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pp.172-173
/ref> Mantas were targeted at buyers who yearned for a
p. 167
/ref>''Metonymy in Language and Thought'', 1999,
p. 325
/ref> Example jokes are: *''What was left after a fatal Manta accident? - A gold chain and a hairdresser in mourning.'' *''What is the shortest Manta joke ever? - Ein Manta steht vor der Uni (A Manta parked in front of a university).'' *''What does a Manta driver say after crashing into a tree? – Komisch--hab doch gehupt! ("That's strange -- I honked!")''''Adorno-Ampel und Schwebebahnelefant: 222 kleine Verkehrsanekdoten zu allem, was uns bewegt'', 2010,
p. 7
/ref> The popularity of such jokes spawned two successful films - ' and ''
In German humour
German humour is the conventions of comedy and its cultural meaning within the country of Germany. German humour encompasses traditions such as Kabarett and other forms of satire as well as more recent trends such as TV shows and stand-up comedy.
...
, a Manta joke (german: Mantawitz) is a joke cycle
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...
about the ''Mantafahrer'' ("Manta driver"), the male owner of an Opel Manta
The Opel Manta is a rear-wheel-drive sports coupé built by German manufacturer Opel in two generations from 1970 to 1988. The Manta was a mildly sporting coupé based on the Ascona family car, akin to the Ford Falcon-based Mustang and its vario ...
, who is an aggressive driver, dull, lower class, macho, and infatuated with both his car and his blonde hairdresser girlfriend.
Jokes poke fun at a stereotype of the working class owner of a second-tier muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
, typified by the Manta.''Breakdown, Breakup, Breakthrough: Germany's Difficult Passage to Modernity'', 1999, pp.172-173
/ref> Mantas were targeted at buyers who yearned for a
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
but could not afford a status car such as a BMW or Mercedes. Proud Manta owners often decorated them with chrome, G-T stripes
Racing stripes, also called Le Mans stripes or rally stripes, were originally applied to racecars to help identify them in the field during races. The term "racing stripe" is also used to refer to diagonal lines painted on watercraft hulls, usu ...
, racing tyres, or high beams
A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...
to mimic the exclusiveness of race car
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...
s.''That was the Wild East: Film Culture, Unification, and the "new" Germany''p. 167
/ref>''Metonymy in Language and Thought'', 1999,
p. 325
/ref> Example jokes are: *''What was left after a fatal Manta accident? - A gold chain and a hairdresser in mourning.'' *''What is the shortest Manta joke ever? - Ein Manta steht vor der Uni (A Manta parked in front of a university).'' *''What does a Manta driver say after crashing into a tree? – Komisch--hab doch gehupt! ("That's strange -- I honked!")''''Adorno-Ampel und Schwebebahnelefant: 222 kleine Verkehrsanekdoten zu allem, was uns bewegt'', 2010,
p. 7
/ref> The popularity of such jokes spawned two successful films - ' and ''
Manta, Manta
''Manta, Manta'' is a 1991 German language action comedy film directed by Wolfgang Büld. The film features Til Schweiger, Tina Ruland, Stefan Gebelhoff, Lena Sabine Berg and Michael Kessler in the lead roles. Singer/songwriter Sylkie Monoff make ...
'', the latter starring Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
Early life
Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
as the ''Mantafahrer''.
See also
* Russian jokes: New Russians *Boy racer
Boy racer is a term given to a young person who drives in a fast and aggressive manner; it has become a broader term (often pejorative) for participants in modern custom car culture who tune and modify cars with street racing-style afterma ...
*Hoon
A hoon is an Australian term describing a person who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers.
Hoon activities (or hooning) can include speeding, burnouts, dough ...
*Mondeo man
Essex man and Mondeo man are stereotypical figures which were popularised in 1990s Britain. The "Essex man" as a political figure is an example of a type of median voter and was used to help explain the electoral successes of Conservative Prime ...
*Rice burner
Rice burner is a pejorative term originally applied to Japanese motorcycles and which later expanded to include Japanese cars or any East Asian-made vehicles. Variations include rice rocket, referring most often to Japanese superbikes, rice mach ...
*White van man
"White van man" is a stereotype used in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the Europe ...
References
{{reflist German humour Joke cycles