Pssst, don't tell anyone but...

I have never liked the classic cartoon characters "Tom & Jerry". 

This was a problem in my family, as many relatives thought those cartoons were great and super 8 movies would get trundled out on celebration days to entertain everyone with the antics of "Tom & Jerry".

I could not understand what was nice, funny or interesting e.g. when one character bashed another character over the head, and then to demonstrate that fact, the afflicted character's head popped into the now distorted shape of a Blacksmith's metal anvil!

A lot of the storylines seemed to be quite violent and with humour at the expense of others.

Some unfortunate adult once tried taking the toddler-me to the cinema to see a "Tom & Jerry" feature ...Oh!  That outing did not end well!

I could not understand what was nice, funny or interesting e.g. when one character bashed another character over the head

This goes to the roots of why people find the misfortunes of others (slapstick in this case) to be so funny. It turns out it is from a sense of relief that it is another suffering and not us:

Perhaps the oldest theory of humor, which dates back to Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers, posits that people find humor in, and laugh at, earlier versions of themselves and the misfortunes of others because of feeling superior.

The whole article is here:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/

It probably won't help you find it funny but it may be nice to understand the psychological mechanics behind it so you know it is your autistic brain being wired differently that caused it.

I could not understand what was nice, funny or interesting e.g. when one character bashed another character over the head

This goes to the roots of why people find the misfortunes of others (slapstick in this case) to be so funny. It turns out it is from a sense of relief that it is another suffering and not us:

Perhaps the oldest theory of humor, which dates back to Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers, posits that people find humor in, and laugh at, earlier versions of themselves and the misfortunes of others because of feeling superior.

The whole article is here:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/

It probably won't help you find it funny but it may be nice to understand the psychological mechanics behind it so you know it is your autistic brain being wired differently that caused it.