Masaryk University Brno Faculty of Education
Department of English Language and Literature
British TV Humour Bachelor thesis
Brno 2006 Supervisor: Written by: Andrew Philip Oakland, M.A. Petr Bartoš
Declaration: I declare that I have written this bachelor thesis myself and used only the sources listed in the enclosed bibliography. I agree with this bachelor thesis being deposited in the Library of the Faculty of Education at the Masaryk University and with its being made available for academic purposes. ...... Petr Bartoš
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank to Andrew Philip Oakland, M.A. I am grateful for his guidance and professional advice on writing the thesis.
Contents Introduction…………………………….……….…………….…………………...3 FIRST PART 1. What is Humour?...... 5 2. Humour and Culture…………………………….……………………………...… 6 3. What amuses Britain?……………………………….…….……….………...……7 4. Comedy……………………………………………………………………………8 4.1 British Comedy………………………………………………..………………..…9 5. British Television Comedy.……………………………..……………………...…9 5.1 Sitcom situational comedy…………………………………………………….10 5.1.1 Britcom……………………………………………………………….…….…… 11 SECOND PART 6. What makes Britain laugh?..……………………………………………..……… 11 6.1 Madness & Surrealism…………………………………………………………...12 6.1.1 Monty Python's Flying Circus…………………………………..………….…… 12 6.2 Political Satire…………………………………………………..…………….…. 14 6.2.1 Yes, Minister……………………………………..………………….…….…….. 15 6.3 The Race……………………………………………………….……………..…. 17 6.3.1 Da Ali G Show………………………………………………………………..… 18 6.4. The Family………………………………………………...…………….……… 20 6.4.1 Only Fools and Horses………………………..……………..……...... 21 THIRD PART 7. It’s Monty Python!.………………………………………………... ...... ….… 24 8. Manipulation in Political Life……………………………………… ...... ……. 26 9. “Boyakasha!”...... 27 10. "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!"………………………. .…...... ….. 30 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...... 33
APPENDICES Appendix A………………………………………………………………...... 35 Appendix B………………………………………………………………...... 37 Appendix C………………………………………………………………. ...... 38 Appendix D……………………………………………………………… ...... 40
1 Bibliography……………………………………………………………… ...... 41 Resume…………………………………………………………………… ...... 44
2 INTRODUCTION
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humour to console him for what he is. ~Francis Bacon ~ In Britain during the 1950s electronic goods such as televisions, small radios and record players became cheap and widely available, and by 1960 most homes contained at least one of these. Cultural material was increasingly created for mass audience in the form of television programmes, popular music and film. The sale of popular novels, women’s magazines, sensational newspapers and comics also increased to meet demand for light entertainment. (Christopher 1999:5) This was the time when British sitcom and comedy shows were born. In Britain comedy is one of the most popular genres. Slapstick, sitcoms, stand up, satire, surreal humour the British have a long tradition of laughing particularly at themselves. In this thesis I study British television humour range from early 60’s to the end of the millennium, particularly two comedy shows and two British situational comedies that are well known as britcoms. From an inexhaustible quantity of high quality of British comedies and comedy shows I have decided to take a closer look on one britcom and one comedy show that also appeared on Czech television, namely Yes, Minister and Monty Python’s Flying Circus and situational comedy Only Fools and Horses, and at Da Ali G Show that were very famous in Britain but has not been screened on any of Czech television channels. The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part I try to find the answer to the question what a humour is, what amuses Britain and describe what a comedy itself is. I also mention British comedy and define genres as a sitcom and britcom. In the second part I analyse the content of all four comedy programs. The second part is divided into four chapters according to relevance to the topics which are Madness and Surrealism , Political Satire , The Race and The Family .
3 In the last part which is divided into four chapters It’s Monty Python!, Manipulation in Political Life, Boyakasha!, "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!" I convey some ideas about the humour in the comedies I have analysed in the second part, theories why they became so popular and reasons why Only Fools and Horses and Da Ali G Show has not appeared on Czech television so far. The thesis is supplemented with a CD that contains samples of the analysed programs.
4 FIRST PART
1. What is Humour?
Defining and analyzing humour is a pastime of humourless people. ~Robert Benchley ~
Have you ever try to find what a humour is? Have you ever asked anyone to define or to give an explanation of humour? It is curious that everyone knows it, everyone experienced it but almost no one knows how to define it. There are philosophical studies of humour that focus on the development of a satisfactory definition of humour. According to the standard analysis, humour theories were classified into three groups: incongruity, superiority, and relief theories. Incongruity theory is the leading approach and includes historical figures such as Immanuel Kant and Søren Kierkegaard. They primarily focus on the object of humour and see humour as a response to an incongruity, a term broadly used to include ambiguity, logical impossibility, irrelevance, and inappropriateness. The Superiority theorist is Thomas Hobbes, who said that humour arises from a "sudden glory" felt when we recognize our supremacy over others. Among superiority theorists belong also Plato and Aristotle who emphasize the aggressive feelings that fuel humour. The third group, Relief theory, is typically associated with Freud and Herbert Spencer, who saw humour as fundamentally a way to release or save energy generated by repression. (www.iep.utm.edu) One of the many definitions of humour says that “humour is something that makes a person laugh or smile.” That would mean that whenever we laugh or smile we experience something humorous. Is it really true? Do we really laugh or smile only when we are encountered with something funny? Of course not! Smiling and laughter is not evoked only by humour, laughter can be among many others evoked by fear of embarrassment or by tickling. What is more, we rather laugh than to look stupid, we laugh out of politeness or even to cover our restlessness. The other thing is that not everybody laughs or smiles at the same time, to the same things. It is possible to claim that something is humorous, even though no one laughed
5 at the time – and it can often happen that people laugh, but someone can claim, “That’s not funny.” (Ross 1998:1) As closer studies of humour revealed humour is based on a complicated multidimensional relation that arises in the interplay of the observer, the object that is observed, and the situation. It arises neither in the object itself (things themselves are not comical – they become so only through the subjective prism of human reception), nor in the observer himself. The relation between the object and the observer is, moreover, neither constant, nor regular – not all people consider the same thins to be funny. Not even the same observer need consider the same object funny under different circumstances. A very important role is played by the momentary situation.” (Poláčková 1990:80) Even though there are many studies and theoretical works trying to define humour, there has not actually been found a reasonable answer to the question what humour is. We still do not know. “What we known about humour today is not enough to form a relatively comprehensive theory, it is rather a mosaic of observations and partial views of selected problems from various aspects.” (Poláčková 1990:80) As humour is a part of any nation’s culture the next chapter deals with humour and culture and features of British humour. 2. Humour and Culture Culture can be defined in many different ways . One of the many definitions is: “Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.” (www.tamu.edu) Humour is a universal human characteristic which all cultures posses. The humour of a nation or individual is an integral part of that person or nation's culture. To try to define the “humour” of a nation is impossible task, as different people within that nation are always going to have their own individual sense of humour. Yet understanding the sense of humour of people is a key element of understanding the culture and language
6 and perhaps even more importantly of developing relationships with people from that country. The more we know, the more we can share with another culture the closer we can get to each other. (www.teachingenglish.org.uk) To understand the British sense of humour takes time. Once you understand it you will love it or hate it, there is nothing in between. British humour is notable due to its intellectual depth, usage of British slang, wit, sarcasm and 'plays on words'. British humour can seem offensive or insulting until you get used to it and aspects, such as slang terms or English personal references have a reputation for being puzzling to non British speakers of English. Nonetheless, many British comedy TV shows which use it as a basis have been internationally popular, and have been a strong avenue for the export and representation of British culture to an international audience. (en.wikipedia.org) Now when we know the features of British humour we should find out what British laugh at. 3. What amuses Britain? It's not an easy question to answer, but a hundred years and more of film and television do at least offer us a few clues. Of course, the British have changed a great deal in that time. They have been through two world wars, seen their cities fill with cars, welcomed the arrival of universal suffrage and the welfare state and watched Britain evolve into a multicultural society. The deep social, political and technological changes of the past century or so have transformed Britain and changed its people, leaving their mark on their sense of humour. But many of the things which amused their parents, grandparents and even great grandparents can still make them smile, chuckle, titter, chortle, splutter or guffaw today, and they are as keen on a good laugh as they ever were. Although Britain and British people have changed over time the comedy genres from stand up to sketches, sitcom to satire, we know today in film and television have been around for decades, sometimes centuries. Some of the subjects may have changed – comedians in the 1890s didn't tell too many jokes about Posh and Becks or the Internet – but others are much the same. They are still fascinated and infuriated by their weather,
7 their mysterious class system, their politicians, their celebrities. Perhaps most of all, they are endlessly amused by themselves and their bizarre habits. (www.screenonline.com) If we talk about amusement we should take a closer look at the comedy itself as the main genre that make us laugh.
