Culture: The "Worst Episode Ever" Regional
1. #TEAMBREEZY
Our Greg Howard nominates Team Breezy for the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament, and it's hard to argue with him (my personal choice for overall one-seed is in the Park Slope Food Co-Op region). Here's just a smattering of evidence ...
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The best part is that all of these people are likely under the age of 15, so they're gonna be here on Earth for quite a while! You'll be dealing with Team Breezy long after all the Beatles fans and Deadheads have died off.
2. Comic book fanboys
Anyone who doesn't count Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth as a piece of literature on par with War and Peace or Moby-Dick is just plain ignorant. And what about Maus? IT HAD GENOCIDAL ALLEGORIES.
But sure, just go ahead assume that your average comic book lover is still an overweight, jobless asshole who sells Topps cards for a living. Ignore the fact that comic books are read by the likes of Michael Chabon, and Quentin Tarantino, and Seth Cohen. (Seth Cohen ended up with TWO chicks, I'll have you know.) Ignore that ComicCon is now THE launching pad for all major Hollywood movie franchises. Ignore that Watchmen is one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century and be just like that crazed, ungrateful, snake-worshipping Alan Moore, who disrespected the entire superhero genre himself. JUDAS.
3. Trekkies
The inferiority complex of Trekkies stems from the fact that they are often viewed as outcasts among outcasts. They are a more virulent strain of nerdy dipshit: fatter and uglier and somehow even more socially withdrawn than a Star Wars fan or a Battlestar Galactica fan. And Trekkies hate the fact that J.J. Abrams made Star Trek more popular by essentially making it as un-Star Trek like as humanly possible. That's not the REAL Star Trek. Where was the searching for new worlds? And Spock is getting laid now? RIDICULOUS. America's persecution of Trekkies led to the downfall of Trek itself! KHANNNNNNNNNN!!!! (BTW, How ridiculous was it that they tried to hide the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch was Khan? I mean, were we to believe he was just some average terrorist?!)
4. Beliebers
Every Justin Bieber arrest, every video of Bieber pissing into a mop bucket, every dickhead text to Selena Gomez: All of these ongoing embarrassments act as tests of loyalty for the 50 million nutjob panty-wetters who follow Bieber on Twitter and await his marching orders to kill. Do you DARE join the haters and leave Justin now, when he needs you the most? WELL THEN YOU NEVER LOVED HIM AT ALL, YOU BITCH. I will stick by Justin to the end, even if he kills 64 neighbors in a horrific grenade "prank." No one loves you like I love you, JB!
5. Video gamers
When Roger Ebert passed away, he was probably relieved that, in entering the afterlife, he'd never again have to have an argument with some fucking idiot gamer about whether or not Halo is "art."
Keep in mind that you don't even have to insult gamers to make them angry and defensive. Imagine going on XBox live and trying to compliment an opponent.
YOU: Hey, nice shot.
HIM: Yeah, I know. Better than your fucking sorry skills. FUCK YOU.
Listen to these people through a headset and you will want the sun to flare out and engulf us all.
6. Woody Allen disciples
Dylan's lying! Mia's a bitch!
/adjusts personal ranking of Woody's movies on an annual basis
7. Beyonc? fans
They're so batshit insane, they even get angry at Beyonc?. And not even when Beyonc? is being mean. But when she's being fan-friendly and releasing new material. Time to bust out this chestnut ...
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Beyonc? has empowered women the world over, which means that if you rip on Beyonc?, they will acquire superhuman strength, grow each fingernail an inch, and rip the flesh off your body. And God forbid you speak ill of Beyonc? around a single white woman. You will end up hanging from the ceiling with jumper cables attached to your ballsack.
8. Dylan lovers
Similar to Beatles lovers in that any criticism of Bob Dylan (terrible voice, meandering songs, etc.) is met with, Well, your favorite band wouldn't even EXIST without Dylan! You can't deny how influential he was! Wait, what are you doing? Are you really denying his influence? You really want to do this?
