Monday, October 24, 2005

Restraining My Laughter

I watched the detective comedy, WHITE CHICKS on a flight to Holland last year. Seated by the aisle, I could see the adjacent passenger watching the same flick.



The movie was such a riot that my friends and I couln't stop laughing throughout the movie. Oddly, the movie wasn't inducing a single laughter from the adjacent passenger (maybe he was plain bored). As a matter of fact, he glared at us when we started laughing. Half the passengers on board were probably watching
White Chicks but no one else seemed to be having a good laugh. Were they restraining from bursting into laughter? While I had a good laugh on the plane, I found myself behaving differently in a similar situation back home.

With public buses outfitted with TV Mobile, commuters get to watch episodes of JUST FOR LAUGHS and CANDID CAMERA.







Being a captive audience, I soon found myself looking at the screen to kill time. Some gags were genuinely funny but I could not bring myself to laugh out loud.

A couple of strangers seated opposite me were restraining themselves too. It's almost like stifling a sneeze with your face going into a slight spasm.




I figured I restrained myself from bursting into laughter because I was afraid of public scrutiny within a confined space. The plane may also be a confined space but chances are you won't get to see the same passengers ever again and one could relish the anonymity and laugh out loud. And in a cinema with the lights out, you can laugh your head off with everyone else. Laughing loudly in public transports seems like a taboo.

Imagine the person seated beside you bursting into laughter intermittenly.



And if you are one of those who become flushed easily and are slow in 'recovering' from a laughter, it's going to be pretty awkward too.



Meantime, when faced with a predicament as such, I'll switch to nap mode.

6 comments:

esdee said...

I don't care one! I am the sort who will just laugh. That time I still remember I laugh so loud reading a funny scene in my manga that everyone in the train cabin stared at me. But I didn't care cuz it was just too funny to not laugh.

<*ANGEL*> said...

hiyo.. white chicks is very farnee mah.. y tat man dun luff? ever considered teh possibility tat he may not understand english????

esdee said...

Loving your brand new banner up there. The kids looks soo cute esp with the pacifiers in their mouths. DECEPTICONS!!! Kekeke.

professor said...

Happy Birthday A.O.!!!

Best Wishes on this Big Day for both of us!

:-)

{B'day cyberspace gate-crash alert! please get rid of unintended intruder...}

Mockingbird said...

I've been caught in such a situation before. i was listening to the soundtrack of "Why You So Like Dat" on my walkman on the MRT. And i just had to burst out laughing as it was so funny. I noticed people gave me strange stares ;p

TheEspian said...

Hahahahaha, kindred spirits!

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