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The Great Simpsons Debate of 2016

What is the joke?

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E

EmCeeGramr

Member
Of course it's a previous shoe incident. It's like the old "That's the second _____est _____ I've ever seen!" trope, where the comedy of the absurd thing is enhanced by having it be unexpectedly undercut by a nonchalant revelation that it's not unique, and making you wonder where the hell they saw it before

god damn it why does this make me angry
 
B

BigAT

Member
LyleLanley said:
David Wain's wife, Zandy Hartig, asked Mike Scully about it.

http://twitter.com/zandywithaz/status/741733675251826688/photo/1
Click to expand...

For all my fellow "previously witnessed" followers...

348715.gif
 
K

King Tubby

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Of course it's a previous shoe incident. It's like the old "That's the second _____est _____ I've ever seen!" trope, where the comedy of the absurd thing is enhanced by having it be unexpectedly undercut by a nonchalant revelation that it's not unique, and making you wonder where the hell they saw it before

god damn it why does this make me angry
Click to expand...

It makes you angry because deep down inside you know you're WRONG. Homer seeing someone say goodbye to a shoe before isn't funny. It would be one of the most mundane things he's ever seen in his fucking life. Homer's gone to space.

Homer being stupid enough to bluntly answer the question using the event he just witnessed is not only funnier, it plays off of his character traits as well.
 
Z

Zakalwe

Banned
Coffee Dog said:
The humor is derived from the absurdity of Homer having seen this happen before, defying the audience's expectations due to their unfamiliarity with such bizarre behaviour.
Click to expand...

Yes.

EmCeeGramr said:
Of course it's a previous shoe incident. It's like the old "That's the second _____est _____ I've ever seen!" trope, where the comedy of the absurd thing is enhanced by having it be unexpectedly undercut by a nonchalant revelation that it's not unique, and making you wonder where the hell they saw it before

god damn it why does this make me angry
Click to expand...

Here, punch me. I can take it.
 
E

EmCeeGramr

Member
King Tubby said:
It makes you angry because deep down inside you know you're WRONG. Homer seeing someone say goodbye to a shoe before isn't funny. It would be one of the most mundane things he's ever seen in his fucking life. Homer's gone to space.

Homer being stupid enough to bluntly answer the question using the event he just witnessed is not only funnier, it plays off of his character traits as well.
Click to expand...

Scorpio didn't actually say goodbye to a shoe, he threw two shoes away. If Homer is being literal minded then he wouldn't say yes.

Ergo, Homer saw a bizarre scenario in the past where someone said goodbye to a shoe and he witnessed it, and as a simple minded fellow he found it humorous, and he also doesn't get that Scorpio is acting like it's supposed to be strange.
 
K

King Tubby

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Scorpio didn't actually say goodbye to a shoe, he threw two shoes away. If Homer is being literal minded then he wouldn't say yes.
Click to expand...

Scorpio threw the mocassins and yelled after them "GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE." Even as stupid as Homer is, this clearly counts as saying goodbye to a shoe.

Either that, or Homer is misremembering the girl in Schindler's List who says "GOODBYE JEWS!" as saying "GOODBYE SHOES" and I imagine he was rather confused sitting in that theater with Marge.
 
C

Crispy75

Member
Homer being literal is funnier than homer having seen it before. That's how I'd always interpreted it and I'm sticking with it regardless of what that Scully character has to say.
 
E

ExVicis

Member
Crispy75 said:
Homer being literal is funnier than homer having seen it before. That's how I'd always interpreted it and I'm sticking with it regardless of what that Scully character has to say.
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Same. It's far more funny to me, in-character or out-of-character.

Maybe also it's not as funny if he actually did see it before because I've actually seen people throw their shows and it really wasn't that absurd.
 
B

BigAT

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Scorpio didn't actually say goodbye to a shoe, he threw two shoes away. If Homer is being literal minded then he wouldn't say yes.

Ergo, Homer saw a bizarre scenario in the past where someone said goodbye to a shoe and he witnessed it, and as a simple minded fellow he found it humorous, and he also doesn't get that Scorpio is acting like it's supposed to be strange.
Click to expand...

Don't bother, their kind has neither the cranial capacity nor the opposing digits to understand jokes.
 
R

Rabbi_Vole

Banned
He's referring to seeing someone else say goodbye to a shoe. It's a reference to the 1943 film, "Wayward Wingtips of Waverly Way."
 
D

Dr_Boris_Goltz

Banned
OBVIOUSLY he is referring to Hank tossing his shoes off into the void.

OBVIOUSLY it's "car hole".

Edit:

OBVIOUSLY Ralph is just good at sleeping, not a viking in his dreams.
 
LabouredSubterfuge

LabouredSubterfuge

Member
People who think Homer means Hank throwing his shoes do not properly understand context.

As Crushed says, its a play on a comedic trope.

Additionally, the manner of his laugh is the sort that denotes he is recalling something that happened a while ago.
 
X

Xenoboy

Member
Why would it be funny if it happened once before Scorpio threw it?
It's not like it is something all that unexpected to happen in show. It's funnier if that actually was the first time, since it is not the craziest thing to have happened in the show at that point.
 
