Thai Sense Of Humor

[jaiyenyen]

Whilst waiting for the school bus to arrive thismorning, My G/F, her two children 14 & 10 and i were watching the news. There was a graphic report showing a man in india being kicked, beaten, and dragged through the street on his back, by a motorbike.

Our two children found this highly amusing.

I asked G/F why they found it funny, and she just said, "we are Thai, everything funny honey"

I know Thais will often smile and laugh during conversation, but laughing at someone being phisically abused was something i found quite disturbing.

Are my G/F's children normal, or could they be Devil Spawn?

Regards

Jaiyenyen

[Scott]

I suppose that depends on who the father is!

[Neeranam]

One thing I remember about India was that families would be in hysterics when heir kids fell and hurt themselves. The same here when my kids fall, many people laugh.

It's better to laugh than cry.

[kmart]

Thai sense of humour isn't very sophisticated. A Thai comedy show featuring eg; a fat katoey tripping on a banana skin would send yer average room full of Thai viewers into hysterics.

Don't say you've never laughed before at violent humour? Three Stooges; Road Runner; Young Ones; etc?

[peter991]

Gee -- I am wondering what it would take to make Bendix laugh!

Peter

[Payboy]

maybe there was something funny in the thai subtitles.....

[kmart]

Gee -- I am wondering what it would take to make Bendix laugh!

Peter

Driving over homeless people whilst passing a burning orphanage..?

[dttk0009]

Thai sense of humour isn't very sophisticated. A Thai comedy show featuring eg; a fat katoey tripping on a banana skin would send yer average room full of Thai viewers into hysterics.

Don't forget the *whish* *bop* sound effects and you've got Thai comedy in a nutshell.

[kmart]

Thai sense of humour isn't very sophisticated. A Thai comedy show featuring eg; a fat katoey tripping on a banana skin would send yer average room full of Thai viewers into hysterics.

Don't forget the *whish* *bop* sound effects and you've got Thai comedy in a nutshell.

*doiiiiiiiingggggg*

[raslin]

Laughing at other people's/animals' misfortunes is yet another example of the lack of moral principles here. I am sure that this is due to reliance on making merit instead of Buddhist teachings. In particular the need to respect ALL life.

[ashacat]

Don't say you've never laughed before at violent humour? Three Stooges; Road Runner; Young Ones; etc?

I see where your coming from, but I think that it is a very tenuous link between reinacted slapstick humour and a real life savage beating.

Edited August 29, 2007 by ashacat

[steveromagnino]

Laughing at other people's/animals' misfortunes is yet another example of the lack of moral principles here. I am sure that this is due to reliance on making merit instead of Buddhist teachings. In particular the need to respect ALL life.

I have not encountered the original situation ever, but speaking as a Thai, people laugh when someone falls over or similar not AT them but to share in the joke, thus making it seem less important, and to show empathy.

Kind of like how a westerner will say 'I know how you feel' when something bad happens and we explain it - well of course you know how it feels, i just told you! Or mabye you don't know anything at all - either way it is a way of showing empathy, and nothing to do with lack of moral principles.

Laughing does not show a lack of respect in THailand. Talking in a loud voice around 'Phoo Yai' can. Whereas the west the opposite might be true.

Does that make one better or worse than the other?! I think not!

As for Bendix, well, the two of us were having a good laugh at, or rather WITH this beggar the other day. I told my driver to stop the chariot (that's what I call my imported 1940s Citroen, brought in direct from germany after the war, used by the SS supposedly, i think that means it is lucky, I like the letter S, and with this car the embroidery gives me 2 of them!) and we decided to see how the other half live.

Knowing that beggars do not increase the competitive advantage of a nation, and knowing that the Porters 5 forces model would appear to dictate a significant intensity of competition, we nonetheless decided to give the invalid a payment even though we can all see the economic viability of his business model leaves him in a weak position vis-a-vis supplier, competitor and customer competitive intensity.

I tell you this. The chap, he was so amusing, the way he had no arms was as funny as that time The Fed were going to raise interest rates and everyone picked 50 basis points, but instead they went with 75. Oh we laughed that day, over our 50m in profits and our cavier served in a pint glass.

Anyhow, in order to not reward laying about, I proposed that the beggar perform a small service for us, to reward his effort, and teach him the benefits of a proper day's work. I therefore, got him to do a small dance, which he dutifully shuffled through, giving a rendition of The Nutcracker Suite not too far distant from George Balanchine to the music of 'Firestarter' by prodigy (The Pendulum remix).

