In “The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy,” author Kliph Nesteroff makes the point that comedy often doesn’t age well. Sometimes things that one generation finds hilarious fall flat to later generations. I have found that to be true, myself, when watching silent comedies, Laurel & Hardy and even the Marx Brothers.
I’m rewatching ”Animal House” and wondering whether that movie is an example of the phenomenon Nesteroff describes. Because I still find that movie delightful, but Millennials and Gen X hate that movie — they think it’s stupid and offensive. I haven’t talked with any Gen Z about it but I imagine their reaction is the same.
