Things With Faces are images that consist of objects that look as if they have facial characteristics. This bears a resemblance to OM NOMNOM images which involve drawing facial features on inanimate objects.
Pareidolia (from the Greek words para- which means “with”, or “alongside” but in this context it means something is faulty or wrong and eidolon which means “image”. So basically “faulty image”.) is an illusion involving a vague or obscure stimulus being interpreted as clear and definite.
THENWHOWASPHONE? is a catchphrase associated with a type of creepypasta that is intentionally written poorly, or is not scary at all. It is often used as a response to creepy pasta posted on 4chan’s /x/ board, but is seen in comment threads across the web.
“THENWHOWASPHONE?” originated from the /x/ community on 4chan, where people post scary stories. The following text was posted on March 28th, 2010.
So ur with ur honey and yur making out wen the phone rigns. U anser it n the vioce is “wut r u doing wit my daughter?” U tell ur girl n she say “my dad is ded”. THENWHOWASPHONE?
The spelling and gramatical errors (perhaps made intentionally) were key to it’s popularity, and it spawned several spin-offs including “IT WASPHONE”:
/B/ WHATMAKESYOUANGRY
I HAVESTORY I WAS AT HOME
I WAS GO TO SLEEPWHENTIRED BUTWAKE UP BECAUSE AT DOOR!!!
I GO TO DOOR!! I OPENNOBODYWASTHERE!!!
IT WASFONE
Search
Search traffic for “then who was phone” peaked in 2008 after the date of the original 4chan post.
I dunno LOL ( ¯\(°_o)/¯ ) is an ASCII-based emoticon of a character shrugging with arms raised in confusion. It is often used as the superlative form of the standard “surprised face” (O_o), oftentimes in response to “How do I shot web?” or any other question that only brings more questions into the conversation.
Uncertain Origin
Searches for “¯\(°_o)/¯” can be problematic because of how certain characters are omitted by many search engines, even when placed in quotes. The emoticon appears in many forum signatures which often results in false positives for 2002, shortly after vBulletin and other PHP forums first appeared.
The phrase “I dunno” has been a common English-language slang for “I don’t know” for decades and LOL has a long history as well. But the exact pairing of the two as “I dunno LOL” seems to first appear in 2006, as is evident from both a Google Date Range search, and from Google Insights (seen below).
“Cool Story, Bro” is a popular catchphrase / image macro used as a sarcastic response to to thread posts, trolls and general comments that are deemed boring, pointless or just too long to read.
Origin
The original image used for the macro originates from the issue #122 of Marvel comics The Incredible Hercules by Clayton Henry, first published on October 29th, 2008:
The origin of the expression, however, remains debatable; some argue that the dismissive phrase was first popularized through the YTP community YouChewPoop1, while many others cite 4chan’s /v/2 (videogame board) as the birthplace of the meme.
The phrase “cool story” as a sarcastic response was first documented on Urban Dictionary3 on June 8th, 2006. It can be traced back to a part in the 2001 movie “Zoolander,” in which a character tells a long winded adventure story and was told, “Cool story, Hansel,” after finishing.
The full phrase “Cool story, bro” did not appear on Urban Dictionary4 until January 5th, 2009. It is defined as "a phrase sarcastically used to indicate one’s disgust or indifference towards a tl;dr story.
Usage
The meme has been largely endorsed by 4chan’s /v/ community and has since spread across other affiliated imageboards, forums, blogs and chatrooms in multiple languages. The expression became especially popular on /v/ due to prevalence of user posts sharing personal, often lengthy stories that bear no relevance to the videogame forum.
Today, the phrase is widely used online and in real life to express one’s complete indifference towards someone else’s remark or as a casual dismissal of previous post with intent to troll other (or to dispel trolls). In addition, the phrase has been used in place of TL;DR or “too long, didn’t read.” Here’s an example of its usage on 4chan’s /v/:
Derivatives
There are a number of similar derivative expressions based on the phrase “cool story, bro,” as featured in image macros. In addition, following the influx of “cool story bro” on /int/ board, the phrase has been also used in languages other than English5.
You, sir, are and idiot is a catchphrase and a corrupted variant of the phrase “You, sir, are an idiot,” originally uttered by Krusty the Klown in an episode of The Simpsons. The quote was subsequently popularized on 4chan, with the conjunction “and” replacing the indefinite article “an” for an additional layer of irony. The phrase now implies “I believe that I know more than you, despite my own ineptitude.”
Origin
“You, sir, are an idiot” was first said by Krusty the Klown in episode 9 of Season 15 of The Simpsons, entitled “The Last Temptation of the Krust.” It originally aired February 22nd, 1998.
