The Kount and regional humor

 

It's 8:34 PM March 7, 2002 The Paseo Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

Every place seems to have something different about their humor. I believe there is a direct relationship between humor and fear. Have you ever noticed who laughs hysterically at racist humor? To me Humor is based on pulling a cliché out of one context and slamming it into a very familiar context resulting in a loss of fear. Plain and simple … anyway back to regional humor.

When I was living in Philadelphia I noticed a mean spirited humor I haven't seen other places … I knew people while in a snow storm who would sit inside storefront windows watching pedestrians on the sidewalk hoping one would slip and fall. One of the radio stations played a commercial which had people in the commercial getting beaten (and it didn't seem like slapstick) … don't think all of Philly is like this - I have wonderful friends in Philly. But the entire upper east coast is very crowded and people don't have a problem getting in your face. This is true Especially if they perceive you as invading their space.

It was really hard in England to see English Humor the way the English did. Of course it's really impossible. But for an American it seems that we are jealous of the way they speak our language it sounds so proper and especially so in the south of England. (Wow, I just lost a lot of friends) So humor like Monty Python is especially funny to us because they make fools of themselves and all the while they are using that proper English language. It makes us feel not so improper. They also can get away sexual jokes more than we can … they make sleaze sound soooo proper.

In LA sleaze was everywhere. They seem to complain that if you do a film with nudity in New York it's called Art but in LA it's called porn. My view about LA is that you can't be funny with sex and not have it come off sleazy. The sleazy context is so strong and ingrained in our minds. (At least mine)

In Montreal a large amount of humor was about 'language' based in the tension between the Francophones and Anglophones and their French and English cultures. You don't realize how 'English' our culture in America is, until you meet intelligent people in Quebec who have never heard of Ebenezer Scrooge. We are a cultural extension of England … of course we are slowly inventing our own culture but our roots have definitely grown out of Jolly ole England.

Here in Oklahoma we have our own humor. I sent you a wav file of this knucklehead in Tulsa who executes his pranks by calling unsuspecting victims on the telephone and always seems to end up saying "Just how big-a-boy are you?"

 

 

I would tell him, "I wish I was smaller",
The Kount
click here if you are big enuf

Speaking of regional here are pictures taken at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

 

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