Bi ismilahi rahmani raheem

assalamu alaikum

Jihad: The Musical

Angela!  How lovely to see you here!  For myself I am only online because I have a very unexpected afternoon off so I thought I'd check out what's going on.  Can't resist a post or two.  I mention you in Babysteps' post about Online Marriage.  I hope you don't mind, but if you do, obviously, I'll delete Forthwith.

But I digress.

Anyway, for Rami, whose posts I admire for the most part. Humour?  (I am put in mind by a very funny cartoon posted by AK_MF last year about June of a British expedition clothed in Burkas and no-one raised an issue then.)  I haven't yet seen the video in question. Some so-called "humourous" things are plainly insulting.  I am still amazed at the "Cartoons" from the Danish newspaper; I thought that of all nations, Denmark would have had more sense. Freedom of speech is one thing, but .........

However, why do we use humour?  Sometimes it's just that: funny. My favourite of all time is Najrudin Hodja (forgive spelling if incorrect): Turkish if I remember correctly.  The twists and sillyness of the character make him endearing and cross cultural boundaries. I can relate to him.

(I especially like the one where he is searching for something he lost in his house.  He goes outside.  "It doesn't seem to be here," says a helper.  "Oh, I didn't lose it here," says Najrudin.  "But out here there is more light!")

Lovely!

However, humour can be cruel, but perhaps not intentionally so. Perhaps we seek in humour what we cannot face in ourselves?  Things, events we cannot cope with on a conscious level. (Remember all the Challenger and Diana jokes.  Not funny, but an escape from horror. Ignorance too.) Of course, there are cultural differences in this and I acknowledge that.  What is considered "humourous" in one culture is simply not funny in other.  I know this all too well from teaching English as a Foreign Language.  My Japanese students in particular never did get my jokes (reduced me to an idiot in fact!)

But, I am brought to mind of the play (and later movies) of The Producers.  "Springtime for Hitler": excuse me?  The producers of the play thought that they would have a dismal flop and they would have a fortune in their laps.  The irony was that, after a while, the play being so bad, the audience saw the "joke", and the plan was foiled.  Still funny to me after all these years (I haven't seen the new ones).

So, again, what we cannot fathom, sor cope with on a conscious level, sometimes we laugh about.  But it does NOT mean that we are in league with - what, the sub-plot (?). It doesn't mean that we agree with the "overt" message. Americans in particular  have an ideasyncratic sense of humour (as do the British but QUITE different!)I think humour is too subtle.  Irony is always funny - it laughs at itself. Points fingers at the joker.

BTW:  I have posted elsewhere (and forgive the change in subject) about a book I am reading by Al Gore called Assault on Reason.  There is hope for America after all!  Do get hold of a copy.

Again,

Colin and I say hello/"hola" (almost a year now!)