SO...HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAI HUMOR?

[DamienZ]

One of the things I have always found refreshing about my trips to LOS is how different Thai humor is, what they truly consider funny, and how it can be an absolute contrast to what is considered funny in other countries and locations. Does any one have any similar stories or anecdotes describing Thai humor? Please share!

One of the many reasons I love Thailand and Thai humor (Ha-pee!). Most parents or adults stateside would almost never address the topic of transgender to a child of this age unless it was brought up and then, not likely. Not mentioning the obvious...it's a corporate commercial from Sylvania! Though corny, I think in some respects way ahead of the curve. The possibility of exploitation of a LGBT character by a multi-national corporate sponsor is another topic unto itself which I will bypass for the sake of enjoying this bit of humor on it's own merit.
May the Banana ghost bring you much sanook and Ha-pee ness now and in the coming year!

Anyway enjoy!

[youtube:1831dgrb]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNhnOAXC7pA[/youtube:1831dgrb]


DZ
:laughing3:

[netrix]

i went with a couple of thai friends to a movie in thai. it was a comedy with english
subtitles. they couldn't understand why i wasn't laughing hysterically. mostly corny
slapstick humor but they loved it. always the stereotypical queeny gay character,
and the fat funny guy character. cheesy. i had more fun watching them laugh than
i did watching the movie.

[DamienZ]

Yea Netrix,
I agree. I have watched a couple of Thai comedies which brought the house down which were at best corny (and that's not a put down)! I just pay the price of the ticket to enjoy my fellow Thai movie goers ROTFL! :rolling: That in itself is well worth the price of admission!

[Beachlover]

I like it when they get all sheepish trying to explain something... it's cute!

[Wesley]

They seem to be having a good time but rarely let you in on the Joke. maybe its about you, LOL, you never know!

[thrillbill]

After living here in Thailand for 6 years, I envy how the Thais can have "sanook" when working. They believe in creating/ having fun when working together; whereas we Westerners are brought up to take things too seriously.. and heaven forbid if we create fun with our jobs and joke around...

Next, I do find the joking about the handicap a bit rude; but there again,it is a different culture. The other night when I was at NAB nightclub, the show still had the "ladyboy" mute who gets laughs by groaning out "words"... Not funny to me, but to the Thais it is. Maybe I take things too seriously.

Next, I love the "fat lady" in the DJ Station caberet-- a very talented person in how he can use expressions and simple skits to get the audience to laugh. (Reminds me of the talent olf Red Skeleton back decates ago). It is great to see all the Thais laugh at his/ her humor.

Yes, in some ways Thai humor is different than the West. But if you want to see warped, non creative humor in the USA, just turn on the sit coms. Horrible.

[bao-bao]

Next, I do find the joking about the handicap a bit rude; but there again,it is a different culture. The other night when I was at NAB nightclub, the show still had the "ladyboy" mute who gets laughs by groaning out "words"... Not funny to me, but to the Thais it is. Maybe I take things too seriously.
Humor and what's proper or politically correct indeed varies by area, culture, etc. Sometimes people can take things too seriously, but we all interpret what's funny differently, too. There are times I laugh at things that I know aren't "nice" to laugh at or about, but they still strike me as funny. When possible I try to balance being polite and not "thinking too much".

As for the ability to find enjoyment and fun in whatever we're doing I think it's often a cultural mindset we could all learn a lesson from. I won't go into detail here again, but there's a post about Thai guys (with photos) here: http://khunbaobao.blogspot.com/2010/05/sanuk-doesnt-just-mean-fun.html ("Sanuk doesn't just mean 'fun' ")

[DamienZ]

Thanks Khun Bao Bao!
That was a fantastic piece on "sanook", and I had always wondered about the "law" pose, what it was called and why they did it. I know it is very popular in LOS when someone is getting their photo taken. Now I know what it means.

[cdnmatt]

Some of it I actually quite like. Unfortunately, most of it is quite retarded. When you goto an Issan concert for example, some of the skits are actually really good.

And there's one TV show I particularly like, but can't remember the name. It's about this older Thai lady, and her probably 14yo farang son. He was born and raised in Thailand, so speaks Thai perfectly. She doesn't speak a single word of English, whereas he knows at least a bit. They go through all these different adventures throughout Thailand together, such as for example, hosting a tour bus of farangs, or the kid trying to get viagra from a clinic, etc. It's always good for a laugh. :-)

[Beachlover]

Next, I love the "fat lady" in the DJ Station caberet-- a very talented person in how he can use expressions and simple skits to get the audience to laugh. (Reminds me of the talent olf Red Skeleton back decates ago). It is great to see all the Thais laugh at his/ her humor.
Yeah, he is very comical isn't he? Haven't seen anyone quite like that before!


Humor and what's proper or politically correct indeed varies by area, culture, etc. Sometimes people can take things too seriously, but we all interpret what's funny differently, too. There are times I laugh at things that I know aren't "nice" to laugh at or about, but they still strike me as funny. When possible I try to balance being polite and not "thinking too much".
They tend to be less politically correct and more innocent with stuff like that... I like it sometimes.