Alice and, tangentially, American sincerity.

This weekend I took a trip to the movies (or cinema, if you like) and saw the new Alice in Wonderland. It was great, though I think it could have been even weirder and darker, if only Disney had allowed Tim Burton to go all the way with it. There were some pretty excellent bits of humor, both light and dark, and I encourage you all to see it for yourself.

My favorite one liner in the whole film:
Alice is speaking with her potential future mother-in-law, who poses the question, "Do you know what my greatest fear is?"

To which Alice slyly but with a tone of earnestness replies, "The decline of the aristocracy?"

At which point I snorted loudly in glee, but think I was the only one in the theatre who got the joke and/or found it amusing. This is because I'm a dork, and have spent too much time in the UK. Oh yes, I am a show off, too. Disney may have released the film, but Alice (both the books and this rendition) is undeniably British and I'm glad the film and its dialogue weren't completely run through the American sieve. That at least that little bit of totally non-American repartee made it past test-audiences and the editors (films are often edited differently for different countries) warmed the cockles of my heart. Yes, the cockles.

It got me thinking, though, and please do follow this little trip down my stream of conciousness. The longer I am away from the roast beef of jolly old England, the more I notice that my sense of humor just doesn't play as well this side of the Atlantic, and I think I know why. To make a sweeping generalization, Americans are, if anything, a sincere and straight-forward bunch. Sincerity is great and all, but it means one can get away with a lot less in the name of humor, especially in everyday settings. Dark, dry, biting wit just doesn't usually fly. It's unfortunate, for me, because it is the humor I like best and (I like to believe) excel in. That it is so often misinterpreted and/or lost on others hurts. It hurts because it makes me seem like a jerk when I'm just trying to be funny. It hurts most of all, however, because these 'others' are so clearly wrong.