4. Comedy
Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious. ~Peter Ustinov~ Comedy is itself a varied phenomenon, both in the range of forms it encompasses – from the joke to the sitcom and in the range of defining conventions it can involve: from the generation of laughter, to the presence of a happy ending to the representation of every day life. Moreover, discussion of these various forms and conventions necessitates drawing on quite distinct and diverse – field of study, from narrative theory to philosophy, psychology, and psychoanalysis. Perhaps the most striking thing about comedy is the immense variety and range of its forms. Historically, these forms have included narratives poems and plays, novels and short stories, commedia erudita and commedia dell’arte , slapstick and the comedy of manners, the jig, the droll, and the afterpiece, pantomime, and farce. Even with the more restricted fields of cinema and television, comedy is, and always has been, marked by its formal diversity. From the variety show to the short, from the sketch to the narrative feature, from cartoons to sitcoms and from double acts to stand up routines, the range of forms it can encompass is probably greater than that of any other genre. Given that this is the case, any single definition of comedy, or any definition of comedy base on a single criterion, is bound to be limited in application, and therefore insufficient. (Neale 1990:10) From the general observation of comedy itself in the next chapter we move on and examine British comedy.
8 4.1 British Comedy Land of both the stiff upper lip and the ministry of silly walks, England has long had both a highly respectable public culture along with a disreputable underground tradition of broad comedy. British comedy, known for its consistently quirky characters, settings and plots, has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years. (en.wikipedia.org) In Britain, the chief conduit for lower class comedy for years was the music hall, but the tradition has remained alive for many more years in the cinema (in the 1930s, in the Carry On… series of the 1960s) and on television ( Benny Hill ). At the same time upper class England has a long tradition of satire and keen verbal wit, apparent in the plays of George Bernard Shaw and Noel Coward in the early 20th century, coming to the fore in the post war comedies produced by Ealing Studio. The coarse and fine threads of British comedy were at last firmly knitted together in the radio and TV work of the 1950s and later in such productions as The Goon Show, Beyond the Fringe , Monty Python's Flying Circus and their filmic spin offs. These different traditions continue to jostle, with often fine results, today. (www.greencine.com) Since the majority of British comedies moved from ratio to television it in the next chapter we focus on British TV comedy. 5. British Television Comedy Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. The range of television comedy is extremely broad to the extent that anything under the heading comedy can be put before an audience through the medium of television. However, it is true to say that certain genres of comedy transfer to the small screen more successfully than others. (en.wikipedia.org) Currently, most British comedy is broadcast via TV with sketch shows, stand up comedy, impressionists and sitcoms being the four most popular formats. The situation comedy has proved one of the defining and most enduring genres in British television, despite its share of brickbats and setbacks. (www.reference.com) Over the last 40 or so years sitcoms have helped British society engage with itself the promise of laughter
9 allowing audiences to cope with more difficult material than they might sit through in a drama or documentary. The great British comic characters ( Captain Mainwaring, Basil Fawlty, Edina Monsoon, David Brent and others) tell us about the way the Brits live, and not always things they would wish to hear. Audiences have responded to these portrayals in millions and reruns of shows more than 25 years old still regularly get significant ratings. (www.screenonline.org.uk) As one of the most popular format of TV comedies is a sitcom, the next chapters give us a hint what we should expect from this genre. 5.1 Sitcom - situational comedy Situational comedy (Sitcom) is a deceptively simple concept comedy arising from a consistent situation. It has a distinctive relationship with its audience, requiring time to develop an understanding of its protagonists, its place and the humour that arises from them. It is thus perfectly suited to television in its demands for time, continuity and intimacy. Sitcom as a genre is demonstrably successful in attracting viewers. It is especially attractive to broadcasters since factors such as the (usually) small number of characters, limited member of settings and sets, and committed production teams offer and economic use of resources and facilities over a period. Sitcoms have also consistently shown a capacity to transcend their immediate social and cultural frames of references. (Brandt 1993:68) The form originated in radio, but prospered as television ownership spread dramatically in the 1950s. Like radio, television is a mass medium that works on familiarity to build an audience, but it also offered a wealth of hilarious visual possibilities. Initially radio sitcoms of the time were simply transferred to television, but eventually the need for new material encouraged the development of shows and forms designed specially for the medium. The first great British sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour (BBC, 1956 60) later Hancock was a transfer from radio. British TV situation comedy was
10 born here, for Hancock 's persona of the pompous loser out of his depth in an uncomprehending society still informs many programmes today. The quality of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson 's scripts laid down a benchmark for authored sitcom writing, helping to steer Britain down a different path to the team writing system in America. “Good sitcoms are a kind of virtual reality they reflect the rhythms of everyday life, the pain of the human condition and, of course, the joy of laughter.” (www.screenonline.org.uk) Sitcom is a general term for any situational comedy. If we talk about British situational comedy we use a term “britcom.” 5.1.1 Britcom British sitcom (Brtitcom) is a situation comedy (sitcom) produced in Great Britain. Like sitcoms in most other countries, they tend to be based around a family, workplace or other institution where a group of contrasting characters can be brought together. A common factor is the exploration of social mores, often with a healthy dollop of satire or bathos, in contrast to the sometimes uplifting sentiments of many American sitcoms. British comedies are typically produced in series of six episodes each. More recently, the portmanteau term "Britcom" has been used by American commentators to distinguish the British idiom of situation comedy from its other (particularly American) counterparts. (en.wikipedia.org)
