# Things that used to be funny, but just aren't funny anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2001, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083 "2001-10-08T09:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/1 "2001-10-08T09:58:18Z")
As a recent episode of [Too Much Coffee Man](http://www.tmcm.com/comics/154_destroyed6of6.gif) pointed out, there are lots of things that used to be staples of comedy, but which are totally unfunny today. A few examples: [ul] [li] Domestic violence. Men getting beat up by oversized wives with rolling pins used to be funny (“Andy Cap” is one example).[/li][li] Alcoholism. The mere act of being drunk used to be funny, especially if you got hiccups(HIC!) or walked into street lamps.[/li][li] Sexual harassment at the workplace - aging CEO:s chasing unwilling secretaries around the office used to be a recipe for hilarity.[/li][li] Hillbillies used to be pictured as funny, stupid types(“Li’l Abner”) but at some point they started to be shown as being menacing/stupid instead (“Deliverance”).[/li][/ul] Can you think of any others? ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/2 "2001-10-08T10:06:02Z")
I assume you mean things that are now too un-PC for public airing. Of course, you’ll find that privately, many people still find these things funny. Anyway, this would obviously include all sorts of racial humor (blackface, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/3 "2001-10-08T10:21:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I assume you mean things that are now too un-PC for public airing. Not just that. These things are un-PC, true enough, but the point is, many of them are also simply not funny anymore (take a look at some 1950s cartoons or sitcoms to see what I mean). It seems to me that mainstream humor today is much more sophisticated than it used to be (compare “Seinfeld” to “I love Lucy”), and, PC or not, a lot of situations are no longer funny in and of themselves. I agree that a lot of people still find racial stereotypes funny, at least privately, and that this will probably never change. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/4 "2001-10-08T12:22:54Z")
[QUOTE] \*\* Not just that. These things are un-PC, true enough, but the point is, many of them are also simply not funny anymore (take a look at some 1950s cartoons or sitcoms to see what I mean). \*\* “Not funny anymore” is obviously a matter of taste. Or is there some sort of objective criteria for being funny? I find Woody Allen movies and “Will and Grace” to be “simply not funny”; millions of people would beg to differ. \*\* It seems to me that mainstream humor today is much more sophisticated than it used to be (compare “Seinfeld” to “I love Lucy”), and, PC or not, a lot of situations are no longer funny in and of themselves.\*\* Who says Seinfeld is more sophisticated than I Love Lucy? I enjoy Seinfeld (one of my top 3 favorite shows of all time) way more than I enjoy I Love Lucy, but I wouldn’t say that “sophistication” is the reason why. Nose-picking, masturbation, and body odor are not what I call sophisticated plot devices; in fact, I think that’s why many people liked Seinfeld. It didn’t try to be sophisticated at all. For the record, I find Andy Capp hilarious, despite his un-PC behavior of boozing. I find Ralph Kramden hilarious despite his threatening to send Alice “to the moon,” which some feel smacks of domestic violence. I realize that this is a poll asking people what they think isn’t funny anymore, and that’s fine. I just don’t think it’s possible to objectively say that such-and-such “just isn’t funny anymore” since it all depends on taste. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/5 "2001-10-08T15:03:38Z")
SNL still does a good job of making things funny. IMHO, they did an excellent job with a skit in which an office staff member showed up at a meeting wearing a half T-shirt with “USA” on it and male thong underwear made of American flag material. He dressed this way after an office memo encouraged staff to be more “patriotic.” It was a hilarious skit. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/6 "2001-10-08T15:35:18Z")
I used to laugh at the “I’d travel 10,000 miles to smoke a camel” t-shirt my marine friend wore after desert storm. It’s not funny so much anymore. To me anyway. I heard about a convention in the early 1980s where the speaker warmed up the audience with an AIDS joke. That’s back when it was a weird, rare “Gay” disease. Within two years that wasn’t funny. School shooting jokes aren’t so funny to me, either. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/7 "2001-10-08T15:44:24Z")
Panhandlers, bums, Jack Hell/Freddie the Freeloader type humor isn’t so funny as it used to be. Jokes about infidelity are pretty out of style, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/8 "2001-10-08T15:45:47Z")
da hell? Try Jack Kelly. Yikes. Ya know, I think the real reason they don’t let us post more often than once a minute is so there’s a better chance that somebody will spot the goofy error in the intervening minute and post some sort of snide, sarcastic remark, thus inspiring people to preview. That ought to fill up a minute… let’s see… ---
