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A lot of things we take seriously - like obesity and police hitting people over the head with nightsticks- used to be considered hilarious, the stuff of punch lines.


Christopher Miller is the author of "American Cornball," a new book about things that used to make people laugh but don't anymore. 

One example: Bluto's repetitive kidnapping and sexual harassment of Olive Oyl in Popeye.


"Most early Popeye cartoons climax with an attempted rape, as do most early Betty Boop cartoons," 

. "It may sound jarring to call Bluto a rapist, but what else is he planning to do with Olive Oyl when he snatches her and bears her off against her will? Ostensibly the function of these sequences is suspense and not humor, but the silliness of the cartoon world inevitably spreads to the abduction scenes: poor Olive is never more ludicrous than when carried off kicking and screaming."

Banned Cartoons - Popeye & Betty Boop (1933)

Miller joins The Daily Circuit to talk about some of those things -- and what they tell us about our society, and ourselves.

Arts and Culture

Christopher Miller is the author of "American Cornball," a new book about things that used to make people laugh but don't anymore.

'American Cornball:' A guide to things we used to find funny

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