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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by dead@hexbear.net to c/popularculture@hexbear.net
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[-] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Given the number of "whaAaaAat's the deeEEeEeal with AaaAaairLine foOOOod?!" jokes I've heard, making fun of Pedo Nazi Jersey Signfell has about as much cultural presence as Pedo Nazi Jersey Signfell himself. This being said, when I watched Seinfeld as a teenager, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I still quote some of the bits today (especially "SERENITY NOW!"). But I also enjoyed The Big Bang Theory at the same time, and revisiting that earlier this year… I have no idea what the hell I saw in it, it is nails on a chalkboard. So maybe I'd feel the same way about Seinfeld if I were to revisit it, but I dunno, I suspect I'd have more mixed feelings about it than anything: I wouldn't like the bits that are just mean-spirited or Adult For The Sake Of Being Adult, but the stuff that's just goofy? Honestly, I laugh even just thinking about some of the clips, which isn't something I can say for TBBT.

Comedy is a thing that's as subjective as it is culturally molded.^[A dog walks into a bar and says, "I can't see a thing; I'll open this one!"] I have to wonder how many people don't die of embarrassment remembering the things they laughed at 15 years ago.

An incidental thing: TV Tropes has a page called "'Seinfeld' Is Unfunny" for when a work was such a game changer for its genre that it ends up feeling like a series of beaten dead horses in hindsight.

[-] 30_to_50_Feral_PAWGs@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago

Re: Sumerian dog-walks-into-a-tavern-or-brothel jokes, researchers figured out recently that the phrase "I'll open this one" was mis-translated! It should have been "I should open one like this," e.g., "this bar is so filthy and dingy that a dog could run one just like it." There was some supporting evidence in the article where the verb that they translated to "open" was used in similar contexts in other translated documents. I wish I had the link, because I have a feeling this one's right up your alley.

this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2026
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