SECOND PART
6. What makes Britain laugh?
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. ~Yiddish Proverb ~ What makes us laugh is often a mystery. But why we laugh is obvious. Funny is funny. We know it when we hear it or see it. And while much of comedy has a short shelf life, there are certain comics and comedic moments that have stood the test of time. They are
11 embedded in our pop culture and locked in our memories, and they make us laugh every time we think of them. (Garner 2004:1) 6.1 Madness & Surrealism
Madness is surrealism, but surrealism is not madness. ~ Charles Henri Ford ~ The British are famous for their eccentrics, which might explain the stranger side of our sense of humour. Surrealism, the art movement born in the 1930s, may have been more associated with France or Spain, but in comedy, the British have claimed surrealism as their own and exported it to the world. Monty Python's Flying Circus combined surreal skits about transvestite lumberjacks and delinquent grannies with the weird imagination of animator Terry Gilliam. The team's four feature films included a characteristically daft take on King Arthur and a controversial parody of the New Testament. Terry Gilliam developed a surreal career of his own with films like Brazil (1985). (www.screenonline.org.uk)
6.1.1 Monty Python's Flying Circus The comedy of the Flying Circus , although distinctive, did not arise by spontaneous generation: it had important antecedents in the music all and in British cinema. The series relied on existing forms of British comedy but moulded these forms to its own ends. The Pythons were not polemic or partisan. For the most part, they did not create and perform direct and topical political satire. The targets of their humour came from all levels of society, from different classes and different political positions, though their subject matter and treatment were largely geared toward educated and middle class audiences. Their comedy addressed domestic life, work, leisure, political practices, education, high and popular art forms, religion, sexuality, social class, gender, and the cultural forms in which these institutions and practices were articulated and disseminated (Landy 2005:30)
12 Background In 1969 a team of writers merged to become the entity and persona known as "Monty Python". Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin had all worked for BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) before in various capacities. John Cleese had worked on a show called " The Frost Report " and with Graham Chapman he co wrote " At Last, the 1948 Show ". Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam had been working on a show called " Do Not Adjust Your Set ". With the help of the BBC's script editor and head of comedy the two groups merged and were thrown straight into a series without a pilot for a run of 13 shows. The show's title " Monty Python's Flying Circus " was derived from the BBC's initial idea of "John Cleese's Flying Circus". John did not want the show to revolve around him and as a result he suggested "Python" and Eric Idle suggested "Monty".
The Shows In total there were four series of " Monty Python " containing forty five shows. By the start of series four, however, John Cleese had left the group to work on his own projects with his wife Connie Booth. The shows (for anyone who has not seen them) were mainly a mix of zany madcap humour, satire and school boy pranks and jokes. The comic devices of the Flying Circus were an encyclopaedia of comedy – involving gags, slapstick, the grotesque, wordplay, and banter – with the goal of producing a familiar world, rendering it strange, but ultimately and paradoxically making it recognizable. Memorable sketches include " Spam Sketch" , " Nudge, Nudge", " The Ministry of Silly Walks " and the unforgettable " Parrot Sketch ". The main "theme" that the shows revolved around was that there should be no beginning or end to the sketches but more of a stream of consciousness instead.
Writing The Shows The MP team soon had their own writing styles and groups. John Cleese would write with Graham Chapman and often create surreal humour. Terry Jones and Michael Palin (like John and Graham) kept their old writing partnership and Eric Idle wrote on his own, normally a witty verbal sketch.
13 Terry Gilliam was not involved with writing the shows as such, but instead provided animations for the shows. According to John Cleese there were a lot of "Artistic Fights" within the group over the show's content and now and again furniture would be thrown and people would storm out of the room. This was probably the main disadvantage with having five writers all battling for the biggest ego.
The Films There were three films made by the Monty Python team and they proved to be big successes on both sides of the Atlantic and at least one of the films created a huge uproar of complaint. The first film was called “Monty Python And The Holy Grail” and was a basic parody of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. "The Holy Grail" was an instant success on both sides of the Atlantic in 1975 despite the fact that the budget was limited. The second film was called "Monty Python's Life Of Brian" and was about a character that lived in the same period as Jesus Christ. It caused great uproar in the church and was marked as being an attack at religion. The film was banned in some southern states in America, and for a time banned in the UK from being shown on TV. The final Monty Python film (although members of the group did make other films together) was called "The Meaning of Life" . The basic idea behind this film was to follow the stages of life from birth to death in a series of sketches rather than a continuous flowing film with the same characters. Appearances from Simon Jones (who played Arthur Dent in the Hitch Hiker series) were featured as well as more appearances by Terry Gilliam. (www.galactic guide.com)
6.2 Political Satire
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy. ~Groucho Marx~
14 There is undoubtedly a long historical association between humour, comedy and politics. From the ancient Greek comedies of Aristophanes, to the medieval court jester to Yes Minister , humour has played a vital role in offering political critique or advice. In these and many other cases, political humour and satire can express what may be unpopular or subversive, and possibly influence public and political opinion. (www.adelaide.edu.au) Despite Britain's long and noble tradition of ridiculing authority figures in literature, theatre and political cartoons, British television was slow to discover satire. For centuries, the British have used humour to challenge political leaders and social or political attitudes. But strict censorship meant that satire in film and television was rare before the 1950s. First class political satire, admired not only by the public but also by politicians of all persuasions, and reputedly Prime Minister Thatcher's favourite show. A benchmark for quietly civilised yet scalpel sharp political satire, Yes, Minister is deservedly regarded as one of British sitcom's finest achievements. (www.screenonline.org.uk) 6.2.1 Yes, Minister Incredible as it might seem, it's 26 years since Yes, Minister a British comedy series about manipulations in political life was first broadcasted on BBC TV and it is still very up to date. The Yes Minister series started airing in 1980 on BBC 2. It consisted of three series, each with seven episodes. Each episode is about 30 minutes long. The first episode was broadcasted on February 25th 1980, and the final episode went out in January 1988 and almost every programme ended with the eponymous line, "Yes, Minister" The story focuses around three main characters: James (or Jim) Hacker MP, Sir Humphrey Appleby and Bernard Woolley. (www.bbc.co.uk) The show It all begins when James Hacker’s party wins the elections and he gets appointed as the Minister for the Department of Administrative Affairs.
