While out at lunch today, I saw a commercial for Hot Pockets, the disgusting microwave pseudo-food that is the punch line of much of Jim Gaffigan's most famous comedy. The commercial was interesting in that it included a comedian who, at the end of the commercial, sings the inane three-tone Hot Pockets jingle in a mocking manner reminiscent of Gaffigan.
I got to thinking that surely somewhere on the Internet someone has coined a term for the phenomenon of co-opting, and thus blunting, a criticism of oneself by affirming that one has been in on the joke all along. William Shatner is an expert, as he owes much of his post-Trek career to the tactic. Is there a hip name for this move? If not, someone invent one.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
71 comments:
Reappropriation?
"Reappropriation" neglects the "in on the joke all along" aspect. Maybe "retro-appropriation"?
How about past-oriented-douche-baggery?
My baited-breath is waiting for Glaucon's thoughts on Spiro's query.
@Jenny
Retropriation.
11:01, nice.
We could just call it "hot pocketing." But somehow I get the sense that would be misinterpreted.
"We could just call it "hot pocketing." But somehow I get the sense that would be misinterpreted."
Let's not.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hot%20Pocketing
Shatnering, duh.
"when they started calling Kim Kardashian a talentless fame-whore, she Shatnered them all by getting more famous by advertising her lack of talent."
The combination of 10:45, 11:26, and 11:45 are why I never tire of phil anon. Whereas, I abhor the blog that runs the inane Sunday cat posts/threads and am never relieved comically (except perhaps unintentionally) by NudeChaps.
The Sunday cat-loving blog used to be tolerable. But the neue Politische pushed it over the edge -- there are now (literally) threats to block dissenting commenters for spoiling the 'safety' of the blog.
Pretty sure it is called "Adam Westing"
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdamWesting
Where'd all these female philosophers come from? Can I interest your in my epistemology blog?
Before I get flamed, I should say that the above was meant to be a joke about how few female philosophers there are and what a shame it is.
I find the Sunday Cat blog to be stifling and rather annoying.
And 9:50, what's the name of your blog?!
Another fine example of this phenomenon involving the Economist and an episode of The Simpsons:
"Homer is traveling by air in first class and says "Look at me, I'm reading The Economist. Did you know Indonesia is at a crossroads?" and when questioned by his wife, he simply replies "It is!" Four days later, with its customary dry wit, The Economist alluded to the quote, and published an article about Indonesia referring to the "crossroads". The title of the issue was "Indonesia's Gambit". About seven months later, The Economist ran a cover headline reading "Indonesia at a Crossroads." (source: Wikipedia)
"Indonesian gambit"?
"Cross-pocketing"?
"Pre-appropriation"
I say that following the example of Rodney Dangerfield's comedy of "I don't get no respect" it's gotta be "Dangerfielding".
NB--this from the guy who coined "NudeChaps."
I like "shatner," as in "they shatnered Gaffigan's critique."
Overtaking a mockery of oneself?
Spiros: what do you think of the strong Whitehead showing in Leiter's poll?
"NB--this from the guy who coined "NudeChaps.""
Is there a term for an anonymous poster who wants to ensure continual recognition for previously saying something (granted, hilarious) anonymously?
Frankly, I found it so funny I would like to be reminded that said jokester is still among us.
In other news, maybe we could pitch-in to pay for a flight to send Spiros to the Middle East? Give the crazies over there a little taste of Phil Anon reporting.
David Foster Wallace discusses the phenomenon, or something like it, in a pretty timeless essay in the collection, _A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again_. I can't remember if he coined a term for it.
PDF here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjsomers.net%2FDFW_TV.pdf&ei=gTVRUK-5CqrwiwKj-oGwDQ&usg=AFQjCNG8ln0nd50a1vSkU7jO93Y2Wn2-zQ
I sometimes enjoy the cat (or not cat) videos, but I do think there is a change in tone that is becoming, as Sara said, stifling.
As for the needed word, isn't 'co-opting' a relevant concept? How about 'mock-opting'?
The best you have is cat videos and hot pockets? For you, philosophy is dead.
12:24, shut-up. If you want to see philosophy being done read publications in professional philosophy. This blog is not really about 'doing philosophy.' It's a place to vent, critique, deride, etc.
Anyways, did anyone else see the following this morning?
http://us.cnn.com/2012/09/10/justice/colorado-plane-lewd-allegation/index.html?iref=obinsite
Is there a term for this (not just the obvious)?
I think Shatnering wins and cross-pocketing gets honorable mention.
What do you all have against hot pockets?
I've never eaten hotpockets myself but as a young lass I frequently hot pocketed with my friends in the university parking lot: i.e., smoked loads of pot in the car until we couldn't see each other.
Some late night reading Spiros:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_spectator/2009/01/the_worst_pop_singer_ever.single.html
While I am also put off by the blog in question, I still fail to see why 'NudeChaps' is remotely funny.
Joseph Heath wrote a book about the phenomenon called "The Rebel Sell."
Cornelius, it's not exactly about Shatnering but about the consumerist co-opting of counterculture. Close, but you knew that all along.
Given my preference for the theory of the theory, a NudeChapian quickness to take offense at the historical under-representation of the under-prepared, not to mention a self-consciously apologetic but vague awareness of my insufficiently intolerant attitude toward my own lack of inclusiveness and other blind spots, not to mention, a fortiori, although the reasoning was pretty weak to begin with, paralipsis, instead of launching into an uncharitable critique of what I am about to say and the way I said it, why not join me in voting for Childean Self-Parody, after Julia Child became a parody of herself.
