What do Americans think of British humour?

26 comments

1. It’s a bit more acerbic and more absurd than American humor in general. It’s also more about laughing *at* people vs American humor being more about laughing *with* people.

   But British comedians and British TV and movies are popular here, so we still appreciate it.

2. At first it was very hit or miss because I didn’t get the cultural differences and slang that went with some of the jokes. Now, I can enjoy them since I have a better understanding of the context behind the jokes. Some British comedy is a bit too on the nose and dry for me though, but I can still enjoy it.

3. Big fan. Cynicism and taking the air out of delusional or arrogant people is always good for a laugh in my book.

4. I like it, it can be quite clever.

5. Not a fan

6. I enjoy it

7. I enjoy the dryness and occasional cynicism but ofc it’s a lot harder to do right and it often fails

8. It seems just as diverse as American humor really. I suspect if you made a continuum of cynical to lighthearted, there would be popular American and British shows/ movies/ comedians across the whole range, with a slight bias of British comedy on the cynical side and American comedy on the lighthearted side.

   The difference is not, in my experience, as pronounced as people often imagine. If Americans have trouble getting British humor it’s more likely due to not getting the cultural reference, or in some cases not understanding what was said because of accents or word usage, than to not being able to understand sarcasm/ cynicism/ dark humor.

   Edit to add: also, if a British person thinks American humor is silly or simplistic, or the other way around, it’s probably because that type of humor is easiest to get without much cultural knowledge. So anyone from outside a country is likely to miss anything that’s delivered deadpan and requires a certain amount of background or context, and only notice the silly slapstick stuff.

9. Completely depends on the demographic. Simply put, the more British-like the American, the more it’s appreciated. Those who have almost no connection to British culture often can’t relate to British humor.

10. It’s my favorite. I like the self deprecating and cringe factor of much of the humor (The Office, Extras, Peep Show) and the absurdity and silliness of Monty Python and Mr Bean.

11. It’s a misconception that Americans don’t understand or appreciate irony, subtle humor or sarcasm.

    Case in point: “*Bless your hearrrt*.”

    Some of the more slapstick stuff though…that doesn’t really make me laugh…although we have strange slapstick too like the Steve-O stuff.

    But I never found Mr. Bean or Benny Hill funny. Sorry. Little Britain or “how very dare you” — whoosh. (I feel the same about some of the vaunted sitcoms here, though.)

    I liked some of Monty Python and they’re quotable. Not sure I can think of sketches that made me literally laugh out loud.

    Pantomimes are not something we really have here either. It’s a bit strange, seeing fairy tales combined with some raunchy humor, at times.

    Not really into farces either, like the *Good Night Nurse* stuff or *No Sex Please We’re British.*

    I like British mysteries and Shakespeare and other classics done by British actors. And costume dramas.

12. I am quite fond of it.

13. kinda cringeworthy imo

14. I love it! I’m pretty sure you’ll find that a lot of Americans enjoy British humor and find it very entertaining.

15. A bit odd ain’t it?

16. Sometimes it can be great.

    Most of the time it’s not nearly as funny as Brits want to believe it is.

17. More cynical than American humor and it involves far more laughing at people instead of with them

18. I love it. I spend more time than I care to admit watching Taskmaster, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Big Fat Quiz, WILTY, et al. I enjoy the standup too. I obviously don’t get every joke because they sometimes have to do with British culture and news, but I generally really enjoy it.

19. British humor is at its best when it is making fun of Britishness.

    Prime example: A Fish Called Wanda.

    The same can probably be said about American humor. Team America, The Simpsons as examples.

    That’s what unifies our cultures and separates us from the despicable French. We reserve our most biting satire for ourselves.

20. Love British humor!!

21. When it’s good there’s nothing better.

22. I generally prefer it to American comedy. American comedy seems to often be about awkward situations while British comedy is about absurd situations. The absurdism is great fun to me.

23. It tends to be a little dry and sarcastic compared to American humor.

    However, given the great popularity of a number of British comedy TV series in the US, it’s pretty clear that Americans definitely have an ability to enjoy a lot of popular British humor.

    Also, not just TV series. . .the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book series also was a big hit in the US.

24. It can be funny sometimes. I think the British take it a bit far in their nearly religious fascination with it versus American humor, often putting British comedy on a pedestal 1000 times higher than American humor on the idea that “American humor has to explain the joke to Americans to be funny” which couldn’t further from the truth.

    I don’t go out of my way for it, especially the standup comedy from British comedians. Their whole platform seems to be to denigrate Americans as a whole and throw in a bit of self loathing to “mix it up.”

25. You would think a country on an island wouldn’t have such dry humor. But the saltiness is understandable.

26. Some of the funniest comedy I’ve seen has been done by the 8 out of 10 cats crew.

    Not sure if that’s too “Mainstream”, but James Acaster, Jimmy Car, Sean lock (RIP), and my personal favorite Joe Wilkenson have some incredibly solid performances.