The Foreign Character As Comedy

foreigners as a joke has been a staple of sitcom comedy for decades the idea is to take a character from a different country drop them into an American setting and play up the cultural differences for Laughs in fact they've

even made entire movies around this concept like Borat or coming to America at its core the joke relies on contrasting different cultures and customs with American culture while

especially highlighting differences between the cultures such as language barriers or customs and clothing as a source of Comedy the punchline is that these characters have different accents

mannerisms or Traditions that seem strange to an American audience the way this Trope is usually executed is by leaning heavily on exaggerating stereotypes rather than offering any real insights into the foreign

characters background many of these characters are portrayed as having limited or no knowledge of American culture and may act in a way that is seen as weird or off-putting because of that these characters are framed as

being socially awkward ignorant of American norms and also maybe overly enthusiastic about assimilating into American culture you know one could argue that these characters could introduce American audiences to new

cultures but more often than not the representation lacks depth instead of fostering a meaningful cultural exchange sitcoms tend to use foreign characters as communic relief rarely exploring their backgrounds in a way that feels

authentic or respectful the cultural norms they exhibit are often so exaggerated that they border on parody and in some cases they aren't even accurate portrayals of real Traditions or customs they're completely made up

for a joke essentially these characters cultural identities serves as a punchline rather than something to be celebrated or explored the overarching message seems to be that the foreign character must assimilate into American

culture to be accepted while their own culture is treated as a joke so today we're going to take a closer look at how this stroke plays out in sitcoms using a few characters as examples also just as

a disclaimer I'm not passing judgment on anyone who at any point found these portrayals or jokes to be funny I'm simply pointing out a pattern I noticed that's all one of the most common ways

sitcoms portray foreign characters in a comedic setting is by making their culture seem weird or using their cultural norms as the punchline of a joke the joke comes from the idea that

their Customs or behaviors are different from American ones and that difference is treated as inherently funny instead of offering meaningful representation these shows often exaggerate or

fabricate aspects of character's cultural background reducing their identity to a gag a prime example of this strope is Fez from That 70 show from the beginning Fez being a foreigner

is a defining characteristic his name is never revealed because the other characters couldn't be bothered to learn it so they call him Fez which is short for foreign exchange student well my name is

[Laughter] okay I'm not going to remember that this alone sets the tone for his character his identity is not important beyond the fact that he's not American throughout

the show fez's culture and country of origin remain intentionally vague reinforcing the idea that he is a generic Foreigner rather than someone from a specific place with a rich background many of the joke around

fizz's expense revolve around his misunderstanding of American Customs his accent and his desperate attempts to fit in remember how much fun Halloween used to be making costumes trick-or-treating

what is trick-or-treating well you put on a costume you go door to door and say trick-or treat and people give you candy oh you got to be kidding me they just give you candy they give

you candy just like that no strength yes FZ get over it free

candy even if you're not from this country yes telling me that if I sh up at someone's house and say Trick or Treat they'll give me a

free piece of candy yes oh I don't believe you trick or

treat Apple it's my kind of you son of a there's even an episode where Fel has to learn learn about American culture in order to get his green card which leads to the other characters

laughing at his naivity and giving him a biased view of American History why do we celebrate the 4th of July because we are damn glad enough to be a bunch of British tea drinking Nancy

pants nobody's going to argue with that answer his culture is not something to be explored or appreciated it's simply used as a source of confusion and comedy sometimes rather than using an actual

foreign culture SS go as far as creating fictional countries with exaggerated Customs purely to make jokes about them this is a common Trope in Dan shows you and your friends like to take a trip to

my home country yba yba it's a very exotic island like Hawaii sure yeah like

that it's a glma no this is a goat GL m goat yes uh you see Z goat is the national symbol of

udonia zlock is very sacred in my country a clear example of this is in Victorious where the main characters visit a fictional country called yba which is portrayed as having absurdly

strict Customs which leads them to being arrested the country's legal systems and traditions are depicted as being weird reinforcing the idea that foreign places are inherently strange and nonsensical

but even beyond that also dangerous that episode specifically felt like a scapegoat for treating foreign cultures as barbaric and War torn want to leave

we hate it here our friend is hallucinating an escaped prisoner crashed through a window and was dragged out by urbanian soldiers and our bed is