15 Yes Minister depicted the career of a new minister James Hacker (Paul Eddington ) as he negotiates the workings of government office. Hacker represents an unspecified political party but is clearly a moderate, either centre right (most likely) or centre left. He enters office as Minister of Administrative Affairs with enthusiasm and ambition, determined to make his mark upon public life, but soon comes to realise that his hands are tied by complex bureaucratic regulations that seem both indecipherable and insurmountable. His Private Secretary, the pedantic Bernard Woolley ( Derek Fowlds ), does his best to steer Hacker through the minefield, but whatever progress the two of them make is usually revealed as a dead end. This is because, keeping one or more steps ahead of Hacker, is his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby(Nigel Hawthorne ), a silky smooth senior civil servant with a treasure trove of baffling phrases, paradoxical reasoning and enigmatic explanations. (www.nostalgiacentral.com)
The Episodes In every episode, the hapless Hacker, not being the most intelligent of men, attempts to carry through what he believes to be a bright, new initiative or policy, intended to cut costs or improve public services (and, at the same time, to promote his name), only to find his plans re routed or derailed by the usually imperturbable Sir Humphrey. To the civil servant, one minister is just like the next, irrespective of his political persuasion: an unavoidable irritant who must not, at any cost, be allowed to run the country. That is the job of the civil servants, and it is his solemn duty to uphold the status quo and, at the same time, feather the bed of his kind by ensuring that few civil servants, if any, ever lose their jobs as a result of government actions. To Sir Humphrey and his colleagues there is a right way of doing things their way and a wrong way, and that is the end of the matter. But while, in their initial encounters, Sir Humphrey was easily able to outmanoeuvre Hacker, without ever seeming insubordinate, the writers permitted the minister to becomes more confident as the series progressed, giving him the occasional victory over his adversaries, colleague. Then (in the December 1984 special), for reasons that he himself was never fully aware, Hacker was elevated to Prime Minister…. (www.bbc.co.uk)
16 The script The idea for the series was developed by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Jay was the political insider, a speechwriter, documentary maker and author, while Lynn was a comedy actor and writer. They first collaborated in the mid 1970s on training films for John Cleese 's Video Arts company, which gave them invaluable experience of turning real life management situations into comedy. The BBC bought the rights to the pilot episode and work on a full series finally got under way in 1979. (www.museum.tv) “The script of Yes, Minister was both perceptive and hugely funny, and the casting of the main roles was perfect. Paul Eddington was completely convincing as the gullible and idealistic Hacker, while Nigel Hawthorne was masterly as the machiavellian Sir Humphrey, assisted by Derek Fowlds as the genial Bernard Woolley. The show was an immediate success and was showered with awards.” (www.museum.tv) 6.3 The Race Comedy can often be a way of coming to terms with change, and one of the greatest changes of the past half century has been the transformation of Britain into a multiracial society, following a process of immigration beginning in the late 1940s. TV comedy's attempts to deal with race in the 1960s and 70s can be uncomfortable viewing now, although they weren't necessarily seen as racist at the time. One of the first British shows to take a serious and sustained interest in race themes was Till Death Us Do Part , originally broadcast in the mid 1960s on BBC1. In the 1980s and 90s, Black and Asian writers and performers finally found space for their own comedy on television ridiculing racism as well as exploring the Black experience of living in Britain ( The A Force ) and sharply challenged ingrained attitudes to Asians ( Goodness Gracious Me) . (www.screenonline.org.uk) Among the most controversial “race” figures of recent years is Ali G and Da Ali G Show. Da Ali G show is the name for two related satirical TV programs staring British Jewish comedian, a graduate of Cambridge, Sacha Baron Cohen featuring the character Ali G. The first season was made by Channel 4, the second by HBO. The first was not
17 shown in the US, the second was known as Ali G in the USAiii in countries where the first had screened. (www.answers.com)
6.3.1 Da Ali G Show The show, entitled “Da Ali G Show,” became and instant success on UK TV in 2000 and Ali G not only became one of the country’s biggest TV stars, but also one of the nation’s most prominent icons, whether the prim and proper Brits liked it or not. Appearing every where from magazine articles to award show red carpets, the only thing Ali G hadn’t conquered was only a boat ride away. (www.bullz eye.com) Ali G Rude, internationally controversial and surprisingly riotous, Ali G is the last person you want around some of the country’s most important figures. He is a hip hop journalist who has become one of the most entertaining personalities of this generation with a collection of unconventional interviews. Ali is a white man playing a Black man to ridicule Black youth culture, a white man playing a white man desperate to appear Black in order to look cool, or even a white man playing an Asian man trying to appear black. Ali G has divided commentators, but he continues to attract huge audiences, many of them Black, who just think he is funny.
Ali G’s comics appeal does not only rest on his linguistic representation. Rather, his speciality is embarrassing public figures by interviewing them and asking incredibly stupid and rude questions which they fail to understand. Examples of his style of interviewing include coaxing a bishop into saying that he believed God created the Universe, and then asking "And since then, he's just chilled?" Ali G then asked the Bishop what God looks like, to which the Bishop replied "Well, he's sort of Jesus shaped." One particularly memorable interview was with a fashion designer. Ali G suggested that the Wonderbra should be banned as it misleads men into thinking that woman's breasts are larger than they are; he retold a story of having been disappointed when a girl he had
18 "pulled" proved to have been wearing the Wonderbra. He also asked his interviewee if he was pleased Gianni Versace was killed, because it meant less competition, and he suggested that he'd heard a rumour that Calvin Klein did it. (www.answers.com)
Language Ali G impersonates an urban youth who uses London Jamaican, a variety with Cockney and Jamaica elements (cf. Sebba). This variety and style of speech was first created by black urban youths – mainly second and third generation West Indians – and has been taken up also by white Asian adolescents as an in group variety. Some of the features may be seen in the following excerpt from his “film diary.” (Reichl, Stein 2005:239) Example: DAY 1: First day of filmin – hexpected to go to LA, but instead got taken just round da corner from me Nan’s. Has big row wiv Director, Mike Marlod, coz it don’ť look nuffink like Souf Central. Him hexplain dat da film Aint done in da same order as da script, which iz well fick. Meet some of da ovver actors. Aint sure about Charles Dance – him keeps kissin me every time we meet and walkin into wardrobe while i iz in me pants. (Indahouse Production diary, www.iofilm.co.uk) For more about Ali G’s language see appendix A.
Characters Sacha Baron Cohen has not only propagated the hilarious characters of Ali G but also Borat, the inept Kazakh TV reporter, and Bruno, the over the top Austrian fashion expert. Borat Sagdiyev travels around the United Kingdom and United States interviewing people and engaging in their activities. Borat often makes his guests feel uncomfortable by introducing them to “Kazakh” customs, or by making misogynistic and anti Semitic comments based on his unfamiliar culture. Borat has been the cause of some controversy, mostly related to his frequent displays of anti Semitism but also notably for his portrayal of Kazakh culture. (en.wikipedia.org)
19 Bruno is the third and last used character of Da Ali G Show. He claims to be the voice of Austrian youth television, and makes others uncomfortable by flaunting his apparent homosexuality. Bruno, is the arrogant, flamboyant, yet stylish reporter of Austrian television who patrols the catwalks of New York and other cities to interview irreverent, fashion driven people. His outlandish facade topped with his repulsively colourful Mohawk makes you glad that you don’t look like that. (www.newu.uci.edu)
Controversy The questions and methods used by Sacha Baron Cohen through his characters do not come without occasional controversy. Some guests become upset when they learn they've been tricked, and various comments made on the show have caused outrage with viewers. The public was also divided of whether or not the humour in Ali G was racist and quite a few of Britain’s leading black comedians claimed that his performance was s caricature of blackness (BBC News, 11 Jan. 2000) The stubborn insistence on being black despite any physical evidence of an African or Caribbean heritage has furthermore and element of self parody and travesty – this relies on the dichotomy of behaviour versus appearance – and leaves his interviewees and the audience confused abut the ethnic signifiers he is paying with. (Reichl 2005:239) 6.4 The Family Despite the strong ties that bind us, families can be a pain. Perhaps because of this, we are fascinated by how other families work. We long to know what goes on in our friends and neighbours' houses, if only to see if our own experience is 'normal'. The ups and downs of one family the royals are a national obsession. Family conflicts are the source of much drama in film and television, but just as often they can be a source of humour. The British sitcom, in particular, has long chosen the family especially the (very) dysfunctional family as a favourite theme. (www.screenonline.org.uk)
20 One of the most favourite British families is that of the Trotter Brothers. They live with their Grandad (Lennard Pearce) in a flat in a tower block in Peckham, London. After Grandad's death, 'Uncle' Albert (Buster Merryfield) comes to stay, with endless tales that all seem to begin, "During the war ...." These leads come from the show Only Fools and Horses selected as 'Britain's Best Sitcom' in a 2004 BBC poll (See appendix B) 6.4.1 Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses was one of the nation’s favourite sitcoms during the eighties. Seven series (sixty four episodes) were broadcasted from 1981 until 1996 and each programme has been repeated again and again by popular request. Reflecting the capitalist fervour of Thatcherite Britain, a time of contrasting economic fortunes, the series celebrated the proverbial optimism of the archetypal cockney street trader, with his dreams of a wealthy future and aspirations for a better life. The series garnered historic ratings and has been one of the few programs in history to top the twenty million viewer mark. This program was not merely loved in Britain, it was cherished. (Berman 1999:44)
The Show The programme began as an idea by writer John Sullivan, who constructed the first scripts under the title Readies and finally persuaded the BBC to risk making a whole series based on the dubious dealings of a personable cockney "fly pitcher," who made a precarious living selling shoddy goods and quite without malice duping customers (including his own family and friends) at every opportunity. Retitled Only Fools and Horses after the time honoured proverb "only fools and horses work," the first series failed to attract much attention, but the quality of the scripts and the excellence of the actors gradually won a huge devoted audience and by the mid 1980s special festive episodes topped the BBC's Christmas ratings. (www.museum.tv)
21 The Cast As the series is being build mainly on the personalities of the main characters a close description of their temperament, habits and way of life help us better understand the program.
