Talk:Cringe comedy

Untitled
The stand-ups featured on this website are effectively censored from being allowed exposure to a wider audience, in furtherance of free speech I thought the noting of a website that promotes the awareness of such performers was worthy of an entry in wikipedia. If this article is to be deleted from wikipedia.. can the administartor who is doing so please explain to me the difference between this article and say the article on the 'bunny theater'[] that is featured in wikipedia. If the differences that make 'bunny theater' an acceptable article and my 'cringe humor' an unacceptable article are explained to me then I can make the relevant changes to 'cringe humour' article so that I complies with wikipedia's guidelines. Thenk you veddy much. Dirk Diggler Jnr 20:16, 1 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Please try to prove that the page meets the notability guidelines for websites. Thank you, Kusma (討論) 22:32, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Yep. The article needs to explain why the site is notable. The Angry Alien article mentions deals with a nationwide cable channel and inclusion on the DVD of one of the best selling movies of all time. It's also a pretty popular internet phenomenon: comparing Alexa rankings for Angry Alien and Cringe Humor the ranks are 14,398 vs 319,170; perhaps 30 times as many people visit Angry Alien. Not that traffic is everything, but it's useful data. Also see WP:VANITY and WP:NOT for why this isn't a good place to advertise something. Hoping that helps, --William Pietri 22:55, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Regarding the WP:VANITY mention, I am not remotely connected or affiliated with the 'Cringe humor' website nor am I related to any of it's operators or featured guests in marital, bloodline, sexualized or casual acquaintance manner.

I feel 'Cringe humor' deserves an entry in this growing encyclopedia for the following reasons;
 * it is a website which encourages free speech and promotes art that is effectively censored and/or banned from national exposure. This alone is notable.
 * the fact that this same encyclopedia features biographical entries for at least half a dozen of the more recent comedians who are featured at the 'Cringe humor' site.
 * also, wikipedia features articles on all ten of the comedians who are presently listed in CH's Legends of comedy page. However, CH's bios for these individuals are superior to wikipedia's entries in length and detail.. (Bill Hicks' bio for example at CH has quite a bit more detail than Hicks at wiki)
 * Therefore making CH an ideal site to cross reference information from wikipedia entries that are presented as fact with the bio entries for the above 18+ or so individuals.
 * the site 'Cringe humor' is already spoken of and linked to in several other wikipedia entries.

I dont really see the sense or logic in speaking about this website (CH) in other wikpedia entries and even linking to CH in other wikipedia entries.. yet regarding this same website (that you dont mind speaking about or linking to) as being beneath a standard that deserves it's own entry. Thanks for the example you have given with internet traffic regarding angry alien and cringe humor, but i am not buying into that at all. I believe just because something is popular doesnt necessarily mean it is good or notable (eg - CarrotTop, censorship) and conversely just because something isn't popular doesnt automatically mean it is is without worth. (eg - the Danish Mohammed cartoons, putting people before cash) To my mind, 'cringe humor' is exactly no more or less deserving a page at wikipedia than '30 second bunny theater' or 'the pirate bay' entries. But I'm done with the time I have wasted in typing these replies and in initially creating this page. Do what thou will. Dirk Diggler Jnr 00:25, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for being so amicable about this. A number of your points are excellent reasons why people should visit the site, but that a site is good doesn't mean it yet merits an article here. It's great that Wikipedia links to the site, but Wikipedia links to an awful lot of sites that don't meet WP:WEB. I agree with your comments about popularity and worth, but notability is different than (although often related to) either of those. Hopefully the quality of the site will make it popular, influential, important in comedy history, or otherwise notable, and when that happens, we should certainly have an article about it. Sorry you've put in a bunch of work on an article that appears to be not notable, but I hope that doesn't discourage you from keeping up your great record of contributions. --William Pietri 01:15, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Oh, and the WP:VANITY bit wasn't meant personally; it just points out that Wikipedia is a bad way to promote a site. People find articles here mainly by searching. --William Pietri 01:17, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * oh no prob, i didnt take it personally at all.. just saying that it really doesnt apply in this case at all bro. Dirk Diggler Jnr 10:06, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

A new start
Delete this and then I or someone else can write a proper article in its place. See my article insult comedian for a template. - Richardcavell 03:36, 6 June 2006 (UTC)


 * I created this 'improper' article, feel free to delete it and restart if you wish. The reason I stated for this article as being valid for wiki entry where not shared by others, so franjkly I'm not interested in putting in another ounce of energy. Speaking of ounces I have to go see a man now. Dirk Diggler Jnr 11:33, 6 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Also, listing Mr. Bean as "cringe comedy" clearly shows that the author doesn't understand the already ambiguous term at all. Bean is physical comedy paired with the classic "alien" behaviour of many comedians since the invention of comedy, thus pretty much every comedy could be labelled as "cringe comedy". --92.74.57.99 (talk) 02:31, 19 September 2019 (UTC)

Cringe Humor (external reference)
Radio Open Source recently did a show on exactly the topic of cringe humor. Guests: Mal Sharpe, Jesse Thorn, and Robert Thompson. Subject of discussion: Cringe Comedy, Coyle & Sharpe, Borat, Colbert Roasts Bush.

