38 Regrettable Trends in Media and Culture We Wish We Could Take Back

We won’t let the history books omit these shameful happenings
38 Regrettable Trends in Media and Culture We Wish We Could Take Back

We’re breaking a pretty massive story today. On our ongoing hunt for interesting things to share, we noticed that the book of pop culture had a few missing pages. Luckily, one of our more keen fact finders detected some missing problematic ‘80s lyrics, and blew the whistle on the entire scandal. We got to work filling in the blanks, and although pop-culture’s historians wouldn’t admit it, every missing entry just happened to be pretty unbecoming. 

Coincidence? We think not! 

Monica Lewinsky Jokes

COMEDY NERD David Letterman publicly said he felt bad about making fun of Monica Lewinsky. It happened in 2014, after he'd read an essay in Vanity Fair in which she wrote about how humiliated she'd been by the whole scandal. CRACKED.COM

Dressing in Drag

TIRED COMEDY BITS MEN DRESSING LIKE WOMEN Once some serious shock value, it's basically men being applauded for having the courage to be seen like that. If a man legitimately performs a great female character with great jokes, game on. But the laugh simply for the sight of it should be done with. CRACKED

Awkward Jokes

TIRED COMEDY BITS AWKWARD! In lieu of writing an actual punchline, a character will just say awkward, and the cringe we feel is supposed to be the joke. It's not a joke! It's all set up with a forced awkward chuckle because we're uncomfortable! CRACKED

Eddie Murphy

COMEDY NERD Eddie Murphy says that his old jokes, from 1987's Raw, make him cringe. I was a young guy processing a broken heart, you know, kind of an asshole, he said, even though Raw basically made him a star. CRACKED.COM

Black People/White People Jokes

TIRED COMEDY BITS BLACK PEOPLE ARE COOL On top of the countless stand-up jokes, a popular TV and movie trope has been a white friend dancing awkwardly or saying something cool, and a black friend checking them with, Okay, promise me you'll never do that again. WHITE PEOPLE ARE NERDS CRACKED

There’s Something About Mary

CRACKED DISCUSSING DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY The gross-out humor is actually really good. They pull off a ton of memorable raunchy bits, but Matt Dillon using the R word, referring to a kid as Mongo, and discussing his cage, and his leash has never sat well with decent viewers.

Awkward Handshakes

TIRED COMEDY BITS AWKWARD HANDSHAKES It's usually the punchline in most commercials, but countless movies and TV shows feature a spin on it. The missed high-five, or being left hanging, or the are we gonna hug, or fist bump, or shake, or high-five, or 'oh my god, this is so awkward! CRACKED

Weird Al

CRACKED WEIRD AL YANKOVIC regrets using the word midget. These days, | do not say that word. In fact, at one point on tour, I sang the song that had that word in it and I stopped the whole band and just explained to the audience how language has evolved over time, and I wouldn't use the word now. And then we resumed playing.

Weed vs. Alcohol Jokes

TIRED COMEDY BITS WEED vs. ALCOHOL When I smoke weed, I get the munchies, but when I drink, I get the punchies!-The logline for every weed vs. alcohol bit in existence. CRACKED

Blackface

CRACKED SARAH SILVERMAN is horrified that she did blackface. About her show's 2007 episode: I don't stand by the blackface sketch. I'm horrified by it, and I can't erase it. I can only be changed by it and move on. That was such liberal-bubble stuff, where I actually thought it was dealing with racism by using racism... All I can say is that I'm not that person anymore.

