The Americanized Estonian and its humorous representations
Keywords: humour, Estonian diaspora, Americanization, satire, character archetype
Appearing across a range of cultural forms, from drama and literature to media and social media representations, the humorous archetype of the Americanized Estonian is rather elusive to pinpoint, but nevertheless exhibits a set of discernible characteristics. In this paper, I trace the lineage of the archetype from its appearance in the filmic and dramatic works of the post-Second World War Estonian diaspora in America to comedic characters and satirical media representations that emerged after the restoration of Estonian independence.
Through the lens of superiority and incongruity theories and satire, I examine the contexts in which representations of the Americanized Estonian appear and are employed. While the archetype may reflect concerns over the Anglicization of the Estonian language and the influence of American culture and individualistic mindset, its humorous function is largely evoked through the incongruity of embodying features of both the Estonian “self” and the cultural “other”. The archetype also appears in representations that critique perceived (foreign) power structures, especially when this can be associated with identifiable public figures.
Martin Nõmm (b. 1990), MA, doctoral student at the University of Tartu (Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu), martin.nomm@ut.ee
References
VEEBIVARAD
Facebook: Älice megaa põnev elu. https://www.facebook.com/AliceMegaaPonevElu/
TVTropes: Funny Foreigner.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FunnyForeigner
Youtube: Pensionifondid / Alev Ström ja Ojulandi lammas. 21. XI 2006. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NEXmWgMxKc
Youtube: Sheeri kama. 27. XI 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LOh2pgT7Uk
Youtube: Toomas Hendrik ja Karl. 24. II 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbO5ck77LEQ
ARHIIVIALLIKAD
Rahvusarhiiv (RA)
EFA.403.vi.20150 „Seitse vihta” (1958).
EFA.403.vi.20151 „Tiina” (1976).
Eesti Rahvusringhäälingu (ERR) arhiiv
1992-082610-0001 „Aisakoll” (1992).
https://arhiiv.err.ee/guid/201005102345081010010002081001517C41A040000005020B00000D0F022319
2012-002609-0005 „Edekabel” (2012).
https://arhiiv.err.ee/guid/201212311721245010010002081001517C41A040000003248B00000D0F030365
1998-080134-0002 „Kreisiraadio”, 2. osa.
https://arhiiv.err.ee/guid/201005110614054010010002081001517C41A040000005020B00000D0F031351
2009-002577-0002 „Tujurikkuja” (2009).
https://arhiiv.err.ee/guid/201005121639090010010002081001517C41A040000005020B00000D0F097756
1993-000001-0001 „Õnne 13”, 1. osa.
https://arhiiv.err.ee/guid/201005111000450010010002081001517C41A040000005020B00000D0F037448
1994-000001-0014 „Õnne 13”, 14. osa.
https://arhiiv.err.ee/guid/201005110725460010010002081001517C41A040000005020B00000D0F032957
KIRJANDUS
Alfano, Sean 2014. Mickey Mouse appears on poster atop a nude woman’s body beneath a swastika. – A Mickey Mouse Reader. Toim Garry Apgar. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, lk 350–351.
Arujärv, Evi 2007. Miki Hiir, pronksmees ja kannatus. – Eesti Päevaleht 2. II, lk 3.
Atkinson, George Arthur 1927. „British” films made to please America: Patriotic melodies on the Anglo-Saxophone. – Daily Express 18. III, lk 6.
Beattie, James 1776. Essays. On the Nature and Immutability of Truth, … On Poetry and Music, … On Laughter, and Ludicrous Composition. On the Utility of Classical Learning. Edinburgh: William Creech.
Ben-Porat, Ziva 1979. Method in MADness: Notes on the structure of parody, based on MAD TV satires. – Poetics Today, kd 1, nr 1/2, lk 245–272.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1772049
Carpenter, Pauline 2007. Examining Borat and his influence on society. – Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, kd 11, nr 1, lk 15–26.
https://doi.org/10.31390/taboo.11.1.05
Davies, Christie 1990. Ethnic Humor Around the World: A Comparative Analysis. Bloomington–Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Delabastita, Dirk 2010. Language, comedy and translation in the BBC sitcom ’Allo! ’Allo! – Translation, Humour and the Media: Translation and Humour. 2. kd. (Continuum Advances in Translation.) Toim Delia Chiaro. London–New York: Continuum, lk 193–221.
Emakeelepäevaks. Kolm ajastutruud stiilinäidet 2018. – Eesti Päevaleht 14. III, lk 10.
Fletcher, Harry 2021. ’Allo ’Allo! gets offensive content warning for French and German stereotypes. – Metro 6. VIII. https://metro.co.uk/2021/08/06/allo-allo-hit-with-offensive-content-warning-on-britbox-over-french-stereotypes-15047417/
Gérin, Annie 2018. Devastation and Laughter: Satire, Power, and Culture in the Early Soviet State (1920s–1930s). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487515324-001
Greene, David 2010. A conversation with the President of Estonia. – All Things Considered, National Public Radio 23. IX.
https://www.npr.org/2010/09/23/130080822/a-conversation-with-the-president-of-estonia
Greenfield, Jonathan 2019. The Cambridge Introduction to Satire. (Cambridge Introductions to Literature.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139343251
Griffin, Dustin 1994. Satire: A Critical Reintroduction. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
Gruner, Charles 1997. The Game of Humor: A Comprehensive Theory of Why We Laugh. New Brunswick–London: Transaction Publishers.
