Photos
“What are you supposed to be?” “I’m supposed to be an impoverished black man living in the projects talking about the attempted rape of his sister.” “That is hilarious.”
 |
 |
This week's five highest rated comments as voted on by you, the lowest rated comment as voted on by you, and the editor's choice.
'Sup, pogs!
Let's all go to the movies, and let's all see the same movie, and let's discuss it here.
Gabe loves fan fiction. You Can Make It Up features his own personal alternate adventures starring some of our favorite characters.
After watching Death Sentence, a terrible movie starring Kevin Bacon as a father in search of vigilante justice directed by Saw's James Wan, Gabe embarked on The Hunt For The Worst Movie of All Time. This is his sad journey.
That’s so weird–I had already planned to go as blaxploitation! What a coincidence.
The costume is in the attitude, which no amount of money can buy.
I’m disappointed it doesn’t come with an auto-tuner.
Trick-or-barf!*
*Best I can do.
Given current Halloween trends, I am REALLY not looking forward to the inevitable “sexy Antoine Dodson” iteration.
all Antoine Dodson costumes are sexy Antoine Dodson costumes
My comment is awaiting moderation? Weird.
I’m trying again:
I HATE that every costume I want to wear is “Slutty ___”. I wanted to wear a costume to school, but if I arrive without pants on, I will go directly to jail. So I’m making my own–I’m going as Super Teacher.
HATE that every costume I want to wear is “Slutty Such-and-Such”. I wanted to wear a costume to school, but if I arrive without pants on, I will go directly to jail. So I’m making my own–I’m going as Super Teacher.
I don’t get it, is Super Teacher sexy in some way? Is it, like, a super sexy teacher? Because otherwise I don’t even know what Halloween is about. I thought it was a weird mating ritual where we all dressed up like sexy Ninja Turtles.
I’ve recently been sexy fairy, sexy Wolverine, sexy Spartan, sexy Charlton Heston from Planet of the Apes, and sexy Tom Hanks from Cast Away. So you can see the only limit is your imagination! And your area’s indecency laws.
There’s such a thing as a non-sexy Charlton Heston?
Changed my mind–I’m going as Slutty Captain Hook:
Why is this a real thing that exists in the world?
Where are her hooks?
This was supposed to be a reply to Baby Friday’s sexy-captain-hook comment. Isn’t that special?
Oh NO! The replies are all fudged up!
I dunno if that’s sexy Captain Hook though. Cause where’s the hook? I think that’s just sexy pirate ship employee. I don’t think she has a rank.
I dunno if that’s sexy Captain Hook though. Cause where’s the hook? I think that’s just sexy pirate ship employee. I don’t think she has a rank.
Did you post more than two links?
uh, meant as a reply to Baby Friday… WTF Videogum?
I think it’s because I had an underscore, and it thought I was spam. I’m not spam!
Almost sold out, guys. I don’t even want to know how many people paid $25 + s/h for a black tank top and a red bandanna.
Dude, you have no Antoine Dodson Halloween costume
Aw nerds.
“Almost sold out”= “We made exactly three costumes”
Actually, the correct equation is “Almost sold out” = “We made a zillion dollars”
$25 and almost sold out? Whaaaaaat.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Antoine Dodson is the one selling this costume. That dude has made more money is a summer than I do in a year off this nightmare.
I’m just glad he got a chance to cash in on his 15 mins. It’s the American way:
1. Make a fool of yourself on TV
2. Millions of people laugh at you via the miracle of the Internet
3. ???
4. Profit
It’s how Andrew Carnegie made his first million. Or at least Glenn Beck.
Run and tell THAT, homeboy.
I think #3 is racism
I think you meant rapecism.
Okay, yes, fine, but Mondays are bad enough without finding racist overtones in my Internet memes. #3 could also be…
- Autotune
- Zazzle
- excessive mainstream media coverage
- fuckin’ magnets
I’m coming to your doorstep, snatching your candy up
Shit! You beat me to it!
hide yer twix
Brandsonsale.com, you are so dumb. You are really dumb, for real.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOO
Anyone I see wearing this gets the Obligatory, “You are Really Dumb, For Real.”
This is all well and good, but I’m still going as a Double Rainbow this Halloween.
The costume for people who know that the best part of Halloween is explaining yourself.
Is there Kelly Dobson costume for my girlfriend? What about a rapists costume so we can all go as a group?
Rapist costume: shirtless man running away?
I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in years, but with this option, I need to.
Just kidding. I’m either going with ICP facepaint and clothes but with a multicolor clown wig, red nose, and giant shoes, or as Riker, dressed up from the episode where they play Robin Hood with Q.
i think you should go as Riker from the episode where he’s a sexy negotiator on a female-dominated planet. I even know where you can get the costume!
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4780238
Oh my. So tempted.
The going as Little John is part of a group joke though. I watch Star Trek with a few of my friends and we all want to go as Star Trek characters in costume as someone else. One is going as Data as Sherlock Holmes.
Stranger: Oh, Sherlock Holmes!
Friend: Ugh, NO! Lt. Commander Data as Sherlock Holmes!
Strangers: NERD!
