I know I need to have a post by 5 p.m. today, and, because it's Friday, I'm feeling cheerfully disconnected with academia and productivity. This happens to me every Friday, which means I have my own "Case of the Fridays." Of course, I make this self-diagnosis based on an allusion to Office Space, a film that satirizes the drudgery of the 9-5 workplace. Every Monday, the protagonist Peter arrives in a grumpy mood, and his co-workers say in a baby voice, "Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays!"
I know I tend to bring in popular culture references too often, but my appropriation of Office Space's dialogue to describe my own mentality has me asking these questions: When does appropriating humorous allusions from popular media no longer become humorous? At what point does it become lame? At what point do people forget that the humor even originated elsewhere since it's so commonplace? I listed some examples below with potential explanations for their waning popularity:
Napoleon Dynamite--Everyone in my generation was saying "Flippin' sweet," "Gosssh," and "Can you bring me some Chapstick," etc. This lasted for MONTHS. Now, the only line I hear is "Gossssh." Did people forget that that line came from Napoleon Dynamite because it was used so often?
Clueless--Alicia Silverstone coined the phrase "As if!" And the phrase became popular among teen/preteen girls for awhile. Being a teen at the time, the phrase suddenly became "uncool" when my mom used it. She said "Uh, as if!" It was at this point--when someone out of the target audience appropriated the words--that it became (to me, at the time) lame.
Austin Powers--"Yeah, baby, yeah" echoed through the halls of my high school. Now, no one says it. Are people getting tired of all the re-runs on basic cable? Or does the phrase still have a place, but, since I'm no longer in that place, I can't hear it?
Wayne's World--"Schwing!" and "We're not worthy!" still make appearances--but rarely, and people are usually intoxicated. Does inebriation help us recall the phrases that aren't necessarily appropriate in daily conversation?
The Big Lebowski--I said "but it really tied the room together" recently. No one got the allusion...but I don't think there were any "dudes" in the room.
Extras--Ricky Gervais seems to contemplate this issue when he coins the phrase "Are you havin' a laugh" and everywhere he goes, people scream "I'm havin' a laugh!" at him...pointing out how annoying the quoting phenomenon can be.
Curb Your Enthusiasm--"Pretty...pretty...pretty good." I use that one all the time. It seems to work even if no one has seen the show.
Seinfeld--"Man hands." This one works well among most people. I think it's because Seinfeld appeals to a variety of generations and the re-runs are on constantly. Some phrases are just timeless.
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What you say is only going to show that comedy is often topical and over time things change. What was hilarious to us in our youth doesn't seem quite so funny in adulthood. Or that our experience of something attenuates--that is, we no longer notice it or react to it (see your unfamiliarlization/familiarization post). Years back it was "Where's the beef?" from commercials, or "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Not sure even why these were funny then...
ReplyDeleteI run a bar on the weekends and a few days throughout the week, so I am privy to a lot of these phrases (and many more) from inebriated patrons. I also tend to use the bar as a comedic pulpit to try out material on people with lower than average judgment. Much to my chagrin, when I occasionally steal the catch phrase from Larry David you mentioned above, I tend to get the same response Larry does which is slight annoyance with a bit of confused amusement. I must be doing something right, but more people need to watch Curb dammit.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women, man.
I am a fan of the majority of the shows/movies you brought up and am also confused as to when to stop using the phrases. I think that it is very attractive slash i know a person has good comic taste when an "old" phrase is said from a movie such as The Office or Austin Powers. Knowing the phrases distinguishes us as well educated humorists if you will. I also think that the longer you do not hear the line, the funnier it is when it is said. For instance, if one person says:
ReplyDelete"I love these chips"
And another replies with,
"Then why don’t you marry it"
That is classic second grade fo sho. At least, i laughed since i had not heard it for at least 13 years and i still do not understand why that was supposed to be offensive.:)