Joke Lang
Pinoy humor is both self-deprecating and unrepentant at the same time. It stems from a love of wordplay (storefronts have signs that read “Elizabeth Tailoring” or “Bread Pitt”), acronyms and titles (local newspapers headlines carry words like “MILF” and “Kumander Robot”), and a healthy, self-preserving tendency to be able to laugh at themselves and be the butt of their own self-deprecating jokes. Foreign journalist Scott Garceau attempts to dissect the Filipino funnybone.
Flipping The Bird
Absurd business signage like “Cooking ng Ina Mo” and “Cooking ng Ina Mo Rin” elicit chuckles from ordinary folk, but no one will ever accuse Tad Ermitaño of construing things conventionally. Whereas we assume general silliness, he discerns a humor-hungry nation sabotaging Western influences in cunning ways the imperialists will never understand.