‘You sir’ is a common prefix that can be added to the beginning of a declarative statement. It is often used to add emphasis to an opinion or to imply a tone of respect. By all implications of the phrase, one is ironically saying “I respectfully disrespect you.”
Use
The phrase appeared on Urban Dictionary in September 2008. Its usage can be seen in the following samples from 4chanarchive (WARNING: 18+, NSFW):
Googling the phrase yields approximately 25,000+ results. Many of those hits are people using the phrase on message boards to call other posters out (like on this GameSpot thread in 2008) or to troll (as seen in this Adult Swim thread in 2010. It has also been used in comments, as seen on Failblog in 2008, to criticize other users.
However, since the derivatives lack much in terms of original content or recontextualization, it is more of a forced catchphrase meme.
Google Insights
Significant search trends for both variations of the phrase began showing up in August and September of 2008. It is not entirely clear what would cause the phrase to regain popularity 10 years after debuting in popular culture.
The phrase peaked again in September and December of 2009, although there is no clear explanation as to why.
The Gummy Bear Song is a novelty dance-pop song written by German composer Christian Schneider in reference to Gummibär, a German brand of baby bear-shaped candy. Readily made available as mobile ringtone, its popularity can be comparable to that of Axel F and Crazy Frog, characterized by obnoxious repetition of lyrics and catchy melodies.
Origin
The original song was released as a single in 2007 as a 30-second clip in Hungarian. It was eventually translated and released into over a dozen different languages including English, Spanish, French and Swedish, allowing it to mature into an international phenomenon.
With the now infamous Gummy Bear Song, the video soon went viral on both YouTube and MySpace. Collectively, the English version of the song has 105 million views between the two main editions on YouTube and the one on MySpace.
Gummibar.net, the official site, keeps an archive of all of the versions of the original, as well as the other songs that have been recorded in the Gummy Bear style since.
Spread
The video spread to video hubs such as I Am Bored.com, Metacafe, Yahoo, and FunnyJunk, gaining views and popularity throughout the internets. In July 2008, two years after its release, Metro.co.uk wrote an article on the popularity of the song in July 2008.
The original ring tone spent a large amount of time topping ring tone charts, in particular, the Canadian Jamster chart in February 2009 and iTunes Dance chart in April 2009.
Google trends shows that the song is still popular, still spiking at times even this year.
Derivatives
The Ash22 remix, uploaded in May 2007, has over 4,800,000 views.
Alternate Universe illustration of South Park characters
Alternate Universe (AU) stories and artworks are a sub-genre of fan fiction, in which the author deliberately alters the original canons of the story, thus creating an entirely new world with the original characters. The purpose of creating AUs are to answer potential “what-if” questions, such as “what if the Simpsons met the Hills” or “what if Pikachu had been taking steroids.”
Origins
Pre-Internet History
The concept of fan fiction precedes the history of not only the Internet, but of the written word as well. The Epic Cycle, better known as the poems surrounding Homer’s ancient Greek Epics the Odyssey and the Illiad, consisted of six other epic poems written by other authors using the characters and stories from Homer’s works.
In literature, the trend came back in the late 19th and early 20th century when fans penned additional stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. One in particular was written by an architect named Arthur Whitaker, who mailed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the manuscript, hoping to collaborate on a story.
Author Jane Austen also has a serious fan fiction following dating back to the 1850s. Someone once wrote a letter to Austen as Mr. Darcy, hoping she would write back as his sister, Georgiana. Fanlore notes that in the 1920s, stories were published in fanzines as well. A list of published “sequels” is available at Pemberley.com. Rethinking Austen’s work has not stopped either, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a retelling of one of her most famous novels in was released in 2009.
Another surge of popularity occurred in the 1960s with Star Trek fanzines. The first Star Trek zine was Spockanalia, published in 1967.
Examples of AU artworks can be found in a number of different contexts and forms:
In the online game Second Life, personal avatars are often customized to resemble characters and celebrities recognizable in popular culture.
Custom drawings of popular anime/cartoon/videogame characters have been regularly posted on 4chan’s /b/ board as well as /ic/ (artworks/critique) board.
Pixeloo’s Untoons series can be considered an example of Alternate Universe artworks.
In some Asian-language discussion boards, AU artworks of anime characters have been used in memetic contexts (ex: trolls/rickrolls/image macros) since the early 2000s.
