In Soviet Union, CD listens to YOU!
Nov. 20th, 2002 11:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unbibiumI recently received in the mail some of Yakov Smirnoff's latest material.
He hasn't written that much new material since the 80's; still an abundance of jokes where he purports to misunderstand some basic American English expressions. That's not entirely surprising; one of the most fun aspects of exploring another culture is the act of exploring their language, and while puns in your native language might seem hackneyed, puns in some other language are intellectual goldmines.
His 1999 act was a bit more mature; he tries to integrate some non-comic insights about cultural adaptation and personal growth. This works well, but the effect is crippled at time by his jokes, which at times leave us wondering where the joke ends and the true story begins. He tells the story of getting sworn in as an American citizen on Ellis Island, and getting stranded there when someone tells him "the last ferry is leaving" and he says "let him go, then." And that leads into a sort of serious reflection on how he'd met so many goals and had to figure out what really made him happy. While I don't doubt his sincerity in his message, it led me to wonder just how much of his story has been made into a parable for the audience's benefit. But there are other stories in which there was no such problem, the best example being that of his family's first apartment in New York City, and the completely unexpected outpouring of support from his neighbors.
You'll be either relieved or disappointed to know that there are NO "In Soviet Union, noun verbs YOU!" jokes.
As for whether I'd recommend buying it, I don't know. I only bought it to satisfy my own morbid curiosity.
He hasn't written that much new material since the 80's; still an abundance of jokes where he purports to misunderstand some basic American English expressions. That's not entirely surprising; one of the most fun aspects of exploring another culture is the act of exploring their language, and while puns in your native language might seem hackneyed, puns in some other language are intellectual goldmines.
His 1999 act was a bit more mature; he tries to integrate some non-comic insights about cultural adaptation and personal growth. This works well, but the effect is crippled at time by his jokes, which at times leave us wondering where the joke ends and the true story begins. He tells the story of getting sworn in as an American citizen on Ellis Island, and getting stranded there when someone tells him "the last ferry is leaving" and he says "let him go, then." And that leads into a sort of serious reflection on how he'd met so many goals and had to figure out what really made him happy. While I don't doubt his sincerity in his message, it led me to wonder just how much of his story has been made into a parable for the audience's benefit. But there are other stories in which there was no such problem, the best example being that of his family's first apartment in New York City, and the completely unexpected outpouring of support from his neighbors.
You'll be either relieved or disappointed to know that there are NO "In Soviet Union, noun verbs YOU!" jokes.
As for whether I'd recommend buying it, I don't know. I only bought it to satisfy my own morbid curiosity.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2002-11-20 12:00 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure no immigrants have actually been processed at Ellis Island in about 75 years. Then again, that doesn't preclude a symbolic swearing-in ceremony happening there.
no subject
Date: 2002-11-20 02:57 pm (UTC)