The whole reason behind the Family Circus is that it obviously started when things were simpler and 'family' jokes were all the comics needed. The world grew up, and simple stuff quit being funny, but the Family Circus didn't grow up with the world. I'd say by the late 70's-early 80's, the original demographic of the comic weren't really reading comics and the new kids were actually too 'grown up' for it to be funny. No mystery at all, except that it kept getting printed.
Maybe "coaster" means that this kid has actually learned about the word "coaster" as in, not just "roller coaster" but also the circular CDs which are obviously being repurposed as coasters, and so the joke is that the kid is hyperintelligent in a comic that is itself really stupid.
I think perhaps there are two groups of coasters, one that belongs to the parents and one that belongs to the children. When Billy says "our," he is referring to the children. He's expressing surprise that his father, in a symbolic act of admitting a degree of humility and levelling himself with his own children, elected to use one of the children's coasters instead of sticking with the high-and-mighty "parents' coasters."
6:53 got it closest. Family Circus is suppose to appeal to members of a happy family. What is a common annoyance within a family? When a dad (or anyone of a family) ruins the super expensive fancy wooden table with his drink by not using a coster! The son (a teamster of mom) is amazed and reports to his mom that dad ACTUALLY used the coster and is able to improve as a civilized man! The joke is realized by frustrated moms.
But, that oppressed society guy made me lol none the less. :3
wow I'm just shocked!! This comic is about how Kids view the world and these people are trying to read Too Deep into this certain comic. I Get it!! Why, cause growing up we had special coasters we kept in a special case and they were like, for show and when my parents would use them I found it shocking that they were used. The people's responses are disturbing to say the least.
This was my favorite Comic growing up and I'm only 34 years old. I owned quite a few books as well. I thought they were clever comics about raising kids and the silly things they do and say. I never knew so many people hate something so simple as finding kids actions funny.
Back when I (and probably the comic's author) were in school, every Christmas or Easter or Valentine day we'd make stuff for our parents with NO CLUE what the hell it was for. Napkin rings, string ties, and trivets..that kind of stuff.
Trivet? I thought it was a soap dish. Oh well.
Daddy! Mom's sitting her hot tea kettle in the soap dish I made you!
If you have kids you may have a better understanding of this strip. No matter how hard you try and coerce your kids into using coasters, they never do...almost as if they don't understand the purpose...so when he sees a glass on the coaster, he thinks his dad has done something wrong. Pretty simply really. Not ha ha LOL, but a quiet observation. I like it. Not "Simpson's" funny, but it has its place.
Whenever I chance upon a Family Circus "comic" my reaction is similar to some of the people here... I study it from all kinds of angles trying to figure out what's supposed to be funny.
There's actually a tragic story behind this comic; one day, in his youth, Bill Keane was set upon by a group of lads with baseball bats. Realising their fault, they spent the rest of the afternoon batting his now-misshapen head back into its proper shape again; the incident left him a vegetable, but fortunately Bill was retarded already and his family didn't notice. Years later, his anger led him to write a comic that would anger people from its very existence, so that they could know his pain
Oh, by the way, search for "The Disfunctional Family Circus." It's a remake of the comic by fans. They take out the original text and write their own jokes. For the most part it's hilarious.
Bil Keane got the site shut down though because it offended him.
Yes, I enjoy it too. I have several of the compilation books that were printed in the 70s and 80s. I've had them since I was a kid. My 5 year old daughter seems to like it too as she wants me to read them to her every night.
Having said that, I agree, it's not funny. But that fact alone doesn't change the fact that I like the strip. It's hard to explain precisely why. There's something about the setting and the presentation that I find appealing.
The answer is easy once you look at it the right way. The kid there doesn't realize that coasters are for drinks to be placed on, so he sees his dad placing his drink on something he shouldn't be. That's why he's turned away from his father, because he's probably telling his mother about it, as if to report his dad's poor behaviour. If the author of the strip had thought about it, he would have included the mother in the strip, and placed an exclamation mark after Jeffy's observation.
How does the family circus stay around? Bil Keane has to have some pictures of someone to keep it being published. I feel he jots down every thing that happens in his household he gets any chuckle out of and wham, it's a comic. Trouble is, maybe it's one of those " you had to be there" moments, or possibly Bil Keane has an addled sense of comedy. I suspect a bit of both.