Alternate Universe vs. Parodies vs. Lemons
AU artwork is not to be confused with parodies or satires often found in popular image macros and motivationals. While they are both imitative and derivative in nature, AU images of popular animes and cartoons do not necessarily reflect their original canons or reality, but projects a drastically different perspective (ex: personified South Park characters).
Lemons are specifically related to hentai-based art or fiction, based on the hentai anime series Cream Lemon.
When determining whether or not a story is part of an AU, Wikipedia has a list of popular themes in this type of fiction. These include changing facets of the character’s personality or physical attributes, new timelines, bringing dead characters back to life, and more.
The Mikuru Beam is a fictional laser superpower associated with Mikuru Asahina, one of the supporting character portrayed in the popular fantasy anime series “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.” In the very first episode, Mikuru’s laser outburst is brought upon by the main character Haruhi, whose unconscious ability to reshape reality to her desires often brings an interesting plot twist in each episode. On YouTube, fans of the anime series began uploading video clips of Mikuru shooting laser beams as early as on the same day the episode aired in April 2006.
Origin
Background: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Haruhi Suzumiya1 (涼宮ハルヒ, Suzumiya Haruhi) is the general name for a series of light novels written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. The first novel was published in Japan on June 6, 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten, with nine individual novels published and a planned tenth as of April 1, 2007.
From the very first episode entitled The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 002:
Haruhi decides to make a movie, starring Mikuru. However, Haruhi begins to confuse the movie world with the real world, and the real world begins to become more like her movie. The pigeons in front of the shrine turn white, then into Passenger Pigeons, cherry trees blossom in autumn, Mikuru begins to shoot lasers out of her eyes, and the cat Shamisen begins to talk. By the efforts of Itsuki and Yuki, Kyon eventually convinces Haruhi to add a disclaimer at the end that the movie is a work of fiction. Overnight, the movie apparently edits itself, and is shown. With the disclaimer, Haruhi herself realizes it is a work of fiction, and the world reverts to normal.
(Source: Wikipedia)
(The scene can be seen from 0:52 to 0:55)
The Mikuru Beam as a deadly weapon
The Mikuru Beam, heavily influenced by moe style because of the character involved, was first reused by Youtube user ansii, the 12th of April 2006, in his video simply called mikuru beam :
That first video, which has over quarter million views (as of 11/2010), reinterpreted the cute Mikuru Beam as a deadly laser beam that can destroy nearly everything, somewhat comparable to Falcon Punch.
Although the original instance never went viral in the most conventional sense, the sizable fanbase of Haruhi Suzumiya on YouTube seemed to have provided enough exposure for others to jump on the remix bandwagon and follow a pattern close to Gendowned: First, the short Japanese clip showing Mikuru firing her flashing laser beam in a manner similar to Shoop da Whoop, then the devastating result of that firepower unleashed.
Derivatives
The first derivative following ansii’s video is “mikuru kuso2” by Youtube user ck1300580 which would then be taken down due to copyright claims. That youtuber has then created another mikuru kuso, named mikuru kuso’’, the 16th of April 2006, gaining about 188,000 views:
He would also create a last Mikuru beam video, mikuru kuso3’, the 17th of April :
Many other videos soon followed.
DBZ version:
Godzilla version:
Kingdom Hearts version:
Star Wars version:
Resurgence in 2009: Haruhi Suzumiya rebroadcast with a twist
A re-broadcast of the first series began in April 2009. Following a comment by Teletama, one of the broadcasting stations, that the 2009 broadcast would be 28 episodes long, there was speculation that the re-broadcast would followed by the second season, though this was not confirmed by Kadokawa at the time. The first new episode, “Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody” (笹の葉ラプソディ, Sasa no Ha Rapusodi), was aired on May 21, 2009 as the eighth episode of the re-broadcast. Unlike the original run, the re-broadcast was shown in chronological order, with new episodes intermixed with the old ones.
In the episode 22 – The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part III, there is a behind-the-scene moment from the filming session coming from episode 00 showing that the Mikuru Beam was, as far as the show is concerned, more lethal than expected:
There is also the full scene (embedding deactivated) available on Youtube explaining more about the Mikuru laser beam within the story.
Notes
1
The main plot of that series is about Haruhi Suzumiya, a high school girl who can unconsciously change reality, and her strange antics with her school club, the SOS Brigade, which she founded to investigate any mysterious happenings. Haruhi forcibly drafts her cynical classmate Kyon who narrates the series, and similarly recruits three additional members into her club: the silent bibliophile Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the friendly “mysterious exchange student” Itsuki Koizumi. These members soon reveal themselves to Kyon as the extraordinary characters Haruhi is seeking, sent by their various organizations to observe her and hold her reality warping powers in check by maintaining the illusion of a normal life.
