Le Comique de Répétition


Un des ressorts essentiels de l'humour anglais est le comique de répétition (même si ce n'est pas une spécialité British et qu'on le retrouve beaucoup aux Etats-Unis ou ailleurs). Une même phrase, une même situation, parfois anodine, prendra une tournure comique lorsqu'elle sera répétée à l'infini.

L'humoriste anglais Reg Smythe l'a bien compris dans ses dessins humoristiques ("comic strips") , lui qui, pendant des décennies, n'a pas fait varier son personnage principal, Andy Capp, d'un pouce. Il l'a éternellement maintenu enfermé dans le cycle de ses siestes, ses tours au pub, ses matches de football, sa mesquinerie, ses conflits avec Flo, son épouse, et son refus de trouver du travail !

Les dessins animés courts (les célèbres "cartoons") usent et abusent également de cette forme d'humour, répétant à l'infini le même scénario... Tom veut toujours attraper Jerry sans jamais y parvenir ; Grosminet essaie encore en vain de croquer Titi ; sans parler des conflits éternels entre the Roadrunner et son ennemi le Coyote, ou entre Elmer et Bug's Bunny... A cela près, que dans ces séries, il y a presque toujours un deuxième niveau, à savoir que le plus faible est le plus intelligent et qu'il s'en sortira grâce à ça !

La publicité de même joue souvent sur ce ressort de la répétition pour se mettre ses futurs clients dans la poche en les faisant rire. Une fabrique de bière a marqué les années 1970/80 avec ses campagnes de publicité à la télévision britannique en présentant une infinité de situations festives de la vie courante (banquet de noce, fête associative, réunion au bureau, réveillon en famille, etc. ...) qui se terminent toutes par la déclaration immuable du héros ingénu et pas le moins du monde concerné par ce qui se passe autour de lui : "I'm only here for the beer !" Vous pouvez imaginer la tête de la mariée lorsqu'il a déclaré ça le jour de son propre mariage au moment des discours !

Le développement du réseau Internet dans les années 1990 a hautement favorisé l'essor de l'humour de répétition car tout un chacun pouvait désormais facilement faire varier à l'infini certains thèmes, et surtout, échanger ses trouvailles avec le monde entier en quelques minutes : il suffit désormais de mettre sa contribution sur la "Toile" et de surveiller le clignotement de millions de boites aux lettres électroniques. C'est la version moderne de la bonne blague de bureau qui se répand comme une traînée de poudre, mais elle ne se contente plus de toucher les différents services d'une entreprise - elle fait désormais le tour du monde !

Parmi les thèmes favoris de l'humour sur Internet, il y a le jeu des réponses infinies à des questions fondamentales du genre : 

* Why did the chicken cross the road ?  
( les réponses traduisant les préoccupations profondes de la personne qui répond).
ou
How many XXX does it take to change a bulb ?  
(forme d'humour se moquant des tares de différents groupes socioprofessionnels).

Il y a également les blagues, plus sexistes, sur les Blondes, paroxysme de la bêtise à ce qu'il parait ! 

Cela peut passer pour du machisme bête et méchant, mais "les hommes préférant les blondes" (à ce qu'on dit !), 
on peut donc voir là une vengeance des Brunes (... ou des Rousses) ! 
Allez savoir !

Bonus

Le comique de répétition reste également une des clés essentielles des feuilletons comiques à la télévision ou dans des séries de films drôles dont nous parlons sur une autre page.

Voici quelques exemples de ces histoires pour votre divertissement. Et si vous en connaissez d’autres, écrivez-nous !


Why did the chicken cross the road ?

The Chicken

1 Pat Buchanan 
(politicien américain
d'extrême droite)

To steal a job from a decent hardworking American. 

2 Martin Luther King

I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question. 

3 Sigmund Freud  The fact that you are all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity. 

4 Karl Marx 

It was a historical inevitability. 

5 Colonel Sanders 
(créateur de la chaîne de fast-food restaurants  Kentucky Fried Chicken)

You mean I missed one !

6 Bill Clinton  No, I did not cross the road with THAT chicken ! What do you mean by "chicken" ? Could you define "ckicken", please ? 

7 William Shakespeare  I wouldn't know why, but methinks I could rattle off a hundred-line soliloquy without much ado. 

8 George Orwell  Because the government had fooled him into thinking that he was crossing the road of his own free will when he was really only serving their interests. 

9 Bob Dylan How many roads must a chicken cross before it can say it has ?

10 Dilbert  I hate it when the title gives away the plot !

11 Jack Nicholson  'Cos it (censored) wanted to. That's the (censored) reason !

12 Your Grandpa  In my days, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road.
Someone told us it did and that was good enough for us !

13  X - To run away from President Clinton's "cigar".
tapez "chicken + road" dans votre moteur de recherche préféré et vous en trouverez quelques centaines ...


How many XXX does it take to change a bulb ?

a bulb

1

Question : How many doctors does it take to change a light-bulb ?
Answer :  That depends on whether it has health insurance !