Lumpy this approach allows the show to make fun of foreign cultures without having to be held accountable for misrepresenting a real one yurba isn't a real place there's no such thing as

udona we have no idea where fiz is really from so it gives shows the license to be as absurd as they want in their depiction of these foreign cultures another example is Gloria from

Modern Family throughout the show Gloria frequently references Traditions from her Colombian upbringing but these are exaggerated and presented in a very ridiculous way in the show Gloria refers to her hometown as a village she at one

point mentions that her nanny was a goat named Lupe I was 5 years old my babysitter was a goat what I please you know about Lupe never said she was a goat you know it's and her ancestors

laid a curse on her family all this simply reinforces the idea that her culture is weird and potentially dangerous she mentions how in her Village People solved their problem with violence rather than words Cal shouldn't

we follow them or call the police no it's just a kidnapping he normally my family Ransom call

see Mom I'm really scared she wants my hot sauce business in exchange for Manny good she owes us 400 bucks we get the kid back no deal I'll

handle it many of Gloria's stories about her past are used as comedic contrast to the more structured American way of life making her culture seem over the toop rather than something to be understood

or respected her accent also becomes a frequent Target of humor with other characters often misunderstanding her or making fun of her pronunciation of words honest with me okay well I may have

noticed some tiny little mistakes you might want to take a look at like what just little mispronunciations like for example last night you said we live in a doggy dog world so well it's dog eat dog

world Raj from The Big Bang Theory is another character whose foreignness is treated as an ongoing joke his Indian background is often used as comedy with many jokes focusing on his upbringing

religion and family his accent too is exaggerated compared to the actor's real voice forcing the idea that Indians speak in a way that is inherently funny to American audiences Howard often

impersonates Raj's accent to Mark him all right Hot Shot let's hear your Indian I can't sit on that elephant my ass is on fire from eating or this Curry okay yeah that's pretty good

similarly Ravi from Jesse is another character who embodies this Trope particularly for younger audiences his Indian Heritage is exaggerated to the point of with a thick accent overly formal way of

speaking and even down to the way he dresses hello good family who's ready to get their learn

on oh my what you wear in it is my Shani only worn on very special occasions since my tutor says I'm now ready to start school with Emma and Luke what

better day to Ed it in one episode Luke is embarrassed to be seen with Ravi at school because of how weird an offputting he is to everyone else reinforcing the idea that his

foreignness is something to be ashamed of like Raj ravi's character is built around this stereotype he's smart but socially awkward and clings to aspect of his Indian Heritage that people find

weird or off-putting like the fact that he has a pet Komodo dragon you can make the argument that these characters do bring diversity to television but their portrayals are often one-dimensional

they very rarely feel fully fleshed out instead of using their backgrounds to educate audiences or to provide authentic representation often prioritize easy laughs these characters very rarely get to explore their own

culture in a genuine way and when they do it's usually framed as strange or comedic rather than valuable or educational the overarching message tends to be that foreign characters must

adapt to American culture in order to fit in while their own tradition and Customs are mocked or sidelined another one of the components of this strope is the idea that foreign characters must assimilate into to American culture

while denying or dimming their own native culture in order to fit in and be accepted they must learn what it means to be American and emulate it as much as possible and often times there are plot

lines dedicated to schooling these characters on just that ph's prominent Arc in That 70s Show revolves around his struggle to fit into American culture since his home country is never revealed the audience never learns about his

actual cultural background or identity the only thing we know about him is that he's different he's not American and none of the other characters make any real effort in learning about his culture or identity it's fez's

responsibility to conform to American culture reinforcing the idea that he needs to be more American in order to be respected so Vietnam was an illegal War which we

lost the hell are you teaching him you come with me I'll teach you the real American

history first of all we didn't lose the war it was a tie besides they're grateful they have McDonald's

now throughout the show phys constantly adjusting his behavior to be seen as normal among his friends which in this case means more American Raj from The Big Bang Theory also sometimes struggles