2
The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00 (originally aired on April 2, 2006) can be viewed as a “prologue” regarding the broadcasting order, even though, in the true events of the novels, that episode happens after two arcs called Endless Eight (where Haruhi causes the SOS Brigade to relive the same summer several thousand times) and The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya. Those two arcs would appear chronologically in the further 2009 rebroadcast version.
The CSI 4-panes are a series of exploitable comics centered around Lt. Horatio Caine (played by David Caruso), the protagonist character in the popular police procedural show Crime Scene Investigation: Miami. The comics typically begin with Lt. Caine describing a particular situation before putting on or removing his sunglasses, followed by a one-liner uttered in a dramatic manner.
Origin
While the exact origin remains unknown, a YouTube video is credited as the beginning of the fad. Uploaded on November 4th, 2006, the video entitled “CSI Miami – Endless Caruso One Liners” shows a montage roll of CSI: Miami actor David Caruso saying a corny one-liner just before the intro song of the CSI (“Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who):
Because of Caruso’s overuse of both one liners and wearing his sunglasses, some people were quick to criticize the actor’s talents. However, fans of the show and other YouTubers found the video hilarious, who began flooding the comments section with “YEEEAAAHHH!”, the segue between Caruso’s one liners. The actual use of the phrase “YEEEAAAHHH!” didn’t begin until YouTuber “MrQuick927” posted the following comment:
Spread
YouTube Comments
By then, multiple comments appeared on the video’s comments section. As of now, it is a very common thing to see it in the videos comments. Where as the comment above didn’t receive much praise, the meme itself now tends to generate a lot of approval by users because of its witty nature.
4-pane Comics
While the YouTube comments continued to grow throughout 2006, the phenomenon reached its turning point when the four-pane exploitable first appeared in a webcomic via Desomnd Seah’s blog Bigger Than Cheeses1 in June 2007. Often used to provide commentaries on another user’s comment or upload, the comics also serves as a joke on one of the most overused tropes and repertoires in the show.
Since its online debut, the four-pane has spread across other internet humor forums like Fazed Forum2, Ebaum’s World3, FunnyJunk4 and Memebase5.
MySpace Angles is the practice of photographing oneself at a strategic angle for the sake of obscuring one’s own flaws. This “beauty through obscurity” phenomenon has existed possibly since the dawn of photography itself, but the term “MySpace angles” or simply “The Angles” emerged soon after the peak in MySpace’s popularity. Despite the implications of the name “MySpace angles,” this phenomenon is not confined solely to MySpace; the term can be used to refer to vainly obscured photos on nearly any social networking sites.
Origin
MySpace was created in August 2003 following the success of Friendster in 2002.
Although it remains unclear who first coined the term “Myspace angles,” the practice of capturing and showing one’s “most flattering picture” likely stems from the insecurities many encounter when putting their pictures online. Such online behavior shaped by vanity and self-image can be also observed elsewhere across different languages and cultures; for example, in Korean, the same angling technique is referred to as Ulzzang angle.
Early Instances
One of the first appearances parodying the technique was in a November 2005 video made for a class project. Two self-proclaimed popular girls were seen angling the camera as they took pictures of themselves.
In February 2006, David Lehre uploaded myspace: the movie to his site. The first episode, called “The Photos” showed how users take pictures of themselves. The second, “The Blind Date,” illustrated how a male could be tricked by “MySpace Angles.” Lehre claims to have created the term after "seeing TONS of beautiful girls on myspace… then, meeting them in person and realizing they look nothing like their photos and they, had in fact, figured out their best “angles”. " The video recieved over a million hits in 24 hours, and over 60,000,000 hits as of July 2010. It was mirrored on YouTube February 8, 2006, where it has recieved over 2,000,000+ hits.
The phrase did not appear on Urban Dictionary until February 10, 2006.
The Technique
The desired effect is often achieved by raising the camera high above one’s head, at arm’s length, as depicted in the following image.
Taking a picture from above, with a high-angle shot or at least a shot that shows mostly one’s face, emphasizes the face and deemphasizes the body.
The top Urban Dictionary definition added later in 2006, also implies that the contrast and brightness of the photos may be manipulated in order to get the desired effect.
The angle is usually associated with the MySpace photoshopping which consists of a ridiculous brightness and contrast adjustment which makes it even harder to see who the person is.
Sometimes used to make grim people look alright.
Example:
Controversy
Though men and women alike have been known to practice using “the angles,” there is a common perception that women utilize the technique more often than their male counterparts.