/smashes you on the head with a banjo
Like Springsteen lovers, Dylan people will also go out of their way to point out that Dylan is as good as ever when that's CLEARLY not true. Tim Marchman: "Every so often he puts out a record just as shitty and unlistenable as everything he's been doing for 40 years and people swear it's great." But Marchman, Love & Theft was just as good as Blood on the Tracks, if not better! Bob's still got it! You young kids out there don't know what real music sounds like! Sit there while I fetch the turntable.
9. Deadheads
In the compiling of this bracket, Tommy Craggs argued that Deadheads are chill, but I spent my entire high school and college career arguing with shithead Dead fans who treat every volume of Dick's Picks like it's a fine Cabernet aging in their cellar. "You have to hear how Jerry transitions into 'Uncle John's Band' here. He only did this at that Akron show." No. Fuck you. All the drugs in the world aren't gonna convince me that this is anything but the boringest music on the planet. Rip on the Dead and these people will just shut right down before you. They'll look at you like you're a corpse.
10. Dave Eggers lovers
Related
On Smarm
Last month, Isaac Fitzgerald, the newly hired editor of BuzzFeed's newly created books section, made a remarkable but not entirely surprising… Read…
Oh, I guess you don't care that Dave supports young writers and has donated a significant amount of book royalties to worthy causes! You know, it's really sad that we've devalued sincerity in such a swift and cruel manner. Maybe if you'd ever written a book, you'd have more empathy. Let me respond to your criticism of Eggers's work in graduation-speech form.
11. Adults who like Harry Potter
Hey wait, I'm one of these people. What's wrong with liking Harry Potter at age 37? It's not just for kids, you know! J.K. Rowling is a successful adult-fiction author as well now. What are you, some fucking snob like Harold Bloom who won't read anything unless it aspires to be Milton? Well, you're a dick. The themes in Harry Potter are universal. UNIVERSAL, dammit. I'd like to see Milton write a character one tenth as interesting as Snape!
12. The View Askewniverse
Point out that Kevin Smith hasn't made a good movie in 19 years and you will get the thunder brought down on you by the New Jersey Jort & Hockey Sweater Association:
13. R. Kelly supporters
This is too low of a seed and I apologize in advance because R. Kelly fans are split into two distinct groups: 1) music critics who insist his music is some kind of brilliant deranged performance art when, in fact, it's just shitty music made by a terrible man, 2) R. Kelly fangirls who are just as crazy as Team Breezy but would prefer being urinated on to being punched in the face. Like Beliebers and Woody Allen fans, R. Kelly fans treat his accused crimes as nothing more than the fabrication of jealous haters and disgruntled former employees. WE STILL LOVE YOU, R. KELLY! PISS ON US!
14. Juggalos
It's become a cottage industry in journalism for reporters to go to the Gathering of the Juggalos and discover just how fucked up and bitterly hostile Juggalos are to the outside world. The only reason they don't rank higher in this region is because I suspect, deep down, all Juggalos know how stupid they look with that makeup on. Every angry laugh and every demand for exposed titties is really just a flimsy way of masking the fact that Bobby's dad drank too much.
15. Star Wars buffs
Defensive in that they treat every bad Star Wars creative decision since 1999 as a deliberate assault on their childhood. Why are you casting that Girls guy as your Sith lord, J.J. Abrams? Is it because you hate me? It is, isn't it? I WANT SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS JUST HOW MUCH STAR WARS MEANS.
16. "Prestige" TV fans
The Sopranos was the best show ever until The Wire was the best show ever until Breaking Bad was the best show ever and if you have not seen any of those shows than you are like a college student who has never read Shakespeare, and White Twitter will have you sent to re-education camp. What were you busy doing, reading a book? BOOKS ARE FUCKING GARBAGE. They can't begin to compare to the Dickensian journey Vince-David Simon-Chase took viewers on.
Everyone knows this is the Golden Age of Television. If you can't appreciate a television program where a white anti-hero goes around being conflicted about being a white anti-hero, while veering off on several needless plot detours, then you're probably some hillbilly from flyover country. If you had read the Sepinwall recap, you'd understand why David Chase threw in that 80-minute dream sequence. You probably watch NCIS. Did you know that's the most popular show on TV? I'm offended by that idea.
