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We like to laugh, we might like to cry, but we also like to cringe from time to time. And the proof is in the pudding: The Office, Tim Robinson's I Think You Should Leave, and Curb Your Enthusiasm (despite its imminent ending) are perhaps forever embedded in our popular culture. The same trends rule the digital space, as pages and accounts featuring cringe humor are probably the most popular.

The X (Twitter) page Cringe Photos falls into the family of cringe content that thousands of people either enjoy or feel extremely uncomfortable interacting with. As there is never a shortage of awkward and cringe-inducing content here on Bored Panda, we're bringing you a selection of the best pictures from said X (Twitter) account.

We reached out to an expert in all forms of comedy, Dr. Steven S. Kapica, assistant professor of English at Keuka College and writing program director. He kindly agreed to tell us more about what constitutes cringe comedy, what cringe is not, why we sometimes fear and loathe cringe, and why our sense of humor is inevitably declining. Read his opinions below!

Kapica begins by defining cringe comedy as what it is not. "It is not 'shock comedy.' It is also not 'anti-woke comedy,'" he says. And while he has a lot more to say about the latter, the point that he emphasizes is that cringe comedy is not 'punching down.' "'Anti-woke comedy' is 'punching down' comedy. And we all know which direction we're supposed to punch, right?" he asks rhetorically.

"Cringe is not shock, and it's not anti-woke. It is a unique, abjectly beautiful, absurd beast," Kapica concludes. But it's still best to explain it by comparing it to 'shock comedy.' The latter, according to Kapica, is about "saying the quiet part out loud." It's about braveness and the audacity to cross lines, and shock comics often pride themselves on being contrarians.

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I thought she was holding that tree.

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"Shock works precisely because its artisans are bold, daring, and singular," Kapica tells Bored Panda. "They take full ownership and responsibility – and rightly suffer the consequences should there be any." He gives stand-up comedian Daniel Tosh as an example. "Shock is offensiveness for offensiveness's sake. Often, because the shock comedians own and bear the brunt of [the] backlash, they are rewarded by fans. [Like] Howard Stern."

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"But shock is not cringe," Kapica clarifies. "Cringe does not emerge from a reversal or distortion of a premise, nor does it emerge from oppositional stances. Cringe does not point out incongruity. It breaks incongruity."

Let's look at this from the perspective of constructing a joke. It starts with a premise that is not funny, and then it's the comedian's job to deliver the punchline by breaking the audience's expectations. Cringe starts with a funny situation or premise and pushes it to a breaking point until it becomes unfunny – or awkward. "Cringe starts with laughter and then turns that laughter against the one who is laughing," Kapica explains.

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Katie Lutesinger
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4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course, as the driver is blind, they either have to stick their cane out the window or have their guide dog on a very long leash.

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But that doesn't mean that cringe comedy is foolproof. Those who use cringe risk alienating their audience. "This is the audience that gets angry and walks out on Andy Kaufman for being intentionally, relentlessly unfunny," Kapica says. According to him, cringe comedy is successful when it comes full circle. "It starts with laughter, turns the laughter to cringe, and then returns the cringe to laughter."

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He gives the film Borat (2006) as the most famous example of cringe in movies. It works and is so successful because the film directs its comedic ire and cringe at Americans, not the Kazakhs. "Borat's premise is inherently funny (from a subject position of superiority); however, the cringe ultimately reveals the lunacy of American exceptionalism."

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Other examples of cringe include The Eric Andre Show and I Think You Should Leave. "Andre is gonzo absurdism at its finest," Kapica says. "I Think You Should Leave puts it right there in the title." Andy Kaufman is an progenitor of comedic cringe. Kapica also points to Jerry Lewis' films from the 1960s and the 'Fix My Hat' scene in The Ladies Man (1961). "The hat scene in The Ladies Man (1961) is pure genius cringe," Kapica says.

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But cringe is risky business, Kapica observes. Comics who choose to dabble in it need to do so with care, as audiences might interpret it as debasement and perhaps the lowest form of comedy. "We like to believe that punching up or punching down is obvious, easy to spot. No one really wants to be Biff Tannen [from] Back to the Future," Kapica says.

"But systemic prejudices can easily be traded on in ways that not only perpetuate negative comedic tropes but reinforce underlying, supremacist worldviews. Cringe is arguably the riskiest form of humor, so its merchants must be hypervigilant with regard to intent in order to avoid such reinforcement."

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Luna
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not about the price as much as it is paying attention to the dimensions, specs and reviews. 😌

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Jrog
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dumb people buying without reading the terms, and not realizing that good dollhouse furniture is 1) a thing 2) way more expensive than you would expect 3) commonly sold on wish and similar places.

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Sweet Fanny Adams
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Are you sure you weren't looking in the toy section for dolls houses?

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xolitaire
Community Member
4 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wish, Temu etc are terrible companies. Don't order there, lesson learned.

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H_NGM_N
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honesly, i would add this to my mini collection! Might as well put it to good use!

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SleepSycho
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What is this, a TV for ants?!!! I love mini things, makes me feel like a giant!

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Drinking my Covfefe
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These posts are just attention seekers. Doll furniture is not that expensive. I think they knew exactly what they where ordering. Unless they paid over $100 for this.

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Yeah
Community Member
4 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Does the person who made this post know the definition of cringe. Few of these are cringe. Silly, disappointing, dumb but cringe very few.

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ShaZam
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hence, "Wish shopping" .. wish it was better ... wish it would get here (I forgot I ordered the $.25 item last year) ...

