5 ms·

No Soap, Radio

44 points by trelane 4y ago

ThePadawan 4y ago
Full disclosure: I'm German. They say the difference between a good prank and just being an asshole is if the victim can laugh about it afterwards. To me, Wikipedia describing this as a "practical joke" and "surreal comedy" in the first sentence, then later going on to describe it as a "psychological experiment [designed to show the] pressure to conform" (which I would describe it as) makes me quite upset. I don't see how anyone can derive pleasure from making fun of the victim's social ineptitude, desire to fit in, or desire to socialize. I don't see how the victim could say after the fact "yes, that was a fun prank, I did enjoy this surprise". This is the sort of "prank" that I would be happy to see delegated to the Social Psychology department at college.
- greenbit 4y ago
  Very troll-ish kind of prank, for sure.
- branon 4y ago
  Yeah, this sounds like a mean prank. Maybe the victim would find it funny if they were shown the Wikipedia article after the fact and had the psychological experiment explained to them, similar to https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ Short of that though, this just seems cruel
  - ThePadawan 4y ago
    I think the 1962 Candid Camera version [0] is a lot more poignant and harmless way to point out the human desire to conform. I can't quite nail what the emotional difference is (to me) - maybe it is that laughing (at no-soap-radio) is a an action showing much more vulnerability compared to facing the "wrong" way in an elevator. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztFv6OSFeUA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztFv6OSFeUA
- jakelazaroff 4y ago
  > Full disclosure: I'm German. Just curious — why the disclosure?
  - protonbob 4y ago
    The joke here is the stereotype that Germans don't get humor, and he goes on to explain why he doesn't understand think the joke is funny.
    - ThePadawan 4y ago
      Very much correct! Background: As a German living in Switzerland, I have a very thin line to walk. The Swiss already think of Germans as exceedingly direct - whereas a Swiss person might say "Well I'm sure this idea could be good in some circumstances", a German popping in to say "I think this is generally a bad idea" is often looked at as if they had just threatened the speaker's mother with a loaded weapon. I have a name that is not obviously un-Swiss. I have thus started to point out my nationality as a disclaimer for "Please read this as written. Do not imagine a Swiss person saying this; that would give you the completely wrong impression". It's a bit saddening that this barrier exists; but rather than be constantly misunderstood, I have had to embrace highlighting my nationality-by-birth even though I have lived in Switzerland as an expat for over 10 years.
      - silicon2401 4y ago
        > I have had to embrace highlighting my nationality-by-birth even though I have lived in Switzerland as an expat for over 10 years. You may have lived in Switzerland for 10 years, but by your own account, it seems like you've chosen not to adopt Swiss culture (at least this particular aspect). Culture emerges to facilitate communication with shared expectations; how can you be surprised that people will have difficulty communicating with you if you choose to disregard their communication norms, which you seeem very aware of? To me that feels like some person A complaining that he's lived in Germany for 10 years and is saddened that the average person has trouble understanding person A when he speaks Chinese.
- atleta 4y ago
  Well, I guess it depends on how hard they are playing it and what's the relationship between the victim and the perpetrators. Basically like with all other jokes.
chrisbrandow 4y ago
Interesting to me that I’ve never heard of this (as a 50 yo) yet it was enough of a reference to make it into the Simpson, albeit as an obscure in-joke
- papandada 4y ago
  I wonder if the same writer responsible for "who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?" lyric in the Stonecutters song came up with that too, given the Wikipedia article mentioning Guttenberg was in a "no soap radio" sketch show in the early 80s. Probably a coincidence though.
- cduzz 4y ago
  Also 50; I remember this going around my Los Angeles high school. As a socially inept kid, I just found the whole thing perplexing. There is, however, a class of comedy where you can make anything "funny" if you push hard enough on some specific edge of the "joke", where eventually people laugh at/from some combination discomfort and absurdity. You can say that again.
motohagiography 4y ago
I remember seeing this played and thinking it was small and cruel. As a standup comedian talking about his work, Joe Rogan once observed that all laughter is an involuntary physical response, which was an acknowledgement of what comedy is and can be on a deeper level. A lot of practical jokes (certain kinds of hazing, gotcha interview techniques, elaborate gaslighting, simple harassment) are to comedy what conceptual art is to craftsmanship, where the perpetrator is using art and humour as cover for what is really just propaganda, morbid fixations, and aggression. They're an impostors trope. Comedic genius is in the apprehension and expression of paradoxes, it's a kind of magic trick that creates a flash of insight from the setting up and collapsing expectations with reality, and necessarily, a comedians intelligence is inversely proportional to the stupidity he affects in the setup. The very best comedy is an expression of magnanimity, where the comedian manages to elevate and forgive the butt of his joke while still taking them down. The audience is involuntarily given the sense of a shared absurd human experience, and not just pandered to. A great example of that difference is how Stephen Colbert ultimately became what John Stewart stepped back from to avoid becoming, which is unfunny. "No soap, radio," isn't really an anti-joke or surreal, it's more like a kind of perfidy where someone is just being a PoS under the safety of a protected pretext (art, joke, injury, etc). Physical humour can be brilliant (Mr. Bean, Emo Phillips, etc) but that's not practical joking either. Anyway, maybe I've overthought it but I think it's courage and magnanimity (literally, the greatness of soul) that separates the comedians from the clowns.
- bobkazamakis 4y ago
  >A great example of that difference is how Stephen Colbert ultimately became what John Stewart stepped back from to avoid becoming, which is unfunny. This statement alone shows a real lack of understanding of comedy.
  - hammock 4y ago
    Help him understand better
  - renewiltord 4y ago
    Can someone explain this exchange? I know who these people are but knowing how they changed (or didn't) over time requires listening to lots of their stuff. Also what's the lack of understanding. If this is a joke in the vein of the original idea, that's great!
sam0x17 4y ago
This happened to me at boarding school in '07 ;) New members to the track team were pranked in this way, and I was quite confused haha
galacticaactual 4y ago
There’s a scene in the movie Training Day when Ethan Hawke’s character is being told a nonsensical joke by someone, who claims if he understands the joke, he understands the streets. Hawke doesn’t get the punchline but laughs anyway. There are all kinds of internet theories about the joke, but this makes me realize it wasn’t ever about the joke itself, it was about Hawke voluntarily going along with the nonsense coming out of the other character’s mouth. Which is the exact behavior the criminal character wanted to elicit and evaluate.
p1mrx 4y ago
Haha, this is the best submission title I've seen all week.
srean 4y ago
I would laugh though, because the last line is so ridiculous and disconnected from the rest. Perhaps I am easily amused. Incongruity can bring its own humor, much like in nonsense verses.
anothermoron 4y ago
TradingPlaces 4y ago
This was my favorite joke at age 8
legerdemain 4y ago
Kristen Schaal is a horse.

