The Annual Fall Show organized by the Yale College Council came with all its excitement: the frenzy, the tickets, and of course, the celebrity comedian Bo Burnham. “The Last Comic Standing” had been held a week before in order to determine which Yale comedian would pre-stage Bo Burnham, and that too had been a fun-filled evening. In a room full of excited Yalies, the comics brought their best jokes, engaging their audience with their applicability and knack for making the most ordinary of situations extremely funny! The competitors spoke to the Yale spirit, leaving the audience, for the most part, crying their eyes out.
I had never personally watched Bo Burnham, but I was more than excited to engage myself in a snippet of American culture through comedy. While Bo Burnham is not completely representative of American culture and humor, he is definitely a snippet into a particular kind of American humor. My American friends had long-warned me that I would not be able to relate to his acts, but I insisted that it was a necessary part of my international experience and went on to attend the show.
Woolsey Hall, the selected venue for the show was packed to the brim with at least one thousand Yalies. The Yale College Council had done a great job of advertising the show and pumping us up with ideas of how great it would be. And most of us weren’t too disappointed! The opening acts from the Last Comic Standing warmed us up in preparation for a very energetic Bo Burnham.
He jumped onto the stage in a flood of red, and proceeded to sing a long to a prerecorded version of his entrance. He then proceeded to play a musical piece on the piano, indulge in a number of scientific relativistic jokes, comment on Yale’s superiority over Harvard, a sure crowd pleaser, to mention but a few. It was funny, I admit, but less so to me! As an international student, my cultural understanding of American humor, or specifically Bo Burnham humor was almost non-existent! I laughed a little, but mostly, my eyes were wide open in confusion while my American friends toppled over in laughter.
There was, however, no taking away from having spent such quality time with friends. I cannot imagine a better way to have spent my Saturday evening. And I course learnt how far I am from totally “getting” American humor! Or maybe just Bo Burnham humor? The next Fall Show will tell!