# Please explain the allure of Beavis and Butt-Head **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000 "2004-02-07T15:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/41 "2004-02-08T16:45:20Z")
Yawn. Do a search for other B&B threads, DKW comes in like a buttmunch and says the same thing over and over again. Oh yeah, and he said “Morass”. Hrhmrhmrhrmhrmrmhm. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/42 "2004-02-08T16:55:30Z")
I’m 44, which mean I was in my late-30s when the series was produced, and I loved it to death. If you don’t, then I don’t think anyone will be able to explain it to you – to paraphrase Louis Armstrong: “Man, if you have to ask (what’s funny about something), you’ll never know.” That said: American humor has a long tradition of laughing at stupid people – that’s basically what clowns try to make us do. I’m using here the definition that clowns themselves use: _a clown makes you laugh at him, a comedian makes you laugh at someone else._ By which definition, Rodney Dangerfield and Steve Martin pre-1980 are clowns. The Three Stooges were certainly clowns, and if you don’t think _they’re_ funny, well, you probably _are_ a sociopath. (That’s a joke). Humor is very personal. If you think something is funny, it _is_ funny . If you don’t think it’s funny, you’re right too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/43 "2004-02-08T16:57:47Z")
> [@F. U. Shakespeare](#): > > If you don’t think it’s funny, you’re right too. Mmmm, so I WAS right about _Seinfeld, Friends, & Will & Grace_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/44 "2004-02-08T16:58:50Z")
…but not about my coding. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/45 "2004-02-08T16:59:15Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Mmmm, so I WAS right about _Seinfeld, Friends, & Will & Grace_. > > 😃 Spot on. Never liked any of those shows. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/46 "2004-02-08T17:04:31Z")
_B & B are watching a video by the group ‘Helium’, whcih features a girl dragging a hoe across a field._ _Beavis:_ What’s that? _Butthead:_ Uh, it’s a hoe. _Beavis:_ Yeah, but what’s that thing she’d dragging? _Butthead:_ Uh-huh-huh. _Beavis:_ Uh, why are you laughing Butthead? _Butthead:_ Cuz you thought I meant the chick. But I meant the _hoe_. _Beavis:_ Why’s that funny? _Butthead:_ Dammit Beavis, when a word means two things, it’s like,… pretty funny or something. _Beavis:_ Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t know that. _Butthead:_ Yeah. Like suppose you had a pet chicken. You could choke your chicken. And then, there’s _choking your chicken._ _Beavis:_ Oh yeah! (laughs) Now _that’s_ funny… Here, I got another one: MASTURBATING!! Yeah, that’s funny… _Butthead:_ Uh, that doesn’t work Beavis. _Beavis:_ Yeah it does – I do it all the time! * * * So stupid, in so many different ways. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/47 "2004-02-08T22:31:05Z")
What about the part in the movie where they’re at that old mission and they go into the confessionals, thinking that they’re the restrooms? Man in confessional: I’m sorry, HOW many Hail Marys? Beavis: A thousand! And I want you to hit yourself! Right now! Then they walk out and get struck by lightening. Other favorites: They’re watching soap operas and there’s this scene with a bearded man in bed with a woman, so they decide to “grow beards” to get chicks. Unfortunately, nature is not on their side, so they cut hair off of their heads and glue it to their faces. Then they hang out at the mall, going up to chicks and going, “Damn we’re smooth.” Beavis: “I’m so cool, I have a beard on my hands.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/48 "2004-02-09T00:34:13Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > the continuous sledgehammering of the approximately 1,000,000,000 sexually related slang terms Huh huh huh huh- you said _hammering_ . > [@DKW](#): > > It’s a hideous, dispiritng, incredibly hard on the eyes and ears morass He heh heh heh- you said _more ass._ ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/49 "2004-02-09T04:59:40Z")
> [@GMRyujin](#): > > Oh, man. I saw it on opening night in a packed theater. Best movie watching experience ever. > > “Maybe you’re…lactose in-tolerant.” > “No, no. I POOP TOO MUCH.” I agree… When I went on opening night, the theater was packed. It was definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had in a movie theater. There are times when I see something that _I_ find funny on the big screen, but I resist laughing, because I would feel uneasy if I was the only one person who found it funny enough to chuckle. I didn’t have to worry about any of that when I saw B&BDA, because most of the audience didn’t just _decide_ they were going to see Beavis, after ruling out all other possible choices. The audience was filled with fans of the show, and we all had the same weird sense of humor. The collective laughs were more frequent than any other movie I’ve ever seen in a theater. Good times! ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/50 "2004-02-09T13:33:53Z")
