my dad is an architect if it wasn't clear
Dad Jokes suck — by design. Dad Jokes make all other jokes look good by comparison, confirming a first law of contemporary fatherhood: If somebody’s going home without a trophy, let it be me. If the kids aren’t laughing with me, then laughing at me is fine. It’s a long car ride.
Bad jokes come in many forms, not all useful for today’s dads. Allusions to 1980s pop culture, for example — which roll easily for many of us — often fall completely flat, “funny” only in their confirmation of the generational divide. Puns, however, are evergreen and alliteration still a bonus. Physical humor and self-abasement, especially MTV Raps geriatric dance moves, always mortify. Many of my worst/best recent efforts hinge on an assumed persona of the “Un-Woke Bloke.” I of course know exactly the lines I am crossing... as Borat would yell, “Not!”
These are not our dad’s bad jokes. Most of our dads didn't even tell jokes. Dads of Old weren’t looking to entertain their kids, but to shape them, which takes unleavened seriousness. (This was still a major improvement over Dads of Way Old or of Literature, who looked to toughen up kids, or, maybe worse, to impress upon them the world’s indifference.)
Today’s dads still hope for a modicum of respect — it eases those long drives, improves the playlist — but we will settle for reassurance that we have done no harm, or at least not enough to guarantee therapy-seeking later. We love our kids, and like our lot and our lane in life, fart jokes included.
The Dude, and the Dad, abides.
Bad jokes come in many forms, not all useful for today’s dads. Allusions to 1980s pop culture, for example — which roll easily for many of us — often fall completely flat, “funny” only in their confirmation of the generational divide. Puns, however, are evergreen and alliteration still a bonus. Physical humor and self-abasement, especially MTV Raps geriatric dance moves, always mortify. Many of my worst/best recent efforts hinge on an assumed persona of the “Un-Woke Bloke.” I of course know exactly the lines I am crossing... as Borat would yell, “Not!”
These are not our dad’s bad jokes. Most of our dads didn't even tell jokes. Dads of Old weren’t looking to entertain their kids, but to shape them, which takes unleavened seriousness. (This was still a major improvement over Dads of Way Old or of Literature, who looked to toughen up kids, or, maybe worse, to impress upon them the world’s indifference.)
Today’s dads still hope for a modicum of respect — it eases those long drives, improves the playlist — but we will settle for reassurance that we have done no harm, or at least not enough to guarantee therapy-seeking later. We love our kids, and like our lot and our lane in life, fart jokes included.
The Dude, and the Dad, abides.