The Lady and the Tramp

SI AND AM The Lady and the Tramp antagonists rely on heavy Asian stereotypes to taunt Lady and cause havoc. CRACKED.COM

Autocorrect Jokes

TIRED COMEDY BITS already CIT the - IN E R T Y A AUTOCORRECT I S D F FAILS My grandma gave me her collection of old panties. Pennies! Her pennies! Also, anything with duck or ducking has been covered in like 2008, so we get it, you weren't ducking mad. CRACKED

The Naked Gun

CRACKED.COM The Naked Gun Oh, my poor Nordberg! his wife weeps as Nordberg lies in a hospital bed. Не was such a good man, Frank! Не never wanted to hurt anyone! Nordberg is played by O.J. Simpson. (On the other hand, that makes the scenes of Nordberg's comic suffering even better).

Pepe Le Pew

PEPÉ LE PEW The cartoon skunk stalks and sexually assaults Penelope Pussycat, in a weird French stereotype. CRACKED.COM

The Lame Parents Joke

TIRED COMEDY BITS PARENTS TRYING TO BE COOL Middle-aged parents who have no idea what a Tikitty Tokitty is get a massive eye-roll from their teen daughter, who either helps them understand, or just storms off in a huff. CRACKED

Trendy Hairdos

SUPER TRENDY HAIRDOS (FROM ANY DECADE) JOM BON JOVI www.n cock LOOK RIDICULOUS NOW GRACKED.COM

Fat Suits

FLASHBACK MONICA Almost any character wearing a fat suit for the laughs is just cringey. CRACKED.COM

Dirty Harry

CRACKED DIRTY HARRY NEEDS A BODYCAM TO KEEP HIM IN CHECK. DIRTY HARRY In one of Clint Eastwood's most iconic films, this rogue cop is supposed to follow a strict code of conduct, but he violates civil rights, abuses prisoners, and kills at will. He's portrayed as good, but he's a menace to society.

Sixteen Candles

CRACKED JAKE RYAN OFFERS HIS PASSED OUT GIRLFRIEND UP AS A PLAY THING. SIXTEEN CANDLES He's played up as the perfect high school good guy, but why, because he likes the nerdy girl? His infatuation becomes outright stalking, and he hands his drunk, passed out girlfriend to the perverted Anthony Michael Hall saying, Do whatever you want.

COPS

COPS The reality show is deeply unsettling when you realize it's just exploitative reality show copaganda. CRACKED.COM

Barney Stinson

BARNEY STINSON Legend-wait for it-oh nevermind, deceiving women into sex doesn't sound so great anymore. CRACKED.COM

Superbad

SETH'S CRACKED ENTIRE PLOT IS DATE RAPE. SUPERBAD His master plan is to get Emma Stone's character drunk enough to sleep with him. When he discovers she doesn't drink, he whines, gets grabby, and vomits on her. Worse, he seems to be practicing for a string of similar assaults in college.

‘Parents Just Don’t Understand’ by The Fresh Prince

Cringey lyrics from the '80s DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince Parents Just Don't Understand And this girl's hand was steadily moving up my thigh. She had opened up three buttons on her shirt so far. I almost had a heart attack that day. Come to find out the girl was a twelve-year-old runaway. Will Smith was 20 when this was released, and even if the song was about his younger self, he picks up this girl while driving his car. Do we need to keep listing reasons this is problematic?! CRACKED

Friends

CRACKED POUTING DOESN'T MAKE ROSS GELLER A NICE GUY. FRIENDS Seen as the ultimate nice guy, he's a jealous control freak who never supports Rachel's career. Не cheats (claiming they were on a break), lied about reading her letter, and lied about the annulment so Rachel would stay married to him (without her knowledge).

‘Let Me Put My Love Into You’ by AC/DC

Cringey lyrics from the '80s AC/DC Let Me Put My Love Into You Don't you struggle. Don' t you fight. Don't you worry. 'Cause it's your turn tonight. If the title of the song wasn't cringey enough, they really doubled down with a good ol' take on consent in the '80s. CRACKED

Sex and the City

GRACKED CARRIE BRADSHAW IS SELFISH AND SUPERFICIAL. SEX AND THE CITY As viewers matured, they realized that Carrie was materialistic, needy with toxic men (prioritizing them over her friends), and she never matured into a strong independent role model for young women.