Anyway, my take, which has little humor, but the most of the situation is.. The kids have been getting the shit kicked out of them for leaving their drinks on things and making a mark. The kid is ratting his old man out for leaving his drink on the coaster, thinking this is a bad thing, not knowing that coasters are made for this purpose and to prevent leaving a mark. Oh the ironing!
Anyway, this also proposes that his mother is a shitty mother because she never taught the dumb fuck about coasters. And we all know we were taught about coasters and drink marks at an early age.
I suppose the kid could be retarded also, which is funny on a whole other level.
the coaster represets the childs ability to coast or move
the dad has crushed the childs ability to coast therefore crushing his hopes and showing that parents are often times to strict and this is where bill keane a child at heart was coming from
Wow. The thing is it took me watching the entire (hilarious) documentary before I was able to figure out the joke that was intended by the comic. And when i did realize it, it was one of those, "OH! OH! I figured it out!" Moments...and then I died a little inside.
Funny documentary. I love the one explanation that he beats the kids and his eyebrows are actually bruises.
I think the intended joke is that because billy is a kid, he (for some reason) assumes that he (and a specific group of others, not including his father) has specific entitlement over that coaster. Therefore, he complains and hillarity ensues over his misunderstanding over the communal nature of coasters in the average american household.
I e-mailed that same comic to friends of mine when after it ran in the paper, and no one could figure it out. This documentary is a real service to mankind.
Awesome video. I actually remember seeing that particular comic in the paper and just thinking, "WTF?" Thanks for your incredible effort to explain it.
cont'd from prev: The joke is a visual one -- the look of seething anger on the father's face. Still, the father knows better than to hit the child. He may remind the child gently, but firmly, not to yell to people in the next room when somebody is trying to read.
The father is disturbed because the child is standing there narrating the father's actions for somebody in the next room, here basically trying to out some kind of imagined pecadillo of placing a drink on the perceived-by-the-child-as-decorative coaster. The father don't need that.
maybe bill keane is a lot like david lynch, whereas he doesn't mean for his art to make a point or mean anything, and just serve as a wacked out art form......
The coasters are rarely used by anyone in the household, the child sees the coasters as merely decorative and it perplexes the child to see someone setting a drink on one of them.
Wow, I never realized a simple little comic about curious children could have so much hate, it's astounding. -_-
fairyfay80 2 months ago
The Family Circus, great in the very beginning, then 40+ years of perpetual pathetic disappointment and lifeless joyless comedy fail.
At least Bil Keane can proudly say in death, "I perpetuated continual worthless suck for 40+ years, AND I GOT PAID DOING IT! Good riddance, morons!"
Matrix29bear 4 months ago
The whole reason behind the Family Circus is that it obviously started when things were simpler and 'family' jokes were all the comics needed. The world grew up, and simple stuff quit being funny, but the Family Circus didn't grow up with the world. I'd say by the late 70's-early 80's, the original demographic of the comic weren't really reading comics and the new kids were actually too 'grown up' for it to be funny. No mystery at all, except that it kept getting printed.
eyeonyouproductions 4 months ago
Get ready for a viewer explosion, leafless.
smurfthumper 4 months ago
Maybe "coaster" means that this kid has actually learned about the word "coaster" as in, not just "roller coaster" but also the circular CDs which are obviously being repurposed as coasters, and so the joke is that the kid is hyperintelligent in a comic that is itself really stupid.
QuinceyQuick 8 months ago
I think perhaps there are two groups of coasters, one that belongs to the parents and one that belongs to the children. When Billy says "our," he is referring to the children. He's expressing surprise that his father, in a symbolic act of admitting a degree of humility and levelling himself with his own children, elected to use one of the children's coasters instead of sticking with the high-and-mighty "parents' coasters."
Caleb9849 8 months ago
6:53 got it closest. Family Circus is suppose to appeal to members of a happy family. What is a common annoyance within a family? When a dad (or anyone of a family) ruins the super expensive fancy wooden table with his drink by not using a coster! The son (a teamster of mom) is amazed and reports to his mom that dad ACTUALLY used the coster and is able to improve as a civilized man! The joke is realized by frustrated moms.
