Erin Clyburn’s article, “Stop demanding low-level humor,” struck me as intriguing. She suggests that the current climate of college humor flaunts students’ shallowness and immaturity. Well, let’s take a step back and avoid this unlearned humor for a day:
No more “Family Guy,” “Futurama,” “The Simpsons”-actually, stay away from anything on Adult Swim or TBS (whose motto should probably be “As Deep as a Kiddie Pool”). No more movies with Adam Sandler (the sole exception could be “Spanglish,” depending on how much of a humor vegan you are). Will Ferrell and Owen and Luke Wilson are heresy in the name of high-brow humor (except the chick flicks they’ve been in, of course). Vince Vaughn (save the remake of “Psycho”) and Ben Stiller cause the humortose-intolerant to choke.
John Heder (star of “Napoleon Dynamite”) might as well have choked on his shredded potatoes. Mel Brooks blazed a trail in the wrong direction, and Monty Python got thrown off the Bridge of Death. John Belushi’s character in “Animal House” should have worn a “Don’t Laugh” shirt.
Avoid Runnin’ with Scissors at all costs! Collegehumor.com should consider changing names-Hackneyedcollegehumor.com is available. Clark Gable quotes should replace the trite Chuck Norris phrases. Substitute “Vote for Pedro” shirts for ones that say “I See Dead Humor!”
Well, my DVD collection is wrecked, but at least I have those DVDs I ordered from The History Channel-maybe I should watch them and learn about the humor people used to laugh at. The Keystone Kops, Laurel and Hardy and The Three Stooges should all be paragons of high-class humor, right?
So, where are you going to get your daily dose of laughs now? If we were all robots, maybe we could live without abrasive humor, but alas, we’re human. Humor allows us to let loose a little, subjecting ourselves to high-level humor would only serve to leave us all very high strung.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go read the comics from the New Yorker.
Editor’s Note: Owen McGuire contributed to this letter.