Last month, Netflix released Jeff Foxworthy’s new stand-up comedy special The Good Old Days, and in no time the comedian was getting roasted on social media. One of the breakout jokes from the special became the meme of the day on Twitter, and it snowballed from there.
Netflix posted four subtitled screenshots from Foxworthy’s special encapsulating one of the jokes about “participation trophies.” The comedian said: “I played every sport, and it was weird back then. If you wanted a trophy, you had to finish in first place.” Obviously, young millennials have heard these kinds of jokes for years, but this time they had some rebuttals at the ready. In the case of Foxworthy, they felt that he has received plenty of “participation trophies” of his own.
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For one thing, critics pointed out, children didn’t suddenly start demanding participation trophies – or awarding them to themselves, for that matter. Therefore, if the trinkets were meant to placate anyone it was likely the parents of those children, who would have been around Foxworthy’s age. The generational insults here did not really pan out in Foxworthy’s favor.
For another thing, Foxworthy’s joking condescension did not sit well with many people in light of the harsh social, economic and environmental conditions that younger generations are facing when compared to Foxworthy’s generation. According to a report by CNN, millennials’ economic prospects, quality of life and life expectancy will be worse than their parents’ were judging by the latest predictive models.
Foxworthy’s critics argued that he is particularly ill-suited to make these kinds of jokes since he grew up wealthy, the son of an IBM executive. Foxworthy got a job with IBM when he dropped out of college and worked there while he pursued his stand-up comedy aspirations.
Jeff Foxworthy: The Good Old Days has not gotten enough reviews to earn a score on Rotten Tomatoes, but so far audience input does not look good. Here’s a look at the responding jokes about Foxworthy posted on social media.
Over Reaction
Finally, some viewers felt that people were taking Foxworthy’s joke too seriously without realizing that they weren’t the target audience for it. Many also remarked that they were being baited into engaging with this promo and thereby helping the special succeed.
Parodies
The caption format left room for fans to easily make their own parodies of Foxworthy’s joke. These ranged from silly to dark, and often explicit.
Privilege
Users felt that it was wrong of Foxworthy to preach about hard work and accomplishments when he himself started out with so many advantages in life.
Recycled Material
Critics judged by this and other promos for the special that there was not a single new or original joke in it that they hadn’t heard before.
Just Not Funny
Politics and generational resentment aside, some critics argued that these jokes were simply not funny enough to warrant a Netflix standup special. They did not want to lose sight of that fact in arguments about participation trophies.
Cancel Netflix
Some users were as angry at Netflix itself as Foxworthy – if not more so. Between this joke and the company’s other controversial moves recently, many announced their plan to cancel the service once and for all.
Target Audience
As mentioned above, many users argued that participation trophies were more for the benefit of sensitive parents than for sensitive children. Some remarked that they are sick of discussing this topic, but that if people Foxworthy’s age insist on bringing it up then they need to hear the harsh truth.
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