1. #TEAMBREEZY
Our Greg Howard nominates Team Breezy for the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament, and it's hard to argue with him (my personal choice for overall one-seed is in the Park Slope Food Co-Op region). Here's just a smattering of evidence ...
Expand
Expand
Expand
The best part is that all of these people are likely under the age of 15, so they're gonna be here on Earth for quite a while! You'll be dealing with Team Breezy long after all the Beatles fans and Deadheads have died off.
2. Comic book fanboys
Anyone who doesn't count Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth as a piece of literature on par with War and Peace or Moby-Dick is just plain ignorant. And what about Maus? IT HAD GENOCIDAL ALLEGORIES.
But sure, just go ahead assume that your average comic book lover is still an overweight, jobless asshole who sells Topps cards for a living. Ignore the fact that comic books are read by the likes of Michael Chabon, and Quentin Tarantino, and Seth Cohen. (Seth Cohen ended up with TWO chicks, I'll have you know.) Ignore that ComicCon is now THE launching pad for all major Hollywood movie franchises. Ignore that Watchmen is one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century and be just like that crazed, ungrateful, snake-worshipping Alan Moore, who disrespected the entire superhero genre himself. JUDAS.
3. Trekkies
The inferiority complex of Trekkies stems from the fact that they are often viewed as outcasts among outcasts. They are a more virulent strain of nerdy dipshit: fatter and uglier and somehow even more socially withdrawn than a Star Wars fan or a Battlestar Galactica fan. And Trekkies hate the fact that J.J. Abrams made Star Trek more popular by essentially making it as un-Star Trek like as humanly possible. That's not the REAL Star Trek. Where was the searching for new worlds? And Spock is getting laid now? RIDICULOUS. America's persecution of Trekkies led to the downfall of Trek itself! KHANNNNNNNNNN!!!! (BTW, How ridiculous was it that they tried to hide the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch was Khan? I mean, were we to believe he was just some average terrorist?!)
4. Beliebers
Every Justin Bieber arrest, every video of Bieber pissing into a mop bucket, every dickhead text to Selena Gomez: All of these ongoing embarrassments act as tests of loyalty for the 50 million nutjob panty-wetters who follow Bieber on Twitter and await his marching orders to kill. Do you DARE join the haters and leave Justin now, when he needs you the most? WELL THEN YOU NEVER LOVED HIM AT ALL, YOU BITCH. I will stick by Justin to the end, even if he kills 64 neighbors in a horrific grenade "prank." No one loves you like I love you, JB!
5. Video gamers
When Roger Ebert passed away, he was probably relieved that, in entering the afterlife, he'd never again have to have an argument with some fucking idiot gamer about whether or not Halo is "art."
Keep in mind that you don't even have to insult gamers to make them angry and defensive. Imagine going on XBox live and trying to compliment an opponent.
YOU: Hey, nice shot.
HIM: Yeah, I know. Better than your fucking sorry skills. FUCK YOU.
Listen to these people through a headset and you will want the sun to flare out and engulf us all.
6. Woody Allen disciples
Dylan's lying! Mia's a bitch!
/adjusts personal ranking of Woody's movies on an annual basis
7. Beyonc? fans
They're so batshit insane, they even get angry at Beyonc?. And not even when Beyonc? is being mean. But when she's being fan-friendly and releasing new material. Time to bust out this chestnut ...
Expand
Beyonc? has empowered women the world over, which means that if you rip on Beyonc?, they will acquire superhuman strength, grow each fingernail an inch, and rip the flesh off your body. And God forbid you speak ill of Beyonc? around a single white woman. You will end up hanging from the ceiling with jumper cables attached to your ballsack.
8. Dylan lovers
Similar to Beatles lovers in that any criticism of Bob Dylan (terrible voice, meandering songs, etc.) is met with, Well, your favorite band wouldn't even EXIST without Dylan! You can't deny how influential he was! Wait, what are you doing? Are you really denying his influence? You really want to do this?
