Category Archives: Humor

Cultural Joke

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Culver City, California
Performance Date: 4/20
Primary Language: English

Interviewer: Do you know any folklore based on stereotypes or any jokes based on communities?

 

Informant: I know some jokes that I learned from my family.  I think one that would fit is a joke I heard from my mom.

 

Interviewer: How does it go?

 

Informant: Why do Mexicans make tamales for Christmas?

 

Interviewer: I don’t know, why?

 

Informant: So they can have something to unwrap.

 

Interviewer: That is actually really funny, I don’t think it would have the same meaning if I wasn’t Mexican.

 

Informant: Yeah I think it’s more relatable because my family has tamales for Christmas and it’s a big part of our celebration.

 

Interviewer: Yeah it was actually really funny and the first thing I thought about was how excited my dad gets around Christmas because he could honestly care less about the presents but loves tamales.

 

Informant: Yeah exactly.  If you weren’t Mexican it would be more like you thought it was funny because it fulfilled a stereotype but not because you actually understood the customs or the culture.

 

Interviewer: That’s so true! Thanks for sharing.

 

Background: The informant is a Junior at USC studying Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Change.  She is Mexican American and comes from a large family and extended family based in the greater Los Angeles area.  The informant is also the roommate of the interviewer and a close friend who shares many cultural traditions.

 

Context: This interview occurred during a lunch meal with friends where we discussed similar cultural practices.  The informant first heard this joke when at home with her family and then shared it with me.  She said her mother was the one to share the folklore and that she had heard it before from another within her community.

 

Analysis: At first this joke was really funny to me but then I thought about the cultural implications that went into creating the stereotype.  It was weird to see how other people thought about a given culture.  And it was interesting to analyze why it was funny to those within the group, and to me it was that people within the group are able to laugh because they are acknowledging but also counter acting the stereotype.

 

A Little More than a Prank

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Restaurant Manager
Residence: Temecula
Performance Date: 4/8/18
Primary Language: English

Main Piece: SR: In high school, there was another girl that was in band… and we used to toilet paper everyone’s houses, but she didn’t have any trees in her front yard, so we went and stole a tree out of the ground, and went to her front yard and dug a hole and planted her tree, and then toilet papered the tree! And today, you can drive by and the tree is still in her front yard. We then wanted everyone to see the new tree, so her best friend lived across the street and had a circular driveway, and then we toilet papered their house and thought it would be super fun if everyone had to drive through her driveway to get to school to see it! So we spent the night driving around stealing traffic cones and detour signs and then made it so that every road going to school was blocked off, and anyone who wanted to get to high school that morning had to drive through her driveway.

CR (wife): I can attest to this, because I didn’t even know him and I remember having to drive through her driveway to get to school! I remember when he told me this story the first time, I said “That was you!”

 

Context: This practical joke, alongside many others, was done while SR was in high school.

 

Background: SR was a huge prankster in high school: he did this, he stole street signs, he painted someone’s car without them knowing… SR has always loved jokes and pranks, and even in retelling this story he was cracking up.

 

Analysis: Toilet papering someone’s house is a widespread high school tradition throughout America. Everyone has either toilet papered or been toilet papered. SR’s version gets much more unique, because not only did he literally plant a fully grown tree in someone’s yard, but in order to have people see his handiwork, he toilet papered a neighboring house and forced everyone at their high school to drive past it. This practical joke is a large variation on the standard joke of toilet papering, but in SR’s family this story in itself has become a tale– SR has told it, his wife has told it, even his daughter has told it to friends whenever pranks come up.

 

You Don’t Know Shit from Shinola

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 03/27/2018
Primary Language: English
  1. The main piece: Shinola (Proverbial Insult)

“You don’t know shit from Shinola.”

  1. Background information about the performance from the informant: why do they know or like this piece? Where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them? Etc.

“My grandpa used to say it to my dad, and my dad said it to me. He said one day my dad said something, and he said, ‘You know what, you don’t know shit from Shinola.’

“Shinola is brown shoe polish. So it’s the same color as shit. So no one knows shit from Shinola.”

  1. The context of the performance

It’s a proverbial insult that members of his family used to say when the informant was growing up. He said that “it doesn’t impart wisdom, it’s saying that you have none.”

  1. Finally, your thoughts about the piece

Insults and teasing are often a way of developing close relationships and building rapport. This joking insult passed from grandfather to father to son shows the teasing nature of their relationships and the lighthearted attitudes in their families. This proverbial insult also provides a way for elder members of the family to reprimand children when they become overconfident or misspeak: while it clearly puts them in their place, they know that it is a “tough-love,” teasing phrase and are not too wounded by the insult. It also may show that the insulter does not view the insultee as mature or old enough yet.

  1. Informant Details

The informant is a 22 year old American male and grew up in Tiburon, where he spent lots of time with his father and grandfather, as well as the other kids in his tight-knit neighborhood. His primary language is English, and he currently resides in Los Angeles.

Fix it in Post

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Film Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/27/2018
Primary Language: English

The following is a common filmmaking joke phrase:

If something is not working right while working on a film you just say

“We’ll fix it in post”

 

According to the informant it means that you will let the editor deal with it.

 

The informant also added that it is said by a lot of newer people but describes it as less funny the longer you have been there.

 

Context: this was collected during our in class collection time

 

Thoughts: I think it’s kind of funny how the reception of a joke can show how long you have been in that business, if you are a newcomer you will laugh more than a veteran. It can sort of outline your status. I also find it funny that the joke is technically about not wanting to do work, so you are passing it off to another person. I found that to be a common idea in many occupational jokes.

Gaffers vs Grips

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Film Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/27/2018
Primary Language: English

The following is a common filmmaking joke:

How many grips does it take to fix a light bulb?

I don’t know

None, let the gaffer do it

 

The informant explains that gaffers only handle electrical work, while grips handle everything else and its disrespectful to do the gaffer’s work if you are not one

 

Context: this was collected during our in class collection time

 

Thoughts: I found this joke to be amusing, mainly because you can look at it from two sides. One, that you do the work you are assigned and don’t take someone else’s work. Or two, you don’t want to do extra work, so you leave it to someone else. I find it funny that even where I work retail, we have similar jokes, about not wanting to do extra work too.