When a foreigner makes jokes that might seem over the line, it can often be funnier to the audience for several reasons:
1. Cultural Clash and Different Perspective:
A foreigner’s perspective often offers a fresh and unexpected view that differs from local norms and expectations. When such a person makes jokes that the local audience might consider taboo, it can create a surprise effect, making the joke even funnier.
2. Forgiveness and Sympathy:
The audience may be more forgiving towards a foreigner, assuming that the joke-teller may not be fully aware of the local norms and taboos. This adds an extra layer to the joke, where crossing the line feels less serious and more liberating.
3. Tension Release:
Such jokes can help relieve tension and anxiety that the audience may feel about certain sensitive topics. If a foreigner can address these topics humorously and lightheartedly, it can provide the audience with catharsis and laughter through a liberating experience.
4. Outsider vs. Insider:
When a foreigner makes jokes that would seem inappropriate or even risky for a local comedian, it often adds an extra layer of humor for the audience. The audience may perceive that the foreigner can take risks with the joke and benefit from it in ways that a local comedian might not dare to.
5. Reframing Social Commentary:
A joke delivered by a foreigner can act as a mirror, reflecting the audience’s own culture, norms, and taboos through a different lens. This can provide an opportunity to view their own society with humor, which feels “safe” because it comes from an “outsider.”
In summary, forgiving a foreigner and finding their over-the-line jokes amusing can provide the audience with precisely the kind of liberating and enjoyable humor that makes stand-up comedy such a powerful form of entertainment. This logic is particularly valid when the foreigner is aware of this dynamic and can skillfully capitalize on it.
