# Things we used to laugh at **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [May 4, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961 "2022-05-04T19:45:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/1 "2022-05-04T19:45:28Z")
. . . but wluld never fly on network television today. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/B4ojGuA33X4/hqdefault.jpg "Men On Films II \*\*\* In Living Color") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ojGuA33X4) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e4XnplSo8I4/hqdefault.jpg "Miss Swan at a gay bar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4XnplSo8I4) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BTtF7gzieN4/hqdefault.jpg "Soul Man (Movie Trailer)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTtF7gzieN4) As a comic, I think “adult” comedy has its place in an adult context, where adults can seek it out usinv their own judgment. But I’m also glad that we’ve progressed to the point where we can openly discuss the aspects of comedy that plays off of marginalized groups or cultures. Today we’re a little more aware of the distinction between punching up and punching down. Just a couple decades back, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/2 "2022-05-04T21:16:27Z")
Somehow, to me at least, Men on Films never felt like it was punching down. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it seemed good-natured ribbing instead of mean-spirited caricature. Maybe they got a pass in my head because they’re black. Maybe other reasons less creditable to me. The whole premise of In Living Color was to be iconoclastic and objectionable, this seemed of a piece with most of the rest of the show. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/3 "2022-05-04T21:22:06Z")
Please provide your own examples! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/4 "2022-05-04T21:27:20Z")
Pretty much anything in this movie: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZTchUep_bmg/hqdefault.jpg "Film Clip -- Sixteen Candles Movie Long Duk Dong What's Happening Hotstuff") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTchUep_bmg) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/5 "2022-05-04T21:30:04Z")
A relevant discussion I think [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/j-U_ZIAvYeE/hqdefault.jpg "I Could Be Offending All Gay People: Hank Azaria On His Famous Role") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-U_ZIAvYeE) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/6 "2022-05-04T21:40:23Z")
Is this among the worst of the worst? At least since _Bertha V. Nation_? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hb3gdUrIC4Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Breakfast at Mr. Yunioshi's") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb3gdUrIC4Q) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/7 "2022-05-05T00:09:46Z")
I don’t think anybody laughed at Soul Man ever. For a film with a cameo by James Earl Jones, it was awful. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/8 "2022-05-05T00:44:57Z")
The school financial aid rep: “We give money to people whose parents are poor, not people’s whose parents are assholes.” This after Howell’s character explains that though his parents are rich, his father’s decided to by a Ferrari rather than pay for college. It’s not a masterpiece, but it has it’s moments when discussing race in America, especially re. college. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/9 "2022-05-05T01:00:05Z")
From the OP, and regarding the issue of depiction of those who are gay, how many folks remember the recurring character of Marty, on Barney Miller? I liked it when I saw him, even if the depiction was flamboyant. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/10 "2022-05-05T01:18:58Z")
_Sixteen Candles_ represented my high-school years, including all the demeaning jokes. In the social sense, high school in the late 70s and 80s was quite demeaning. But we learned a lot (both good and bad). ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/11 "2022-05-05T03:50:22Z")
For the sake of accuracy, I’m fairly sure no one laughed at, “Soul Man” back then, either. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/12 "2022-05-05T13:20:30Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I don’t think anybody laughed at Soul Man ever. For a film with a cameo by James Earl Jones, it was awful. Yeah, I recall thinking that it was in pretty poor taste, even when I was 14. > [@lissener](#): > > A relevant discussion I think Agador Spartacus _IS_ funny. Not because he’s gay, but because the character himself is funny. The bit with the shoes kills me every time, for example. Or the whole soup saga. And it’s an important distinction to make that Spartacus was a kooky character _who happened to be gay_, and not a kooky character _because he was gay_. That I believe, makes all the difference. And if there’s extra kookiness to be had due to some aspects of his sexuality, that isn’t necessarily offensive either. I mean, the part with him cleaning in the thong was not exactly a straight man thing to do, but it was hysterical nonetheless, and not punching down either. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/13 "2022-05-05T13:40:07Z")
Y’know, I am becoming slightly suspect of these threads discussing what we used to “get away with”. To me they are dangerously close to a fig leaf for repeating awful homophobic/racist/misogynistic stuff. All you have to do is frame it as: “Man, this old stuff is awful! Here are 100 examples.” And were off to the races, with some cohort able to laugh at the same awful stuff over again. But maybe that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/14 "2022-05-05T14:56:56Z")
> [@bump](#): > > > [@DocCathode](#): > > > > I don’t think anybody laughed at Soul Man ever. For a film with a cameo by James Earl Jones, it was awful. > > Yeah, I recall thinking that it was in pretty poor taste, even when I was 14. From actually watching the movie, or just from knowing about it? I _think_ I saw it when it came out, but I remember nothing about my reaction to it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/15 "2022-05-05T15:36:23Z")
Speaking only for myself- When I said it was awful, I didn’t mean it was in poor taste. I meant the acting was poor and the jokes not funny. OTTOMH Dave Chapelle is often in poor taste. But, he is very funny. Due to it being on cable when nothing else was on, I saw it multiple times start to finish. I don’t know how C Thomas Howell has an acting career ---
**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:** [May 5, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/16 "2022-05-05T16:13:28Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Somehow, to me at least, Men on Films never felt like it was punching down. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it seemed good-natured ribbing instead of mean-spirited caricature. Maybe they got a pass in my head because they’re black. Maybe other reasons less creditable to me. Yeah, I agree with you on that one. The _Living Color_ sketch made it to air ostensibly because it’s making fun of gay people, but it still feel somehow representational. I think it helps that you could basically make that sketch into a full 30-minutes-with-commercials TV show today, and have a pretty decent chance at success. I don’t think it’d work if you tried it today with straight guys, but call it _RuPaul at the Movies_ and rotate in contestants from _Drag Race_ as hosts? I mean, I’d probably watch. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/17 "2022-05-05T16:15:01Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > From the OP, and regarding the issue of depiction of those who are gay, how many folks remember the recurring character of Marty, on Barney Miller? I liked it when I saw him, even if the depiction was flamboyant. Matt Baume has a great video about producer Danny Arnold fighting to include gay representation on Barney Miller. Marty and his partner were fairly stereotypical but they were included when the network and politicians didn’t want them there. [How Barney Miller’s Gay Couple Defeated Network Censors](https://youtu.be/ItfEk3_4-fU) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/18 "2022-05-05T18:00:45Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Dave Chapelle is often in poor taste. But, he is very funny. I disagree. Chapelle’s stuff has a serious subtext and uses humor to emphasize the absurdity of real life and the injuries of history. “Men on film” has zero subtext, and is clearly laughing _at_ the characters and nothing beyond that ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/19 "2022-05-05T21:05:36Z")
I remember seeing the ads for the movie, and seeing C. Thomas Howell in blackface in them and being fairly surprised as a 14 year old in 1986. I wasn’t even aware of what blackface was exactly, but the movie did seem to be out of bounds in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961/20 "2022-05-06T05:48:41Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > But maybe that’s just me. It’s not just you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-used-to-laugh-at/963961.md?page=2)