What is French humor?

French borrows few words from English, and "humor" is one of them. However, this does not mean that the French are not humorous. On the contrary, the French are a very funny people.

French humor cannot be summed up in one formula, but it does have several notable characteristics. French humor is a bit self-deprecating in the style of a small country and its people. When gathering with French people, few people will be arrogant and conceited like people from rich countries. On the contrary, they will often laugh at the fact that their country is small and everyone lives in a village. Therefore, French movies, especially comedies, rarely show the kind of scenes seen in American movies. The frequently used "heroes of great powers save the world" joke. The feelings of a small country and its people have cultivated the heroism that permeates French movies. Most of the inspiration for humor comes from the ridicule of ordinary people and the embarrassment they encounter in life.

The French like to mock everything through imitation. Compared with British humor, French humor is more extroverted and public. In the 1990s, France's "Puppet News" was regarded as the most terrifying anti-government force. In addition to their political preferences, the French also like to poke fun at social fashions. Edward Baer and Ariel Weizman portray fashionable, cultured urbanites as nightclubs and social parasites in the TV show "Nowhere Else." Guillaume Chand and others mocked the countryside with a poetic tenderness on television. French humor targets everything. Presidents, farmers, poets... everyone can't escape being ridiculed, and everyone accepts ridicule with a sense of humor.

The prototype of French humor can be found in Rabelais's "Giant" in the 16th century, which contains a bit of vulgar taste. Moderately dirty jokes, machismo, and populism that unite people's hearts, reveal a bit of tavern jokes and full childishness. The French have a preference for this kind of madman-style humor. There is a line in the movie "Uncle Killer" that has been remembered by generations of French people: "An idiot dares to do anything. That's why people recognize him."

Of course, humor reflects the times. Society is changing, and the comedy humor of the 1960s cannot be exactly the same as the humor of the early 21st century. At that time, France was experiencing the golden period of social development after World War II. Everyone had a job, every house was building a house, everyone lived and worked in peace and contentment, and people had a good environment and plenty of time to think and discover, so humor was calm and wise. , full of philosophical thoughts. Although the number of comedies at that time was far less than it is now, many high-quality works were produced. Nowadays, laughter seems to be everywhere in French people's lives, in movies and on TV, but civilian life is more revolving in a business atmosphere, so humor is more market-like and less wise and aftertasteful. French music magazine reporter Jean-Marie Durand commented: "It has become background noise, accompaniment to entertainment programs, and the prelude to programs...TVs use comedy to increase ratings.