Yea, same here. And when the White Zombie sequence started, a freakin’ mosh pit broke out. THAT was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Adjustable\_Beavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Adjustable\_Beavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adjustable_Beavis)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/51 "2004-02-09T15:23:26Z")
I think that because in their teen years many guys either knew someone very like Beavis and Butthead - or were like them themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goofballz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@Mr.Goofballz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goofballz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/52 "2004-02-09T16:00:34Z")
For me it had a level of social satire that was unique for it’s time. The episode where they watched a show on Ben Franklin and then electrocuted themselves was great. The adults blamed it on them watching television. Is it just me or did anyone else think that Beavis would have had half a chance without the Butthead influence? I always thought he was the misguided simpleton while Butthead was the more malicious sort. I can’t wait wait for something new from Mike Judge. B&B, King of the Hill and Office Space is a pretty darn good comedy trifecta. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/53 "2004-02-09T17:57:01Z")
My son and his buddies used to sit around listening to loud music, slamming each other off the walls, and behaving a whole lot like Beavis and Butthead. I think its so EXACTLY like real life. They crack me up in a funny, creepy, kinda scary way. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/54 "2004-02-09T18:06:44Z")
I have absolutely no cite for this whatsoever. I remember reading an article on the making of “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” once, way back when it was in its heyday. The creators originally struggled with the idea for the two cretins – should they be lovably stupid, or simply stupid and unlikeable? Of course, they ended up going with the lovably stupid idea. Which made perfect sense to me – after all, who would willingly subject themselves to morons who were not only completely unlikeable, but also filled with a propensity to continually do the wrong thing? Such an idea would never fly, I thought. 10 years later, I’m kicking myself in the keister. ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/55 "2004-02-09T19:38:09Z")
One of my favorite B & B moments was when they were watching a video (not sure of the band or song) set in the Egyptian desert. I am not sure if I am getting the dialog exactly right, but it was something like this. “It’s those big trianguloid things!” (the Great Pyramids) “Yeah, they were built back in ancient times…like the 1950s!” “They were built by that Moses dude! Then he wrote the Ten Condiments! Thou Shalt Not Suck!!!” ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/56 "2004-02-09T21:41:01Z")
I loved it whenever B&B tried to read something. B&B once took a night off from watching music videos, to go out cow tipping. Before trespassing on a farm with cows, they came across a fence with a sign on it that read: “Horse Range, Trespassers WILL be prosecuted” Butt-head decides to read the sign. He tries to make out the word “horse”. BH: “Horss- horss… WHORES!” He THEN tries to make out the word “prosecuted”. BH: “Pro- pros… PROSTITUTES!” “HEY BEAVIS! They have whores and prostitutes here!” There was another time when their class was going on a field trip… alone in the classroom, B&B wonder where the rest of the class went. On the blackboard, there’s a message to students, reminding them of the field trip. The chalk board reads: “Field trip today” Butt-head, once again, tries to make sense of the writings. BH: “Fi- fi… feel… tit…” You then see there teacher loading kids on the bus, telling the bus driver that he can’t wait forever for the two. All of a sudden, you see B&B storming out of the school, telling to their teacher to stop the bus… I guess they finally figured out what the blackboard said. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/57 "2004-02-09T21:41:34Z")
A serious scholarly analysis of Beavis and Butthead: _Florestan and Butt-head: A Glimpse into Postmodern Music Criticism_ published in the journal **American Music** in 1999. [http://www.findarticles.com/cf\_dls/m2298/1\_17/58361687/p1/article.jhtml](http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m2298/1_17/58361687/p1/article.jhtml) (Be wary. This is full-blown academic prose. Adorno, Baudrillard, etc.) My wife is friends with the author and we’ve hung out together at conferences. He does a really wicked Cornholio. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000/58 "2004-02-10T00:58:56Z")
> [@Mr. Goofballz](#): > > Is it just me or did anyone else think that Beavis would have had half a chance without the Butthead influence? I always thought he was the misguided simpleton while Butthead was the more malicious sort. In the Christmas episode (the one where Butt-head was never born), Beavis was working at the food bank with Stewart, who yelled at him just like Butt-head. Born to be led, I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-allure-of-beavis-and-butt-head/228000.md?page=2)