英专毕业论文 American humor and culture roots 探究美式幽默的文化根源和独特形式.docx

英专毕业论文 American humor and culture roots 探究美式幽默的文化根源和独特形式.docx

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英专毕业论文Americanhumorandcultureroots探究美式幽默的文化根源和独特形式

学号1015010305

年级10级

本科毕业论文

探究美式幽默的独特主题和文化根源：

以生活大爆炸为例

专业年级

英语系10级

学号

1015010305

姓名

吴冰姿

指导老师

秦晨

评阅人

2014年6月

中国南京

BACHELOR'SDEGREETHESIS

OFHOHAIUNIVERSITY

UniqueThemesandCulturalRootsofAmericanHumor:

BasedontheCaseStudyofTheBigBangTheory

EnglishDepartmentofCollegeofInternationalLanguagesandCultures

College：

Subject：

English

Name：

WuBingzi

Directedby：

ProfessorQinChen

NANJINGCHINA

郑重声明

本人呈交的毕业论文，是在导师的指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的成果，所有数据、图片资料真实可靠。

尽我所知，除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文的研究成果不包含他人享有著作权的内容。

对本论文所涉及的研究工作做出贡献的其他个人和集体，均已在文中以明确的方式标明。

本论文的知识产权归属于培养单位。

本人签名：

日期：

Acknowledgments

Firstofall,Iwouldliketoextendmysinceregratitudetomysupervisor,QinChen,forherinstructiveadviceandusefulsuggestionsonmythesis.Iamdeeplygratefulofherhelpinthepletionofthisthesis.

IamalsogreatlyindebtedtotheprofessorsandteachersattheDepartmentofEnglish:

Miss.Zhang,Mr.CaiandMs.Yang,whohaveinstructedandhelpedmealotinthepasttwoyears. 

Lastmythankswouldgotomybelovedfamilyfortheirlovingconsiderationsandgreatconfidenceinmeallthroughtheseyears.Ialsoowemysinceregratitudetomyfriendsandmyfellowclassmateswhogavemetheirhelpandtimeinlisteningtomeandhelpingmeworkoutmyproblemsduringthedifficultcourseofthethesis.

ABSTRACT

Withthecommunicationbetweencultures,Americandramas,especiallythecomedy,aregettingmoreattentioninChina.ChineseaudienceneedtounderstandAmericanhumortogetthepointofAmericancomedy.Throughthemethodsofexperiencesummarizationanddescriptivestudy,thispaperexploresthereasonwhyAmericanhumorisfunnywiththesampleofTheBigBangTheory.Americanhumoroftenjokesongenderrelationship,religionandpoliticsandmakefunoftheoppositesex,peoplefromdifferentracesandpoliticians.TheuniquethemeofAmericanhumoristhekeytoitsattraction.TheuniquethemeofAmericanhumorcomesfromitscultureofimmigration,FeministMovementandelection,etc.Therefore,onlyonthebasisofknowingAmericanculturecanChineseaudienceunderstandAmericanhumor.

KeyWords:

AmericanhumorTheBigBangTheoryAmericanculture

摘要

随着文化的不断传播，美剧在中国日益受到关注，尤其是喜剧类美剧最为受欢迎。

中国观众要理解美国喜剧的笑点，就要理解美式幽默。

本文以美剧TheBigBangTheory为例，通过描述性研究法和经验总结法探究美式幽默好笑的原因。

美式幽默常以两性关系、宗教问题、时事政治为笑料，调侃异性、不同种族的人以及政治人物。

美式幽默的独特主题是其吸引观众的关键所在。

美式幽默的独特主题来源于美国移民、女权主义运动和选举等特有文化。

因此，中国观众只有在充分了解美国文化的基础上才能更好地理解美剧中的美式幽默。

关键词：

美式幽默生活大爆炸美国文化

ChapterI.Introduction...............................................................................................1

ChapterII.UniqueThemesofAmericanHumor..................................................3

2.1EthnicHumor......................................................................................................3

2.1.1HumorCausedbyStereotypes.....................................................................3

2.1.1.1TheDefinitionofStereotype.................................................................3

2.1.1.2AmericanPeople’sStereotypesofOtherRaces....................................3

2.1.2EthnicHumorinTheBigBangTheory........................................................4

2.2GenderJokes.......................................................................................................5

2.2.1TypeofGenderJokes...................................................................................6

2.2.1.1JokesaboutGenderRelationships..........................................................6

2.2.1.2JokesaboutHomosexuality....................................................................6

2.2.1.3BlondeJokes...........................................................................................7

2.2.2GenderHumorinTheBigBangTheory.......................................................8

2.3JokesonPolitics..................................................................................................8

ChapterIII.CulturalRootsofAmericanHumor...................................................9

3.1HistoryofImmigration........................................................................................9

3.1.1ThreeBigWavesofImmigrants...................................................................9

3.1.2ChineseImmigrationtotheU.S.................................................................10

3.2FeministMovement&GayLiberationMovement...........................................11

3.2.1ThreeWavesofFeministMovement..........................................................11

3.2.2GayLiberationMovement.........................................................................12

3.3AmericanPolitics..............................................................................................13

