# Humor that doesn’t age well **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [August 29, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723 "2021-08-29T13:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/121 "2021-09-01T13:00:34Z")
And in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind even more so. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/122 "2021-09-01T13:37:16Z")
Absolutely. His humor never worked for me. It was like that kid in your class who was trying to be funny and you didn’t laugh because he’d keep trying. But his drama was spot on. The Majestic was excellent, too. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/123 "2021-09-01T15:15:14Z")
Well, way back before the earth cooled, in the 40s, radio humor was very different. “**[Can You Top This](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrE1.C6jS9hIWkA8HFXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZANDMTYxMV8xBHNlYwNzYw--/RV=2/RE=1630535227/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.oldtimeradiodownloads.com%2fquiz%2fcan-you-top-this%23%3a~%3atext%3d%252B%2520Can%2520You%2520Top%2520This%253F%2520was%2520a%2520popular%2cYork%2520theatrical%2520club%2520when%2520he%2520conceived%2520the%2520idea./RK=2/RS=qeqse26RVLlguD6KNF_pTy9A6IQ-)**” jokes were ethnic and told in dialect: Scots, Jews, Poles, Irish, Italian and blacks, deep south and Okie/rural. Nothing was off limits. None of it would play well today. However the Trump administration provides some opportunities for revival. “**[It Pays to be Ignorant](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geJaYljy9hkT4AtytXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzQEdnRpZANDMTYxMV8xBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1630535590/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fgameshows.fandom.com%2fwiki%2fIt_Pays_to_Be_Ignorant/RK=2/RS=QtEFAMWQ1Jl1vEtxmaBQQvsY6u0-)**” is closer than just a Trump metaphor. Trump statements read like program quotes. Also the “Can You Top This” cast was referred to as “Knights of the Clown Table” - sounds like the Trump cabinet to me. Some humor in the 40s was very cruel. Little moron jokes were popular and Skeltons’ **[Junior, the mean little kid](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geK.TAmC9hbawAT0tXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZANDMTYxMV8xBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1630538049/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fredskeltoncomedyshow.com%2fjunior_the_mean_widdle_kid.html/RK=2/RS=TIpaG_waesQwHJYLLy2FFvQINDc-)**, was an icon for little boys to copy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/124 "2021-09-01T18:03:28Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Of course, but it’s an over-the-top comedy. Reactions are going to be very exaggerated by the nature of the film. And they “exaggerated” it to the point where it’s genuinely transphobic/homophobic. > [@cmkeller](#): > > I could have sworn it had been implied that Finkel/Einhorn had been very affectionate with the men under “her” command. Certainly Ventura’s own, similar reaction in the earlier scene when he realized the truth was (it seemed to me) more over the fact that he had been french-kissed and fondled by someone whose “gun sticking into his hip” was not, in fact, a gun and not merely over the fact that Einhorn was a man in disguise absent that encounter. Again, _none of that makes the scene better._ ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/125 "2021-09-01T18:11:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Again, _none of that makes the scene better._ I’m not going to get into whether it makes the scene better, but my interpretation was the same as **cmkeller** ’s – Finkel/Einhorn had at least made out with all of the men having that reaction, was my assumption. Transphobia aside for a minute, the other joke was how promiscuous Finkel/Einhorn was. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/126 "2021-09-01T21:23:56Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Well, way back before the earth cooled, in the 40s, radio humor was very different. “ **[Can You Top This](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrE1.C6jS9hIWkA8HFXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZANDMTYxMV8xBHNlYwNzYw--/RV=2/RE=1630535227/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.oldtimeradiodownloads.com%2fquiz%2fcan-you-top-this%23%3a~%3atext%3d%252B%2520Can%2520You%2520Top%2520This%253F%2520was%2520a%2520popular%2cYork%2520theatrical%2520club%2520when%2520he%2520conceived%2520the%2520idea./RK=2/RS=qeqse26RVLlguD6KNF_pTy9A6IQ-)** ” jokes were ethnic and told in dialect: Scots, Jews, Poles, Irish, Italian and blacks, deep south and Okie/rural. Nothing was off limits. None of it would play well today. Radio dialect humor was copied straight from vaudeville, Broadway, movies, humor magazines, minstrel shows, and every other kind of entertainment that used words from the early 1800s onward. And I bet you can find dialect jokes in _Poor Richard’s Almanac_. Let’s see if this [link to a pdf on early Yankee dialect humor](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwih8auJ2t7yAhU3KVkFHYCFCIoQFnoECBwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshareok.org%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F11244%2F12710%2FThesis-1995-C889y.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1%26isAllowed%3Dy&usg=AOvVaw2py8QN0W9dXbGr2Hsw4cE-) works. It points out that _Yankee Doodle_ was dialect humor. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/127 "2021-09-01T21:37:10Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And they “exaggerated” it to the point where it’s genuinely transphobic/homophobic. You have a much more expansive definition of those two terms that I do. > [@Miller](#): > > Again, _none of that makes the scene better._ I don’t think it makes the scene funnier. I do think it makes it less out of synch with the prevailing culture’s more modern sensibilities, but it’s my opinion and does not represent any authoritative knowledge of exactly how broad or deep those sensibilities are. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/128 "2021-09-01T22:38:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > straight from vaudeville Yeah, radio and early TV was all vaudeville. And many of the same gags are in Aristophanes. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/129 "2021-09-01T22:52:32Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I don’t think it makes the scene funnier. By “better,” I didn’t mean “funnier,” I meant “less offensive.” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/130 "2021-09-01T23:01:29Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Well, way back before the earth cooled, in the 40s, radio humor was very different. “ **[Can You Top This](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrE1.C6jS9hIWkA8HFXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZANDMTYxMV8xBHNlYwNzYw--/RV=2/RE=1630535227/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.oldtimeradiodownloads.com%2fquiz%2fcan-you-top-this%23%3a~%3atext%3d%252B%2520Can%2520You%2520Top%2520This%253F%2520was%2520a%2520popular%2cYork%2520theatrical%2520club%2520when%2520he%2520conceived%2520the%2520idea./RK=2/RS=qeqse26RVLlguD6KNF_pTy9A6IQ-)** ” jokes were ethnic and told in dialect: Scots, Jews, Poles, Irish, Italian and blacks, deep south and Okie/rural. Nothing was off limits. None of it would play well today. In a way what’s acceptable and what’s off limits have reversed. Back then jokes based on ethnic stereotypes were ok, but sex jokes were off limits. Now sex jokes are allowed, but ethnic jokes are pretty much taboo. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/131 "2021-09-01T23:16:57Z")
They did ethnic jokes because large swathes of the population were ethnic 1st generation and their kids. They liked the humor. It should fly today but so many Americans are unfamiliar with their history and roots. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/132 "2021-09-01T23:28:48Z")
Sorry, I was attempting to make the point that most people aren’t familiar with how thoroughly dialect humor is tied into American entertainment - and from the start. Sure, jokes are old, but if you check [Joe Miller’s Jests, With Copious Additions](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43326/43326-h/43326-h.htm), originally published in 1739 as _Joe Miller’s Jests: the Wit’s Vademecum,_ you’ll see that despite 200 years of comics ripping him off there are few, if any - I didn’t have the stomach to go through every one - jokes that use dialects. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/133 "2021-09-02T15:05:39Z")
I still love the silly 80’s sex comedies. Revenge of the Nerds, Porkys , Teen Wolf, Bachelor Party (Tom Hanks) and Night Shift with Michael Keaton . Are they PC? Hell no. They’re silly comedies and completely cheesy. They’re supposed to be outrageous. Makes me sad that genre can never be made again. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/134 "2021-09-02T15:46:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I still love the silly 80’s sex comedies. Revenge of the Nerds, Porkys , Teen Wolf, Bachelor Party (Tom Hanks) and Night Shift with Michael Keaton . I wouldn’t characterize _Night Shift_ as a “silly sex comedy”–certainly not in the same category as those others listed. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/135 "2021-09-02T16:29:50Z")
When I look at those 1980s tits & zits comedies, what I see is Baby Boomer producers working against long-dead conventions of sexual repression from their youth, by exploiting Gen-X actors who had to pay their dues in these grotesqueries until they could do the serious work they’d trained for. And that’s just the shit on the screen. It wasn’t until 2016 that the off-camera outrages became common knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/136 "2021-09-02T17:29:52Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > When I look at those 1980s tits & zits comedies, what I see is Baby Boomer producers working against long-dead conventions of sexual repression from their youth I like your analysis. “Footloose” is probably the best example of a disconnect with 80s (probably even with 50s!) reality. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/137 "2021-09-03T02:08:14Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I like your analysis. “Footloose” is probably the best example of a disconnect with 80s (probably even with 50s!) reality. In the mid 70’s my father threatened to throw me out of the house for dancing. The movie was stupid, but not because it was disconnected from reality. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/138 "2021-09-03T02:31:59Z")
This is a silly analysis. Those baby boomer producers grew up in the sexual promiscuous 60s making movies for people enjoying the 1980s sexual revolution. The 2020s are far more sexually repressed than the 1980s. The 2030s will see a return of those type of films as a new generation rebels against our Hays era like rules regarding sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/139 "2021-09-03T02:43:36Z")
Errr… what now? I mean, I will grant that there was a lot more gratuitous T & A in 1980s movies, but in what way are we more sexually repressed now than we were then? I could sure get my fill of sex-laden movie or TV by just turning on HBO Max, where there is nudity regardless of whether it actually fits the plot at all; at least most movies in the 80s had a plausible reason to show nudity (strip joints or seedy hotel prostitution fits into almost EVERY action movie!). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723/140 "2021-09-03T02:53:45Z")
We are more sexually repressed as a society. [Why So Many Young People Are Having No Sex | Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/202006/why-so-many-young-people-are-having-no-sex) The reasons could be many. Fear of predators? Porn demystifying sex? You are right that sexuality has moved to the HBOs of the world. Almost no new film has nudity. The movie industry seems only to be releasing family fare and superhero/car films these days. There arent the variety of movies in the theaters there used to be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humor-that-doesn-t-age-well/949723.md?page=8)