Furthermore, there are many who feel as though they have been “tricked” after having met someone who does not live up to the image they have portrayed online.
There are also more serious studies about the impact of Social Network Sites (SNS) on people, which have also been quoted by newspapers like The Guardians in July 2009.
The discussion of the hazards of MySpace angles also took place in the form of YouTube videos.
Some videos compared and exposed Myspace pictures:
“The angles” also appeared in Lehr’s 2008 followup to MySpace: the movie: Facebook: the Movie.
Angles in Viral Marketing: Samsung
On August 2009, Samsung launched a viral campaign for their brand new ST 550/TL225 camera. They hired The Viral Factory, a well-known viral marketing agency to do so.
The result was this short ad, with a modest Own The Angles slogan, showing how classic horror monsters can tranform themselves into cute beings thanks to The Angles:
The AnglesorAngels youtube account was created in the sole purpose of compiling every video from that ad campaign.
Usage on 4chan
Camgirls tend to get plenty of attention on 4chan, and certain favorites are often given the honorific suffix of “-chan” whether they post pics themselves or if someone else simply posts pics of them.
Around December 2008, a new camgirl caught Anonymous’ attention. Her portraits did well in capturing her aesthetically pleasing facial features, but the later discovery of her full-body shots caused Anonymous to dub her, “Pear chan.” For more information, check out the Encyclopedia Dramatica article.
Did He Die? (alt. spelled “Did He Died?”) is a catchphrase generally posted by trolls in YouTube comments section. Quite often, the phrase is posted in response to FAIL videos, particularly those featured on FAILblog, but in some cases, it gets posted without any context, regardless of whether there’s a reason to even question if anyone might have died in the video. Other variations of the phrase include, “did he died” or “did x diedm” where X is the subject of the video.
Origin
In December of 2008, one Urban Dictionary definition was created for “Did he died?” This definition has been voted up over 500 times.
A troll’s response to any video where a person is injured
Person 1: OMG he hit his nuts on the rail
Troll: Did He died?
Person 1: stfu you retard
In May and June of 2009, several Urban Dictionary definitions were created for “did he die.” The following shows the phrase in action:
person 1: did he die?
person 2: die he did?
person 3: did he dieded?
person 4: he clearly died
person 5: dead
person 6: FIRST!lol
person 7: WHATTHEFUCK IS GOING ON??!!?!?!?
person 8: did he death?
person 9 reply to 8: grammar fail
person 10: ok this is getting old
In May 2009, Did he die.com was registered, and used to compile fail videos.
Spread
A Google Insights search for the phrase “did he die” is too general to return solid results because it picks up on the common phrase outside of the meme, along with phrases such as “how did he die” and “why did he die?”
But the phrase “did he died” shows that people have been searching for the grammatically incorrect version of the phrase since at least the beginning of 2005, even before the launch of YouTube.
Meta videos
Some videos were made as self-aware satires of the phrase, while others serve as prime examples of exactly what’s so humorous about “did he died?”: those who become aggravated and feed the trolls.
“Get To The Choppa!” is a catchphrase often used in playful manner to indicate there is an imminent danger and everyone must evacuate immediately to the helicopter site. Originally spoken by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 sci-fi action film Predator, this phrase caught on due to his thick European accent and and the humor it caused in such a serious scene.
Origin
The phrase was spoken by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, in the 1987 movie Predator.
The scene occurs after the rest of Dutch’s team has been killed off by the Predator, and only he and their prisoner, Anna, are left. Before going up against the monster, he sends Anna to the chopper so she can get him out of the jungle after confronting the Predator.
Spread
“Get to the Choppa!” was an interlude track on Reggie and the Full Effect’s first album “Greatest Hits 1984-1987”
The first entry for the phrase on Urban Dictionary was added in February 2005.
Californian band Austrian Death Machine, a side project featuring members from As I Lay Dying and Destroy the Runner, was created as an homage to Schwarzenegger’s films as a whole. They filmed a video for the song “Get To The Choppa” in September 2008, from the album Total Brutal released July 2008.
Also that month, an achievement was added to the game World of Warcraft called Get to the Choppa!, unlocked once a user obtains a Mechano-hog or Mekgineer’s Chopper, both motorcycles.
The phrase also appears as an unlockable title in November 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 once the player completes the “Chopper Gunner Veteran I” challenge by calling in 3 Chopper Gunners.
2010 marked the release of Predators, the third movie in the franchise. In an interview with MTV, Adrien Brody said he had a Get to the Chopper moment while filming.