2

Question : How many civil servants does it take to screw in a light bulb ?
Answer :  Two. One to assure everyone that everything possible is being done while the other one screws the bulb into the water tap.

3 Question : How many teenage-girls does it take to change a light-bulb ?
Answer : One, but she'll be on the phone for five hours telling all her friends about it. 

4

Question : How many doctors does it take to change a light-bulb ?
Answer : Three. The first one calling for the help of an X-ray specialist and then passing it on to a bulb specialist.

5 Question : How many actors does it take to change a light-bulb ? 
Answer : None. Ask a technician ! 

6 Question : How many Englishmen does it take to screw in a light-bulb ? 
Answer : What do you mean "change it" ? It's a perfectly good bloody bulb ! We have had it for a thousand years and it has worked just "fine".  

7 Question : How many doctors does it take to change a light-bulb ?
Answer : None. They just tell it to take 2 aspirins and call back later if things don't improve.

 

8 Question : How many TV evangelists does it take to change a light-bulb ? 
Answer : One. But for the message of light to continue, send in your donation today. 

9 Question : How many catholic priests does it take to screw in a light-bulb ? 
Answer : None. Priests can't screw !!! 

10  Question : How many Real Men does it take to change a light-bulb ? 
Answer : None. Real Men aren't afraid of the dark.

11 Question : How many Real Women does it take to change a light-bulb ? 
Answer : None. A Real Woman would have plenty of Real Men around to do it !

12

Question : How many Irishmen does it take to screw in a light-bulb ? 
Answer : Two. One to hold the bulb whilst the other one turns the house round.

13  

...  Et pour finir, celle qui mettra fin à toute polémique :

Question : What is the average life of a light-bulb ?
Answer : That's a tricky question. No-one has ever been able to check because someone keeps changing it all the time !!!


Blonde stories

1

Blonde nurse :
Why did the blonde nurse take a red magic marker to work?
I
n case she had to draw some blood.

2

A Blonde Goes to the Library :
Once a blonde went to the library to get a book. 
A few days later, she returns and says to the librarian at the counter, 
"This book was very boring. It had too many characters and too many numbers, so i would like to return it."
The librarian says to the other librarian, "So here is the person who took our phone book!"

3

Blondes at lunchtime :
There was a blonde, a brunette, and a red head. They were all builders and they were working on a sky-scraper. They always ate lunch on the top of the building. The brunette always had a ham sandwich for her lunch, The red head always had a cheese sandwich, and the blonde always had a turkey sandwich. One day they all got sick of always having the same thing to eat everyday, so they made a deal. They all said that if they brought the same sandwich they usually bring, they would have to jump off of the top of the building.
The next day, the blonde was found dead on the ground by the building. The husbands of the three builders were there and they started to talk. The red head's husband said to the other two men, "I packed my wife a peanut butter and jelly, so she wouldn't jump off."
The husband of the brunette said to the other two men, "I packed my wife a turkey sandwich so she wouldnt jump off."
They both looked at the blonde's husband and he said : " Don't look at me, my wife packs her own lunch!"

4

On a plane bound for New York, the flight attendant approached a blonde sitting in the first class section and requested that she move to economy since she did not have a first class ticket.
The blonde replied, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to New York, and I'm not moving."
Not wanting to argue with a customer, the flight attendant asked the copilot to speak with the woman. The co-pilot  went to talk with the woman, asking her to move out of the first class section.
Again, the blonde replied, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to New York, and I'm not moving."
The co-pilot returned to the cockpit and asked the captain what he should do.
The captain said, "I'm married to a blonde, and I know how to handle this."
He went to the first class section and whispered into the blonde's ear.
She immediately jumped up and ran to the economy section, mumbling to herself, "Why didn't anyone just say so ?"
Surprised, the flight attendant and the co-pilot asked what he said to her that finally convinced her to move from her seat.
He said, "I told her the first class section wasn't going to New York."

5


Bonus

Parfois, deux types d'histoires se télescopent : 

1

Question : How many Blondes does it take to change a light-bulb ?
Answer : What's a light-bulb ?

2

Question :  How many Chikens does it take to change a light-bulb ? 
Answer : Two. One to do it, and one to cross the road.

Question : How many Blondes does it take to change a light-bulb ?
Answer : One. But it will take eternity because she'll stand on the ladder and wait for the world to revolve around her.  

4 Question : Why did the bulb cross the road ?
Answer : It can't, you Blonde !

Question : Why did President Clinton cross the road ?
Answer : Because his "cigar" was stuck in the chicken.
Question : Why did the Blonde cross the road ?
Answer : To catch the chicken and smoke Bill's cigar....

6

Question : How many Dadaists does it take to change a light-bulb ? 
Answer : To get to the other side of the road...

 


Et si vous connaissez d’autres histoires drôles, écrivez-nous !



Octobre 2003
page complétée en mai 2004