It's been a while since I last looked at Russian humor here. But honestly I have realized that Russian humor is generally based on all the same topics as American humor, including: mother-in-laws, sex, politics, and marriage. While much of their [Russian] humor is based on experience, so is ours [American]. And while some experiences are inapplicable to Americans, many parallel American life. Sure, there is an abundance of russian drinking jokes that Americans likely will not approve of, whether or not we 'get' them or not. But for the most part, the current Russian/American comedy genres cover similar issues with similarly humorous depictions if one understands the point of view of the joke.
For instance:
A foreign journalist walks into a local bar in search of material in support of his report on the meager living conditions of ordinary Russians. He approaches the drunkest visitor and politely asks for an interview. To which the drunk replies, "Go ahead!"
The journalist begins, "In my country every family has a car. What about you? Do you have a car?"
"Yeessssss? I do", said the drunk proudly. Then he continued, "In fact, I might have more than one car! I may have two!"
In shock the journalists quickly asks, "how is this possible? How can this be?!"
The drunk explains, "Well, say I hit you with this mug right now.*hiccup* They'll send one car for me, and another one for you!*hiccup*"
While this sounds like a drunkard bizarrely optimistic about the consequences of his actions, if one considers the culture of vodka and beer cultivated by the 'vodka' allowance given to every family by the communist leadership, it becomes easier to understand where this joke's point of view originates. Vodka was often used to keep the people of the soviet union from 'feeling' the hardships. The concept was often that while life was hard and work futile, vodka was everyman's vacation. Therefore, this drunkard is in a utopia of his own, imagining the plethora of vehicles he could 'control' through his actions. The focus is not on the scene of the drunkard in a bar, but rather on the resilient optimism allowed through this social past time and the absurdity of such in relation to social order. The inventiveness of the drunk upholds the concept that Russian's can solve any problem, while it nevertheless mocks the habit of drinking to solve life's problems.
American's don't relate well to a concept of social acceptance of drinking to be drunk or drinking to be happy —especially about material possessions or the lack thereof. But we would likely understand this kind of joke very well if the punch line dealt with 'beer goggles', drunken attractiveness, or drunken mistakes. Movies such as Shallow Hal and similar films regarding altered states of reality reflect America's understanding of altered logic and imagined realities. So while the points of view are different, Russian and American jokes are perfectly compatible when one accesses the appropriate lens through which to view the punch line.
The next time I hear a Russian joke that I hesitate to understand, I'm going to think first about the genre and try to draw a parallel in American culture. Then re-read the joke. It's highly likely that in this way, Russian jokes will be easier to access than most translations grant.