2:24pm: If you have to ask why NudeChaps is funny, you'll never know ala Louis Armstrong on jazz.
"NudeChapian quickness"
Dear God that had me in tears. Sir/Madam, if I ever happen to meet you non-anonymously, I will buy you a round of drinks and then the bar. Academics are generally humor-less... philosophers being the exception.
Nudechaps sure are quick at deleting posts that are critical (hoping that no-one will notice?)
re Louis Armstrong on Jazz: does anyone have a reliable citation for that attribution. I once searched in vain for something other than, "Someone else attributed it to him" (mainly on the interwebs). There's the cognate Fats Waller thing about rhythm, that's more reliable.
(Sorry for the threadjacking, but this kills me.)
NudeChapian-pocketing, anyone?
1:29AM, were you to meet me non-anonymously, you would recoil at my hideous, twisted shy smile. My continual self-interruption is the definition of uncool. I suffer from myopia, astigmatism and tinnitus. I never venture far from my apartment. The libraries are gone. Bookstores are expensive; I can’t find what I want to know in them–that subject doesn’t exist. My behavior is rational, according to a cost/benefit analysis I haven’t done. If I have seen further than NudeChaps, it because I have stood on the shoulders of gnats.
Err, so Flaud, can I buy you a drink?
jazzed, I believe Louis Armstrong posted it on Abraham Lincoln's Facebook page.
I have an aversion to alcohol, sex, drugs, rock and roll, hot pockets and a certain blog of earnest philosophasters of episto-onto-socio-aesthetico-politico-psycho-pharmacology. And I have ruined everything by omitting "is" in "If I have seen further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of gnats." Think of me as one of those imbeciles who posts provocative pictures of themselves on their Facebook or G+ page (and who thinks anyone who objects to the singular they is a pedant), and then who writes that those pictures were not posted to invite unwanted attention.
"If I have seen further than NudeChaps, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of gnats."
I needed this today.
Dissed by the dilatory dowel of dystopia.
But anyone who objects to singular 'they' is a pedant.
Yes, 'they' is.
They are.
Semantically singular, syntactically plural.
I find it incredible how many philosophers are completely confused about this sort of thing. Linguistics is just down the hall, you boneheads -- check it out.
I find it incredible how many philosophers fail to get the pun, which was about the singular they. Of course it should be they are, you philosophical zombie.
Oftimes, sir, a expert is an moron.
6:39: Singular 'they' is semantically singular, not syntactically singular. So singular 'they' agrees with a plural verb.
6:56: expertly said.
Let's go grammar wars part IX
9:14:
YUUUUUUP!!
(trademarked)
Grammar Chores Re-dux!
In the right corner, we have...
I would rather sleep. I concede all debaters points. Anonymous 6:29 wins on account of the astronomically brilliant idea to distinguish the semantic singular from the syntactic plural, a far reaching and completely unexpected generalization to the possibility of distinguishing semantic and syntactic categories of grammatical number for the same word--a generalization so far ahead of its time as to be a mutant discovery, and for the stunning insight that no one can understand this obvious point after it is explained.
Pardon me, I must forfeit another debaters point: the stunning insight is that no one can understand this point even after it is mansplained.
mansplain v.i. to explain something in a didactic tone to someone more knowledgeable as if she were less knowledgeable.
4:42,
Huh?
Strike the unintelligible portions and redeem for additional debaters points.
4:51,
If, as you claimed, 'mansplained' were an intransitive verb, then contrary to your usage, it would not be possible for something to be mansplained. I award you no points. I award myself infinity pedant points.
The call to arms in the grammar wars cannot go unheeded. Prepare, prepare--although I clearly haven't. Perhaps I would have executed Socrates for his excessive intellectualism. Add v, mansplainer.
6:43,
Excellent. I award you another 12 pedant points, so now you have twelvefinity.
PREPARE, prepare the tweed underware of grammar war,
Bring forth the bile, cast in the specious lobe;
The Pedant spews upon the darken’d earth!
Prepare, prepare!
(The order of addition matters in ordinal arithmetic, if infinities are involved. You didn't say which infinity in which presentation of set theory. I award myself a supercompact cardinal's worth of insufferable pedant points.)
As long as we are going "language Nazi," I found 9/17 10:56's "If I have seen further than others" pretty unsettling. Surely, s/he or it has seen farther than others?
A fustian grammarian notes that while farther generally connotes physical distance, "many counterexamples could be found, however, and using further in place of farther is not an error." Newton is quoted in the Wikipedia:
Isaac Newton remarked in a letter to his rival Robert Hooke dated February 5, 1676 [5] that:
What Des-Cartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways, & especially in taking ye colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants [sic].
So Newton picked Eli Manning for his fantasy team?
Post on the GCC Spiros? Did you sign?
I just watched Gaffigan's Mr. Universe and laughed through the whole thing. It might be MacDonald's turn next to borrow from Gaffigan for future advertising purposes.
Is Spiros dead?
Does Spiros have a posse?
Spiros is dead. Spiros remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was douchiest and mightiest of all that the blogosphere has yet owned has bled to death under our comments: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What bitching of NudeChaps, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become Spiroses simply to appear worthy of it?
I am Spiros!
Post a Comment