with American culture and much of his character Arc revolves around his attempts to assimilate while his friends make little to no effort to understand his background Roger constantly made fun

of for his Indian traditions and is expected to adapt American Norms cows are Gods not technically in Hinduism Catt are thought to be like God do not tell me about my own culture Sheldon in

the mood I'm in I'll take you out I swear to cow a significant plot line in the show revolves around Raj considering an arranged marriage which is a common

practice in many Indian families however instead of presenting it as a legitimate cultural tradition the show plays it up as something strange and undesirable Roger's friend mocks the idea

reinforcing theide idea that the Western Way of dating is the right way to find love you're really letting your father pick out a wife why not arranged marriages have been working for

thousands of years Anu and I come from similar backgrounds our families get along and we each fill out questionnaires so we know we're not wasting a time with someone who's not compatible wow that sounds so dry and

clinical you lucky duck but over time throughout the show Raj does distance himself from his Indian identity and culture and conforms some more American Standard of dating

Raj feels so much pressure to assimilate into American culture that he often emulates his best friend Howard uh nothing I just decided to stop straightening it wait so you were making

your hair look like that on purpose when I first moved to America I wanted to fit in and Howard's hair was straight and he was the coolest person I

knew then you never saw any other people in Jesse Ravi is portrayed as the most visibly foreign character and the the show frequently makes jokes about his Indian background unlike the other

kids in the Ross family Robi is expected to assimilate into American culture and when he doesn't it becomes a source of embarrassment for others again there was that episode where Luke was ashamed to be seen with Ravi or for people to know

that he was actually his brother because of how weird everyone thought he was fire fire I will schol

that was a school bell not the act like an idiot Bell Luke was worried that Robbie's Indian accent and traditional clothing and mannerisms will make him

less popular in Modern Family Gloria also spends a significant amount of time trying to learn and understand American culture and anytime she struggles she's

made fun of because of it another underlying idea within this Trope is the idea that their lack of knowledge surrounding American culture is a handicap and actually makes them less

competent than their American counterparts Gloria specifically is often times framed as being less intelligent than the other characters because she sometimes gets her English language confused or is just sometimes

ignorant about American culture instead of being portrayed as equals with different backgrounds these characters are often Fred as naive socially awkward or even unintelligent simply because

they don't fully understand American Customs Gloria is an intelligent strong wheed woman but the the show often portrays her as being less competent than the other characters simply because she struggles with English or doesn't

immediately grasp American Norms running G throughout the series is her frequent confusion between words leading to misunderstandings especially when she gets American idioms wrong you know how

frustrating it is to have to translate everything in my head before I say it to have people laugh in my face because I'm struggling to find the words you should try talking in my shoes from one mile I

think you me I know what I meant to mean do you even know how smart I am in Spanish of course you don't Robie from Jesse also experienced a similar Dynamic even though he's portrayed as

academically gifted often being the smartest member of the Ross family his intelligence is frequently undermined by the fact that he's unfamiliar with American social norms which makes him

come across as socially awkward so in that sense he's uneducated and has to be taught by the other members of the family Robbie is often depicted as book smart but unable to function properly in

everyday situation because of his lack of understanding of American culture but a teenager in me knows that being yourself can sometimes be a one-way ticket to Swirly Ville oo swirly Ville

it sounds like a magical place where everyone gets frozen yogurt no a s is a toilet shampoo so no

sprinkles sometimes Raj from The Big Bang Theory also falls into this strob although he's a successful astrophysicist IST some of his unfamiliarity with American pop

culture often makes him the subject of ridicule I don't get it you didn't have Smokey the Bear in India no oh was he anything like a moonm the

mongus he taught us not to play with Cobras you had to be taught not to play with Cobras you to be taught not to burn down the

forest Foreigner Trope instit comes is a reflection of how mainstream media has historically viewed immigrants not as complex individuals with Rich histories but as Outsiders whose differences are

meant to be laughed at while some of these characters have become beloved figures in television it's important to recognize the ways in which their portrayals reinforce stereotypes rather than break them down so let me know what

your thoughts were about this strob any other characters you can think of in film or TV that fit into this strob be sure to like comment and subscribe and I'll see you guys in the next one