Is it funny?

If someone told you that the British laugh heartily at a scene from a TV program that shows a man in a wheelchair going to a swimming pool, you might be shocked. You might also think that the British have a pretty sick, non-pc sense of humour. Why don’t you watch the scene and decide for yourself:

I bet you laughed. It’s not politically correct to tell jokes that make fun of someone with a disability. But, this scene, from the TV show Little Britain, makes fun of the “helper”. It’s the unexpected – and slightly bizarre – view of a situation that makes the British laugh. It’s also why we laugh at the following:

• One fat guy and his friend trying to kill zombies with old Dire Straits records. (Shaun of the Dead)
  
• A British policeman riding on a white horse through a small country village, carrying a ton of automatic weapons. (Hot Fuzz)
• A hotel owner angrily beating his car with a branch. (Fawlty Towers)
• A group of men, some fat, some thin, but most of them ugly (the good-looking one is gay), stripping to make money (The Full Monty)
  

OK, before we go any further, here’s a word of warning. It’s one thing to laugh along at scenes from a film or TV series that make fun of fat, ugly men. It’s quite another to tell your own jokes in a business setting. You have to be careful not to cause offence (or make sure there aren’t any fat, ugly men around before you tell your joke – just kidding!).

I’m personally no good at telling jokes. I often forget the punch line – or even forget an important detail at the start that would make it funny at the end. In our exercise we try to stick to politically correct jokes (ones that don’t make fun of race, religion, gender, illness, nationality). Find out if you’ve got what it takes to tell such a joke in English.

Deborah Capras