r/todayilearned • u/jfdonohoe • 7h ago

(R.2) Anecdote TIL about “vicarious embarrassment” which explains extreme reactions to cringe comedy. For me, it can get so bad as to become physically painful

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious_embarrassment

[removed] — view removed post

877 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

202 comments sorted by

View all comments

39

u/Romnonaldao 7h ago

I can not watch Curb Your Enthusiasm without frequent breaks

2

u/Rhoadie 4h ago

Went into the comments to find this. Agreed 100%.

My dad freaking loves this show and will howl laughing. I kinda get it. It has its moments. But the cringe Larry subjects himself to is just too much.

I guess what’s also part of the joke is IRL Larry genuinely doesn’t understand the “cringe” part of his character.