Derek "Del Boy" Trotter Born after the war, Del became his family's main money maker before he left school. His gift of the gab made him a natural salesman, no matter what the quality, safety, legality or suitability of the goods in his possession. Devoted to the memory of his mother and hateful of the way his father left after her death, Del puts family high on his agenda, refusing to put Rodney into care as a child and looking after Grandad in his frailty until his death. Del was never afraid to stitch up Rodney to save his own skin or pride. Popular with the ladies, Del was engaged numerous times during the 60s and 70s but never got close to marriage, only finally settling down after re meeting Raquel and having a son with her. Del misuses French phrases as part of his wish to appear cultured but is ultimately found wanting in aesthetic situations. Del's luck changed in 1996 when an antique watch hidden in his garage made him and his family overnight millionaires. He lived the high life for five years before losing it all in 2001 due to a stock market crash.
Rodney Trotter Born in the early 1960s after being accidentally conceived, Rodney Charlton Trotter (Nikolas Lyndhurst) never got to know his parents. His mother died and his father absconded before he had barely started school, so he was brought up by his teenage brother Derek and his declining Grandad. Rodney was a bright but easily influenced child, attaining GCE passes in mathematics and art before going to Art College in Basingstoke, where he was thrown out after three weeks for smoking marijuana, which also earned him a criminal conviction, a fine and a suspended prison sentence. Rodney subsequently became Del's apprentice, suitcase carrier and general whipping boy, and became the opposite to his brother cerebrally blessed with knowledge but lacking entirely in street wisdom or common sense, hence Del's frequent labelling of him as a "plonker".
22 Rodney tried numerous times to take more control of the business, pursue new interests or go out on his own, but it was only after meeting Cassandra at his evening school that Del finally decided not to interfere. Rodney duly married Cassandra but continued to stay to an extent under Del's influence. In the final episode of the show, Sleepless in Peckham , it was finally revealed to Rodney that his biological father was in fact local crook "Freddie the Frog", and not Reg Trotter, following much speculation in preceding episodes. In the same episode he and Cassandra became the parents of a baby girl, named Joan after his mother. Grandad Born at the turn of the 20th century, Edward "Grandad" Trotter (Lennard Pearce), grandfather on Del's father's side (Del and Rodney's absent father Reginald was his son) served in the Army during the Second World War and worked in a number of semi skilled jobs. He was widowed early and spent much of his final years almost completely housebound, although Del made him responsible for the housekeeping and the cooking while he and Rodney went out to work. Grandad never removed his hat, watched at least two television sets at once and rarely failed to burn the meals he prepared. He died in 1984 (just as filming for Series 4 was getting underway) and was buried in the episode " Strained Relations ".
Uncle Albert Born approximately five years after his elder brother Edward, Albert Gladstone Trotter (Buster Merryfield) was a seaman as man and boy, initially in the Royal Navy, then the Merchant. He married Ada but the marriage did not work out for reasons unknown, and Albert was a pensioner alone, moving to the homes of distant relation after distant relation, until attending Grandad's funeral and moving in with his great nephews Del and Rodney afterwards. He took over the Grandad roles of housekeeping and cooking, doing a considerably better job of it, and was also in the Nag's Head with frequency, drinking rum and playing the piano. Albert never stopped talking about his war days to anyone in earshot, often issuing tedious anecdotes which allowed Del or Rodney to mock him. Albert's death fifteen years after moving in with his great nephews was mourned on as grand a scale as Grandad's. This was written into the next episode made after the death of actor Buster Merryfield in 1999. In his will he left Del and Rodney £145,000 each, which got them out of debt with the Inland Revenue. (en.wikipedia.org)
23 Language The Only Fools characters speak in a special language, some of which is Cockney Rhyming slang and some of which are pure inventions sprung from the mind of Derek Trotter. From time to time Del also employs some unique foreign lingo. (See Appendix C) (www.bbc.co.uk)
THIRD PART
7. “It’s Monty Python!” The Monty Python’s comedy is often identified as “stream of consciousness,” “surreal,” “nonsensical,” or “carnivalesque.” There was no predecessor for what they were doing. Their show is different from what could have been seen on TV during 1969 1974, when their series first ran. A ragged, begrimed hermit emerges from the sea and struggles his exhausted way up the beach before falling in a spent heap and cueing the opening titles by croaking, ‘It’s….’ Mozart introduces a television programme dedicated to recreating famous historical deaths; bicycle race pitting Picasso against Braque, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Chagall and others; and a night school where a language instructor is teaching basic Italian to a classroom full of Italians. (Kington 2003:121) All of the above scenes appeared in the first edition to be screened of the pioneering hilarious Monty Python’s Flying Circus. But why are we laughing at this? The fact that we do not know exactly why we are laughing is all part of Monty Python’s game. For someone who watches the show for the first time the comedy might seem bizarre. The content fool of strange hybrid animated characters, the use of cross dressing, the use and abuse of language, sketches full of misunderstanding, awkward, crude, facetious humour and witless songs. The episodes have no closure, and often seem to have no point. However these are the things that make the show so popular up to the present time. The show allows its audience to laugh at nothing and something simultaneously.
