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How far back can we trace brainy people as the butt of jokes? Before Friends there the Cheers, with Dr. Frasier Crane as the punching-bag of the regulars, and t
by johan_larson 11y ago
How far back can we trace brainy people as the butt of jokes? Before Friends there the Cheers, with Dr. Frasier Crane as the punching-bag of the regulars, and that ran '82-93. Anything earlier?
- CM30 11y agoThe picture on Wikipedia's anti intellectualism page is from 1875, if that counts: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nast-intellect.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nast-intellect.png Obviously the nineteenth century was okay with using intelligent people as the butt of jokes and in negative comparisons.
- gmarx 11y agoI think Cheers was the key artifact that transitioned pop culture from begrudgingly conceding there was value in high culture to valuing itself at the same level and later above high culture. Anti-intellectualism/nerd bullying on the other hand has always been with us