Question
Aggiornato il
Joanna4567
22 ago 2021

  • Coreano
  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)
Domande Inglese (Stati Uniti)

Che cosa significa Who is 'Doris Roberts'? and why was it so funny?

He says they did a great profile on Doris Roberts and where she likes to eat when she's in Phoenix. It just made me laugh so hard because I read those. ?

Risposte
Condividi questa domanda
Leggi ulteriori commenti
isthmus_x
22 ago 2021

  • Inglese (Regno Unito)
  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

@leah4567leah

I have no idea.

Why do you think that this paragraph contains information about who she is, and why her eating habits are funny? It doesn't say anything like that. Also, if you want to know who this person is – you are capable of using Google, are you not?

0 likes
Utente esperto
Joanna4567
22 ago 2021

  • Coreano
@isthmus_x Since I can't write long here I didn't really get to write what I wanted to say completely.
This is one of the transcripts from 'The Office Ladies' on Podcast, I'm not sure if you've heard of this, though. In the podcast, they're talking about one of the lines that they found hilarious which I had trouble understading why since I have no idea who she is.
Of course I googled her but there's no clue that I can associate her with the reason why they found it so funny.

Here's the link below.

06:12~
https://youtu.be/nuZSIwn6EM4
0 likes
AdiMenayang
16 lug 2023

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)
Hi Joanna4567! This is very complex humor from the show “The Office” and I will try to explain (I also didn’t know who Doris Roberts was). Michael Scott’s character is portrayed as uncool, awkward, and strange, and the joke sentence you asked about is highlighting that. First, it’s the fact that he subscribed to American Way the (defunct) inflight magazine of American Airlines, those magazines that they put in airplanes for free. This is funny because people don’t usually read these magazines—they’re a remnant of a time when people didn’t have smartphones or tablets, and had nothing else to do on a flight, so the airlines put in magazines that are free. The fact that Michael Scott SUBSCRIBES to this magazine (pays for it to get mailed to his home), highlights how odd he is, and this will tickle a lot of audiences. Another part of this joke pokes fun at both Michael Scott’s character as well as the typical content of inflight magazine. Doris Roberts is not, in today’s entertainment world, a renowned person. Therefore, people wouldn’t usually find interest in what she does or what restaurants she likes. One way this pokes fun at the magazine is that, because they are not Vogue or The Wall Street Journal, they can only get interviews with people who are not very prominent. The randomness of Doris Roberts, as she is usually not talked about because she’s not prominent, also adds to the humor (US audiences often respond well to humor using randomness, which is a joke that mentions something unexpected that it tickles you into a laugh). Choosing Doris as a subject in the joke also pokes fun at Michael Scott’s character—it seems “uncool” to be interested in a person such as Doris. Additionally, the city Phoenix, AZ is used in the joke the same way as Doris is—a city that is not prominent and not very interesting to most audiences. Yet, Michael found this insightful. Using cultural contexts, the writers of the joke are highlighting Michael’s strangeness. The typical American would be interested in what a famous football player likes to do in New York City, yet Michael enjoys learning what Doris Roberts does in Phoenix, Arizona. Hope this helps!

Hi Joanna4567!

This is very complex humor from the show “The Office” and I will try to explain (I also didn’t know who Doris Roberts was).

Michael Scott’s character is portrayed as uncool, awkward, and strange, and the joke sentence you asked about is highlighting that.

First, it’s the fact that he subscribed to American Way the (defunct) inflight magazine of American Airlines, those magazines that they put in airplanes for free. This is funny because people don’t usually read these magazines—they’re a remnant of a time when people didn’t have smartphones or tablets, and had nothing else to do on a flight, so the airlines put in magazines that are free. The fact that Michael Scott SUBSCRIBES to this magazine (pays for it to get mailed to his home), highlights how odd he is, and this will tickle a lot of audiences.

Another part of this joke pokes fun at both Michael Scott’s character as well as the typical content of inflight magazine. Doris Roberts is not, in today’s entertainment world, a renowned person. Therefore, people wouldn’t usually find interest in what she does or what restaurants she likes. One way this pokes fun at the magazine is that, because they are not Vogue or The Wall Street Journal, they can only get interviews with people who are not very prominent. The randomness of Doris Roberts, as she is usually not talked about because she’s not prominent, also adds to the humor (US audiences often respond well to humor using randomness, which is a joke that mentions something unexpected that it tickles you into a laugh). Choosing Doris as a subject in the joke also pokes fun at Michael Scott’s character—it seems “uncool” to be interested in a person such as Doris. Additionally, the city Phoenix, AZ is used in the joke the same way as Doris is—a city that is not prominent and not very interesting to most audiences. Yet, Michael found this insightful.

Using cultural contexts, the writers of the joke are highlighting Michael’s strangeness. The typical American would be interested in what a famous football player likes to do in New York City, yet Michael enjoys learning what Doris Roberts does in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hope this helps!

0 likes
Joanna4567
16 lug 2023

  • Coreano
@AdiMenayang Wow Thank you so much! It really helped me to understand the sentences that I hadn't understood. Thank you again!❤️
AdiMenayang
16 lug 2023

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

@Joanna4567 of course, glad to help! I forgot to mention, even without knowing/before googling Doris Roberts, many English speakers like myself will still find the joke funny because Doris is a name typically for older women (in their 70s or 80s, as it is not commonly used these days to name girls). Therefore, if I had to boil down why the two ladies in the podcast found that joke funny, it’s because Michael Scott found it “insightful” to learn about an old lady’s restaurant options in an unremarkable ordinary town published in a magazine not many people read, let alone would pay for!

[Novità] Ehi tu! Dico a te che stai imparando una lingua!

Sai come migliorare le tue abilità linguistiche❓ Basta far correggere ciò che scrivi da un madrelingua!
Con HiNative, puoi ricevere correzioni su ciò che scrivi da utenti madrelingua gratis ✍️✨.
Registrazione
Condividi questa domanda
Che cosa significa Who is 'Doris Roberts'? and why was it so funny? He says they did a great profile on Doris Roberts and where she likes to eat when she's in Phoenix. It just made me laugh so hard because I read those.?
domande simili
domande simili
Domande suggerite
Newest Questions (HOT)
Domande Recenti
Domanda precedente/successiva

Fai domande a utenti madrelingua gratis

Registrati gratis
hinative app preview balloon background image flying monga
  1. HiNative
  2. D
  3. Do
  4. Doris
  5. Che cosa significa Who ...