
What makes Jewish comedy Jewish? - samclemens
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/jewish-comedy-david-baddiel/
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bittermang
Anecdotally, if I've learned anything from watching comedians like John
Stewart: self deprecation is the keystone of their entire act.

Every comedian seems to have some level of it, because not taking yourself too
seriously is like a vital component of turning comedy in to a job. But Jewish
comedians go to that well a lot more than, for example, Black comedians like
Katt Williams.

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woodpanel
I can partly echo what you've said about Black comedians, although there has
been a great progress if you compare Katt Williams or Chris Tucker with Kevin
Hart, JB Smoove or Chris Rock. Maybe progress is also the wrong word, since
Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy were brilliant stand ups of their time.

One quality of good comedians I might add is observational skills: To see the
weird in everyday situations.

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CPLX
Richard Pryor was an all time master of self deprecation.

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dangerbird2
Case in point:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjD4PHojNBU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjD4PHojNBU)

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allthenews
As a Jew, I don't know how I should feel about articles like that these.

This is blatantly racist, in a confusing era where we are to acknowledge
positive differences among ethnicities, and ignore negative differences.

One simply cannot do both. It is fundamentally irrational to, with one hand,
speak of how a certain race is superior in some way, while pretending this
doesn't imply that other races are inferior in some way.

Which is it? This kind of glaring contradiction drives me crazy.

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jhbadger
If people are saying Jewish humor and culture is something genetic, then
that's racist. But Jewishness is a culture in addition to ethnicity. Jewish
humor is an aspect of it, much like forms of humor in other cultures.
Comparing styles of humor across cultures is perfectly fine.

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js8
I don't think your definition of racism is correct; in modern parlance, racism
often includes ethnicity (not to mention that we cannot objectively, based on
genetics, define race). Chauvinism would be a more fitting term, anyway.

> Comparing styles of humor across cultures is perfectly fine.

I also take issue with this. Humor reflects culture, and if you compare
different cultures, aren't you stereotyping?

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0568p11xf
For there to be different cultures, there must be differences between them -
by definition. To compare is to examine differences. If such a rudimentary
line of inquiry triggers guilt about "stereotyping", then you ought to take
time to examine your words more carefully. If by stereotyping you mean
assuming that all Jewish people are comedic in an identical way, no one here
is saying such a thing. But unless your head is buried deep in the ground,
there is a much-celebrated phenomenon called Jewish humor, and interest in it
by non-Jewish people is something to be celebrated, not censored.

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YouAreGreat
> It was often said of Friends that it was written as if for six old Jews

Not wrong—for a lot more of it than just _Friends_. Adolescent sexual themes,
adolescent preoccupation with what the rules are and how to subvert them, but
all of it with verbally precocious execution.

Maybe the single word answer to the headline question is _neoteny._
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny)

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thisisit
This article reminded me of the time when Tim Whatley on Seinfeld turns Jewish
just for the jokes.

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travisjungroth
What a wonderful read. I'm sitting here on a bed with my girlfriend, Mars,
having just read it to her.

It reminded me of my Jewish mother and her vibrant storytelling. There's great
pleasure in telling a riveting tale of a small slight.

It reminded Mars of my not-Jewish (but somehow more Jewish) father. Both
respectful and subversive, he'll make a joke to an armed guard if he can.

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forgotmypw
Page is blank for me... is it a long read?

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golemiprague
It is not "Jewish humour", it is American Ashkenazi Jewish humour of a
specific era. Humour in Israel is different, humour in non Ashkenazi
communities is also different. Even if you look at Jewish comedians in the UK
like Sasha Baron Cohen it is a completely different style of humour.

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jamra
Yes! I’ve been in Israel for the better part of this last year. One of my
neighbors is a comedian. The prevailing humor is very specific to country of
origin.

There is so much Ashkenazi American Jewish culture that wouldn’t make any
sense to Ashkenazi Jews in Israel.

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John_KZ
The author actually argues that one of the reasons is "the bible isn't funny"?
My own guess would have to do primarily with nepotism and secondarily with the
appeal of a different perspective of a foreign culture to an American
audience. Whether people like it or not, the Jews actually have a strong lobby
in the entertainment industry, and they like nepotism, probably even more than
the average american.

~~~
csixty4
I wouldn't underestimate the influence of the Borscht Belt. Successful Jews in
entertainment vacationed there, while young up-and-comers performed in the
comedy clubs. Who got seen? Whose names got circulated around? It was a self-
perpetuating cycle until the Catskills clubs fell out of favor.

