MovieChat Forums > Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) Discussion > Are there moments in CYE that are beyond...

Are there moments in CYE that are beyond acceptable?


I think this is kind of interesting, how to look at artifacts of media now, from the past and into the future. Are there moments in CYE where something really goes into an ugly unacceptable place, and yet somehow we ignore it because it is funny.

What is the derivation of this mental process. Obviously, I think, Larry David is not Trump-like. I think he hates Trump with a passion reserved for few things ... as any decent real American would.

BUT, like Trump took advantage of the fact that you can bully, abuse, insult, etc someone in public if you can hit the funny bones of enough people in the audience. This is a kind of cognitive dissonant thing ... but where does it come from and how does it work?

The whole existence of the character Leon in the show is a foil for bringing up African American issues, and racist stereotypes. The first thing that happens when Leon shows up is that Cheryl tells Larry that Leon must go because he left a cumstain on the blanket in his room. Larry has a talk with him, and when asked by surprised Leon, what kind of stain was it, Larry whispers, "ejaculate".

So, Leon is unfamiliar with the word, bewilderingly trying to repeat it back to Larry, like a cross between Chicklets and Chocolate ... jecklate. It is funny, but it makes fun of black people being uneducated, which Leon is.

So, why does Larry allow Leon to stay at his house and be such an proximal situation in his life? What is it with Larry and Leon?

Then to go against stereotype, Jeff Green of all people, Larry's libidinous goat-like agent who will fuck anything, admits it was him that masturbated in Larry's house in a spare room, because when the urge hits him he cannot resist.

In another episodes Jeff thinks Larry would be proud of Cheryl if he admits to thinking about her in a sexual fantasy. Larry forbids Jeff to do that ever again and makes him promise he will never sexually fantasize about Cheryl.

The question was why is this OK, or why is it not OK? ... is it mostly because it makes people laugh? What is it about laughing that disarms people from morality?

reply

A joke is just a joke. Explaining to Leon what ejaculate means is funny and if a person wants to infer some racial meaning behind the scene, that’s on them.

That said, humor can he taboo, wrong, and dark. I can tell a joke about dead babies and some people might find it distasteful whole others find the joke funny precisely because it’s wrong and disturbing. It doesn’t mean that the person finding such a joke funny is some psycho that wants to do harm to a baby.

reply

How does it feel to be obsessed with Trump?

reply

definitely depends on personal taste.
i find most jokes are hilarious .. probably the crying lady Madonna/pee episode was just stupid but overall i tend to enjoy 90% of the show

reply

Yeah, I agree. There are some things that bother me about Larry and this show. In the spirit of comedy one must overlook them or try to take them in the comedic spirit they are meant.

For example, the show where Jeff has sex with Bam-Bam is borderline creepy ... well, maybe not even borderline. Psychopathic.

reply

I think this is kind of interesting, how to look at artifacts of media now, from the past and into the future. Are there moments in CYE where something really goes into an ugly unacceptable place, and yet somehow we ignore it because it is funny.


There's no somehow about it. We ignore our surface-level moral outrage because it is objectively funny. It is objectively funny because we can't help but laugh at it, even if we find it fucked up. In fact, especially because we find it fucked up. Laughter is an involuntary response, and often the things we find the most fucked up are the things we can't help laughing the hardest at.

So, why does Larry allow Leon to stay at his house and be such an proximal situation in his life? What is it with Larry and Leon?


Leon is a financial leech who never should have been living in Larry's house in the first place, and Larry knows that. However, over time Leon has proved himself to be an extremely loyal friend who always has Larry's back, doesn't judge Larry for his flaws (or at least not enough to walk away from him), and also provides Larry with an entirely new perspective on his social/sexual/racial questions and grievances. Larry finds this perspective to be an invaluable addition to his life, and thus very much appreciates having Leon around, even if he has to financially support him.

In another episodes Jeff thinks Larry would be proud of Cheryl if he admits to thinking about her in a sexual fantasy. Larry forbids Jeff to do that ever again and makes him promise he will never sexually fantasize about Cheryl.
Uhhhh... so? You think that a man not wanting his best friend to jack off to his wife is unacceptable?




reply

Why do you have to try to make some kind of unwarranted conclusion about what I think? It's an absurd conversation. Can you imagine telling a mate you just rubbed one out fantasizing about his wife ... even if it was true? I don't think anyone is going to find out about their friends lusting after their gf or wife that particular way.

It was funny when Ted asked Larry's permission to go after Cheryl, and then Larry called up Mary who told him he was not her type ... and the top it off she was going out with his doppelgänger! Oh, this show is funny. Can't wait for S11 to start.

reply

The question was why is this OK, or why is it not OK? ... is it mostly because it makes people laugh? What is it about laughing that disarms people from morality?


People like you baffle me. You don't understand the nature of humor, at all. A rape joke is not funny because the people laughing at it condone rape. A rape joke is funny because the people who can't help laughing at it do not condone rape. A person who actually condones rape wouldn't even laugh at a rape joke, because it would be a normal, permissible concept to him. Why would it be funny?

reply

> You don't understand the nature of humor, at all.

Could be, but you definitely settle for superficial understandings of things and think it makes you and authority.

> A person who actually condones rape wouldn't even laugh at a rape joke

OK Mr. Know it all.

reply

OK look, I didn't mean to come off so harsh. The idea that laughing at jokes about bad things is an act of immorality on the part of the laugher is one that I passionately disagree with, and it's an argument that I've had a lot.

reply

There is only one episode that is unacceptable to me: Meet the Blacks, and it's unacceptable for one reason and one reason only: I put on CYE while I sleep, and that episode starts with 2-3 minutes of a loud fire alarm going off. Unacceptable!

Everything else is fair game.

reply

Don't make a distinction between reality and art, breh.😒

reply

Yeah, breh, it's easy to jerk off a stupid smart remark ... I'm sure you can't manage anything better. Condolences.

reply

You're the one equating fictional actions to actual real world ones and I'm the person displaying stupidity? 😂

reply

Larry voted for Trump, like any good american would.

reply