Punch and Judy - WTF?

[AnnaQuayRules]

I've just been to a village fete. Lovely traditional event with a Punch and Judy show. I remember P&J from my childhood 50 years ago, and know it involved domestic violence played for laughs, but assumed the story had been updated for modern times.

Apparently not. Punch is still beating up Judy, and all the children were laughing along with it.

I feel it's completely inappropriate in this day and age, and sending very dodgy messages about domestic abuse. However someone I was chatting to thought I was being ridiculously "woke" about it.

So
YABU - it's just a traditional kids shoe and it's fine because Mr P gets arrested
YANBU - it's ridiculous it's still using this story line

That's about recognising it was a thing of it's time and not for now? That show was a product of it's time and no I don't agree with it but it happened and you can't erase it. It's history.

Punch and Judy isn't real. There are many unpleasant things in the real world. Books, films and stories reflect this. Are we going to santitize everything as we go across?

My big belief is like when there is comedy out there you don't like or a book you hate or something you disagree with. Don't like it? That's fine don't watch it or read it. Scroll on by whatever. But that doesn't mean other people can't appreciate it.

It's like a dark novel. Can I not enjoy a ficticious book about a murder where the crime is solved? Is that also encouraging or do I have critical thinking skills to realise it's just a book?

Like trying to say rap influences crime. No people influence crime. They will do it anyway.

Eh? What are you on about?

I said IF Judy punched punch, nobody would bat an eyelid. Perhaps read before posting snarky replies.

How hard did you have to try to miss the obvious humour in that reply 🤣

I'm with those who think the traditional Punch and Judy story is one that should be consigned to history. I am sure you could use the puppets and other characters to tell an interesting children's story.

Very good… I raise my hat

Tom and Jerry?

🤣🤣🤣

I'm really surprised Punch and Judy Shows are still a thing.

I agree with you OP laughing at violent behaviour towards women is just not appropriate.

The violence women experience in real life every day from men, often in domestic situations, is very real and we shouldn't be teaching children this is in anwway something to laugh at.

Oh good grief get a life!!

I'm not keen now as an adult but I am watching it with adult eyes having been brought up in a very argumentative and occaisonally violent household when a lot of booze was involved. However, it will probably go over most kids heads I think - even though there was DV in my house, I can't remember watching it as a child thinking that's not funny that's what happens at home.

I think that would be interesting, to ask children of violent families what they thought.

I never understand that phrase, she has a life as she's not typing from beyond the grave. I think it means please have the same life as me with my values - is that right?

Isn’t it the old story of good and bad? Can’t remember why the sausages or 🐊 came into it. The Punch and Judy “handler” has a special name I think…they have a gadget in their mouth to make the sounds. I know a Punch and Judy man. I will have to ask him.

They’re fecking puppets. It’s really not that deep.

No.

Saw pinch and judy show a recently and punch never hit judy but all the other elements were there. Punch turned both the baby and the police man into sausages though and got into trouble with Judy for losing the baby. He was then eaten by the crocodile and the baby was 'un' sausaged. Bit rough on the poor policeman but everyone was howling!!

Our village fete has Punch and Judy and my granddaughter absolutely loves it! This will be the third year that I will be taking her and she has already started asking about P&J .She is a normal 6 year old and hasn’t suggested that her baby brother gets put through the sausage machine 😂It’s just fun !

Punch comes from the Italian commedia dell'arte, along with Harlequin, Columbine etc. He represents the Lord of Misrule. It isn't meant to be taken seriously, it's the same kind of dark symbolism you find in many fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

I loved it as a child, I even had Punch and Judy puppets of my own, and I used to adore Joy Sarney's song about Punch that was an unlikely chart hit at the time (it's sometimes described as the worst novelty song ever to hit the UK charts).

Let's not write off an age old tradition.

It sits very uncomfortably in modern society, and deserves the same fate as The Black and White Minstrels (in that we look back on it, slap our foreheads and say 'wtaf were we thinking?') 🙄

It’s almost like I was being sarcastic.

Quite !

Whoosh...

Jesus! Its punch and Judy.. bet your fun at parties!!

Did we all grow up disturbed from watching Punch & Judy? It’s a bit of light hearted fun. Don’t over think it.

Errrmm.......no I think it means dont get so uptight about a kiddies puppet show 🙄

Aw, we don't seem to have Punch & Judy at fetes round here, I'd happily go watch. I definitely saw them as a child, though I don't remember much about it. Other than the crocodile, of course! But I did think Judy was also whacking Punch? Either way, I've certainly not grown up believing domestic violence is fine. Has anyone? Are there really men claiming they've attacked their wife because they saw Punch do it as a kid, so they didn't know it was wrong? I'm sceptical.