His legs positively flew akimbo as the 6 12 inch subwoofers I had installed in the back of the car pounded their way through the drop. It was almost as if he would do anything for the generous 5 baht we had offered him for his services.

As his 60 minutes of dancing came to a close, Bendix and I shared a hearty laugh, knowing that while humour can be cruel, in our case, getting the poor fellow to do a most awkward dance had instead been an opportunity to entertain and share a joke across cultures, across ethnic groups and across different wealth percentiles as defined by the Lorenz curve we use so often in everyday life.

I trust each of you can also draw on your own experiences and note the fun and joy a small joke can bring to those around us, without being 'laughing at someone or something' but rather a wonderful group hug like experiential medium of communication.

[Upcountry]

I remember reading in "Culture Shock Thailand" about this. If you trip over something nasty on the sidewalk and hurt yourself, the Thais who see you may laugh and giggle. But they may also try to help you if you need help.

Laugher is often a response to nervous discomfort in social situations, so the laugher at someone being dragged down the street on TV might be a reflection of that. I don't pretend to know anything about prejudice against Indians (or subgroup of Indians), but that could also explain the reaction to the TV footage that the OP described.

My wife noted that "Chinese" people like to laugh at others that they consider to be stupid - so if the victim appeared to have done something stupid to get himself dragged down the street, that could also explain it.

[WaiWai]

I see where your coming from, but I think that it is a very tenuous link between reinacted slapstick humour and a real life savage beating.

Agree, and have to note that some Thais do not hold Indians in great favour .

[donna]

someone once said to me 'thailand is a country of adolescants' when it came to humour (and other things) and i tend to agree with this.

[Rajah]

It's also the other way round: If a farang can lough about a really good joke, a Thai can seldom produce a smile. If you comment a funny situation with a joke, gf is very often really angry. She doesn't understand the joke, she takes it serious and thinks it's a kind of critic. Happend a million times to me.

[DirkGently]

The thing that stands out in my mind, is this. On any of those half-witted comedy shows that consist of 4 men, one of whom must be dressed as woman, the audiance consists of students that range from 14ish upto 19ish year old uni students. Now here's the thing. They are ALL laughing at the SAME time.

Things I found funny at 14 would have seemd purile as I reached adulthood.

What is that all about?

[steveromagnino]

The thing that stands out in my mind, is this. On any of those half-witted comedy shows that consist of 4 men, one of whom must be dressed as woman, the audiance consists of students that range from 14ish upto 19ish year old uni students. Now here's the thing. They are ALL laughing at the SAME time.

Things I found funny at 14 would have seemd purile as I reached adulthood.

What is that all about?

1. It is a TV show; they are queued to laugh; that is the purpose of a studio audience. I suggest you go to tapings of Will and Grace etc, and you will learn how even something not at all funny can still have the desired response.

BTW you do understand all the language of the 4 men right?

age 14 aye? Well you may have an advanced sense of humour, however the success of Jackass, Benny Hill, Mr Bean and other puerile comedies combined with the kings of unfunny - the US Sitcom industry (Dahma and Greg, Will and Grace, Saved by the Bell, latter season of friends, etc ,etc the list of utter rubbish that rates highly goes on) - would suggest that many of us do not share your high brow taste.

Spike Lee

now THAT'S Classy.

Unwatchable of course, but I want to like Spike Lee and he might be funny/innovative*

* disclaimer to avoid prosecution from the ACLU or whoever that organisation is that he is backed by is

[Austhaied]

Laughing at other people's/animals' misfortunes is yet another example of the lack of moral principles here. I am sure that this is due to reliance on making merit instead of Buddhist teachings. In particular the need to respect ALL life.

You obviously haven't a clue about Thai's or their way of life.

YOU have formed your own concept of how one should behave in this situation.

1/ Thais laugh at the action , not at the person.

2/ They mean absolutely no harm whatsoever (unlike some vindictive Westerners).

3/ They would be the first to offer assistance to the person in question.

Most Westerners could really learn a thing or two from these character traits.

They are living the Dhamma..