Prince of Persia

PRINCE OF PERSIA CRACKED.COM In 2010, Disney cast Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia, and it didn't initially cause much controversy. Now seen as one of the decade's worst examples of whitewashing, Gyllenhaal has since stated, I learned a lot from that, and am now more thoughtful about the roles I pick.

The Beastie Boys

Cringey lyrics from the '80s The Beastie Boys Girls I asked her out, she said 'No way.' I should of probably guessed her gay. If a girl isn't into you, she must be gay! Lyrics for the fragile ego of the rejected bro. And it's have, Beastie Boys. You should have probably guessed that she is gay. CRACKED

‘I Want Action’ by Poison

Cringey lyrics from the '80s Poison I Want Action I can't wait to get my hands on them. I won't give up until they give in. If I can't have her, I'll take her and make her. You're gonna make her, Bret Michaels? Well, no means no, Bret Michaels! We'd say this didn't age well, but it wasn't acceptable back then (or ever!). CRACKED

Pan

PAN CRACKED.COM With songs like What Makes The Red Man Red, Disney's Peter Pan did more than enough to offend Native Americans in 1953. Warner Bros kept that offensive tradition going by casting Rooney Mara as Native American character Tiger Lily in 2015's Pan.

Mr. Mom

CRACKED YOUR ENTIRE PLOT CAN'T INVOLVE RIGID GENDER NORMS. MR. MOM A laid-off man becomes a stay-at-home dad while his wife returns to work. Jokes about a man changing diapers and ironing shirts couldn't be seen as ridiculous today. Don't worry, in the happy ending, he returns to work and his wife gets back to the homestead.

American Beauty

... TELL US NOW. AMERICAN BEAUTY The award-winning movie stars Kevin Spacey pining after an underage person. Nina J. says it definitely doesn't hold up because it feels like, especially when you watched it as an underage girl, that those creepy guys are cool and if they assault you, you're going to be guilty. CRACKED.COM

Soul Man

CRACKED BLACK FACE CAN'T BE YOUR ENTIRE PLOT ANYMORE. SOUL MAN In the 1986 movie, a spoiled white kid pretends to be black to nab a Harvard scholarship exclusive to black students. It does raise awareness of prejudice and racism, but all the blackface made it wildly offensive, even for 1986 standards.

The Lone Ranger

THE LONE RANGER BE CRACKED.COM Beloved Indigenous actor, Jay Silverheels popularized Tonto in TV's The Lone Ranger from 1949-1957. So they got it right in the 40s, but the 2013 Disney movie cast Johnny Depp (who claimed to be part Cherokee) as Tonto, in what Native Americans everywhere saw as brazen whitewashing.

The Blind Side

... TELL US NOW. THE BLIND SIDE Chris C. says, I love a good corny sports movie, and The Blind Side hit all the right emotional beats when I was 17. But 12 years later, I find it very pandering and patronizing. An Oscar-begging, by-the-books, made- for-TV movie that somehow made it to the big screen. CRACKED.COM

Manhattan

MANHATTAN M V al won the BAFTA Award for best film in 1980. SH MEKUAL - - - In retrospect, it's unseemly to praise Woody Allen for making a film about his romance with a teenage girl. CRACKED.COM

Short Circuit

... TELL US NOW. SHORT CIRCUIT David L. says, Loved that movie as a kid..buuuut Fisher Stevens in brownface... kinda cringy. CRACKED.COM

Dances With Wolves

KEVIN COSTNER DANCES GRACKED.COM WITH WOIVES This movie set the bar for White Savior tropes in Hollywood. It won Best Picture over Goodfellas. WINNER OF SEVEN ACADEMY AWARDS INCLUDING BEST PICTURE 1990 OAM.P.A.S.

Tags:

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

VIRAL ON CRACKED

A WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF
JOKES + TRIVIA

Forgot Password?