But, that oppressed society guy made me lol none the less. :3
vjm3 1 year ago
Family Circus is horrible, but it's not as bad as 'For Better or Worse.'
flapdoodle64 1 year ago
wow I'm just shocked!! This comic is about how Kids view the world and these people are trying to read Too Deep into this certain comic. I Get it!! Why, cause growing up we had special coasters we kept in a special case and they were like, for show and when my parents would use them I found it shocking that they were used. The people's responses are disturbing to say the least.
blueeyedtara 1 year ago
This was my favorite Comic growing up and I'm only 34 years old. I owned quite a few books as well. I thought they were clever comics about raising kids and the silly things they do and say. I never knew so many people hate something so simple as finding kids actions funny.
blueeyedtara 1 year ago
I get it..and I don't even have grandkids yet.
Back when I (and probably the comic's author) were in school, every Christmas or Easter or Valentine day we'd make stuff for our parents with NO CLUE what the hell it was for. Napkin rings, string ties, and trivets..that kind of stuff.
Trivet? I thought it was a soap dish. Oh well.
Daddy! Mom's sitting her hot tea kettle in the soap dish I made you!
orcgoddessspike 2 years ago
Family Circus comics are terrible! never funny and just meaningless
breezwonder 2 years ago
If you have kids you may have a better understanding of this strip. No matter how hard you try and coerce your kids into using coasters, they never do...almost as if they don't understand the purpose...so when he sees a glass on the coaster, he thinks his dad has done something wrong. Pretty simply really. Not ha ha LOL, but a quiet observation. I like it. Not "Simpson's" funny, but it has its place.
Bobbydafan 2 years ago
has anyone ever seen the Family Circus Easter? i haven't that in forever
amy027 3 years ago
seriously. family circus is retarded
flyingmunky43 3 years ago
Whenever I chance upon a Family Circus "comic" my reaction is similar to some of the people here... I study it from all kinds of angles trying to figure out what's supposed to be funny.
TheBlueFlamingo 3 years ago 5
exactly
flyingmunky43 3 years ago
Where can you get old family circus strips on the net. I'd like to read them
markxxx21 3 years ago
I like that the guy that overanalyzes (probably facetiously) the strip as being subversive, edgy political humour calls Jeffy "Billy".
Billy's the one with blond, straight hair.
SteveBrandon 4 years ago
There's actually a tragic story behind this comic; one day, in his youth, Bill Keane was set upon by a group of lads with baseball bats. Realising their fault, they spent the rest of the afternoon batting his now-misshapen head back into its proper shape again; the incident left him a vegetable, but fortunately Bill was retarded already and his family didn't notice. Years later, his anger led him to write a comic that would anger people from its very existence, so that they could know his pain
DoctorFruitbat 4 years ago
awesome dude. thats the funniest thing ive seen all day
flyingmunky43 3 years ago
LOL
TheNeophyte13 3 years ago
"The Family Circus" sucks. But this is hilarious. Well done.
sexysadie1977 4 years ago
Oh, by the way, search for "The Disfunctional Family Circus." It's a remake of the comic by fans. They take out the original text and write their own jokes. For the most part it's hilarious.
Bil Keane got the site shut down though because it offended him.
TheNeophyte13 4 years ago
Does "The Family Circus" have any fans? ANY at all?
TheNeophyte13 4 years ago 10
yes i LOVE it
amy027 3 years ago
amy027 either you're a 72 year old grandma or you're lying.
TheNeophyte13 3 years ago
no I'm not 72 and I'm not lying...so i like the Family Circus so shoot me
amy027 3 years ago
Yes, I enjoy it too. I have several of the compilation books that were printed in the 70s and 80s. I've had them since I was a kid. My 5 year old daughter seems to like it too as she wants me to read them to her every night.