3.3.1PoliticalSystemoftheUnitedStates.........................................................13

3.3.2AmericanPresidentialElection..................................................................13

ChapterIV.Conclusion.............................................................................................14

UniqueThemesandCulturalRootsofAmericanHumor:

BasedontheCaseStudyofTheBigBangTheory

ChapterI.Introduction

AmericanhumorreferscollectivelytotheconventionsandcommonthreadsthattietogetherhumorintheUnitedStates.Itisoftendefinedincomparisontothehumorofanothercountry——forexample,howitisdifferentfromBritishhumourandCanadianhumour.FromthedefinitionofAmericanhumor,itcanbeconcludedthathumorusuallyconcernsaspectsofAmericanculture,anddependsonthehistoricalandcurrentdevelopmentofthecountry’sculture.TheresearchobjectofthispaperisAmericanhumor.Intoday’sChina,peopleappreciatenotonlyChinesefilmsandtelevisionprograms,butalsothosefromothercountries.AmericanTVseriesisoneofthem.ThestudyofAmericanhumorcanhelpChineseaudiencegetthepointofAmericancomedybetter.Americanhasitsownuniquethemesofracerelationships,genderrelationshipsandpolitics.Tounderstandthesethemes,itisbettertostudyAmericanculture.AsthethemesofAmericanhumorareconstantlychangingtheirforms,theirculturerootsstaythesame.OnlythroughunderstandingtheculturerootsofAmericanhumorcanpeoplebetterenjoyAmericancomedy.

ThebookAmericanHumor:

AStudyoftheNationalCharacterbyConstanceRourkeidentifiedthecharacteroftheYankeeasthatfirstAmericancomicfigure,thefirstwidelyacceptedAmericancharacterthatthenationcouldfindfunny,makefunofandevenexportfortheamusementoftheworld.Yankeereferstoaganglytravelerwhotoldstoriesandplayedelaboratepracticaljokes.Hewasingenuous,sly,andperhapsuneducated.TheauthorreportsthatAmericancomedysprangforthaftertheAmericanRevolution,whenthecountrywas“freedfromtheworryofselfpreservation”（2004,p.57）anditscitizensbegantoregardthemselvesasworksofart.ThisbookhasbeenthepioneeringanalysisofAmericanhumor（2004）.

Withthedevelopmentofsociety,Americanhumorsuccessivelyappearsintheformofliterature,cartoonsandmagazines,theaterandvaudeville,radioandrecords,filmandTVseries.WhenAmericanhumorfrequentlyappearedintheformofliterature,manywritershaddonesomeresearchesonit.MostofthemtendedtostudyonMarkTwain’sworksasheisconsideredthefoundingfatherofAmericanhumor.

InJamesM.Cox’sbookMarkTwain:

TheFateofHumor,insteadofseekingtheseriousnessbehindhumor,CoxconcentratesuponhumoritselfasthetransfiguringpowerthatconvertsalltheseriousissuesandemotionsofMarkTwain’slifeandtimeintonarrativesdesignedtoevokehelplesslaughter（2002）.

AlthoughtherearealsosomeChinesescholarswritingpapersaboutMarkTwain’shumor,mostofthemhavefocusedonthewritingskillsandliteratureaspects.ThispaperanalyzeshumorinTheBigBangTheorybyreferringtothehistoricaldevelopmentofAmerica.ThenwecanseethroughthecommonpointsofallformsofAmericanhumortofindtheculturerootsofAmericanhumor.

TheBigBangTheoryisanAmericansituationcomedyproducedbyWarnerBros.TelevisionandChuckLorreProductions.ItwasfirstlyperformedonCBSonSeptember24,2007.Theseventhseasonisnowonair.IthaswonmanybigawardsinAmericanAwardCeremonyforTVplays.

Theshowhasfivemaincharacters:

Sheldon,Leonard,Rajesh,HowardandPenny.

SheldonisatheoreticalphysicistwhoworksattheCaliforniaInstituteofTechnology.Hehasaveryhighintelligencequotient.EventhoughearnedaPh.D.at16,hetotallylackssocialskillsandprovidesmajorsourcesoflaughterintheshow.

Leonard,whobothlivesandworkswithSheldon,isanexperimentalphysicist.RightafterPennymovedtotheirnextdoor,Leonardfallsinlovewithher.Theirrelationshipisalwaysinsnatchesandisoneofthecircularthemesoftheshow.

PennylivesacrossthehallfromSheldonandLeonard.ShecomestoCaliforniatorealizeherdreamofbeinganactress.Sofarintheshow,Pennyhasnotmadeanyachievementinheractingcareerandhastoworkasawaitressforliving.Hersocialcontactskillsformedasharpcontrastwiththegeniusandintellectofotherfourmalecharacters.

Howard’sjobisanengineeratCaltech.HeisaJewishandhasaclingymother.Heistheonlyonewhodoesn’thaveadoctorofphilosophy.Thesefactsoftencauselaughter.

RajeshisanIndianparticleastrophysicistwhoworksatCaltech.Hiscomesfromawealthyfamily.Buthecan’tfindagirlfriendbecauseheisextremelyshyaroun