Society Seen Through Jokes: What Stereotypes Tell Us

I discussed earlier that jokes which refer to certain aspects of society may well be considered a form of art, as they express feelings and ideas, as well as social truths in creative ways, through metaphors or parables or other devices.

We've looked at the process that takes place as a 'social' joke is born from a source and reaches the state of final product. Now let's shift our perspective for a sec and look at the other end of the stick: once we come across such a joke, what kind of social truths does it convey about the society that has produced it? What does it tell us about the people behind it?

Here, I find it particularly interesting that certain groups of people are attributed certain characteristics: many social jokes are based on extreme stereotyping. Even more interesting is that these stereotypes differ from country to country, sometimes from region to region.

As Romania (Transylvania) is the only place I've ever lived in, I can only bring valid examples from the joke-stereotypes which are frequent here. For instance, many jokes are based on the idea that policemen are complete idiots. I suppose it shows the kind of respect that people here have for the institution. I've heard that in some more civilised countries people wouldn't begin to imagine how such jokes can exist. Then, many jokes dwell on the thought that marriage and wives are bad things, and mothers-in-law are something horrible. Also, different nationalities are associated with different characteristics: the Scottish are stingy, Jews are shrewd (especially in business), the Japanese are small and yellow, the Somalis weigh about 20 kilos and they eat one grain of rice a day. Similar generalising thoughts exist about locals of different regions, for instance, in Transylvania, it is said that folks in Oltenia (south of the Carpations, along the river Olt) are even thicker than policemen. Not really sure what kind of jokes they have down there though...

Generalisations which, if you think of it, are very cruel. But that is beside the point. The point is, some of these stereotypes are world-wide, others are not. Those that are wold-wide, reflect a world-wide opinion. The more restricted ones are signs of differences between nations, values, concerns, attitudes. Through 'social' jokes, we can gain an understanding of local social stereotypes, which can reveal deep aspects local society, anywhere.

Disclaimer: no offense is meant to any of the groups mentioned (or ignored) above. The generalisations do not represent the author's views or opinions regarding any nationality or group of people, but serve as examples of the existence of social stereotyping.