In WWII some GI coined the acronym “SNAFU,” which stands for “Sitation Normal, All Fucked Up.” With Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, we had a humorous novel which gave us a look at the war through SNAFU colored glasses, some decades later Dilbert gave us a similar look at the business world, but was Catch-22 the first such look at a large endeavor in such a manner? Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times might fit, but I’ve not seen enough of it to know. I can’t think of anything else that would fit that would be earlier. Any ideas?
Your Chaplin reference suggests many if not most of the old silent comedies, plus the W.C. Fields, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, and dozens of other slapstick and physical comedies are fueled by that same outlook.
A few other acronyms from WWII parlance along similar lines:
JANFU
FAFFH
FUBAR
Specific to SNAFU, it is worth mentioning and linking to Private Snafu by Frank Capra, Theodore Geisel {Dr. Seuss} and directors like as Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, and Frank Tashlin. P. D. Eastman was a writer and storyboard artist for the Snafu shorts. He was voiced by Mel Blanc.
Jim