# Where's the little girl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988 "2017-06-27T13:24:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/121 "2017-07-01T06:19:10Z")
Let’s go to the quarry and throw that video down there. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/122 "2017-07-01T06:51:36Z")
I think there’s a _lot_ of people in this thread who need to learn the difference between the _subject_ of a joke and the _target_ of a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/123 "2017-07-01T07:12:26Z")
I mean, it’s just _so_ obvious to me that the cops were the butt of the joke. They drove away swerving all over the road and firing their guns in the air, for crying out loud. It couldn’t have been any clearer if they’d been hollering _“YEEEEEE-HAW!”_ as they sped off. I’m not saying people are “wrong” to find the sketch unfunny, or even that it has a point worth making. But if you don’t get that the cops are intended to be the butt of the joke then that’s your fault. The film-makers couldn’t have made _that_ much more obvious. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/124 "2017-07-01T07:37:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I laughed. > > I appreciated the small details. The scone in his mouth. The coffee in his hands that he drops. It is absurdist humor and I accepted it. I thought it was a biscotti. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/125 "2017-07-01T07:40:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Not funny, because it would make no sense, because “cry like a black man” isn’t a common metaphor? It’s not a metaphor at all; it’s a simile. Still not common, though; you’re right about that. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2017, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/126 "2017-07-01T09:13:07Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I thought it was a biscotti. Gosh, I sure hope it was a scone. Because a scone represents the dominant English culture in the US, while a biscotti represents an Itallian minority. Portraying an obvious English-American consuming a biscotti is cultural appropriation, and a symbol of the dominant culture consuming a lesser culture. It would “punching down,” and a microagressive trigger to survivors of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/127 "2017-07-01T11:55:33Z")
> [@Rick\_Sanchez](#): > > I mean, it’s just _so_ obvious to me that the cops were the butt of the joke. They drove away swerving all over the road and firing their guns in the air, for crying out loud. It couldn’t have been any clearer if they’d been hollering _“YEEEEEE-HAW!”_ as they sped off. > . It’s not a funny enough pay off to make up for the scene before it. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/128 "2017-07-01T12:04:39Z")
Clearly it would have been much funnier if it was a gang of robocops screaming “where’s the kitten” at a gender-neutral furry. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/129 "2017-07-01T12:08:15Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It’s not a funny enough pay off to make up for the scene before it. Fine. I’ve never argued otherwise. My comments were aimed solely at the people in this thread who seem to be having trouble grasping the fact that the cops were the butt of the joke. Whether the joke is actually funny is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/130 "2017-07-01T13:13:12Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Yeah me too. > > The misogyny definitely bugs me, but I still laughed. I thought it exhibited _misandry_. I’m in the “not funny at all” camp, note. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/131 "2017-07-01T13:59:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Sanchez](#): > > Fine. I’ve never argued otherwise. My comments were aimed solely at the people in this thread who seem to be having trouble grasping the fact that the cops were the butt of the joke. Whether the joke is actually funny is another matter. I’m in the camp that thinks the joke is poorly executed precisely because it presumes the cops look over-the-top ridiculous when in fact, they look uncomfortably close to the real thing. But perhaps I feel this way because of my own experiences and the experiences of others I know. ---
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/132 "2017-07-01T14:49:20Z")
I thought it was actually pretty funny. I think it’s funny because although not genuine, I enjoy the “cruelness” of the cops when they are laughing at the man. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/133 "2017-07-01T20:31:06Z")
Also in the “it did not make me laugh or even smile” camp. (But the girl in the frame background does give me the willies.) In a meta way the butt of the joke may be those who think it is so over the top … which it is because of who the victim of the joke was - a SciFri listening, scone eating, Starbucks drinking, White dude. Make the cops target a rap listening, Skittles eating, iced tea drinking, Black dude, and there is a different, less absurdist, feel. Doubt that meta level was intended though. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/134 "2017-07-01T21:31:44Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Never saw it before now. Wish I hadn’t clicked on the link. Unfunny and stupid. What **Telemark** said. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/135 "2017-07-02T00:03:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Satire, perhaps? Sorry, that’s a fail. The only way for that would be if it turns out he has a little girl tied up in the trunk–which is what I was expecting. But because that didn’t happen, a lame waste of two minutes. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/136 "2017-07-02T03:09:50Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Also in the “it did not make me laugh or even smile” camp. (But the girl in the frame background does give me the willies.) > > In a meta way the butt of the joke may be those who think it is so over the top … which it is because of who the victim of the joke was - a SciFri listening, scone eating, Starbucks drinking, White dude. > > Make the cops target a rap listening, Skittles eating, iced tea drinking, Black dude, and there is a different, less absurdist, feel. > > Doubt that meta level was intended though. How could that meta level not be intended? They had to pick an actor, food, radio show. Seems pretty intentional to me. And yeah, I thought it was pretty funny. Not quite Adult Swim levels of absurdity, but absurd enough. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/137 "2017-07-02T03:26:09Z")
nevermind ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/138 "2017-07-02T04:50:37Z")
All right…second attempt, and I’m only going through the trouble because Cookie Collector 2 isn’t doing it for me right now… I get that we’re supposed to hate the cops. I get that they’re the bad guys. I get that completely missing the actual girl was a mark against them. I get all that. But there is one extremely critical element missing, and that’s _some kind of karmic payback for the bastards._ Without it, this is just a pathetic, cheap, lazy, unfunny, pointless, moronic, dime-a-dozen jerkhole power fantasy. I mean, do you remember what happens to Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket? He acts like a petty tyrant and constantly abuses his recruits in the most vile manner imaginable…and HE PAYS FOR IT WITH HIS LIFE. _That_ was a powerful message;_that_ really drove home why heaping endless crap on men that you are training to kill is a bad thing. Let’s say an oncoming semi appears, and the cops’ wild shooting terrifies the driver so much that he swerves into them and upends both police cars, and the final shot is the cops wailing and crying for their mommies. Such cruel irony! Or the man watches, anguished, as the cars disappear into the distance…then he suddenly smirks and removes his disguise revealing, gasp, he…or rather she _was_ the girl all along! She chuckles evilly at pulling one over the law before getting back into the car and calmly driving off. What a twist! Now THOSE would’ve been proper payoffs. Not enough for me to favorite it or anything, but at least it wouldn’t come across as a complete waste of time. kayaker - Did you intend this as some sort of litmus test? I can tell you right now that me missing out on a tedious YouTube video isn’t the least bit incredible. I tend to be rather discerning in the kind of entertainment I spend my time on. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/139 "2017-07-02T04:59:58Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > kayaker - Did you intend this as some sort of litmus test? No. I thought it was hilarious, as did everyone I showed it to. It’s all just a set-up for the punchline, “There’s the little girl”. That’s it. Period. I’ve laughed at “dead baby” jokes. I avoid telling them to someone who recently lost a child (some say I’m overly sensitive). OK, we’ll close this thread now. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988/140 "2017-07-02T06:54:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No. > > I thought it was hilarious, as did everyone I showed it to. It’s all just a set-up for the punchline, “There’s the little girl”. That’s it. Period. > > I’ve laughed at “dead baby” jokes. I avoid telling them to someone who recently lost a child (some say I’m overly sensitive). > > OK, we’ll close this thread now. Really? People say you’re oversensitive for not rubbing a child’s death in the aggrieved parents’ faces? I have a pretty dark sense of humor, but Jesus. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-little-girl/789988.md?page=8)