Life's to short, lighten up a little.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Austhaied

[canadiangirl]

As for Bendix, well, the two of us were having a god laugh at, or rather WITH this beggar the other day. I told my driver to stop the chariot (that's what I call my imported 1940s Citroen, brought in direct from germany after the war, used by the SS supposedly, i think that means it is lucky, I like the letter S, and with this car the embroidery gives me 2 of them!) and we decided to see how the other half live.

This post was almost as funny as running over homeless people, if not funnier.

[Cobalt60]

Mr Bean.....I have actually found people that think Mr bloody Bean is funny

[Austhaied]

Mr Bean.....I have actually found people that think Mr bloody Bean is funny

He is.

[Scott]

I have never been and never will be comfortable with this kind of laughter at others--it doesn't mean, however, that I will openly criticise people who laugh.

What tends to make it humorous is that we don't identify with them as being like us, thus their misfortune is funny. This objectifies people and makes what happens to them funnier.

I wonder if it produce much laughter if it was their grandmother who was suffering?

[page449]

Humor's a funny thing.

[buffcoat]

You have only to see the number of programmes on US and UK tv that feature video of people having accidents in various situations with a really classy laugh track over the top to know that laughing at other peoples distress is not a Thai only 'pleasure'.

The Germans even have a word for taking pleasure in someone elses misfortune..schadenfroide (the spelling is almost certainly wrong).

[Austhaied]

I have never been and never will be comfortable with this kind of laughter at others--it doesn't mean, however, that I will openly criticise people who laugh.

What tends to make it humorous is that we don't identify with them as being like us, thus their misfortune is funny. This objectifies people and makes what happens to them funnier.

I wonder if it produce much laughter if it was their grandmother who was suffering?

I don't think that slipping on a banana peel and watching Granny suffer on her death bed are in anyway related.

The Thais are some of the best care givers on the planet when someone is ill or dying.

[frikkiedeboer]

I have never been and never will be comfortable with this kind of laughter at others--it doesn't mean, however, that I will openly criticise people who laugh.

What tends to make it humorous is that we don't identify with them as being like us, thus their misfortune is funny. This objectifies people and makes what happens to them funnier.

I wonder if it produce much laughter if it was their grandmother who was suffering?

i once told a bunch of thais a joke (in thai) very simple, and definitely something they would be able to identify with and understand, and received only blank stares. i then asked the thai woman sitting next to me if the thais ever told, or understood jokes, and she told one of her own. roars of laughter, but i didnt get it! just a story, with nothing humerous at all! as far as humour is concerned, we and the thais are on different planets! it reminds me of a poem i once heard:

the skunk sat on the stump

the stump thunk the skunk stunk

and the skunk thunk

the stump stunk

once, while dining at a restaurant with some thais i casually remarked about one of the guys sitting opposite me, chainsmoking,

that he must have strong lungs, as he had not died of it yet. the whole group howled with laughter, the tears running down some faces. i was taken aback, but just put it down to their different sense of humour. the next day i was quietly taken aside and explained to that i had made an huge error, and that i should not have made the comment. i then asked why they had all laughed, and he explained that it was to keep the "evil spirits" away. he said that thais will laugh at "very bad things" for this reason. thais do not only laugh at humerous situations, and thais often laugh, and smile, for very different reasons than we do.

[lannarebirth]

once, while dining at a restaurant with some thais i casually remarked about one of the guys sitting opposite me, chainsmoking,

that he must have strong lungs, as he had not died of it yet. the whole group howled with laughter, the tears running down some faces. i was taken aback, but just put it down to their different sense of humour. the next day i was quietly taken aside and explained to that i had made an huge error, and that i should not have made the comment. i then asked why they had all laughed, and he explained that it was to keep the "evil spirits" away. he said that thais will laugh at "very bad things" for this reason. thais do not only laugh at humerous situations, and thais often laugh, and smile, for very different reasons than we do.

I tend to believe this. On the many many occasions motorcyles have cut me off because they never looked for oncoming traffic. When I honk and they notice me, they realize they have come within mere centimeters of becoming another traffic fatality . Thiis usually brings on a big smile, or a shared laugh, if with a friend. Land Of Smiles.

[adjan jb]

There was a graphic report showing a man in india being kicked, beaten, and dragged through the street on his back, by a motorbike.

[Payboy]

There was a graphic report showing a man in india being kicked, beaten, and dragged through the street on his back, by a motorbike.

yeah, i woud laugh too, if i saw a motorbike kicking and beating someone on the street....