I find myself the odd man out at gatherings, be it at a wedding or the movies. Sometimes the odd man in, I chuckle at the times nobody else laughs. The icing on the cake is that most of the people look at me weird when I laugh.
When I'm at a comedy club a dime a dozen of the jokes aren't funny, the once that are, I'm the only one laughing. Thus discover myself having to bite my tongue.
Recently I was at Ethiopian theatrical event; the actors were pulling our leg with varieties of Amharic idioms and slight of hands. The satire was much more sophisticated than the average US-living Amharic-speaking audience. The FOB's were laughing while the younger more American crowd was out on a limb. It seemed as though event organizers were barking up the wrong tree.
Enquan ye DC seuw ye Bole Lijoch won’t understand the intricate Amharic that was in use on the plays.
Like usual I was the odd man out and out of the blue the guy sitting next to me, without speaking, questioned the level my Amharic understanding. Needless to say, I was mortified and somewhat pissed at the notion that I didn’t understand the hoaxes. Hey buddy, I wouldn’t have laughed even if I understood the ins and outs of the Ethio-centric spoofs. But ya I understood!
Great minds do not think alike. Ever heard of “the aristocrat joke .” I bet you won’t find it funny. Am I an idiot or do I have sophisticated sense of humor?
Published by September 19th, 2006 in Current Issues and Social.Send this post to a friend
Some years ago I was talking to a German woman in the UK and I happened to mention that nowadays, since so many people move between cultures, we need multiple senses of humour to get by. She look offense and retorted that she has the same sense of humour in Germany, UK or anywhere. I tried to point out the difference in Mr. Bean kinda of humour vs. Friends to no avail. She thought it was insincere to switch ‘personalities’ to jive in with the crowd. You can imagine how easy it was to make her laugh!
Since that discussion, I’ve thought about what she said and I’ve come to the conclusion that humour is like a sport. As long as you practice it, you’ll get better at understanding it. The more we spend time hearing/participating in one kind of humour, the worse we become at another. It’s not sophistication, but we’re probably truly rusty with habesh humour, which should not be taken as a testament of our (lack of) grasp of Amharic.
I must say I couldnt agree more… Should I say Thank you…
IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS A TESTAMENT TO OUR LACK OF GRASP OF AMHARIC..
but seriously this problem is not just in amharic… its everywhere… when i go to the movies… minamin.. i hardly laugh when i do laugh its at the moment nobody else is laughing
ha ha ha
I was reading the response of ,nolawi,in the library I was laughing out loud ,because it was so true .Everytime I go to movie with my friends which is americas and others .I would laugh at at point where people are not laughing and I would feel so embrassed and my freinds would feel so self consious to go to movie with me ,they would always warn me not to laugh when”An old lady take fall …” great blog .
“Recently I was at Ethiopian theatrical event; the actors were pulling our leg with varieties of Amharic idioms and slight of hands. The satire was much more sophisticated than the average US-living Amharic-speaking audience. The FOB’s were laughing while the younger more American crowd was out on a limb. It seemed as though event organizers were barking up the wrong tree.
Enquan ye DC seuw ye Bole Lijoch won’t understand the intricate Amharic that was in use on the plays.”
Dear Nolawi,
If it was the recent theatrical event held in DC to celebrate the life & works of Laureate Tsegaye, his plays which were performed that day were not satires but rather serious plays using Amharic with deeper meanings. Kind of plays with a use powerful words and deeper meanings as in plays of Shakespear or Tennesse Williams in English.
I think ALEMTSEHAY the event organiser and the actors who performed his works earlier in their acting career wanted to pay their due respect by showcasing what they consider the best of Ethiopian drama written by him. You are right most of the audience (not only those born or raised in America) do not have the same apreciation to drama in Amharic let alone to Tsegaye’s works. For most it was eye opening. I was sitting with people who had no knowledge of Hamlet to be such entertaining and universal in its appeal. This was their first experience of classic drama.
The part which was satirical and many in the audience was laughing about was not Laureate Tsegaye’s work as far as I know. It was introduced by the organisers in the interlude, most probably written and rehearsed by local group among the perfomers. It was funny but for some who may have come to show their respect to the life & works of Laureate Tsegaye, may found it distasteful because it might be interpreted as TIGRE bashing or making jokes at the expense of ethnic group to say the least.
Yes Aba,
That was the event I was talking about.. indeed there was some bashing
but it wasnt primarly ethnic but more towards the government which happens to be comprised of a certain ethnic group…. that is how i saw it…
anyways there were parts of hamlet which i found funny… and others didnt…
It is sadistic that there is a comparison between shakespear and the mighty tsegaye. There is no comparison. Any paradigm that seeks to compare ceases to be. Kal yeeminete eda new inji yenat yabat aydelem.
Peace and love.
War is no longer welcomed.
Nolawi, You’re not alone there are many of us out there with a sense of humor like no other. I don’t even try to attend Abesha comedy or theatrical shows anymore. I buy the DVD’s and watch them over and over until I get it. If I’m still lost after viewing it several times I’ll give it away as a birthday gift or something (ha/ha).