Heresy - Radio 4 discussion of the German sense of humour

[fancythathat]

While I agree Henning is a very good comedian he struggles when the subject isn't Germany's lack of sense of humour and he isn't challenging British preconceptions about Germany. In front of a liberal educated audience who don't have any ridiculous opinions about Germany, he would struggle. I have never seen him do material about anything else.

[icetwo]

the word for Hello is Hallo

[Waldvogel91]

the only time the Brits got to the beaches before the Germans was in 1940.

[TheTk1971]

!this bloke henning is going to be big !! cause he's got bloody good timing b

[14ilovemylife]

I'm american, but have German family and I think their hilarious! Just totally full of life, but I won't take it personally just don't say americans have no sense of humor. lol

[Phunker1]

Who the fuck is Henning Wehn? Mr. self-proclaimed ambassador is just another twat playing with stereotypes. I´m bored to tears..

[23021955]

A Cherman choke ist no laffink matter!

[d1s2l3a4]

Baddiel please shut up!!!!!!!

[intherein]

I say funny. He pissed on Badiel. And Badiel deserved because they were on a comedy program

[CrazeeCatrin]

i am delighted you silenced baddiel!

[Puren11]

Baddiel got what he deserved, he is always banging on about being a jew.

[tomsega]

"Never happened"!!!!

[seikyoukainoakira]

Lucas and Baddiel are both Jewbos.

Lucas, at least, is queer. I'm sure he's not the only queer on the panel.

So these queer Jewbos now represent "England"?

[lutonmale1983]

Baddiel got what he deserved. Good on you Herman Goering...i mean Henning Wehn!!

[SpunkyMcBallsack]

David Baddiel is horrible on this, too many easy stereotypical German war and Nazi jokes.

[notinfrimstime]

minor minor point east germany ceased to exist as did west germany which is now know as germay. as u. k having more than 1 team what about yougoslavia and the ussr. england 1 germany 0.

[omegavalerius]

When the two unified the whole political system was straight from the west among with the currency and army among other things. In German the name Bundesrepublik Deutschland was the official name of West Germany and is now the official name of Germany. In principle it was reunification but technically the west absorbed the east.

[schusterlehrling]

@notinfrimstime

Actually, the GDR did join the Federal Republik of Germany, which did not cease to exist, but now is the only remaining German country.

[Mintsauce27]

Have you SOLD Little Britain?

Who the funk would want to buy that festering turd!?!

[Kedgereeclub]

How many English speak ? Hardly any, so how can they judge whether a German has a sense of humour ? I´m English and live in Germany and this sort of stereotyping makes me cringe.

[davidcurtin1]

YES for sure a great come back by Henning when Baddiel says hes scared when Hennig talks like that , and he says it never happend classic Humor if the positions were reversed it would have been so funny and original , british comedy isnt so cracked up as its made out to be, germans have a sense of humor i know i live in germany we just got to learn German to understand it.

[sophiah88]

guest Culshaw says " as a jew and a gay...

you silenced Badiel...up the Revisionism !"

8:45

precious !

[CharlyGermy33]

that's so unfair! why does the uk have 4 national football teams and every other country just one! -.-

[foxsmith2009]

Because all of ours are crap !.

[notinfrimstime]

germany has not won the world cup 3 times but

west germany has and that country is no more so germany 0 England 1

[stevedix]

Minor point. It's East Germany (The GDR) that ceased to exist. West Germany absorbed it.

[scatterbrainedfloozy]

ok, David Baddiel, I don't know where you've been, but the "Englischer Garten" is in Munich and not in Berlin.

[stefanmuc2k]

There is an "Englischer Garten" in Berlin, too. The one in Munich is much bigger and better known though.

[looktheresaseagul]

hmmm... i think they're just taking the piss! I'm a Brit living in Germanys and germans have a GREAT sense of humour..

[PHtheCoward]

At around 8:34, when Henning makes the joke that "it never happened", the whole audience gasps. They were trying to determine weather or not Germans have a sense of humour, yet the English audience lost theirs at that moment. Ok, it was dark humour but daring and the audience should have been savvy enough to see it as just that. It was clear that Henning had the sharpest humour in the entire room at that moment. Talk about turning the tables.

[Guedingen]

Well said.

[synchc]

bang on. thick people that say "jokes shouldnt be made about x" (where x = rascism, sexism, genocide, sex offences etc) should realise that jokes about x dont propogate x, they make it absurd. they bring it into public light and ridicule it.

theres exceptions but this isnt one of them.

apologies for the humour autopsy.

[BRIGSTOCK]

@PHtheCoward I think they gasped because, for a second, they weren't sure whether he was being serious.

[MsHyde1]

@BRIGSTOCK: I made that experience several times when I lived in England. It's an English prejudice. They actually think Germans don't do sarcasm. Problem is that German humour is even more sarcastic and deadpan than English humour.

[sibrov]

@PHtheCoward I was waiting for Henning to say "What, too soon?"

[Blackburn35]

Henning is already one of the funniest guys on the circuit and has only been doing stand up for around four years!! His dvd is hilarious also. The negative comments are coming from people who clearly haven't seen much of his material.

[dangermackie]

He's great. He's making his career out of being the counter argument to the Landlord character. Plus he's actually a really funny good guy!

[JazzB1987]

well he is not funny other germans are funny Mittermeyer for example but hes making his show in german so u just trust my word ^^

if he would b funny he would have a show over here in germany (that doesnt mean something with the UK is wrong) the fact that something is funny is the combination the strange kartoffel + brits the resulting reaction is the funny thing this cant work here

[Blackburn35]

Ummm... he started his stand up career in England, not germany. He is appealling to a British sensibility. As for performers not making it in their own country first, then Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, yeah they must have been rubbish because they moved to America to make it big.

[MsHyde1]

@Blackburn35:

"He is appealling to a British sensibility."

He's got success in the UK because he picked up on a 100% British thing regarding the preception of Germany and Germans. It wouldn't work in Germany because the British preception of our country got nothing to do with Germany. It's like they, and him (making fun about the stereotypes) are talking about a different country.

It only gets creepy when you think about how many Brits really believe that crap. XD

[Rumpelstiltskinsky]

@MsHyde1 There's nothing more embarrassing then travelling abroad and hearing how people abroad talk about you when they're on their own territory. Apparently, we are boring, our cheeses are all disgusting&rubber, Ikea is a direct reflection of the average household and every other person commits suicide. I told my friends at ubi many years ago that my favourite hobby was fishing, and all he could say was "BNlimey! Do you go fishing in Sweden?". errkk

[MsHyde1]

@Rumpelstiltskinsky: Haha, oh dear! XD

[elegantdouchebag]

Mittermeyer is a "comedian" for the masses. His jokes are on such a shallow level, he isn't even close to Wehn.

[stevedix]

As a matter of fact, he's done several shows in Germany. I was at two of them.

[Supenmanu]

I totaly don't consider him funny... but i am not completely sure if that's cause he is German, or cause i am... /-:

[dominiccarter77]

Have you heard any of his stand up? I think he is genuinely funny! He takes the piss out of both Brits and his own to quote "farterland"

This was a discussion after all!

Regards.

[AlexFictionFriction]

haha Hennig is brilliant

[BuddyEatsGanymeade]

I heard this when it was first broadcast, thanks for uploading.