/smashes you on the head with a banjo
Like Springsteen lovers, Dylan people will also go out of their way to point out that Dylan is as good as ever when that's CLEARLY not true. Tim Marchman: "Every so often he puts out a record just as shitty and unlistenable as everything he's been doing for 40 years and people swear it's great." But Marchman, Love & Theft was just as good as Blood on the Tracks, if not better! Bob's still got it! You young kids out there don't know what real music sounds like! Sit there while I fetch the turntable.
9. Deadheads
In the compiling of this bracket, Tommy Craggs argued that Deadheads are chill, but I spent my entire high school and college career arguing with shithead Dead fans who treat every volume of Dick's Picks like it's a fine Cabernet aging in their cellar. "You have to hear how Jerry transitions into 'Uncle John's Band' here. He only did this at that Akron show." No. Fuck you. All the drugs in the world aren't gonna convince me that this is anything but the boringest music on the planet. Rip on the Dead and these people will just shut right down before you. They'll look at you like you're a corpse.
10. Dave Eggers lovers
Related
On Smarm
Last month, Isaac Fitzgerald, the newly hired editor of BuzzFeed's newly created books section, made a remarkable but not entirely surprising… Read…
Oh, I guess you don't care that Dave supports young writers and has donated a significant amount of book royalties to worthy causes! You know, it's really sad that we've devalued sincerity in such a swift and cruel manner. Maybe if you'd ever written a book, you'd have more empathy. Let me respond to your criticism of Eggers's work in graduation-speech form.
11. Adults who like Harry Potter
Hey wait, I'm one of these people. What's wrong with liking Harry Potter at age 37? It's not just for kids, you know! J.K. Rowling is a successful adult-fiction author as well now. What are you, some fucking snob like Harold Bloom who won't read anything unless it aspires to be Milton? Well, you're a dick. The themes in Harry Potter are universal. UNIVERSAL, dammit. I'd like to see Milton write a character one tenth as interesting as Snape!
12. The View Askewniverse
Point out that Kevin Smith hasn't made a good movie in 19 years and you will get the thunder brought down on you by the New Jersey Jort & Hockey Sweater Association:
13. R. Kelly supporters
This is too low of a seed and I apologize in advance because R. Kelly fans are split into two distinct groups: 1) music critics who insist his music is some kind of brilliant deranged performance art when, in fact, it's just shitty music made by a terrible man, 2) R. Kelly fangirls who are just as crazy as Team Breezy but would prefer being urinated on to being punched in the face. Like Beliebers and Woody Allen fans, R. Kelly fans treat his accused crimes as nothing more than the fabrication of jealous haters and disgruntled former employees. WE STILL LOVE YOU, R. KELLY! PISS ON US!
14. Juggalos
It's become a cottage industry in journalism for reporters to go to the Gathering of the Juggalos and discover just how fucked up and bitterly hostile Juggalos are to the outside world. The only reason they don't rank higher in this region is because I suspect, deep down, all Juggalos know how stupid they look with that makeup on. Every angry laugh and every demand for exposed titties is really just a flimsy way of masking the fact that Bobby's dad drank too much.
15. Star Wars buffs
Defensive in that they treat every bad Star Wars creative decision since 1999 as a deliberate assault on their childhood. Why are you casting that Girls guy as your Sith lord, J.J. Abrams? Is it because you hate me? It is, isn't it? I WANT SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS JUST HOW MUCH STAR WARS MEANS.
16. "Prestige" TV fans
The Sopranos was the best show ever until The Wire was the best show ever until Breaking Bad was the best show ever and if you have not seen any of those shows than you are like a college student who has never read Shakespeare, and White Twitter will have you sent to re-education camp. What were you busy doing, reading a book? BOOKS ARE FUCKING GARBAGE. They can't begin to compare to the Dickensian journey Vince-David Simon-Chase took viewers on.
Everyone knows this is the Golden Age of Television. If you can't appreciate a television program where a white anti-hero goes around being conflicted about being a white anti-hero, while veering off on several needless plot detours, then you're probably some hillbilly from flyover country. If you had read the Sepinwall recap, you'd understand why David Chase threw in that 80-minute dream sequence. You probably watch NCIS. Did you know that's the most popular show on TV? I'm offended by that idea.
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