Man 1: Knock, Knock…

Man 2: Who’s There?

Man 1: Britney Spears.

Man 2: Britney Spears who?

Man 1: Britney Spears…

OOPS I DID IT AGAIN.

My informant told me this knock-knock joke one day when there we were in an awkward situation. He later explained that his sister always told people this joke when there was an awkward silence or to break the ice when meeting new people.

Jokes, I feel, are often an overlooked division of folklore. Since jokes are so common nowadays in our society, they become almost part of our everyday speech. They also seem to come out of nowhere, but somehow everyone knows them. Jokes permeate our culture and often represent certain aspects of politics, society and popular culture. In this case, the reference to Britney Spears truly demonstrates that certain jokes are only understood by special groups of people. If you told this joke to someone who do not know who Britney Spears is, the joke would lose all meaning.