History Main / FunnyAneurysmMoment

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[[caption-width-right:310:1992: FunnyBackgroundEvent.\\
2001: "Funny Aneurysm" Moment.]]

->''"But that joke isn't funny anymore\\
It's too close to home\\
And it's too near the bone,\\
More than you'll ever know"''
-->-- '''Music/TheSmiths''', "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"

A "funny aneurysm" moment is when a scene, joke, or offhand line that was originally meant to be funny or lighthearted becomes cringeworthy due to the unfortunate and/or traumatic events in future installments/episodes of a work or in real life. When someone says that a bit of comedy has been "overtaken by events," it is this that is in play.

This often has to do with a character or actor's death and is named for a line from the ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' episode "The Freshman" in which Buffy hopes that her mother will have "a ''funny'' aneurysm" when she sees the cost of Buffy's college textbooks. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor This would come back to bite her in the next season]].

Or, if you prefer, it's the moment when [[BuffySpeak the funny]] drops down dead.

The inverse of this, where something in real life or more recent canon retroactively makes a lighthearted moment ''funnier'', is HilariousInHindsight. Depending on how dark your sense of humor is, particularly your attitudes towards BlackComedy and GallowsHumor, a "funny aneurysm" moment could actually be funny in a twisted way.

There is also HarsherInHindsight, where a scene that's already tragic becomes even worse due to later real life or canonical events. A ''joke'' about jumbo jets hitting skyscrapers in works made prior to 9/11 will likely be a "funny aneurysm" moment; a ''serious plotline'' about jumbo jets hitting skyscrapers in works made prior to 9/11 is harsher in hindsight.[[note]]While it is cringeworthy to think about it these days due to the tragedy, the World Trade Center appearing in a work made prior to 9/11 is not an example of this unless there is some sort of reference to the towers being attacked.[[/note]]

If done ''intentionally'', this becomes a CerebusRetcon. Compare DistancedFromCurrentEvents, when the moment ends up being censored or removed because of a tragedy; LifeImitatesArt, when something depicted in fiction is replicated in reality; HarsherInHindsight, when the original moment is neither funny nor lighthearted, but becomes even less so in light of later events; HaveAGayOldTime, when an innocuous word takes a different meaning due to changes in common vocabulary; UnintentionalPeriodPiece, when a work was intended to be timeless but the era in which it was made is easily distinguishable due to later events.

Contrast HilariousInHindsight and HeartwarmingInHindsight. Not be confused with SugarWiki/FunnyMoments - which is essentially the opposite, unless a recent event turns it into this.

For literal funny aneurysms, see {{Narm}}.

'''Notes:'''
* ''Since all actors and creators are mortal, if someone mentions death or plays a character who dies, and then die themselves, that's not a "funny aneurysm" moment unless their real world death has some kind of similarity or connection to the circumstances of the death which was originally PlayedForLaughs.''
* ''It is possible for an in-universe event to be rendered a "funny aneurysm" moment by a real life one, even if it is temporary.''
* ''An example can only be added once the event that makes it no longer funny has ended. In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, basic hygiene, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. Please don't add examples of this nature.''
----
!!Examples:
[[index]]
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/AnimeAndManga
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Comedy}}
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/ComicBooks
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/FanWorks
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Film}}
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Literature}}
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/LiveActionTV
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/SaturdayNightLive''
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Music}}
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Theatre}}
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/VideoGames
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Webcomics}}
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Homestuck}}''
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/WebOriginal
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/WesternAnimation
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/FamilyGuy''
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/GravityFalls''
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/TheSimpsons''
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/SouthPark''
** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/StevenUniverse''
* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Other}}
[[/index]]
----

* ''An example can only be added once the event that makes it no longer funny has ended. In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, basic hygiene, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. Please don't add examples of this nature.

* ''An example can only be added once the event that makes it no longer funny has ended.'' In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, basic hygiene, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusPandemic. Please don't add examples of this nature.

There is also HarsherInHindsight, where a scene that's already tragic becomes even worse due to later real life or canonical events. A joke about jumbo jets hitting skyscrapers in works made prior to 9/11 will likely be a "funny aneurysm" moment; a serious plotline about jumbo jets hitting skyscrapers in works made prior to 9/11 is harsher in hindsight.[[note]]While it is cringeworthy to think about it these days due to the tragedy, the World Trade Center appearing in a work made prior to 9/11 is not an example of this unless there is some sort of reference to the towers being attacked.[[/note]]

** FunnyAneurysmMoment/MarvelCinematicUniverse

* FunnyAneurysmMoment/OtherMedia

* ''An example can only be added once the event that makes it funny has ended.'' In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, basic hygiene, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusPandemic. Please don't add examples of this nature.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment/{{Other}}

* FunnyAneurysmMoment/FanFiction

* ''An example can only be added once the event that makes it funny has ended.'' In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusPandemic. Please don't add examples of this nature.

* ''An example can only be added once the event that makes it funny has ended.'' In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19]]. Please don't add examples of this nature.

* ''Examples can only be added once the event that makes it funny has ended.'' In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19]]. Please don't add examples of this nature.

** ''FunnyAneurysmMoment/Homestuck''

* FunnyAneurysmMoment/WebComics

* ''Examples can only be added once the event that makes it funny has ended.''

** ''In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19]]. Please don't add examples of this nature.''