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A comment on How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization. Parent comment

Re:How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civiliz... by johan_larson on Thursday March 24, 2016 @03:44PM (#11355822)
How far back can we trace brainy people as the butt of jokes? Before Friends there the Cheers, with Dr. Frasier Crane as the punching-bag of the regulars, and that ran '82-93. Anything earlier?
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Re:How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civiliz... by CM30 on Thursday March 24, 2016 @04:52PM (#11356335)
The picture on Wikipedia's anti intellectualism page is from 1875, if that counts:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nast-intellect.png

Obviously the nineteenth century was okay with using intelligent people as the butt of jokes and in negative comparisons.

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Re:How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civiliz... by gmarx on Thursday March 24, 2016 @06:21PM (#11356950)
I think Cheers was the key artifact that transitioned pop culture from begrudgingly conceding there was value in high culture to valuing itself at the same level and later above high culture.

Anti-intellectualism/nerd bullying on the other hand has always been with us

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