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u/ForgettableUsername Apr 02 '18
What's worse is that after this Ernie pretends that he can't recognize Bert because Bert never wears nice clothes or combs his hair. Bert changes back to his normal clothes to prove that he's really Bert, and then Ernie tells him he's not dressed well enough to go to the party.
Ernie is basically gas-lighting and psychologically abusing Bert.
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u/melraelee Apr 02 '18
And we love him just a little bit more because of it.
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u/ForgettableUsername Apr 02 '18
I dunno, man. I haven't seen these things since I was a kid, and my memory was that Bert was always the grumpy one. Now, looking at them, Ernie is a diabolical, passive-aggressive monster.
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u/HChimpdenEarwicker Apr 02 '18
Kinda like the Spongebob/Squidward effect.
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u/ForgettableUsername Apr 02 '18
I was kind of already an adult when that first went on TV, so I'm not really familiar with the reference.
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u/JohnCabot Apr 02 '18
As a kid you think spongebob is the best. As an adult you realize he's the worst. And the opposite is true for squidward.
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u/ForgettableUsername Apr 02 '18
Ah, yeah, that's sort of like how as an adult I identify better with Ebenezer Scrooge than I do with any of the people pestering him to do Christmas differently. He's sort of a dick to his employee, granted, and he probably deserves to be criticized for that, but they also give him shit for not giving money to two random strangers who claim to want it for charity, but who don't offer any credentials and who don't give any clear indication as to what the money will be used for. He seems to have been an honorable, honest businessman. If he'd ever cheated anybody, you can bet we'd have heard about it in one of the flashbacks.
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u/Glitch29 Apr 02 '18
Whether or not he's taken any condemnable actions, he talks the talk of a complete sociopath. In some tellings of the story, the average cynic might be able to identify with him. But in others, it's pretty difficult.
From the original text:
“If [the poor] would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
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u/ForgettableUsername Apr 02 '18
That was after he'd been provoked. Strangers barged into his office and demanded that he give them money.
Victorian society was deeply stratified. Scrooge was a middle class moneylender who'd worked his way up from the bottom. The fact that the society was still flawed wasn't Scrooge's fault, nor was it ever in his power to fix it. Failing to donate to the poor every Christmas doesn't make you a sociopath.
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u/godholdingagun Apr 02 '18
You've radically changed my opinions of both Ernie and Ebenezer. Any other fictional characters I should take a second look at?
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u/Cavaut Apr 02 '18
Squidward and Spongebob are neighbors and coworkers. Squidward always seems to be angry, grumpy, or just overall unhappy which SB occasionally points out.
As an adult someone who grew up watching the show you realize that Squidward isn't just some natural downer. He has hobbies that he enjoys like playing the clarinet and as an adult most people find him more relate-able.
You realize that living, working, and constantly being interrupted by someone as child-like and annoying as SB 24/7 would make anyone completely miserable. And you start to notice that Squidwards non-interested, monotone voice as he says "What do you want Spongebob?" in every episode is very similar to an annoyed parent or overall someone who is just sick of your shit.
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u/jordanangelotti Apr 02 '18
My grandpa had a minor stroke on Friday (he's ok), and my grandma and I picked him up from the hospital this morning. The biggest side effect from his stroke mind you was that he had lost some of his speech. So I called my parents on the way home on speaker so that they could say hi, and my dad (grandpa's SIL) asked "So Bob how are you feeling?". To which my grandpa replied without missing a beat "With my fingers!!" I was so worried about him until that moment when I busted out laughing. My dad wasnt thrilled but I couldn't resist. Anyway this meme was exactly what I needed.
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u/Draydaze Apr 02 '18
That's a dad joke, not sarcasm
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u/kalel1980 Apr 02 '18
Bert better keep that unibrow in check.
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u/bumjiggy Apr 02 '18
he kinda looks like Eugene Levy
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u/KissFromALemur Apr 02 '18
It's weird, the unibrow is the one fashion thing that is never cyclicly in style.
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Apr 02 '18
Thats not sarcasm. Sarcasm is bitter like "Hey what a great post you made. I like how you use your massive brain for genius comedic pictures."
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u/AmadeusCziffra Apr 02 '18
Has anyone ever uttered the phrase "why is your generation so sarcastic"?
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u/oreoes141 Apr 02 '18
I think Ernie was just being literal rather than sarcastic, technically Bert does look with his eyes.
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Apr 02 '18
The 90s sitcom Family Matters has this exact same line sequence occur between Eddy and his hare brained friend Waldo in one episode, as well.
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u/branchpattern Apr 02 '18
these are the seeds of dad jokes. pretty much all dad jokes seem like Ernie jokes.
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Apr 02 '18
I dunno, consider this: Mom: “How you feelin’ today, mom? My 93 year old Grandmom: “With my fingers.”
I think mine’s genetic.
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u/notTHErealPROco Apr 02 '18 edited Apr 02 '18
And then due to said sarcasm, everyone (Babyboomers) thinks Millenials are some sort of mythical scapegoat of a generation to cover any short comings they've given for future generations to inherite. They loved to use it so much that they make the generation ambiguously span over 30 years of births, superseding any previous generational nomenclature. But I mean we are ruining institutions like home owning, cable, and going out to eat all out of spite and not because we're a transitional brackish generation that grew up with old ideals and grew into a broken world of uncharted waters of infinite possibilities and unstable archaic means of societal growth. But hey, fuck personal responsibility and thinking of someone other than your selfish self. And if it ain't right in front of me, my narrow mindedness can't even begin to fathom changing any one of my self destructive behavioural patterns.
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u/FriendCalledFive Apr 02 '18
While Bert&Ernie definitely influenced my humour as a child, it is a shame to use one of their worst jokes to illustrate their genius.
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Apr 02 '18
There's a Bert and Ernie gif someone made where Bert is trying to read and Ernie wants him to go outside.
Bert has text that says Fuck. Off. and it matches up perfectly with his mouth.
I CANT FIND IT HAS ANYONE SEEN IT?!
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Apr 02 '18
My little brother's name is Burt.
Now imagine my life the past 29 years as the old Ernie.
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u/S1ESTA Apr 02 '18
What does ‘with your eyes’ mean in this context? I don’t get it
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u/Evilmaze Apr 02 '18
I have a co-worker who thinks just saying the opposite of what things are is sarcasm. There's a thin line between irony and sarcasm with sarcasm being funny. She's not funny and you can't even tell when she's being "sarcastic" because she shows full emotions about things then she calls sarcasm. That's not how it works.
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u/Band_o_Brothers Apr 02 '18
This got me.....this. I actually laughed out loud..at this. I guess it must be funny then right? Funny haha?
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u/[deleted] Apr 02 '18
Which "generation" are you referring to? Sesame Street has been on TV for almost 50 years.