24 Despite the fact that the shows have well aged it seems that Monty Python have the ability to exceed generations. What made Python so accessible to people all over the world was the topics that were covered were easily. Many of the famous skits revolved around the satirization of society, the government and politics, finance, and every day life. “In the Pythons’ comedy, nonsense becomes a higher form of sense manifest through the language of the body inversion of linguistic categories, and distortions in visual perception of places and events. Specifically, the mixing of high and low culture, the intertextual dimension of the comic material, the daring treatment of the body and of sexuality, and the unrelenting critique of the television medium made the shows accessible to wide audiences despite the often erudite character of allusions to literature, philosophy, and history.” (Landy 2005:3) One of the most repeated comic devises employed by Flying Circus are skits involving two persons, one behind the desk and one in front of the desk. Many of the sketches portray commercial negotiations gone awry. In one of the most memorable sketch called “Dead Parrot”, a customer (Cleese) enters a parrot shop and complains to the owner (Palin) that he has been sold a dead parrot. The owner denies that the parrot is dead. He insists that the bird is only resting, offering explanation: “as a Norwegian parrot, the bird is homesick for the fjords.” Exasperated, the customer takes the bird, dashes it to the floor, and shouts: “This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It’s a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn’t nailed it to the perch, it would be pushing up the daisies. It’s an ex parrot.” But the problem of replacing the parrot becomes complicated, because the owner claims he is out of parrots and tries to sell the customer another “animal” that he can “design.” This episode relies on the stubborn resistance of the owner to admit that the parrot is dead and the desperation of the customer to convince the salesman that the parrot is indeed dead and demanding compensation. Monty Python’s Flying Circus has many fans among Czech audience, mainly among young generation. In the Czech Republic the series became popular thanks to the Czech Television that first broadcasted the show in 2000 on ČT2, and Petr Palouš who provided the original texts with brilliant Czech subtitles. Monty Pythons became even
25 more popular and addressed wide audience thanks to their films, especially Life of Brian and The Holy Grail. Monty Pythons is being considered as a cult series full of British satirical humour. 8. Manipulation in Political Life One can have a feeling that our country is full of political experts. Do you ask why? Well, everyone from workers to university professors talks about politics and politicians. What they did, what they should do, what they should have done, what they should not have done. Poking fun at politicians is as Czech as not being bothered to actually vote. Politic is an everyday issue in our conversations. It seems that everyone understands the politics except the politicians. The bitter true is that we talk about it, think about it, but hardly anyone really understands it. People are often talking about how nothing in our country works properly, but you only have to watch an episode of Yes, Minister to understand why…. Yes Minister is brilliant example of firs class political satire about manipulation in political life. It is highly accurate in its depiction of the corruption, politics, red tape, and manipulation that forms an integral part of the administration of any government. Margaret Thatcher, herself a fan of the series, referred to it as being a "closely observed portrayal of what goes on in the corridors of power." (news.bbc.co.uk) The main theme of most episodes of the programmes as was mentioned above is the struggle between James “Jim” Hacker, the Minister in the (fictional) Department of Administrative Affairs and his civil servants and ministerial colleagues. The clever and witty scripts poke fun at politics and political system regardless any political party. As the show is popular not only in United Kingdom it shows that there is no need to understand the British political system to enjoy the humour in this sitcom. It success is mainly due to its wonderful dialogue and sarcastic portrayal of life in politic. The characters and mainly the dialogues are so convincing that one cannot believe they are fictional. They rather look like true representation of politicians’ daily life.
26 Humphrey: Make him something important. What's he interested in? Television? Hacker: Hasn't even got a set. Humphrey: Fine, make him a governor of the BBC. Bernard: I think you should put out a press statement showing sympathy for the unemployed. Humphrey: Why? Bernard: You may be joining them any moment . Yes Minister is a wonderful world where “under consideration” means “we have lost the file” and “under active consideration” means “we are trying to find it,” where Minister's language: “We have decided to be more flexible in our application of this principle” means “We are dropping this policy but we don't want to admit it publicly.” No wonder that this kind of comedy found its supporters in our country where politics is an every day issue. Although, performed in the 1980's and in Britain, these portrayals and ideologies are also very true today as comedy enjoys re runs on ČT2 with excellent Czech dubbing. 9. “Boyakasha!”
Ali: "Boyaka sha. Check dis. Today we is talking about women. I is with none other than Professor Sue Leece. She be director of the Centre for Gender Research and we is going to talking about ladies. Now, one in two people in the country is a women, so we has got to know about this... Women. They is important aren't they?" Sue: "They indeed are, very important, as important as men." Ali: "Which is better? Man or woman?" Sue: "Well equality is not about being better." Ali: "But which one is better?" Sue: "Neither is better." Ali: "But one must be just a little bit better." Sue: "In what respect?" Ali: "Like, you know, in the way that something is worse and something is better."
27 This is just a short example from Da Ali G show. When you see the show for the first time without warning you may by quite surprised what is going on here. Weirdly dressed man, with sunglasses on, using peculiar English, interviews mostly well educated people, asking them really stupid questions, receiving really polite answers. For a while you may feel that the progress of the show has been arranged. Do not be mistaken, everything in this show is “REAL” as Ali often stresses. Ali G is so smart with his comedy, yet silly and serious at the same time. The fact that he is “acting seriously” is why he is so silly, because it is obvious to the viewer that he is joking. But the people in the interview try so hard to give serious responses, which only add fuel to his comedic flare. When Ali G started his career, it was not obvious whether he is real or mere fictional character. Sasha Baron Cohen invented Ali G as a representative of a marginalised group of people in Britain; young, black, suburban, uneducated if not illiterate street kids. In the guise of Ali G, a young TV journalist working for a programme called “The Voice of Youth”, Cohen interviewed several eminent British protagonists of the cultural, political and academic ruling elite. Being confronted with Ali, they had no idea that his identity was not real, but trusted the given frame of reference, the setting of the TV interview, and the given concept information about the British establishment for the underprivileged young people. Nobody mistrusted Cohen because he fitted so well into Britain’s late twentieth – century construction of cultural identity. (Knight, Long 2004:63) Why is Ali G so funny? It is his pretty simple joke, which is why even some kids get it. Essentially you have two people who look totally different one man dressed in an absurd yellow jumpsuit, and the other man dressed in a suit. They are speaking in different ways, with different body language and totally different levels of intelligence. For that time people are in the room with Ali, sometimes they seem they totally forget who they are, and they come out with a completely different side of themselves. They are in the room with a total “idiot,” and yet they are seeking his approval. Cohen’s show reminds me a little of Mr. Mrazek’s show called “Telefonní ústředna” from radio Evropa 2 or other well known radio show from Frekvence 1 called “Knedlo, Zelo, Vepř.” Both these shows were based on calling up different people, companies or
28 institutions pretending to be silly, asking really barmy questions and poking fun at them. The only difference between these shows and Ali G is that Ali does not hide behind the phone, he visits the people himself and interviews them impudently face to face. Ali G’s guests cannot really win. If they calmly endure his dumb questions and stubborn incomprehension they may end up looking silly, and if they show their irritation they risk coming across as morons. Still, the ways different people respond to the challenge can be revealing. Since Da Ali G Show hinges on attracting guests who have never heard of Ali G, it did not last long. Cohen became so well known in Britain that he had to move his act to the U.S. The more successful Cohen became, the sooner he had to stop. (www.findarticles.com) The whole show is not only based on Ali G as was mentioned above. Cohen additionally plays two other characters fashion reporter Bruno and Kazakhstan Television correspondent Borat. Wildly effeminate, Bruno interviews a range of fashion and media types, all of whom are more than happy to say anything just to get some time on camera. Bruno is usually hit or miss and his bits are getting a bit tired. For me it is Borat, who is the show's secret weapon. Borat gives Cohen a chance to show off his gifts as a physical comedian. His playing reminds me heavily of Petr Sellers in the Pink Panther series. His segments, "Borat's Guide to America," send the English impaired personality to visit "real America": dating and etiquette experts, acting school, nature colonies, and town council meetings. Asking the most inappropriate questions possible, Borat pushes American hospitality to the limit. (video.barnesandnoble.com) How come that despite the show being so popular in Britain and United States it has not found the way to any of the Czech television channels? It remains unclear whether Mr. Baron Cohen’s brand of humour would attract a broad audience, which is one of the most important things for any TV, and whether it would be accepted without any protests. I am sure that the young generation would love it but as the show is full of inappropriate language and is balancing on the edge of racism, anti Semitism and misogyny it may receive an onslaught of criticism from all sorts of minority groups and organisations. The other point is translation. Important point of translation is definitely finding the right equivalents and the right “style” in target language. This could be a
29 serious problem in case of Da Ali G Show that uses much of slang, colloquial words, or simply other version of so called standard.