Derivatives
Jim Hopper, Get to the Chopper (May 2007) 110,000+ views
Needs More Cowbell is a catchphrase originally quoted in a Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch featuring Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell. This expression is typically used to indicate something needs more emphasis—or literally, when it needs more cowbell.
Origin
Aired on April 8th, 2000, the comedy sketch parodied VH!‘s music documentary series “Behind the Music” fictionalizing the studio recording of the 1976 song "(Don’t Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult. The sketch featured guest host Christopher Walken as music producer Bruce Dickinson and Will Ferrell as fictional cowbell player, Gene Frenkle.
In the sketch, which is transcribed here, Dickinson (played by Christopher Walken) says “Well, guess what! I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!”
While the song actually includes a cowbell, Frenkle is a fictional character. In 2005, Washington Post reported that fans, even five years later, still asked the band about Frenkle.
Spread
In July 2004, “more cowbell” made its first appearance on Urban Dictionary. A year later, Wired posted a timeline of the need for cowbell.
The Kansas City chapter of Paul Green School of Rock Music attempted to break the world record for most cowbells in a in December 2008. Also that year, MoreCowbell.dj was registered, with a program that would add cowbell (and Christopher Walken) to any song a user uploads.
During the 2010 Winter Olympics, an app called Cowbell2010 was sold on iTunes. The app gave users a virtual cowbell wrapped in the flag of the country of their choice.
I want to do it because it’s fun. It’s fun to do bad things. I wanted to do hoodrat stuff with my friends. – Latarian Milton
-
About
Latarian Milton is a rebellious young lad profiled on television after he stole his grandmother’s car at only 7 years of age. His interviews are notable for such choice quotes as “it’s fun to do bad things” and have spawned numerous remixes & mashups.
Milton has since been parodied on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and interviewed on Comedy Central’s tosh.0.
Origin
The video was first uploaded by West Palm Beach Newstation WPBF’s YouTube account in April 2008. This corresponds with Google Insights that people started searching for “Latarian Milton” around that time.
Latarian’s First Strike – April 27, 2008
Second Strike – May 12, 2008
Remixes / Parodies
Mainstream References
On June 6th, 2010, [adult swim]’s animated television series, The Boondocks aired the episode “Smokin With Cigarettes” that based its plot on a parody of Latarian Milton. The episode parodied him as a “demon child” and even used some of his infamous quotes such as “It’s fun to do bad things.”.
Where is Latarian Now?
Almost 2 years after the joyride incident, Daniel Tosh, the host of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 contacted Latarian for an interview discussing what happened on that faithful day.
“Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?” is a trainwreck of English grammar that first appeared as a reply post on 4chan’s /v/ board and subsequently spread across the rest of 4chan boards as well as other popular sites. Once this indecipherable phrase gained a solid foothold on 4chan and YouTube, it began to disseminate across other internet forums and social networks, including Twitter and Facebook (See Photos for Screenshots).
Background
The reply post, which read “Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?”, first appeared under a discussion thread about an upcoming Wii game called The Conduit. The original post featured a YouTube video of someone playing the beta version of the game and a short review about Nintendo’s latest release.
Both Intrigued and stupefied by its utter lack of coherence, 4chan users began making reply posts either in an attempt to decipher the phrase or to simply instigate the ridiculous phenomenon. Social networking sites were no exception to this 4chan flood material; the phrase became widespread and mild lulz ensued on Twitter as well as YouTube.
Popular Derivatives/Responses
After extensive flooding of the phrase on several popular websites, a witty user finally made a decent response:
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve been further even more decided to use even go need to do look more as anyone can. Can you really be far even as decided half as much to use go wish for that? My guess is that when one really been far even as decided once to use even go want, it is then that he has really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like. It’s just common sense.”
Meaning
Original:
“Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Rephrased:
“Has anyone really decided as to even go that far in wanting to do to look more like so?”
Deciphered:
“Has any video game company really taken such measure to make a game so realistic?"
…While I Play Unfitting Music is a YouTube remix fad that involves users remixing videos with music that does not match what is occurring. Similar in usage to Yakety Sax making anything funny, the videos are meant to create inconsistency between the mood created by the music vs. what is happening on the screen.
Origin
In 2007, YouTube user gnomebob (current account: xMAHATMAxGHANDIx) uploaded “LUIGIWINDS A TOYWHILE I PLAYUNFITTINGMUSIC”
On May 19th, 2007, Saphira4eva uploaded “Spongebob Squarepants music video”. Currently, the video has over 579,000 views. The title does not have “While I play unfitting music” in the title, but it is in the description. It has the highest view count of any unfitting music video.