44 points by trelane 4y ago

Full disclosure: I'm German. They say the difference between a good prank and just being an asshole is if the victim can laugh about it afterwards. To me, Wikipedia describing this as a "practical joke" and "surreal comedy" in the first sentence, then later going on to describe it as a "psychological experiment [designed to show the] pressure to conform" (which I would describe it as) makes me quite upset. I don't see how anyone can derive pleasure from making fun of the victim's social ineptitude, desire to fit in, or desire to socialize. I don't see how the victim could say after the fact "yes, that was a fun prank, I did enjoy this surprise". This is the sort of "prank" that I would be happy to see delegated to the Social Psychology department at college.

greenbit 4y ago
Very troll-ish kind of prank, for sure.
branon 4y ago
Yeah, this sounds like a mean prank. Maybe the victim would find it funny if they were shown the Wikipedia article after the fact and had the psychological experiment explained to them, similar to https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ Short of that though, this just seems cruel
- ThePadawan 4y ago
  I think the 1962 Candid Camera version [0] is a lot more poignant and harmless way to point out the human desire to conform. I can't quite nail what the emotional difference is (to me) - maybe it is that laughing (at no-soap-radio) is a an action showing much more vulnerability compared to facing the "wrong" way in an elevator. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztFv6OSFeUA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztFv6OSFeUA
jakelazaroff 4y ago
> Full disclosure: I'm German. Just curious — why the disclosure?
- protonbob 4y ago
  The joke here is the stereotype that Germans don't get humor, and he goes on to explain why he doesn't understand think the joke is funny.
  - ThePadawan 4y ago
    Very much correct! Background: As a German living in Switzerland, I have a very thin line to walk. The Swiss already think of Germans as exceedingly direct - whereas a Swiss person might say "Well I'm sure this idea could be good in some circumstances", a German popping in to say "I think this is generally a bad idea" is often looked at as if they had just threatened the speaker's mother with a loaded weapon. I have a name that is not obviously un-Swiss. I have thus started to point out my nationality as a disclaimer for "Please read this as written. Do not imagine a Swiss person saying this; that would give you the completely wrong impression". It's a bit saddening that this barrier exists; but rather than be constantly misunderstood, I have had to embrace highlighting my nationality-by-birth even though I have lived in Switzerland as an expat for over 10 years.
    - silicon2401 4y ago
      > I have had to embrace highlighting my nationality-by-birth even though I have lived in Switzerland as an expat for over 10 years. You may have lived in Switzerland for 10 years, but by your own account, it seems like you've chosen not to adopt Swiss culture (at least this particular aspect). Culture emerges to facilitate communication with shared expectations; how can you be surprised that people will have difficulty communicating with you if you choose to disregard their communication norms, which you seeem very aware of? To me that feels like some person A complaining that he's lived in Germany for 10 years and is saddened that the average person has trouble understanding person A when he speaks Chinese.
atleta 4y ago
Well, I guess it depends on how hard they are playing it and what's the relationship between the victim and the perpetrators. Basically like with all other jokes.

