View source for Bulă

{{Short description|Fictional stock character of Romanian humor}}
'''Bulă''' ({{IPA|ro|ˈbulə}}) is a fictional [[stock character]] of [[Romanian humour|Romanian humor]].
Bulă, a buffoon and coward, was "born" during the [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] regime of [[Communist Romania]].<ref name=apo>{{cite news|url=https://www.evz.ro/viata-si-destinul-lui-bula-845224.html|title=Viața și destinul lui Bulă|trans-title=The life and destiny of Bulă|language=ro|newspaper=[[Evenimentul Zilei]]|first=Adam|last=Popescu|date=March 29, 2009|access-date=July 4, 2024}}</ref> The name, among other interpretations, is a one-letter deformation of "pulă", a Romanian vulgar slang for "[[penis]]".<ref>Volkan, V. D. (1995). "[https://www.karabakh.co.uk/international/totem-and-taboo-in-romania-a-psychopolitical-diagnosis/ Totem and taboo in Romania: A psychopolitical diagnosis.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128002212/https://www.karabakh.co.uk/international/totem-and-taboo-in-romania-a-psychopolitical-diagnosis/ |date=2019-11-28 }}" ''Mind and Human Interaction'', 2: 66-83.</ref> Bulă is young, he is funny, he has an attitude, and he has an answer for everything. He can be a hero with modesty and, equally, he can fail with dignity; no one can firmly say whether he is stupid or just a trickster. Bulă is the descendant of [[Păcală]] and {{ill|Tândală|ro}}, friend of {{ill|Ițic and Ștrul|ro|Ițic și Ștrul}}, less educated, but with an equally sharp tongue.<ref name="Tănase"/>
In 2006, [[TVR (TV network)|TVR]] conducted a vote to determine whom the general public considers the [[100 greatest Romanians]] of all time. Bulă was voted to be the 59th greatest Romanian.
[[Silvian Centiu]], commenting on his show, ''A Transylvanian in Silicon Valley'', wrote: "When in [[San Francisco]] and in [[New York City|New York]] I mentioned Bula, the omnipresent character in Romanian jokes, I was delighted to hear audience members laugh before I finished the joke – I knew they were Romanians."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atransylvanian.com/play.htm|title=A Transylvanian in Silicon Valley|website=www.atransylvanian.com}}</ref>
==Sample Bulă jokes==
At school: "Children, who can tell what is the main goal of [[Communist state|Socialism]]?" Bulă raises his hand. The teacher groans, "Oh no, Bulă, none of your nonsense." – "But I do know the answer! The main goal of socialism is the well-being and happiness of the man... And I even know who this man is."<ref name=apo/>
Bulă's [[April Fool's Day]] joke: "Mommy, mommy! Dad hung himself in the garage!" – The mother rushes to the garage, finds nothing, and Bulă is laughing. – "Ha-ha fooled you! He hung himself in the attic."<ref name=apo/>
Bulă was walking down the street one day and a man asked him:  "Bulă, where are you going?" – "Huh, how do you know I'm not coming?"<ref name="Tănase">{{citation|first=Monica|last=Tănase| url=https://dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/tema-saptamanii/cu-nostalgie-despre-bula-618807.html|title=Cu nostalgie despre Bulă| magazine=[[Dilema veche]]|language=ro|date= April 20, 2006|access-date=September 4, 2024}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Humor and wit characters}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bula}}
[[Category:Fictional Romanian people]]
[[Category:Romanian humour]]
[[Category:Stock characters in jokes]]
[[Category:Humor and wit characters]]