Sometimes I think about the 80s and all the stupid things that we, as a society, used to do and listen to and wear back then, and I just start laughing hysterically.
I mean, aerobics videos! Remember those? Those were soooo stupid! Also, they looked really horrible because video technology totally sucked then, and they were always edited really poorly. Ha! And remember those awful neon leotards that women would wear when they were working out? God, how dumb-looking were those? And their elaborate, big hairstyles? And their stupid fitness tips? I can barely type right now because I'm laughing so hard just thinking about poorly conceived 80s workout videos!
It's just so funny to look back on all that stuff now, because, you know, it's so obviously ridiculous, and people totally took it seriously back then! In fact, I bet that if you did a slightly exaggerated recreation of one of those 80s workout videos, people would mistake it for good comedy–even if it were completely devoid of jokes.
Of course, people might also think that you were ripping off this past Saturday's SNL:
Ok. So there were about four jokes in this short ("Pencils," "Air," Drew Barrymore's leg, and Amy Poehler's finger exercises), but the rest of it is just using "the 80s" as comedy shorthand. And it's not even a funny shorthand. It's a pointless, tired, and easy one.
When SNL used a similar shorthand (the early 90s) for "Dick In A Box" it threatened to override the humor. Here the 80s styling has replaced it. Progress!