10. "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!" This is one of the famous quotes from the most beloved sitcom in Britain which managed to attract twenty million viewers. What is so funny about Only Fools and Horses? Why this show became so popular? Why the Czech audience has not had a chance to see it on Czech TV? As Eddie Braben once said, “A good sitcom needs to have the right ingredients blended together so that the public can related to. You need a strong story line and then the comedy will evolve from it, conflict problems, and characters bouncing of each other with some good visual comedy thrown in.” (www.onthebusesfanclub.co.uk) This sounds like a recipe according to which John Sullivan created the amazing misadventures of market trader Del Boy Trotter and his younger brother Rodney. One old adage goes: you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family although there have more than a few times when for Del and Rodney Trotter they really wished that it was the other way round. (www.bbc.co.uk) Only Fools and Horses became popular thanks to the brilliant story line. The funniest bits in this comedy are arising from all sorts of situations. One time it is the sightseeing business with Trotters Ethnic Tours when Del wants to show the tourists as he says, “All those romantic places that you’ve heard about in fairy tales. The Lee Valley Viaduct, the glow of Lower Edmonton at dusk, the excitement of a walk about in Croydon.” Next time Del becomes the owner of three tons of lead which turns out to be a do it yourself nuclear fallout shelter, or Del falls in love and it looks like the lovely Heather could soon become Mrs Trotter that is until her husband shows up. Other reason of the huge popularity is the humour which is devilishly created so as not to reveal the jokes before the punch lines.
30 Del: Maisie Turner! Who the hell's Masie Turner? Grandad: She married Bernie. Remember Bernie? Used to pull the stall out down the market. Del: Yes yes! What about 'em? Grandad: Well she had two sons. One by Bernie, the second by some bloke she met on a charabanc trip to the lights! Bernie found out and divorced her. Del: How'd he find out? Blood tests? Grandad: No, the youngest boy was half-caste! (Thicker Than Water ) Grandad: Scotch bloke gave me this during the war. I remember it like it was yesterday. His hands were trembling and his voice just a whisper. He said "I want you to have something to remember me by, Trotter. Take me lucky coin." Then he . . . he went! Del: What - he died? Grandad: Deserted! (A Losing Streak) Another reason of their success is the family mischance. Trotters are losers and people love to watch losers trying their fortune. People love to share their ups and downs. The Trotters buy and try to sell almost anything and many episodes are based around some faulty or stolen stock bought by Del. Del has always been able to manipulate Rodney into helping him with his enterprises and however reluctant Rodney was, he never quite. Last but not least that makes the show is the relationship of the main characters. Even though the Trotters are mostly useless in their everyday business, they are unfailingly loyal. Del and Rodney most of the time fight like cats and dogs but there is a very strong bond with them and Rodney would die for Del. The show worked because of the obvious love between the characters, and that they skirted around this even through the tough times. It is difficult to say why Only Fools and Horses series have not appeared on Czech television despite its popularity in Great Britain. As BBC provides inexhaustible amount of high quality of situational comedies and both public television and commercial stations in the Czech Republic do not provide enough space for this genre it
31 is presumably hard to choose the right one which would attract the Czech audience as all of them deserve to be screened. One of the reasons for not appearing on Czech television yet might be the difficulty with translation. Probably one of the most troubling features of translation a film into another language is finding suitable equivalents in the target language. Such equivalents should fulfil exactly the same aesthetic function as in the original and the atmosphere should me maintained. As the characters in the sitcom speak with Cockney Rhyming slang and especially Del employs some unique foreign lingo it might be difficult to find the right equivalents and this would require a big amount of creativity.
32 CONCLUSION As I am utmost fan of humour and the British one belongs to my most favourite I have decided to dedicate my thesis to the British television humour. Since most of the people recollect only Mr. Bean or Benny Hill Show when you ask them to name any representatives of British humour they know. I have decided to extend their knowledge and so in this thesis I introduce and analyse two British situational comedy and two comedy shows. The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part the theory and definition of humour and comedy is discussed. In this part I also describe features of situational comedy and explain concept of britcom. The second part focuses on two britcoms and two comedy shows I study the script, cast, language and the show itself. The third part of my thesis is focused on humour and quest of what is so funny about the comedies and why some of them have not appeared on any of Czech television stations. People watch a comedy, laugh they guts out and then say: “What rubbish.” Humour compared with serious matters is always considered for something subtle. Hamlet will always be considered Shakespeare’s best play but never Taming of the Shrew even though both this plays are great. It is peculiar that things that make us laugh are always considered for some reason less significant than the serious one. I think that the art of entertainment is one of the hardest disciplines and the most ungrateful. It is said that humour is a seasoning of life. Scientists who study humour and laughter and its impact on human life say that one minute of pure laughter extent life expectance about an hour. The more you laugh the longer you stay alive. Hopefully this thesis and the sample on the enclosed CD steers you to the British comedy that definitely extents life.
33
APPENDICES
34 Appendix A “Here diz, me aint doin’ nufink but chillin. Aiiii!!! Booyakasha!!!” Sound famliar? Yeah it’s the entertaining yet complicated language of non other than Ali G. But can anyone honestly says that they can understand a full paragraph let alone a sentence of what he says? Here is a glossary of terms to help you out with Ali G translations!
Aiii Agreement/approval (An expression of “Aiii!!” ) Batty Boy A homosexual man (“Shut it, I ain’t no batty boy!”) Beast Male genitalia (“Me Julie tickles me beast.”) Bigupyaself Respect to you (“Bigupyaself J Lo.”) Bitch/me bitch Lovely Lady (“Where’s me bitch?”) Bonin Sexual Intercourse ( “I has been bonin Me Julie.”) Booyakasha Greeting (“Booyakasha! I’m Ali G.”) Chillin’ Relaxing (“ain’t doin’ nufink but chillin’”) Da The (“Ali G Indahouse.”) Da erb The Herb = Marijuana (“I iz dealin’ da erb.”) Dat That (“Iz dat right?”) East Staines Massive Sworn enemies of the WSM (“ Da ESM is shite!”) (see below) Easynown Hello (“ Easynow, rudeboy!”) Fink Think (“I fink she is a right minga”) Fit An attractive person ( “Mariah Carey iz so fit.”) Here Dis Listen to this (“Here diz, calling out.”) Ho Whore/prostitute ( “She iz a ho.”) Hood Home town/territory (“ Me posse iz hangin’ in da hood.”) Innit Is it not? ( “I iz avin’ a wickid day innit?”) Iz Is/are (“ I iz Ali G.”) Keepin’ it real Being true to ones self (“ Keep it real!”)
35 Mashed Stoned (“Dis iz good stuff, I iz totally mashed.”) Maxium Respeck An expression of utmost appreciation (“Maxium respeck!”) Me My (“me Julie.”) Me Julie Ali G’s girlfriend (“ Dey iz callin’ Me Julie a slag!”) Me Nan Grandmother (“Dis iz me Nan.”) Minga An ugly person (“She iz a minga!”) Posse Friends/homies (“I iz chillin wiv me posse.”) Punani Female genitalia ( “Got a nice punani.”) Street Around – a hip, cool expression ( “Word on the street.”) Swingaz/Babylons Female Breasts (“Dat bitch az wickid babylons.”) Wesside WSM gang greeting (“Wesside. Booyakasha!”) West Staines Massive A gang from West Staines headed up by Ali G (“Shout out WSM!”) Wickid Great/good ( “wickid!”) Ya You/your (“Get ya face outta mine.”)
