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Does Asian humour exist?
ASIANS have no sense of humour. Their idea of comedy is slapstick. Irony doesn't exist in Asian discourse. There are no comedians in Asia.
That's a list of conventional beliefs about humour in Asia. I don't think any of them are true. But I don't blame anyone for thinking these things. The west is overflowing with stand-up comics and comedy movies and witty cartoons. But comedy — well, intentional comedy — is harder to find on the eastern side of the planet.
You need to know where to look. There's lots of wit in the Philippines. There, you'll find a bakery called Bread Pitt; a pipe-laying firm called Christopher Plumbing; a boutique called The Way We Wear; a burger shop called Mang Donald's; a hairdresser called Felix the Cut; a butcher called Meating Place; and so on.
Other parts of Asia also generate jokes. Here's one from South Asia: You Know You Are Asian If: (a) your dad is an engineer or a doctor; (b) everyone assumes you're good at math; (c) you have a 25-kilo sack of rice in your pantry; (d) you have rocks, sticks, leaves and mysterious strange-smelling substances in your medicine cabinet; (e) you refer to all adults as auntie and uncle.
Here's a joke I love in Indian English: Manager: "Raju! You was discharged from hospital yesterday only. Why you come office today itself?" Raju: "Doctor told me take rest for a month. That's why I come to office!"
Why is Asian humour tough to find? The media in Asia tends to be run by government officials and business people looking after their own interests (sorry, is that tautology?). Individuals like that just ain't funny. China once put out a government-approved pop song called When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Peasant. Without a trace of irony.
So instead, look to the Internet, student publications, theatre groups and so on: that's where the humour's hiding. The fact that you are reading this column makes you part of a large group of people in Asia who like a laugh --so we are perfecdy placed to "prove" Asia has a sense of humour. If you know any Asian jokes, send them in (no, don't post Joseph Estrada to me).
An Asian man goes into a night market food-stall and orders three rice dinners. He eats all three by himself. "Hungry?" asks the food stall man. "I am one of three brothers," the diner says. "One of my brothers has a restaurant in London and the other has one in New York. So we pledged to always eat like this, so we can remember each other at mealtimes." Every day the diner comes to the food stall. And every day he eats three rice dinners. This goes on for more than a year. And then one day he comes into the restaurant looking very sad. He orders only two rice dinners. The food stall boss approaches with his head bowed. "I would like to offer my condolences on the sad passing of one of your brothers," he says. "Oh, neither of my brothers is dead," says the diner. "It's just that I'm on the Atkins diet."
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