Miso Funny

Stoic. Detached. Bookish. These are all words that have been used to describe Asian Americans. Well, guess what?  They forgot anal. Yet contrary to these stereotypes, Asians do have a sense of humor. We love laughing at the expense of others. And the Asian American experience does lend itself to its share of humorous moments. In fact, there’s enough material out there to keep several Asian American gainfully employed as comedians. Ever have aspirations about joining their ranks? Well, here’s a quick primer on becoming one. Simply elaborate on any – or all – of the following topics:

Self-Deprecation

For Asian comedians, making fun of your own race is always a crowd pleaser. All you really have to do is exaggerate both the good and bad generalizations about Asians. 

COMEDY CASE STUDIES:

• Academic expectations are always fodder for laughter. For example, you could point out that “White people call acing the SAT an accomplishment. Asians call it 6^th grade.”
• Share a personal incident involving other people’s assumptions about Asians. For example, being picked to be on a trivia contest team despite your protests that you’re horrible at trivia. Explain that it didn’t help your case that the categories were Math, Jackie Chan and Non-Contact Sports. 

EXAMPLE – BOBBY LEE

White People 

While America is a melting pot of different races and cultures, we all know who’s stirring the pot. Let’s be honest. We still live in a nation where a lot of whites like to make fun of other ethnicities simply because they don’t understand how Tim Allen is popular. Comedy gives minorities like Asian Americans a chance to turn the tables on “the man” and point out the follies of their pasty-skinned neighbors. 

COMEDY CASE STUDY:

A lot of Caucasians ridicule some of the foods we Asians eat. I’m not talking about the menu at Panda Express. I’m referring to the die-hard concoctions like squid jerky and fermented fish. Yet white people will eat almost anything that’s on a stick. Seriously. You could put poop on a stick and they’ll put you on Food Network. Salvation could be standing before a white person and he/she could care less. But show them a Snickers bar on a stick and they’ll act like it’s crack on a stick.

EXAMPLE – DANNY CHO

Mothers

Moms are the mother lode of Asian comedy material. I think almost every Asian funny man and woman has their mama in their act.  For some reason, the extremes to which our moms will go to embarrass us in front of our white friends makes other people laugh.  The formula is pretty simple. Make fun of your mom’s obliviousness to American culture. Explain your mom’s self-absorbed view of the world. Poke fun at the way she mangles the English language.  

COMEDY CASE STUDIES:

• Korean moms always refer to themselves as “mommy”. For example, “Mommy know what you doing in bathroom for long time with door locked. You not studying!”
• Almost everything my mother says to me begins with two words: how come. For example, “How come you want mommy to suffer…How come you not like (the child of one of their friends)/Jesus?”
• Korean moms like to add the article “the” before adjectives. For example, if you get anything below an A on any test – even a blood test – then you are “THE stupid”. If you are the normal weight for someone your height, then you are “THE fat”. 

EXAMPLE – MARGARET CHO