36 Appendix B
The top 50 British sitcoms of all time
The voting started in the summer 2003 to find the Top Ten from a list of 100 British sitcoms. Since the start of 2004 the public have been voting by text, phone and online, to decide which programme will receive the ultimate comedy accolade of Britain's Best Sitcom. The ten favourites were revealed in a live final on the 27th of March 2004. Here is the top 50: 1. Only Fools and Horses 342,426 votes 27. Rising Damp 2. Blackadder 282,106 votes 28. Dinnerladies 3. The Vicar of Dibley 212,927 votes 29. As Time Goes By 4. Dad's Army 174,138 votes 30. Hancock's Half Hour 5. Fawlty Towers 172,066 votes 31. The Young Ones 6. Yes, Minister 123,502 votes 32. Till Death Us Do Part 7. Porridge 93,902 votes 33. Butterflies 8. Open All Hours - 67,237 votes 34. The Thin Blue Line 9. The Good Life 40,803 votes 35. The Fall and Rise of Reginald 10. One Foot in the Grave 31,410 votes Perrin 11. Father Ted 36. Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights 12. Keeping Up Appearances 37. Waiting for God 13. 'Allo 'Allo! 38. Birds of a Feather 14. Last of the Summer Wine 39. Bread 15. Steptoe and Son 40. Hi-De-Hi! 16. Men Behaving Badly 41. The League of Gentlemen 17. Absolutely Fabulous 42. I'm Alan Partridge 18. Red Dwarf 43. Just Good Friends 19. The Royle Family 44. 2point4 children 20. Are You Being Served? 45. Bottom 21. To the Manor Born 46. It Ain't Half Hot Mum 22. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em 47. The Brittas Empire 23. The Likely Lads 48. Gimme Gimme Gimme 24. My Family 49. Rab C. Nesbitt 25. The Office 50. Goodnight Sweetheart 26. Drop the Dead Donkey
37 Appendix C
A guide to the colourful lingo Del uses in Only Fools and Horses series.
Basic Lingo cop to receive something, or a police officer. cosmic outstanding; exceptional cushty great; brilliant dipstick a fool el-bow also 'the Spanish fiddler', to end a relationship enemy wife, missus Gandhi's revenge a dodgy stomach heave-ho another way of saying 'el bow' hump to be annoyed humpty-dumpty to perform sexual relations jacksie the posterior jaffa to be 'seedless' as in infertile, one who 'fires blanks' lovely jubbly brilliant, great, cushty mutton deaf, hard of hearing noofter a gay man plonker an idiot pukka great, perfect ruby Indian takeaway cuisine schtum to keep quiet, keep a secret sort a woman, or bird stoke on trent a gay man stone me an exclamation of anguish stuke a difficult situation this immortal curl the world triffic great, wonderful twonk a plonker or dipstick wally a twonk, a plonker, or a dipstick
38 Money Lingo boracic or brassic lacking in funds, skint century £100 douce in bunce £200 earner as in a "nice little ...", a profitable business transaction grand £1000 kosher readies unlaundered money monkey £500 pony £25 potless to be skint score £20
39 Appendix D The enclosed CD contains samples of the programmes discussed in this thesis. Namely: Da Ali G Show (in English) Ali G – Feminism Interview with Professor Sue Leece, director of the Centre for Gender Research Da Ali G Show Law Season: 1 Episode: 1 Sacha Baron Cohen introduces American audiences to his three characters in this, the first episode of HBO's version of Da Ali G Show. Ali G takes us to the Philadelphia Police Academy, where he undergoes an abbreviated police training course. On "Borat's Guide to America," Kazakhstan TV's Borat gives us a crash course on American dating. Next up, Bruno from Austria visits with PR guru Paul Wilmot and takes a surprising turn on the runway at a Lloyd Klein fashion show. Ali G then interviews former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, who he asks to explain the distinction between "legal," "illegal," and "barely legal." Former Attorney General Edwin Meese also makes a brief appearance.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus (in English with Czech subtitles) Season: 1 Episode: 8 Army Protection Rocket; Buy a Bed; Hermits; The Dead Parrot; Hell‘s Grannies Only Fools and Horses (in English) No Greater Love... Season: 2 Episode: 11 Rodney's got himself a bird at last! Unfortunately she's no spring chicken and her jailbird husband is about to be released. Yes, Minister (in Czech) Danajský dar/The Bed of Nails Season: 3 Episode: 19 Hacker must formulate an Integrated Transport Policy. But the title of Transport Supremo turns out not to be worth having.
40 BIBLIOGRAPHY Berman, G. Best of the Britcoms. Taylor Publishing Company 1999 Brandt, G. W. British Television Drama in the 1980s . CUP 1993 Christopher, D. British Culture: An Introduction . Routledge 1999 Garner, J. Made You Laugh!: The Funniest Moments in Radio,Television, Stand-up,and Movie Comedy . Andrews McMeel Publishing 2004 Kington, M. British Comedy Great . Cassell Illustrated 2003 Knight P. and Long, J. Fakes and Forgeries . Cambridge Scholars Press 2004 Landy, M. Monty Python’s Flying Circus . Wayne State University Press 2005 Morreall, J. Humor Works. Human Resource Development Press 1997 Neale, S. Popular Film and Television Comedy . Routledge 1990 Poláčková, M.: On Some Problems of Humour in Language (with Regard to Translation from English into Czech). Philologica Pragensia 33, 1990 Reichl, S. and Stein, M. Cheeky Fictions: Laughter and the Postcolonial . Editions Rodopy B.V. 2005 Ross, A. The Language of Humour . Routledge 1998 Wickberg, D. The Senses of Humor: Self and Laughter in Modern America . Cornell University Press 1998
INTERNET SOURCES
Humour, Multiculturalism and ‘Political Correctness’ , Mark Rainbird Department of Politics, University of Adelaide
41 Only Fools and Horses – Lingo , BBC Comedy
42 British sitcom, Wikipedia
43 RESUMÉ
Tato bakalářská práce je studie britského televizního humoru pohybující se v rozmezí od počátku šedesátých let do konce milénia, která naznačuje že humor a komedie má nejednu podobu a lidé se smějí mnoha různým věcem. První část práce se týká definicí humoru, komedie, situační komedie a britské situační komedie. Druhá část ze zabývá rozborem dvou britských situačních komedií, jmenovitě Only Fools and Horses a Yes, Minister a dvou komediálních pořadů Da Ali G Show a Monty Python's Flying Circus . V poslední části bakalářské práce se snažím objasnit proč jsou tyto humorné pořady tak populární, co je na nich tak zábavného a proč se některé z nich ještě neobjevili v programové nabídce ať už komerční či veřejnoprávní televize u nás. RESUME This thesis, a study of British TV humour range from early 60’s to the end of the millennium, implies that humour and comedy has many variations and people laugh at many different matters. The first part of the thesis deals with definitions of humour, comedy, situation comedy and britcom. The second part analysis two British situational comedies namely: Only Fools and Horses and Yes, Minister and two comedy programs: Da Ali G Show and Monty Python’s Flying Circus . In the last part of the thesis I try to clarify why are these humorous programs so popular, what is so funny about them, and why some of them have not been screened on any of Czech television channels.
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