**Author:** ![Spoonbender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spoonbender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoonbender)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/9 "2001-10-08T16:30:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nineiron \* > I just don’t think it’s possible to objectively say that such-and-such “just isn’t funny anymore” since it all depends on taste. This forum is called “In My Humble **Opinion**.” The OP didn’t ask for objectivity. Any discussion of what is or isn’t funny is always going to be subjective. I think that clumsiness stopped being funny many years ago. When John Ritter stumbled all over the set of “Three’s Company,” the joke was already old. Observations about the nonsensical nature of the English language aren’t funny anymore. Yeah, yeah, you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway. We all get it. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/10 "2001-10-08T16:53:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spoonbender \* > **I think that clumsiness stopped being funny many years ago. When John Ritter stumbled all over the set of “Three’s Company,” the joke was already old.** As of a couple of years ago, anyway, we all thought Kramer’s clumsiness was still pretty funny. It all depends on how it’s done. John Ritter would be unfunny doing pretty much anything, if you ask me. I actually think anything can be funny if it’s done in an original way that opens some new angle or presents something old in a new way. Oh, I suppose Amos-n-Andy style racism couldn’t be made palatable anymore, but if you gave them Indian accents and made them convenience store clerks, I’ll bet a lot of people would laugh without thinking it was racist… ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/11 "2001-10-08T17:15:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Elvis \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Spoonbender \* > > **I think that clumsiness stopped being funny many years ago. When John Ritter stumbled all over the set of “Three’s Company,” the joke was already old.** > > As of a couple of years ago, anyway, we all thought Kramer’s clumsiness was still pretty funny. It all depends on how it’s done. John Ritter would be unfunny doing pretty much anything, if you ask me. \*\* I’d also argue that Chris Farley’s very physical comedy and clumsiness was hilarious. I’m only 21, but I can’t imagine an AIDS joke ever being funny. Something that is no longer funny, a la Jon Stewart: Subliminable ---
**Author:** ![Chaosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Chaosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chaosopher)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/12 "2001-10-08T17:49:26Z")
Two Words: Night Court. That show used to make me laugh and I have such fond memmories of it. So I tell my girlfriend (who hasn’t seen it) that she has to watch it, because some reruns are on. After two episodes I found myself apologizing profusely. That show did NOT age well. Oh well, I can still laugh at TAXI reruns. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/13 "2001-10-08T17:58:02Z")
Here’s a sure-to-be unpopular answer: Seinfeld. I used to love that show. Now it makes me cringe. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/14 "2001-10-08T18:09:37Z")
**Things that used to be funny, but just aren’t funny anymore** All Your Base Are Belong To Us. Seriously, racial humour and stereotypes have lost much of their fun - I’m thinking of black people, as portrayed in Gone With The Wind… kinda slow, kinda dumb… that’s just not funny and not acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![tapioca\_tundra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@tapioca\_tundra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapioca_tundra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/15 "2001-10-08T18:28:51Z")
The movie Red Dawn golf fast food service in the town that I live cat meat stir fry my job Charlie Brown Night Court was never funny, just a product of low paid writers the Jackson Five While I’m at it: Mr Brady Peace…man sugar wafers Dan Rather ---
**Author:** ![tapioca\_tundra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@tapioca\_tundra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapioca_tundra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/16 "2001-10-08T18:37:00Z")
before someone jumps down my throat for the Mr Brady one. IT WAS NOT ABOUT HIS dying of aids. as you were ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/17 "2001-10-08T18:54:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anticay \* > \*\*The movie Red Dawn > > golf > > fast food service in the town that I live > > cat meat stir fry > > my job > > Charlie Brown > > Night Court was never funny, just a product of low paid writers > > the Jackson Five > > While I’m at it: Mr Brady > > Peace…man > > sugar wafers > > Dan Rather \*\* Sugar wafers and the Jackson Five used to be FUNNY??? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/18 "2001-10-08T18:58:43Z")
How about game show contestants humiliating themselves on TV? Back in the glorious days of black and white, shows like Beat the Clock and Truth or Consequences would feature water balloons, pie fights, etc. accompanied by gales of laughter from the studio audience. Now, of course, you can put dramatic music behind it and call it “reality TV” but nobody laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/19 "2001-10-08T19:26:41Z")
Airport/airplane jokes? (“What’s the deal with airplane food?” and the like) ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083/20 "2001-10-08T19:27:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > **SNL still does a good job of making things funny. IMHO, they did an excellent job with a skit in which an office staff member showed up at a meeting wearing a half T-shirt with “USA” on it and male thong underwear made of American flag material. He dressed this way after an office memo encouraged staff to be more “patriotic.” It was a hilarious skit.** IMO, it was just a gratuitous excuse to show how nasty Will Ferrell’s butt really is. I mean, we all had our ideas, but this really took the guesswork out of it. Thanks a lot, SNL. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-used-to-be-funny-but-just-arent-funny-anymore/86083.md?page=2)