Soundtrack Dissonance as a trope
Using unfitting music to add an additional layer of meaning, cause a viewer to think about the subject matter, or even just for laughs has been used many times in entertainment.
A great example of this technique appeared in 2002’s Bowling for Columbine, Louis Amstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” plays over a montage of the history of terrorism in the US. Another instance occurred in the opening scene of Watchmen (2009) has the Comedian being attacked while Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” is playing.
It has also appeared in video games. Bioshock (2007) is known for using this technique, with a soundtrack full of music from the 1930s and 40s. Additionally, there is a point in the game where the player is attacked by splicers while Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” plays in the background.
Howard Dean Scream (a.k.a I Have A Scream speech) refers to the primal war cry made by a red-faced Howard Dean (D) at a post-caucus rally in 2004. Dubbed the “I Have A Scream” speech, Dean’s emotional outburst of self-enthusiasm became internet remix fodder in January 2004. On YouTube, there are onomatopoeic references to Dean’s scream as well, including “BYAH!” and “YEARGH!”.
Dean’s Presidential Campaign 2004
Dean’s campaign suffered a staggering blow when a last-minute surge by rivals John Kerry and John Edwards led to a disappointing third-place finish for Dean in the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses, representing the first votes cast in primary season.
Speech in West Des Moines, Iowa
Dean, who had been suffering with a severe bout of the flu for several days, attended a post-caucus rally for his volunteers at the Val-Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa and delivered his concession speech, aimed at cheering up those in attendance. Dean was shouting over the cheers of his enthusiastic audience, but the crowd noise was being filtered out by his unidirectional microphone, leaving only his full-throated exhortations audible to the television viewers. To those at home, he seemed to raise his voice out of sheer emotion. Additionally, Dean began his speech with a flushed-red face, clenching his teeth as he rolled up his sleeves.
Audience Reception
According to a Newsday Editorial written by Verne Gay, some members of the television audience criticized the speech as loud, peculiar, and unpresidential. In particular, this quote from the speech was aired repeatedly in the days following the caucus:
Not only are we going to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we’re going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we’re going to California and Texas and New York … And we’re going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan, and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yeah!!!
Spoofs & Remixes
Spoofs and remixes followed both online and in mainstream media, including Dave Chappelle. Most remixes were in the form of audio – e.g. Music mash-ups with techno/electronica, AC/DC songs, Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train”, etc.
Breaking 2/16/2011: Watson beats humans in Jeopardy, and Ken Jennings welcomes our new computer overlords; click here for the latest details!
About
“I, for one, welcome our new X overlords” is a popular snowclone template where X in the phrase refers to (often in a humorous or overgeneralized fashion) any powerful entity that could potentially take over humanity. Sometimes that entity is a government or corporate power, but has also been seen applied to kittens walking on their hind legs as farcical declaration of rapid evolution.
In discussion forums and chatrooms, the phrase has been also used to express mock submission towards an obsessively controlling individual for the sake of humor.
Origin
Childhood’s End
Arthur C. Clark’s 1953 sci fi novel Childhood’s End revolves around an alien race known as the Overlords in charge of overseeing the evolution of the human race. This is one of the first occurrences in which the term “overlord” was used to refer to an alien race conquering humanity, but it is not where the phrase originated.
The 1977 film adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells short story Empire of the Ants (starring Joan Collins) is allegedly the origin of the phrase “I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords”.
The Simpsons
The quote gained popularity after the 1994 episode of The Simpsons, “Deep Space Homer”, when news announcer Kent Brockman believes the Earth to be under invasion by giant space ants. Fearing for his life, he announces his willingness to collaborate with the insectoid invaders:
“One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I’d like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves.”
Jeopardy
In February of 2011, a computer named “Watson” starred as a contestant on the trivia game show Jeopardy, and managed to dominate its human competitors. During the final show on 2/16, Ken Jennings wrote “I for one welcome our new computer overlords” below one of his written answers:
Search
Spread
Because use of the phrase began in popular mass media (film and television) tracing the use online is a moot point. Familiarity with the phrase generally stems from exposure to The Simpsons episode from 1994 rather than exposure to the phrase online. The following is just a sample of how the phrase has been adapted to new contexts.
SHUTDOWNEVERYTHING (a.k.a President Madagascar) is a catchphrase derived from the online flash game Pandemic II, where the player must spread a deadly disease across the world in order to effectively wipe out the human race.1 In the game, the Republic of Madagascar is often considered the most difficult target to infect with contagions due to the island nation has no airports or bordering countries and any potential outbreak can be prevented by shutting down the shipyards, which happens quite often during gameplay.