Radio Open Source is independently produced, and airs on American Public Radio. It is licensed under Creative Commons.

In the interests of full disclosure, I'm a producer with the show. I leave it to an admin to discern whether this should be included as a relevant reference. If this is the improper way to offer references, please let me know. Thanks, La Rue w. ROS 18:45, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

True awkward
Predecessor for The Office was in The Day Today, too for Borat in TDT in the swimming scenes. Chris Morris was master of cringe and his TDT, Brasseye and Jam. After him Alan Partridge and Snuff Box.79.191.56.244 (talk) 16:36, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

The term 'cringe comedy' itself
I appreciate the work the author has done to describe and catalog such comedies, but without documentation that the phrase itself is in common usage, it just smacks of a term that is looking for acceptance through gaining an entry.

Beckersonian (talk) 03:04, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

Cringey humor is just terrible comedy that basically no one will understand or comprehend in their minds one bit. Samanthapurcell83 (talk) 00:57, 27 May 2018 (UTC)

The term "Cringe comedy" seems to have come to prominence with The Office. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=Cringe%20comedy That's not to say the same type of comedy did not exist in film and television for many years before that but the particular label to describe it used by the media (and google users searching for it) seems to strongly coincide with the The Office. -- 109.77.207.152 (talk) 17:12, 27 February 2021 (UTC)

Napoleon Dynamite
I propose the addition—or at least a mention—of the film Napoleon Dynamite to this article, seeing as how it is an iconic example of cringe comedy. —  Tha† emo over †here (talk)  18:32, 13 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Not sourced. Please show reliable sources before adding this film or others to the article. If you can find reliable sources discussing the film as an example of cringe comedy then please do go ahead but find sources first. -- 109.77.207.152 (talk) 16:54, 27 February 2021 (UTC)
 * The New York Times called Napoleon Dynamite "a small-scale, deadpan film." Although there might subjectively be some elements of cringe I think Deadpan comedy is a better description of the film as a whole, and that is why I would urge editors not to add Napoleon Dynamite to this article, unless they can find reliable sources to support any such claims. -- 109.77.207.152 (talk) 03:04, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Please add the sitcom "Plebs"
Please add the sitcom "Plebs"TuffStuffMcG (talk) 22:29, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I see talk:TuffStuffMcG went ahead and added it but I have reverted the edit because it was not sourced. Please do not add more shows without reliable sources (WP:RELIABLE) to firstly verify (WP:VERIFY) that a show is in fact an example of cringe comedy, and secondly ideally to prove that it is a particularly notable example of cringe comedy (WP:NOTABLE). British comedy is already well represented, this article is not and should not be expected to be an exhaustive list. -- 109.77.207.152 (talk) 17:04, 27 February 2021 (UTC)

Notable examples of cringe comedy
First some lists. Discomfort Zone: 10 Great Cringe Comedies Time magazine
 * 1) The Office
 * 2) The Larry Sanders Show
 * 3) Curb Your Enthusiasm
 * 4) The Office (BBC)
 * 5) Da Ali G Show
 * 6) The Comeback
 * 7) Parks and Recreation
 * 8) Modern Family
 * 9) Louie
 * 10) Girls
 * 11) The Mindy Project

Evolution of Cringe Comedy in 9 Clips The New York Times.
 * 1) Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-)
 * 2) Da Ali G Show (2000-2004)
 * 3) The Office (2001-2003)
 * 4) The Comeback (2005, 2015)
 * 5) Louie (2010-)
 * 6) Girls (2012-2017)
 * 7) Nathan for You (2013-)
 * 8) Review (2014-2017)
 * 9) Difficult People (2015-)

Cringe TV comedy The New York Times. etc.
 * Veep
 * The Office USA
 * The Office UK
 * Nathan for You
 * Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
 * Girls
 * Louie
 * Fleabag
 * Curb Your Enthusiasm

I have tried to clean up this Comedy genre article and reduced the list of examples to some of the most notable cases. Note that this is not supposed to be a list article, and that the list is not supposed to be exhaustive, it should try to be representative. It does not even need to be a long list, we could make the list of examples in this article very short if really wanted to, but I've shortened the list in article to twenty-or-so of the most notable examples of the genre. I'm tempted to shorten the list even further. It would be best if the article listed shows that have more than just occasional examples of cringe, in a plotline, an episode or one particular character, but where there is a clear consensus that cringe comedy can be highlighted as the defining characteristic of the show. The Office, and Curb Your Enthusiasm get mentioned almost every time the topic of cringe comedy comes up, they seem to be by far the most notable examples of the genre, and Ricky Gervais and Larry David have elements of cringe comedy in their work and I don't think anyone would disagree on their inclusion as key examples of the genre. There are other examples that are less clear cut and veer more into deadpan humor, or other areas of comedy.