N

No_Style

Member
tolkir said:
Watching this video, it's clear that he's not talking about Hank's shoes. He's laughing while says 'yes, once', because it came to his mind the former incident.
Click to expand...

I agree with the assessment but what if we go deeper and Homer has such a short attention span that the former incident is actually the incident that he just witnessed.
 
TwoDurans

TwoDurans

"Never said I wasn't a hypocrite."
It's such a throwaway line. If friendships and relationships were lost over it that's just silly.

Also, don't blame me. I voted for Kodos.
 
T

tolkir

Member
No_Style said:
I agree with the assessment but what if we go deeper and Homer has such a short attention span that the former incident is actually the incident that he just witnessed.
Click to expand...

But they just meet Hanks and the conversation is too fast, the Simpsons (included Homer) are stunned in that moment listening that crazy guy. Homer is totally serious all the time, he only forgets this silly conversation reminding the other thing.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
UFO said:
1. Clearly he's talking about a different man throwing a shoe, because a) thats the type of crazy thing that happens to him, b) he's not quick enough on his feet to say yes because he just saw and Hank do, and c) because that wouldn't have been funny.
Click to expand...
I agree wholeheartedly with the above... and I'll chime in that I honestly can't recall another man removing their shoes and flinging them away like a projectile in the entire series run. Although some came close when Bart masqueraded as an Italian to win that marathon in New Kids on the Blecch and incensed the rest of the competitors.

Oddly enough, Lisa has wielded her footwear as weapons on no less than 3 separate occasions. She has a 100% accuracy rate hitting her targets with them, too... always the heads of men. She has some hostility issues to work through when it comes to the opposite sex. But she never said goodbye to her shoes when she threw them... and neither did Hank for that matter.
 
R

Rymuth

Member
Souldriver said:
If Homer is referring to Hank throwing them away, that would make Homer clever, which he is not. The idea that in the past the same absurd thing has happened, is funny. Therefore, this scientific research concludes that Homer did indeed see moccasins thrown away on another occasion.

Case closed.
Click to expand...
I agree with this.

Plus, having seen it before is way funnier.
 
A

ArgyleReptile

Banned
I can see both interpretation, but I find it's more likely that Homer had indeed seen the action before. As stated in the thread, Homer's literal mindedness would have him answer earnestly.

Also, for me personally, the chuckle gives while answering gives off the impression that he was reminiscing on the previous shoe throwers action and was fondly remembering it.
 
L

Langdon Alger

Banned
ArgyleReptile said:
I can see both interpretation, but I find it's more likely that Homer had indeed seen the action before. As stated in the thread, Homer's literal mindedness would have him answer earnestly.

Also, for me personally, the chuckle gives while answering gives off the impression that he was reminiscing on the previous shoe throwers action and was fondly remembering it.
Click to expand...

Homer just saw someone say goodbye to his shoes. If Homer had seen someone do this before, then his literal mindedness would have made him answer "Yes. Twice."
 
S

SparkleMotion

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Scorpio didn't actually say goodbye to a shoe, he threw two shoes away. If Homer is being literal minded then he wouldn't say yes.

Ergo, Homer saw a bizarre scenario in the past where someone said goodbye to a shoe and he witnessed it, and as a simple minded fellow he found it humorous, and he also doesn't get that Scorpio is acting like it's supposed to be strange.
Click to expand...

That wouldn't be funny, though.
 
D

Drencrom

Member
I think the idea of him referring to Hank in such a nostalgic and oblivious manner much more humorous than the classic "oh yeah, I've experienced this unlikely and specific situation before" trope.

Langdon Alger said:
Homer just saw someone say goodbye to his shoes. If Homer had seen someone do this before, then his literal mindedness would have made him answer "Yes. Twice."
Click to expand...

That's a great point too
 
H

HalfBakedProphet

Member
Just based on the GIF in the OP, I would assume Homer was laughing about the shoe Hank just threw.

Watching the video, however, I believe Homer is recalling a different shoe incident.
 
A

adj_noun

Member
I always thought it referred to having just seen it.

I guess it could be a "that's the second biggest lobster I've ever seen" type of gag, but that doesn't really work as well for me.
 
P

PaulloDEC

Member
I always interpreted the joke as being about the absurdity that Homer would be able to answer a question like "Ever see a guy say goodbye to a shoe?" with anything other than "No."

So I guess the former option? Both work though IMO.
 
B

BreezyLimbo

Banned
King Tubby said:
Scorpio threw the mocassins and yelled after them "GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE." Even as stupid as Homer is, this clearly counts as saying goodbye to a shoe.

Either that, or Homer is misremembering the girl in Schindler's List who says "GOODBYE JEWS!" as saying "GOODBYE SHOES" and I imagine he was rather confused sitting in that theater with Marge.
Click to expand...

Oh my god

Suddenly this joke got 10x deeper
 
H

hoggert

Member
This is ...like, the weirdest thread I've ever tried to read more then one page of. I'm so fucking confused, so I just voted Kodos and went back to Shadowrun Hong Kong.
 
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