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Miryaa
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's sorta cute. Reminds me of Mr. Krabs smallest violin.

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Anony Mouse
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is someone who just posted for internet attention. It's listed on Wish as a dollhouse play set for just over $3.

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Fembot
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And in the meantime giving the shadiest of businesses (aside from Temu) full access to your phone or laptop, well done

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Bryn
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can order from Wish, but make sure you look at the pictures & measurements of what you're buying.

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Janet Graham
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hahahahah, That is the best!! I didn't ever have trouble getting the correct product. Maybe I was just lucky.

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Bill Kubeck
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah. We get all our cheap stuff from Temu now. Actually way more accurate and reliable than Wish ever was.

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Charles McChristy
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you make this mistake I have to wonder how you make it through the day without wearing a helmet.

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PFD
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's just another joke, guys, don't get stressed out

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Stuart Griffiths
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course they gave you a remote how else you gonna use your tiny tv

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Stephanie L Thesing
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whether it’s Wish or Temu, I’ve learned the hard way to check for dimensions, I’ve had the opposite happen as well where the item is much bigger than I expected. So easy to get burned..

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LuLuBelle
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not Wish's fault people don't pay attention and foolishly buy dollhouse furniture thinking it's the real thing.

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Pyla
Community Member
4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Barbie want's the see all the shows, too, you know.

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SkippityBoppityBoo
Community Member
4 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I will say one thing about Wish... During the Pandemic? They were the only place I could get any sort of facemasks from just before they were becoming more widely available. I managed to get some shipped for friends in the USA and here in the UK as well.

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Proposing. In McDonald's.

With a chicken nugget.

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What matters is the comic's or comedy writer's intent. "Free speech is the red card used by those who have been accused of dispensing bigoted humor. 'Just a joke.' 'I don't really mean it.' Except bigoted humor has nothing to do with free speech. It has to do with intent," Kapica tells us.

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"If the intent is to elicit laughter at the expense of someone else's being, then it's hack comedy. If the intent is to complicate, transform, defend, speak truth to power, or even self-immolate, then the source of the cringe and laughter is freed of ethical transgression."

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Verena
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4 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I get his point, and the kids should get a friendly explanation. But I see happy kids, mimicking his looks because they like him. They most likely would form glasses for a person wearing glasses. Edit: There are very poor areas on this globe, where people, especially children, are not discussing on a daily basis that some gestures or remark come over as insult. Most likely these kids have never seen an Asian looking person before. Drop him amongst an indigenous tribe in the Amazone rain forest with no contact with the "civilized" world - they would do the same to indicate him. Understand the context, don't search frantically for insulting gestures.

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Kapica has written about American comedian George Carlin and is currently working on a book about his rhetorical genius. For Carlin, nothing was off-limits. But in his comedy, he always strived to go toward justice, and he always committed to punching up.

Kapica quotes Carlin's 1990 HBO Special, Doin' it Again: "It's the context that counts. It's the user. It's the intention behind the words that makes them good or bad. The words are completely neutral. The words are innocent… It's the context that makes them good or bad." He says that the same is true when it comes to cringe: intent and context matter.

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Rachel Pelz
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4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bet the manual of the iron even specified to use only water and not whiskey, beer or gin. Too bad they forgot to mention Volvic flavored water and Cool Aid.

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* * * Being_Cori * * *
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4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

atleast they know they made a mistake and admitted it... nothing wrong with it, just dont take pics.

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Katie Lutesinger
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4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nothing like crotch water to get those dishes nice and sparkling clean! Lemon fresh is SO last century.

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Kapica made similar observations in his piece about American comedian Gallagher. "While stand-up comedy at its best is powerful critique, at its worst – which is sadly more often the case – it reifies prejudice, and it perpetuates ignorance and injustice," he warned.

"While we might be inclined to [brush off comedic pandering] as harmless fun – to roll our eyes at the ignorance fueling the post-truth era – doing so would make us complicit."

So, where do we go from here? What's the future for our collective sense of humor, especially in digital spaces? Kapica points to Idiocracy (2006) as a "prescient" statement of its decline. "That decline is hastened by social media, digital culture, even AI," he explains.

"Social media and digital culture bypass important culture work – editing, contemplation, temperance, review, practice, reception. The speed of the digital is such that we get everything now now now! So when we combine [the] speed of access and distribution with blatant disregard for editing and filtering – and then pour in a big scoop of cringe? Goodbye intent. Goodbye context. Hello outrage."

Currently, Kapica doesn't have much faith in the Internet's critical thinking abilities. "I would argue that the vast majority of social media-based comedy consumers lack the critical acumen to determine if a bit of cringe is punching up or punching down," he says.

"A quick Google search for 'Borat,' for instance, reveals that enough viewers of the film have asked questions about him to merit a 'People Also Ask' box containing questions like 'Is Borat really from Kazakhstan?' and 'Is Borat based on a real person?' A consumer culture that asks these questions about incisive, daring, shocking, boundary-pushing, cringe comedy is not a culture served by wildly unfiltered digital content."

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However, perhaps it isn't all so bleak. "There is some amazing, anti-authoritarian comedy being produced on digital platforms and by amateur comedians," Kapica says, trying to see the bright side. "But the sum total of it all is a dumpster fire that I fear will inevitably lead to a Netflix-produced Ow! My Balls!"

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PeePeePooPoo
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4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not sure if I have a bigger problem with the bathtub surroundings or that dirty water she's in. Yuck!

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Surenu
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4 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, there is at least one person taking pictures of people at the ATM so...

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Note: this post originally had 61 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.