It may be worth trying to find a few examples that are not from the US or UK, but I would urge other editors to try and keep the list short and focus on the the clearest examples that the best sources can easily agree on. -- 109.79.167.191 (talk) 14:30, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

What would be the best Image for this article?


Should this article include an image and should it be Larry David? Maybe Ricky Gervais too but I didn't find a good image as easily as I did for Larry David. As I said above The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm are cited as the prime examples of cringe comedy. If we didn't limit ourselves to using only images available from Wikimedia Commons, is there was any one single image that would absolutely epitomize this subgenre? -- 109.79.172.81 (talk) 21:32, 7 March 2021 (UTC)

Please don't add more examples
A user added another example in good faith The show in question was Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Although the reference used does calls it "one of America’s first cringe comedies" but it also says "its innovations go largely ignored."

This source just about verifies that at least some people consider SGC2C to be a cringe comedy but the source is actively pointing out that Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, and Alan Partridge, are more notable examples of the genre. This is is not supposed to be an exhaustive list article, so I think it would be best to stick to the more prominent examples of the genre rather than an example that even the source says is not a widely recognized example. -- 109.76.144.223 (talk) 05:57, 26 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Despite the warning comment urging editors to only add WP:NOTABLE examples, several more have been added.
 * It is not clear that it is appropriate to categorize Seinfeld as cringe comedy, and it is has not been shown to be a particularly notable example of cringe comedy. Compare and contrast it to Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, which reliable sources clearly agree (see above) is not just cringe comedy but a very notable example of cringe comedy. (There are often elements of cringe, George Costanza is basically Larry David, but that doesn't make the whole show a cringe comedy, it is frequently defined as a comedy about nothing).
 * It is not clear that Jackass is an example of cringe comedy. It is primarily stunt comedy. See WP:WEIGHT. -- 109.79.175.220 (talk) 02:40, 28 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I have also reverted the addition of Klovn. It was verified with a reference, and it does appear to have been popular in Denmark but there isn't anything to indicate it is internationally notable. -- 109.79.86.215 (talk) 01:53, 31 May 2021 (UTC)
 * For the same reason, it's not clear whether Impractical Jokers (which clouds the issue because it is essentially a reality show) belongs in the category. Does "Candid Camera" belong in the category? I suggest all "reality programming" should be left out.--Petzl (talk) 20:15, 3 September 2021 (UTC)
 * The source for Impractical Jokers is not great, and although from having watched the show it based on the comedy of embarrassment (ie cringe comedy) we could argue that is not a particularly noteworthy example of the genre genre and leave it out. Frankly I would be happy to leave it out. I'd prefer one more opinion agreeing before I remove it. If you remove it (WP:GOFORIT) I would not restore it. -- 109.79.174.194 (talk) 05:10, 11 September 2021 (UTC)

I still think the article should include less not more examples, and that they should be the most notable examples possible. This is not supposed to be a list article. Editors have added more examples such as I_Think_You_Should_Leave_with_Tim_Robinson and although they have included references that WP:V seem to show that it is an example of cringe comedy, it is not yet clear that it is an especially important and notable example of the genre WP:N. -- 109.78.209.59 (talk) 02:55, 19 February 2022 (UTC)

Please include something on suffering.
Many people, including myself, tend to really, really, really hate cringe comedy, often referring to it as "secondhand embharrassment" or "secondhand regret" or "secondhand suffering" or the like. This seems to tend to be associated with neurodisabilities such as ASD. Could this article please be edited to make note of this?

Regards,

--68.56.148.200 (talk) 23:05, 8 November 2021 (UTC)
 * If you provide reliable sources then maybe I could add something based on those sources, and it would be best if you suggested a rough draft of how you think it might go. -- 109.77.199.253 (talk) 03:27, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Fawlty Towers
Why is there no mention of the ultimate cringe show Fawlty Towers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.90.149.244 (talk) 04:56, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
 * No one has shown reliable sources that categorize the show as a notable example of the genre of cringe comedy specifically. 109.78.209.59 (talk) 02:48, 19 February 2022 (UTC)

Scholarly Sources
Sorry to post this but not do the legwork, but here is an scholarly article I came across with free full-text available that reviews cringe humor and discusses how the scenarios come to be seen as humors.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/4/110

Dr.queso =  talk 03:05, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Adding it to the article would be better but research can be helpful too. Only it might be a very long time before anyone adds it to the article. Can you help clarify how other editors (me in particular) can tell if this is a good quality reputable publication? Can you explain what you found significant or interesting about the paper, then perhaps I might be able to summarize and paraphrase into appropriate wording for an encyclopedia. -- 109.76.196.239 (talk) 16:30, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

Non–TV-show media?
The only examples given are of television shows. Could the article perhaps be rewritten to include other examples of cringe comedy, such as movies like The Addams Family? Thanks! 99.19.68.61 (talk) 00:31, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Reliable sources. Nothing should be added to the article without reliable sources highlighting it as an example of cringe comedy. -- 109.78.204.113 (talk) 20:23, 7 August 2022 (UTC)