea whether it was a cultural thing.

          [–]Minedwe 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

          Race isn't so much the issue here, rather culture, I think, and environment (although race and ethnciity DEFINITELY plays a role in both these things). Zoomer humor (AKA nonsensical shitposts and other stuff) is hilarious to me and people my age, often even transcending race, but boomers, millenials, etc don't find it as funny. I don't really know how humor works on a biological/psychological level, but I'm sure there are explanations for this type of stuff in there.

          [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

          Yeah, there seems to be a lot of evidence to suggest that culture is the dominant factor with humor across cultures in general.

          The main thing that jumps out at me is that blacks seem to not even comprehend 'offbeat' white humor. As I said in the post, it appears to me that not only do they not find it funny, they don't even process it. This, however, is just my subjective judgment and I have no way to prove it.

          Blacks, and black men especially, have a touchy, masculine pride about them. They reject any humor that is self-deprecating or even just 'silly'. It's easy to why someone with touchy pride wouldn't be into that kind of humor. On the other hand, black women aren't much different in their sense of humor. Perhaps harder to grasp is that blacks don't seem to like 'nonsense' or 'random' humor. Certain types of whites seem very adverse to this type of humor too, but with blacks it's near unanimous opposition.

          [–]Minedwe 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

          Ive noticed this stuff too. Occasionally blacks will find that stuff funny, but the ghetto type blacks and theri cultural extensions don't. This also seems to apply to wiggers that imitate or hang out with them, although less so.

          [–]TheJamesRocket 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

          Gen Z humor is weird. Its one of the reasons why I simply can't connect with them.

          [–]Minedwe 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

          I mean, yeah, granted. Although being weird is kinda why it's funny: humor is, in part, at least built on subversion of expectations or ridiculous situations. Having a weird and unexpected twist on a normal thing, such as an already bizarre gif or video being sped up with a humorous or satirical caption, is the basis for a lot of Gen Z humor, or playing on an established trope or format with unecessary and satirical elements added on.