Why does Chinese pop culture lack comedians?

[sthubbar]

It seems obvious to me that popular Chinese culture and American culture have a huge difference when it comes to humor. Here is a simple test that I have performed and have always had the same result.

Take 4 people from different provinces in China. Ask them the following question, "Can you name a single popular mainland comedian, under the age of 40, besides Guo de gang?" I have you yet to have them be able to find one they all know. Ask the same question to 4 Americans from different states, and I bet the list would be at least 5 if not 10 or 20 names?

Is it because of fear of government intervention that young people are afraid to be funny? Is it too much time spent studying characters? Is it because the parents breed it out of the children because it is not acceptable?

Any thoughts?

[gato]

I think politics is the biggest reason. How many comedians do you think there are in North Korea?

[roddy]

This on Danwei dates back three years, but I doubt you'll find any better explanation. For those of you interested in ancient history, here's the thread the link was originally posted in.

[in_lab]

I haven't finished the article yet, but does it explain why crosstalk isn't popular in Hong Kong? The article argues that "communism killed it." Was there similar suppression in HK?

[gato]

Crosstalk is northerner comedy. HK has Jacky Chan and Stephen Chow.

[in_lab]

So what is traditional comedy for southern China? Drama/opera?

[liuzhou]

I thought they were all comedians!

[OracleBone]

Nearly every province has its drama styles which depend largely on local dialect.

I'm from Hunan province where Qi Zhi and Da Bing(奇志和大兵）are very famous comedians, they may be regarded as great masters of joke. Because they make jokes usually by speaking a purely Hunan dialect, it is very difficult for people from other provinces to understand them . Wanghan and Make（汪涵和马可）may also be regarded as comedians, although their formal status is hosts of Hunan TV station. Other people like Chenyingjun(陈英俊) ,Hejinjin(何晶晶) and Zhouweixing(周卫星)(they are a couple) are also popular in Hunan.

here is a two-man act by Qi Zhi and Da Bing. It ia a real challenge for all but people from Changsha city of Hunan province to understand what Da Bing says behind the chair:

Political press on entertainment exactly exists, though the whole situation may not be so obvious or serious . So some kinds of variety shows from Taiwan are my favourites. for example, I like Jacky Woo(吴宗宪）very much.

[zozzen]

Communists may kill humor, but the view on comedians possibly plays a bigger role. I remember a director (王晶? ) complained some actors feel insulted to be comedians. They believe that they do not only make a joke on the screen, they're also the targets teased by audiences. Acting in a comedian is seldom viewed as a "serious acting", partly because there's no straight difference between a farce and comedy. As a matter of fact, most Chinese films that makes audiences laugh is just a farce.

Stephen Chow is perhaps the most successful comedian in Chinese history, but in early 1990s, most of his films were poorly produced with many bad and dirty jokes, and exaggerating facial expressions. He's changed this since 西遊記. If we see this as the most successful modern Chinese comedy then this film genre is still very young.

[flameproof]

You can joke about politics and not about current issue. As a comedian, you can even not make fun a praise the party. There is not really any topic you can touch.

Could you imagine a The Daily Show type comedy in China? They would be in jail before the show ends. China simply has no humor.

There was enough said about creativity, or a lack thereof, already.

[roddy]

China simply has no humor.

Idiotic statements, deadpan delivery. Comedy gold!