snarks on a plane

[substitute]

Five years of a blog that runs about 70% snark and grump, maybe more. I complain too much on the Internet, and it's bad for my writing. Occasionally I catch myself and write a happy piece about kittens or Chinese dumplings or a really stellar masturbation session. But a gloomy Andy Rooney/James Lileks atmosphere threatens. It's a flaw, and I'm surprised that's not pointed out more.

Most of the time, though, my small and friendly readership either agrees, suggests a different yet sympathetic angle, or clears the buffer and moves on. I don't get a lot of "oh hell no" or "you bastard, you pissed on my dream" reactions.

And then there was that time I dissed the Snakes on a Plane astroturf ad campaign, and found out there are still people who care enough to stand up for Jesus calculated viral marketing!

Comments

[threepunchstuff.livejournal.com]

I know you won't, but it's okay to lie in that case because it makes everyone feel like we're all in this together instead of feeling scolded. Just like it's okay to enjoy Snakes on a Plane because it's just two hours and 10 bucks after all.

QUALIFIED MORALITY - FUUUCK YEAH!

[substitute.livejournal.com]

You know, it's really weird about this phenomenon. I don't think I'd like the movie, but I really don't care one way or another about it, or whether the movie is a "guilty pleasure" or should or shouldn't be enjoyed like it was Triumph of the Will. The movie is a commodity, an inexpensive schlock-horror flick with a marketing hook.

The thing that pissed me off, and the thing I talked about, was the hook itself, which a huge number of people happily embedded in themselves and then went around showing off to their friends, like: hey, check me out! I got the Nike logo tattooed on my ass, because it's a viral internet meme catchphrase like all the cool kids have! And that part is still just kinda typical, because just about everyone wears logo t-shirts or some shit like that.

The awesomely horrible part is that these people believed they MADE this thing, and that they were cool members of the special kids club because they were part of the magic.

Best unpaid street team ever!

[threepunchstuff.livejournal.com]

[springheel-jack.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure there's a way to sugarcoat that pill. The marketing for Snakes was a big shuck, and everyone who got sucked into it got rooked. It's a consumer 419 scam, except it only cost the victims ten bucks and the opportunity cost of serving as an unpaid ad slave for a multinational. It should be embarrassing.

The only slightly-less-offputting way to lay out the damage would be to shift the blame to the marketing people at New Line, who were, as they say, motherfucking smart. Smart at lying.

[petdance.livejournal.com]

Or maybe we were just anticipating the prospect of such a self-indulgently silly movie.

It's OK for people to like crap.

one more time...

[substitute.livejournal.com]

It's odd; I keep saying this and people keep not seeing or reading it. It's not a question of whether the movie is crap, or whether people should or shouldn't like crap. There is no taste police, and there is especially no taste police in popular film.

My target is astroturf "viral" marketing. The target is not inexpensive, cheesy horror movies. Thank you for reading.

Re: one more time...

[screed.livejournal.com]

I've been reading you a while now, and this happens often enough I almost expect you to snark about it, and for that in turn to be misheard and countered.