chrisbrandow 4y ago

Interesting to me that I’ve never heard of this (as a 50 yo) yet it was enough of a reference to make it into the Simpson, albeit as an obscure in-joke

papandada 4y ago
I wonder if the same writer responsible for "who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?" lyric in the Stonecutters song came up with that too, given the Wikipedia article mentioning Guttenberg was in a "no soap radio" sketch show in the early 80s. Probably a coincidence though.
cduzz 4y ago
Also 50; I remember this going around my Los Angeles high school. As a socially inept kid, I just found the whole thing perplexing. There is, however, a class of comedy where you can make anything "funny" if you push hard enough on some specific edge of the "joke", where eventually people laugh at/from some combination discomfort and absurdity. You can say that again.

motohagiography 4y ago

I remember seeing this played and thinking it was small and cruel. As a standup comedian talking about his work, Joe Rogan once observed that all laughter is an involuntary physical response, which was an acknowledgement of what comedy is and can be on a deeper level. A lot of practical jokes (certain kinds of hazing, gotcha interview techniques, elaborate gaslighting, simple harassment) are to comedy what conceptual art is to craftsmanship, where the perpetrator is using art and humour as cover for what is really just propaganda, morbid fixations, and aggression. They're an impostors trope. Comedic genius is in the apprehension and expression of paradoxes, it's a kind of magic trick that creates a flash of insight from the setting up and collapsing expectations with reality, and necessarily, a comedians intelligence is inversely proportional to the stupidity he affects in the setup. The very best comedy is an expression of magnanimity, where the comedian manages to elevate and forgive the butt of his joke while still taking them down. The audience is involuntarily given the sense of a shared absurd human experience, and not just pandered to. A great example of that difference is how Stephen Colbert ultimately became what John Stewart stepped back from to avoid becoming, which is unfunny. "No soap, radio," isn't really an anti-joke or surreal, it's more like a kind of perfidy where someone is just being a PoS under the safety of a protected pretext (art, joke, injury, etc). Physical humour can be brilliant (Mr. Bean, Emo Phillips, etc) but that's not practical joking either. Anyway, maybe I've overthought it but I think it's courage and magnanimity (literally, the greatness of soul) that separates the comedians from the clowns.

bobkazamakis 4y ago
>A great example of that difference is how Stephen Colbert ultimately became what John Stewart stepped back from to avoid becoming, which is unfunny. This statement alone shows a real lack of understanding of comedy.
- hammock 4y ago
  Help him understand better
- renewiltord 4y ago
  Can someone explain this exchange? I know who these people are but knowing how they changed (or didn't) over time requires listening to lots of their stuff. Also what's the lack of understanding. If this is a joke in the vein of the original idea, that's great!

sam0x17 4y ago

This happened to me at boarding school in '07 ;) New members to the track team were pranked in this way, and I was quite confused haha

galacticaactual 4y ago

There’s a scene in the movie Training Day when Ethan Hawke’s character is being told a nonsensical joke by someone, who claims if he understands the joke, he understands the streets. Hawke doesn’t get the punchline but laughs anyway. There are all kinds of internet theories about the joke, but this makes me realize it wasn’t ever about the joke itself, it was about Hawke voluntarily going along with the nonsense coming out of the other character’s mouth. Which is the exact behavior the criminal character wanted to elicit and evaluate.

p1mrx 4y ago

Haha, this is the best submission title I've seen all week.

srean 4y ago

I would laugh though, because the last line is so ridiculous and disconnected from the rest. Perhaps I am easily amused. Incongruity can bring its own humor, much like in nonsense verses.

anothermoron 4y ago

TradingPlaces 4y ago

This was my favorite joke at age 8

legerdemain 4y ago

Kristen Schaal is a horse.