Fry.. actually needed to test whether my comments work again... But Fry is awesome.

*british

Adding video to channels (British) - requested by Zifnab.

Spot on.

This guy really thought about this subject deeply. Nice.

Sense of humor is different than how a British comic acts vs how American comics act. I'm pretty sure we all find both at least somewhat funny. Some of the most popular American comics would be considered "British" by Fry's definition.

Humor vs humour. Upvote.

Its not just about "how they act", its their whole mindset and impression on their audience. On a basic level, Americans are full of themselves and the British are self-deprecating. Sure there's some mix of either on both sides, but predominantly that's the difference between American comedians and British (or most European and even some Australian/New Zealand) comedians.

Sure we find both funny, but that's got nothing to do with it

I don't know about this... Think about the best American comic right now, Louis CK. His on-stage (and on-screen) persona almost exactly fits what Fry describes as the British archetype. And he's not alone: think about Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, George Costanza in Seinfeld, Homer Simpson, even Lucille Ball.

On the flip side, British comedians like Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr and Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder (except for the first season) are more like Fry's description of American comedy. It seems to me that what Fry has done here is come up with a nice neat story about differing national character based on broad stereotypes rather than acute observation, turned that into a theory of comedy, and then cherry-picked examples that fit his theory without mentioning exceptions. It all sounds very impressive given his amazing facility with language and rhetoric, but it's not very good analysis.

I thought he was going to say Brits are genuinely meaner, but I guess that's just in everyday conversation

I don't think that. I think that he is spot on, but out of date and talking in general terms. The things that make those American comics great is how they are so much different from what American comics used to be and how they used to be appreciated. And by the way, as an English person, I too think Louis CK is the best out there. Also, I really don't know how you categorise Jimmy Carr in that way, would you care to explain?

You don't have to be italian to make pasta, but its still italian food. Self-deprecation is undoubtably a very British trait. I'm not saying we have a monopoly on it, but we do it far more than anybody else and its fairly apparent in our comedy. The fact somebody like CK exists is just proof that the world is a lot smaller than it used to be. British comedy has been exported to the states, our cultures are mixing. Hell, I say trash instead of rubbish half the time so it doesn't surprise me that there are American comics with elements of "British" humour in their standup.

Maybe the analysis isn't spot on, but I think its a pretty good attempt.

American and British culture mix so much it is easy to find examples of braggart and self deprecating humor in both. I think Frye is mostly right though. If you want to compare apples to apples, compare The Big Bang Theory and The IT Crowd. The Nerds in the former manage to achieve some success in life and love, because they learn and grow, while the nerds in the latter never learn and grow and the humor is in their constant failure.

Ironically these differences go back a long time. British Charlie Chaplain's "Tramp" bathed in self deprecating humor, while American Buster Keaton's humor came from his ability to calmly cause a lot of mayhem. Personally I love both British and American humor.

Interaction with the audience is a big part of Carr's stand-up, and the basis of the interaction is that Carr is quicker and wittier than the audience members. People who go to his show deliberately heckle him just to see him tear them to shreds. That part of Carr's on-stage persona is very much the sort of wise-cracking "my-knob-is-bigger-than-yours" thing that Fry attributes to American comedy.

I also don't think the self-deprecating "hapless loser" style of comedy is a new thing in America. Self-deprecation has always been a big part of Jewish comedy (Woody Allen is a good example), which has been central to the American comic tradition. Besides that, I already mentioned Lucille Ball, who certainly isn't a recent phenomenon. You can add the Three Stooges to that list. Also Phyllis Diller and (more recently) Chris Farley.

It might be true that self-deprecating humor is more common in British comedy, but it has been a big enough part of American comedy that I find it a little misleading to characterize it as a specifically British trait.

*controversy

Adding video to channels (Controversy) - requested by MrFisk.

John Belushi, music critic has been added as a related post - related requested by Fusionaut on that post.