The difference between British and American humor, according to Stephen Fry

The American dream is the idea that life is always able to be refined, improved or learned which creates a culture of optimism where one can ascend in society. British culture is more rooted in ‘knowing your place’. This bleeds through in our comedy as Stephen Fry observed:

The American comic hero is a wisecracker who is above their material.

They suffer inconvenience and anger at the incompetence of those around them. The American comedy hero is smart, wins the boy/girl, and can wisecrack their way out of any situation. They often leave us with a moral, or something to learn.

They are brilliant repositories of fantastic one-liners with less focus on character. e.g. Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Larry David etc.

British comedy heroes are bathed in personal failure that we make a glory of.

The sense of dignity of the British comic hero is constantly compromised by the world letting them down. They try to be decent and right, they aspire to be above their station but they utterly embarrassingly fail.

They are truly memorable personifications of unfulfilled dreams. e.g. Basil Fawlty, Del Boy, Blackadder, etc.

Or, in the alternative words of a wise reddit user, American comedy starts with everything being shit and ends happy. British Comedy starts happy and ends with everything going to shit.

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