Having said that, I agree, it's not funny. But that fact alone doesn't change the fact that I like the strip. It's hard to explain precisely why. There's something about the setting and the presentation that I find appealing.
patbuddha 3 years ago
The answer is easy once you look at it the right way. The kid there doesn't realize that coasters are for drinks to be placed on, so he sees his dad placing his drink on something he shouldn't be. That's why he's turned away from his father, because he's probably telling his mother about it, as if to report his dad's poor behaviour. If the author of the strip had thought about it, he would have included the mother in the strip, and placed an exclamation mark after Jeffy's observation.
kaodrindkaisd 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
No, that's not it.
gldmj55 4 years ago
this is just a comic that makes you want to punch yourself in teh face
wildcat371 4 years ago 2
bert123456789, all four of the ornery kids are legally retarded.
DragonFly122 4 years ago
This strip makes me want to slit my wrists.
DragonFly122 4 years ago
How does the family circus stay around? Bil Keane has to have some pictures of someone to keep it being published. I feel he jots down every thing that happens in his household he gets any chuckle out of and wham, it's a comic. Trouble is, maybe it's one of those " you had to be there" moments, or possibly Bil Keane has an addled sense of comedy. I suspect a bit of both.
bert123456789 4 years ago
Anyway, my take, which has little humor, but the most of the situation is.. The kids have been getting the shit kicked out of them for leaving their drinks on things and making a mark. The kid is ratting his old man out for leaving his drink on the coaster, thinking this is a bad thing, not knowing that coasters are made for this purpose and to prevent leaving a mark. Oh the ironing!
bert123456789 4 years ago
Anyway, this also proposes that his mother is a shitty mother because she never taught the dumb fuck about coasters. And we all know we were taught about coasters and drink marks at an early age.
I suppose the kid could be retarded also, which is funny on a whole other level.
Great Doc! I subbed!
bert123456789 4 years ago 2
the coaster represets the childs ability to coast or move
the dad has crushed the childs ability to coast therefore crushing his hopes and showing that parents are often times to strict and this is where bill keane a child at heart was coming from
thedman696969 4 years ago 2
Wow. The thing is it took me watching the entire (hilarious) documentary before I was able to figure out the joke that was intended by the comic. And when i did realize it, it was one of those, "OH! OH! I figured it out!" Moments...and then I died a little inside.
Funny documentary. I love the one explanation that he beats the kids and his eyebrows are actually bruises.
babileilei 4 years ago
I think the intended joke is that because billy is a kid, he (for some reason) assumes that he (and a specific group of others, not including his father) has specific entitlement over that coaster. Therefore, he complains and hillarity ensues over his misunderstanding over the communal nature of coasters in the average american household.
nevermath 5 years ago
Mr. Kiser is my hero.
hellopitbull 5 years ago
Kiser's explanation is priceless!
alspence 5 years ago
I e-mailed that same comic to friends of mine when after it ran in the paper, and no one could figure it out. This documentary is a real service to mankind.
PrawnRR 5 years ago
Awesome video. I actually remember seeing that particular comic in the paper and just thinking, "WTF?" Thanks for your incredible effort to explain it.
MaterialGirl850 5 years ago
A work of freaking genius--unlike "The Family Circus"
dougputhoff 5 years ago
www.theotherfamily.com explains all.
foxbasealpha 5 years ago
dude, great documentery, i hate the family circus!
micaharvey 5 years ago
your documentary is a riot!
jfrigg 5 years ago
thank you!
leafless 5 years ago
cont'd from prev: The joke is a visual one -- the look of seething anger on the father's face. Still, the father knows better than to hit the child. He may remind the child gently, but firmly, not to yell to people in the next room when somebody is trying to read.
farces 5 years ago
The father is disturbed because the child is standing there narrating the father's actions for somebody in the next room, here basically trying to out some kind of imagined pecadillo of placing a drink on the perceived-by-the-child-as-decorative coaster. The father don't need that.
farces 5 years ago
maybe bill keane is a lot like david lynch, whereas he doesn't mean for his art to make a point or mean anything, and just serve as a wacked out art form......
Dreamerdolorie 5 years ago
The Joke:
The coasters are rarely used by anyone in the household, the child sees the coasters as merely decorative and it perplexes the child to see someone setting a drink on one of them.
That said, it still isn't very funny.
smurfthumper 5 years ago
I never actually said that I dug the documentary. I did dig it.
I'm surprised that, two years on, this has yet to break 10,000 views. I'll see what I can do in the way of pimping it for you.
smurfthumper 3 years ago
Thanks! That would be awesome : )
leafless 3 years ago