Since its debut in 2008, Madagascar’s near-perfect border security (as portrayed in the game) has become a popular joke among the fans, spawning comics and videos depicting the President of Madagascar yelling “SHUTDOWNEVERYTHING.”
Background
Pandemic 2 is an online flash game loosely based on the cooperative board game Pandemic, designed by Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games in 2008.2
Developed by Dark Realm Studios and hosted by Crazy Monkey Games, Pandemic II was released on July 14th, 2008. It has been subsequently uploaded to various flash game sites like Kongregate, AddictingGames, and Newgrounds.
The game’s premise is creating a disease, modifying the symptoms, resistances, and other variables in order to effectively manipulate it to wipe out the human race, keeping track of progress through a world map.
In the game, Madagascar’s shipyards are often shut down before the diseases can infiltrate through the island, causing much frustration for players trying to beat the game.
Spread
An archived thread from 4chan’s /v/ board dates back to July 16, 2008.3 The first Encyclopedia Dramatica entry was created on July 18th, 2008.4 The day after a reference was made on Gamefaqs.5 The first relevant definition on Urban Dictionary was created on July 22nd, 2008.6 An Uncyclopedia entry was created on July 26th, 2008.7 A reference was made on Fark on August 26th, 2008.8
Usage
The phrase is often used in a similar fashion to Do Not Want as a reaction to any unwanted entity or event. It is also used as a comically inflated over-reaction like Kill It With Fire, and Nuke It From Orbit. From Urban Dictionary:
Topic Creator: Wow, they put tomatoes in my burger when I told the, not to. I’m mad.
Poster: President Madagascar!
What?
They put tomatoes in our burgers!
… SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING!!!6
Timeline
President Madagascar and SHUT. DOWN. EVERYTHING. have their first burst of searches in July 2008, when it was still new. Then in April 2009 it had a second, larger boost. April 2009 was also the peak of Swine flu searches.
External Links
1 Crazy Monkey Games – “Pandemic II”":http://www.crazymonkeygames.com/Pandemic-2.html
Disclaimer: This entry contains material that may be unsuitable for children.
About
Purple Drank is an illegal recreational drink popular in the Southern rap/hip hop scene, a barbiturate cocktail primarily consisting of prescription-strength cough syrup. The purple-ish hue of “Purple Drank” comes from the color dyes used to make the cough syrup.
Origin
Houston-based producer DJ Screw first popularized the concoction, which is widely attributed as a source of inspiration for the “Chopped and Screwed” style of hip hop music. It first gained popularity in the Houston rap scene and later spread to other Southern states.
Popularity & Spread
In June 2000, Three 6 Mafia’s single “Sippin’ on Some Syrup,” featuring UGK brought the term “Purple Drank” to a nationwide audience.
Three 6 Mafia’s single “Rainbow Colors” featuring Lil’ Flip pertains to the consumption of Purple Drank. The addition of a Jolly Rancher candy to a cup of Purple Drank creates a spectrum of colors, hence the name. “Rainbow Colors” can also refer to a mix of different narcotic cough syrups containing anti-histamines, expectorants, and such. Various other cough syrups or combination therein also have nicknames such as “yellow syrup” and “pink syrup”. Many legal cough syrups for over-the-counter purchase in some states sometimes suffice as alternative ingredients to Purple Drank but alter the color.
As popularity of the beverage expanded to an international audience it also spread to the internet. Some miscellaneous message boards still hold discussions on Purple Drank including recipes and means to obtain the ingredients required. Some communities also perpetuate the absurdity and in comedic fashion criticize those who continue to get high off Purple Drank or ridicule the notion of the concoction itself.
Implications
DJ Screw passed away on November 16, 2000. The autopsy records listed an overdose of codeine and alcohol as the cause of death. The DEA began conducting drug busts in relation to the spread of Purple Drank in the following years mostly from within the Southern US.
Insight
The jump in July 2010 is directly related and cited to the arrest of Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell in relation to a series of Purple Drank related drug busts and possession of codeine cough syrup without a prescription.
Chopped and Screwed
Purple Drank is a major influence on a brand of Southern hip hop called Chopped and Screwed. The narcotic effects of Purple Drank slow down brain activity so to compliment the consumption is a style of music with an extremely low beat per minute count.
P2P music sharing hubs like Napster helped distribute this brand of music to a wider audience in the late 1990s. Today there are also many YouTube videos that cater or have been intentionally slowed down or altered to either appeal to people who consume or simulate the effects of Purple Drank.
