Ralph Kramden vowed to send his bride “to the moon” on “The Honeymooners” … with his fists.
“Pow! Right in the kisser!” he’d cry, his hand balled up in a meaty fist.
The bus driver would never hit his beloved Alice, of course, but a modern sitcom wouldn’t even joke about striking a spouse.
Times change. So does the culture.
Jackie Gleason’s character Ralph Kramden in the Honeymooners had a running gag about punching his wife and best friend, “pow right in the kisser”. They even made a song about it. https://t.co/xw9ujjah4r
— Muirén ????️⚧️????️???? @[email protected] (@AnMuiren) November 1, 2022
That “Honeymooners” trope didn’t stop generations from adoring the show. Viewers understood both the era in play and the love Ralph had for his wife. She ruled the roost, reigning in his “get rich quick” schemes along the way.
Now, imagine a progressive scribe watching “The Honeymooners” for the first time.
- This cis-gender male is threatening violence?
- Alice should be empowered enough to fight back against his cruel taunts!
- Where’s the diversity?
Sound silly? Then you haven’t read the think pieces denigrating “Seinfeld.” These far-Left screeds want us to stop enjoying the iconic show’s reruns, available for streaming on Netflix and cable channels.
Collider serves up the latest “think piece” on why we can’t enjoy “Seinfeld” anymore — Why Is ‘Seinfeld’ So Hard to Watch Now?
Though it’s still as great and funny as it was then, it can also be hard to watch due to just how different the culture of then and now is.
Imagine that. The culture evolves. Who could have predicted it? Can we at least get a Spoiler Alert warning?
The essay runs through the expected gauntlet – it wasn’t diverse enough! It tackled sensitive topics that made me crave a Safe SpaceTM!
The piece even suggests the next cultural target.
In our current era we have a series like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Almost everyone is white and mean and self-involved. They’re constantly doing something offensive, but they too get away with it because they’re poking fun of such behavior.
Screen Rant, a far-Left platform that features like-minded articles, also routinely targets “Seinfeld.”
How?
The site used the now infamous “jokes that haven’t aged well” attack.
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This isn’t isolated to “Seinfeld,” of course. There’s a cottage industry of writers waging war against “Friends,” another beloved sitcom that still holds sway over the culture.
- It wasn’t diverse enough!
- The scripts fat-shamed Monica for her former, heavyset self
- The show’s progressive storyline about Ross’ lesbian ex wasn’t progressive enough!
The scolds proved so effective they bullied “Friends” creator Marta Kauffman to donate $4 million to assuage her cultural sins. The mania following the death of George Floyd in 2020 also impacted her check-writing skills.
She created the Marta F. Kauffman ‘78 Professorship in African and African American Studies at Brandeis University which will do nothing to digitally add people of color into the show’s reruns.
“I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.” “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman announced a $4 million donation to her alma mater Brandeis University to establish a fund to support scholars studying Africa and the African diaspora: https://t.co/bJ6NCfUj8m pic.twitter.com/mZFv6rA1N0
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) June 30, 2022
And on it goes. These scolds want clicks, of course. Never forget that.
It’s also an attempt to prove one’s worth over the artists who created popular art. Here’s betting these scolds could never pen a “Friends” episode or create a character as indelible as Kramer.
Canceling these pop culture icons is far easier. And, with luck, it earns one oodles of social media attention.
Remember that super famous TV show? Yeah? I helped make it go away!
Plus, this trend is part of the larger, Orwellian movement to erase the past in favor of a progressive utopia.
What these scolds don’t realize is the reason “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and other “problematic” shows like “The Office” grow more popular with age. They’re funny, of course, and there’s not an ounce of woke in them. They followed the laughs wherever it led them, allowing unlikeable characters to be … unlikeable.
Sinners are almost always funnier than saints.
You won’t hear a lecture mid-episode, either.
These shows, which aren’t very old in the grand scheme, aren’t difficult to watch as these naysayers insist. They’re the opposite, offering a tonic for our Cancel Culture age.
It’s why we can’t stop re-watching them … no matter how many chin-stroking think pieces say otherwise.