Hammond, Joseph 2011. Muslim Mickey Mouse Tweet by Christian billionaire sparks controversy. – Religion Dispatches 30. VI.
https://religiondispatches.org/2011/06/30/muslim-mickey-mouse-tweet-christian-billionaire-sparks-controversy
Hietalahti, Jarno 2024. Humanistic ethics of humor: The problematics of punching up and kicking down. – The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook, kd 5, nr 1, lk 91–119. https://doi.org/10.1515/phhumyb-2024-0005
Hobbes, Thomas 1885 [1651]. Leviathan or the Matter, Form and Power of Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil. London: George Routledge and Sons.
Hutcheson, Francis 1750. Reflections upon Laughter, and Remarks upon The Fable of the Bees. Glasgow: Daniel Baxter.
Jung, Carl Gustav 1969. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. 2. tr. (Bollingen Series 20. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung 9.1.) Tlk Richard Francis Carrington Hull. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Jõuluks koju 2007. – SL Õhtuleht 25. IX, lk 10.
Kaldoja, Evelyn 2020. Ilves: loodan, et lääs ei ole veel lõppenud. – Postimees 19. II. https://www.postimees.ee/6903321/ilves-loodan-et-laas-ei-ole-veel-loppenud
Kivirähk, Andrus 2012. Orav ja Ilves. – Käsikiri Eesti Teatri Agentuuri näidendite andmebaasis. https://teater.ee/naitekirjandus/naidendid/orav-ja-ilves/
Külvet, Ilmar 1982a. Lamp ei tohi kustuda. – I. Külvet, Näitemänguraamat. Toronto: Külvet, lk 30–53.
Külvet, Ilmar 1982b. Sild üle mere. – I. Külvet, Näitemänguraamat. Toronto: Külvet, lk 55–85.
Laineste, Liisi 2005. Tegelased eesti etnilises huumoris. – Mäetagused, nr 28, lk 9–76. https://doi.org/10.7592/MT2004.28.laineste
Laineste, Liisi 2010. The frighteningly funny foreigner: Caricatures of the other in Estonian interwar public discourse. – Images of the Other in Ethnic Caricatures of Central and Eastern Europe. (Biblioteka etnografii polskiej. Library of Polish Ethnography 59.) Toim Dagnosław Demski, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska. Warsaw: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, lk 92–120.
Laineste, Liisi; Chłopicki, Władysław 2024. Huumor ja/kui vägivald? Folkloristlik-lingvistiline lähenemine. – Keel ja Kirjandus, nr 8–9, lk 736–752.
https://doi.org/10.54013/kk800a3
Lindsalu, Elo 2015. Eesti pagulasi hoiaks unustusest inglise keel ja meedia. Vestlus kirjanike Elin Toona ja Helga Nõuga. – Sirp 24. VII, lk 12–13.
Lotman, Juri 1999. Semiosfäärist. – J. Lotman, Semiosfäärist. (Avatud Eesti raamat.) Tlk Kajar Pruul. Tallinn: Vagabund, lk 7–35.
Lotman, Juri; Uspenski, Boriss 1999. Müüt – nimi – kultuur. – J. Lotman, Semiosfäärist. (Avatud Eesti raamat.) Tlk Kajar Pruul. Tallinn: Vagabund, lk 187–218.
Lugejate lemmikuks osutus Miki Ilves 2008. – Eesti Ekspress 24. XI.
https://ekspress.delfi.ee/artikkel/27683521/lugejate-lemmikuks-osutus-miki-ilves
Martin, Rod A.; Ford, Thomas E. 2018. The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. 2. tr. London–San Diego, CA–Cambridge, MA–Oxford: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2016-0-03294-1
Mäggi, Janek 2008. Eesti riiki juhib Alev Ström. – SL Õhtuleht 15. IX, lk 8.
Niineste, Mart 2017. Estonglish on eestlaste destini osa. – Eesti Päevaleht 15. VII. https://arvamus.delfi.ee/artikkel/78869794/estonglish-on-eestlaste-destini-osa
Parming, Tõnu 1970. Eestlaste ümberrahvustumine Põhja-Ameerika Ühendriikides. – Mana, nr 37, lk 14–38.
Saagpakk, Paul F. 1996. Valik vähelevinud sõnu. Tallinn: Koolibri
Schwartz, Ben 2016. Knock yourselves out: „Punching up” in American comedy. – The Baffler, nr 31, lk 134–146. https://thebaffler.com/salvos/knock-yourselves-out-schwartz
Soonvald, Urmo; Paas, Kadri 2006. Eestile on kombeks üks president korraga. Kas ekskommunist Arnold Rüütel või väliseestlane Toomas Hendrik Ilves? – SL Õhtuleht 23. IX, lk 2–3.
Zabalbeascoa, Patrick 2024. Funny foreigners: Sometimes not so funny and not so foreign. – The Palgrave Handbook of Multilingualism and Language Varieties on Screen. Toim Irene Ranzato, P. Zabalbeascoa. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, lk 409–430. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61621-1_19
Toona, Elin 1988. Kaleviküla viimne tütar. Romaan. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv.
Toronto Vaim 1972. „Sild üle vee” ja „Kihlus”. Kiri Stockholmi Vaimule. – Vaba Eestlane 4. IV, lk 2.
Välisministrit kritiseeriv Toomas Hendrik Ilves ajas ise välispoliitikat, millest keegi aru ei saanud 2020. – Uued Uudised 19. II. https://uueduudised.ee/valisministrit-kritiseeriv-toomas-hendrik-ilves-ajas-ise-valispoliitikat-millest-keegi-aru-ei-saanud/