Kayla and I were watching a rerun of The Big Bang Theory last night. The guys were sitting around the apartment discussing who id the bravest person in the Marvel Universe. Raj said, “whoever does She-Hulk’s bikini waxing.” This got a laugh from the audience.
Then Howard said “Captain America’s undocumented Mexican gardener,” and got a big laugh. Kayla turned to me and said, “Why is that funny?”
And I had no answer. :eek: I’m her FATHER, and I couldn’t answer a SIMPLE question for my child! :smack: I felt like a failure as a man. (NOTE: I did feel a LITTLE better when I said “Go ask your mother,” but not very much) I contemplated going with “Because Captain America is such a law-abiding do-gooder that he would deport the gardener personally,” but that seemed like a bit of a stretch, even for a joke by Howard.
So, I know we have at least one Hollywood writer on the Dope, and we have even more Marvel Comics readers. Why was that joke [del]funny[/del] a joke?
The writers of the show probably never read Captain America comics, but ASSUMED (wrongly) that Cap is a super-patriotic, ultra-nationalistic vigilante who would hate Mexicans and personally grab all illegal aliens and throw them back over the Rio Grande.
She-Hulk is pretty much invulnerable; I doubt she would feel anything at all from being waxed. Even if she did, why would she have any worse a reaction than any other normal woman? (I’m making the assumption that women who undergo the procedure do not consider it unbearably painful.)
So a gardener working illegally in the US would have to be incredibly brave, on a (Marvel) universal scale to accept employ from Captain America? Not funny.
Wow, you’re a tough sell. I think both of those jokes are funny when you imagine the superhero behaving like a normal human. IOW if you bikini wax She Hulk, but she behaves like you imagine an ordinary woman could react then it’s funny because of the hilarity that ensues.
The Captain America is funny for similar reasons. For one, thinking about the absurdity of Captain America hiring a gardener, let alone an illegal one. Then if he discovers it… uh oh. more wackiness undoubtedly ensues.
It’s the situation that’s funny; not “In real life how would a super hero react?”
I suppose if one is completely horrified at the prospect of the immense pain involved with bikini waxing, and the utterly incredible outburst of violence expected of an “ordinary woman” (otherwise why bother with the She-Hulk reference?), then the hilarity of the situation and the assumed bravery involved in administering said procedure is clear. I concede this to you.
Captain America needing a gardener? Har-de-har. Why not an accountant? Why not a motorcycle mechanic? Oh, that’s right, because there is much more humour to be found in the stereotype that Mexicans are more apt to be employed in a menial labour setting. I also concede this to you.
I don’t think the invulnerability applies here. Her skin is impenetrable, but she probably still has nerve endings and pain receptors, and I imagine that pulling out hairs will cause those to react. (Unless her follicles are invulnerable and make her hair un-pluckable? But generally, yanking on hair is painful even when it’s unsuccessful.)
Because if she’s unhappy with the sensation, she can punch you through a wall. Whereas the worst a normal woman could do would be less deadly.
(NOTE: I did feel a LITTLE better when I said “Go ask your mother,” but not very much) I contemplated going with “Because Captain America is such a law-abiding do-gooder that he would deport the gardener personally,” but that seemed like a bit of a stretch, even for a joke by Howard.