Category Archives: Humor

Anthropologist Proverbial Joke

Nationality: Mexican-Armenian-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Irvine, CA
Performance Date: 27 Mar 2018
Primary Language: English

“My old anthropology teacher got this from her old anthropology teacher, but they say ‘to be an anthropologist, you have to be a little crazy,’ because, well, we spend a lot of time dressing up in other cultures.”

This occupational proverbial joke came from a classmate with whom I exchanged lore. She herself is an Anthropology major, explaining the specifics of this telling. However, I have heard the exact same setup, “you have to be a little crazy to be a ____,” used for just about any profession you can think of. The multiplicity and variation of this piece of folklore come across in the universal applicability of the joke.
Although this joke may seem self-deprecating at first, it is really a way for people to take pride in their profession. The meaning is not, “we’re all crazy,” but “we are willing to drive ourselves a little crazy because we care so much about doing to work because we know it is important.” The fact that my informant heard this from her professor demonstrates its practical uses. As well as simply communicating pride, telling occupation folklore like this can help bring others into the community. By telling my informant this joke, and emphasizing its longstanding history through the ‘original’ source, her professor likely helped instill in her a respect for the field of anthropology and those who practice it.

Filmmaking Runner Joke

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student Filmmaker
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 22 Mar 2018
Primary Language: English

INFORMANT: “Who is the only person on set to survive an earthquake?”
COLLECTOR: “I don’t know. Who?”
I: “The runner. You know why?”
C: “No. Why?”
I: “He’s always standing in doorways!”

This occupational joke was collected from a young man with whom I worked on a couple of film sets, who seemed to have an endless supply of quips to be used in the car, during lunch break, and even during the little down time there is in between takes. Like almost all filmmaking jokes I have heard, it is at the expense of a specific group of workers. Although these can be slightly cruel, there are plenty of jokes for every department of a film crew, so although they do most often focus on actual grievances people have with other departments, they are always told in good nature. The expectation is that everyone will get made fun of.

This particular joke operates on two levels. It makes fun of the runner, a position even lower down than the frequently belittled production assistant. Because they are frequently considered just an extra body on set, not serving a real important purpose, they are easy targets. The main joke, is that runners are always just standing around, getting in more significant people’s ways. The deeper level of the joke, is about the selfish excitement with which they do this; those low-level positions are frequently considered over-eager and just looking for advancement.

Filmmaking DP Joke

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student FIlmmaker
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 22 Mar 2018
Primary Language: English

INFORMANT: “What’s the difference between a DP [Director of Photography] and God?”
COLLECTOR: “What?”
I: “God doesn’t think he’s a DP!”

This occupational joke was collected from a young man with whom I worked on a couple of film sets, who seemed to have an endless supply of quips to be used in the car, during lunch break, and even during the little down time there is in between takes. Like almost all filmmaking jokes I have heard, it is at the expense of a specific group of workers. Although these can be slightly cruel, there are plenty of jokes for every department of a film crew, so although they do most often focus on actual grievances people have with other departments, they are always told in good nature. The expectation is that everyone will get made fun of.

Because my informant aspires to eventually become a director of photography himself, this particular joke is very telling of non-serious attitude with which these jovial criticisms are issued. My informant can recognize the common flaws among those whose ranks he wishes to join—egocentrism and overconfidence—and self-deprecate in a way that can help a crew bond and work together better.

“That’s a lot of paint.”

Nationality: Jewish-American
Age: 58
Occupation: University Professor
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: 29 Mar 2018
Primary Language: English

“That was my father’s personal thing, but my husband says it too because he learned it from my father. It has to no just be a lot of paint, it has to be a lot of paint on a painting that is terrible, like you’re looking for something halfway okay to say about it.
“Well, and also, I think it is sort of like part of a larger tradition, which is when you go to someone’s exhibit, you have to say something, and you can’t say anything terrible, right? So, the other thing that you would say was that it was ‘interesting.’
“I think ‘that’s a lot of paint’ is pretty condescending.
“That was a tradition, right? The variety of—like, if you went to an exhibit and the artist was there, it was usually someone you knew, and you had to say something to them. And that was a totally different experience than when artists would invite each other to their studios—or invite gallery owners or critics to their studios—to view their work. And in that context, you would have to have a much more serious conversation. You couldn’t then get away with saying ‘that’s interesting’ or ‘that’s a lot of paint.’ So there were, like, rules for behavior in the art world, I would say. Those would definitely fit as rules for behavior in the art world.”

This informant was unable or unwilling to recognize any folklore of her own, but was ready to share when I asked about lore for the group of Jewish artists in New York City to which her parents belonged. This example contains not just a specific piece of folk speech, but this one piece carries with the context of a set of important customs that governed how these artists interacted with each other. It it, we see how certain aspects of folklife beget new folklore that works around its limitations.

Doctor Practical Jokes

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 29
Occupation: Patient Care Coordinator
Residence: San Jose
Performance Date: 4/12/18
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Interviewer: Did you have any jokes played on you while you were first being trained as a doctor?

Informant: Yeah, there was one that really stuck with me.  But when I was a resident and was on call, some of the more seasoned nurses and older doctors would page the interns with different codes.  Some are very serious like code blue, which is basically like a call for help for a more serious patient who may be dying.  But then there are other codes that are less serious, but interns have to respond to every call, so every page to them is important.

Interviewer: So what was the worst page you got?

Informant:  Well as a practical joke I was paged a “code brown”.  And of course, being an intern I rushed to the patient thinking that someone was dying or something really serious was going on.  But in reality a “code brown” was another way of saying a patient had pooped or needed their bed pans cleaned out.  So all the more seasoned doctors and nurses knew to avoid the code but paged interns with it as a joke.  So if you ever become a doctor, know your codes! And if you don’t know, ask before unless you want to have to clean up some unwanted waste.

Interviewer: Wow that’s actually really funny.  Were you mad about it when you found out?

Informant: I was annoyed when I found out, especially since I took it really seriously.  But after it happened and now looking back on it, I think it’s really funny and that’s why I wanted to share it. 

 

Background: The informant is now a full time practicing physician.  She knew about this piece of folklore because she experienced it in person and then passed it down to me.  To her it reflects one of the many hurdles she had to go through while being an intern and then a resident.  The practical joke was considered a rite of passage to her and now that she can pass it along, it’s even more meaningful.

Context: This interview took place over the phone while talking to my mom who referred me to a coworker who had told her this joke while they reminisced about internship.  Then I talked to the informant and she was able to share with me directly the story she had told my mother.

Analysis: This piece was really interesting to me because I have heard a lot about serious folklore for doctors and the things they go through but this one was pretty funny.  Even though this community is really rigorous and the process of becoming a doctor if often really hard, it shows that there is still jokes and folklore that is really meant to lighten the mood and poke fun at each other.