Picard as Locutus
Troi as Major Rakal
Sisko as Benny Russell
So fun!!!!
Disagree: go as an ICP-er and you can throw things at people dressed like Tila Tequila.
I guess it is that time of year again. Potential Halloween costume thread? I’ll start:
My most recent idea is to wear an unsexy version of a costume that is traditionally sexy. Examples: An actual cop, breasts compressed by sports bra and bulletproof vest; a nurse on duty, in shabby scrubs and ugly orthopedic white shoes; an actual Wicca.
What do you think? What are you going to be for Halloween?
You should go as an off duty stripper. Tired, stressed, smoking, trying to pay bills.
I’m thinking about going as a court summons.
I am debating between Carmen Sandiago and Ayn Rand. The former because awesome, and the latter because I can think of nothing more terrifying than Ayn Rand, save possibly dressing up as Ayn Rand dressing up as a clown. But that might just be too terrifying.
Going to parties dressed up as Ayn Rand dressed as a clown would be fun to try to explain to people. “Duh! I should’ve figured that one out” – everyone
Derp – everyone at the party after they realize the obviousness of the clown/Ayn Rand costume.
Carmen Sandiago all the way please. I think all my youth spent chasing her down has pretty much established the type of women I go for till this day: the impossible to be with.
Plus, you would get to wear that pimpin’ hat.
Oh wow. Another thing I love? Women in hats. Fedoras in particular.
I do tend to make most life decisions based on whether or not the end result is me in a pimpin’ hat (this is more true than I am entirely comfortable with)!
Also, I want to share this with everyone because it makes me laugh and laugh and laugh.
So classy.
There are two reasons I so often prefer to eat at places with outside seating: I can bring my friend’s dog with me when I am taking care of him, and I can wear hats (wearing hats inside, especially while eating, is terribly rude).
Thats funny because I was also thinking about going as Scott Pilgrim dressed as a bomb or Jonah Hex dressed as a turkey.
Ayn Rand gets my vote! think of the hats you could wear!
I was thinking about going as a stink bug, but figured thinking about it as a Halloween costume was far more amusing than actually following through with it.
For me, that’s most Halloween costumes.
I kind of want to dress up as Cleopatra so I can wear a bunch of gold jewelry and do some crazy eye makeup, but I don’t like the thought of having to buy a whole bunch of stuff. I’d rather make up a Halloween costume of things I already have plus some accessories.
My favorite costumes have all been movie characters/pop culture figures. I watched “Back to the Future” this weekend and I wish there was a good female costume. Sexy Marty McFly? Ugh.
I had a hat shaped like a pig that I used for years as a go-to costume. I went as a pig roast once (built a table to go around my neck, with leaves, and I painted my face red to be the apple in the pig’s mouth), one of the 3 pigs, and the pig’s head from Lord of the Flies.
Last year I went to a Simpsons party dressed as Ruth Powers, which is possibly the simplest costume ever, considering I already almost look like her.
“Wear the gold jewelry and crazy eye makeup all the time. COST EFFECTIVE.”-Maya Arulpragasam
I came here ready to talk sersly.
Fortunately, all these people are talking about costumes, which saves me from having to say, “Gabe, really? You’re taking this angle on the costume? I’m all for calling spades spades and exploitation spades, but this development doesn’t really seem like an appropriate place to draw the line. First, you could pare away the funny bits of anything on the Internet for some cheap sobriety and self-righteousness. You make fun of Gwyneth Paltrow? Media blog attacks working mother. Slippery slope! Second, removing the context from this particular situation is a bit reductive (he said some ridiculous things!) and also a bit insulting (you’re saying Antoine Dodson said those ridiculous things because he’s a poor black man, not because he is a grownup who has responsibility for his own actions? thank you for setting him and us straight!). I do agree that most of our yuks are mean-spirited in some way, and that we should move toward a healthier way to enjoy ourselves, but again, I think that Bed Intruder is a poor example for making that case.”
I can’t decide on a costume! Something with panties, I’m thinking….
Slippery slope argument = fallacial facial (See what I did there). HUGE difference between entitled, rich, educated SWPL snob with enough money to hire people to do everything and poor black man using relatively common vernacular that happened to be funny in the context.
When I say slippery slope, especially with an exclamation point, it means that there IS a huge difference between making fun of Gwyneth Paltrow and calling attention to Antoine Dodson’s socio-economic status. But that difference could be eroded if we extend Gabe’s attempt to snatch gravity from the jaws of humor. I know it’s a fallacy, and apparently I wasn’t successful enough with just an exclamation point to indicate that I was using the term slightly facetiously. Next time I’ll put in this guy ;P
And high school debate fallacies aside, my point remains: Gabe did a bad thing, and it’s easy to understand why I think it’s bad if I do the bad thing to something else. As an example. See what I did there? (I’m making fun of your misunderstanding, which is okay because you have “philosopher” in your name, which means you are entitled and educated enough to be held accountable for your mistakes, apparently.)
i *think* I agree with ianthemighty. As long as he’s not saying we should stop LOLing at Paltrow. We MUST always be LOLing at Paltrow.
Anyway, this is one of the points I’ve been making for 4 days over on the Outsourced post (I’m gonna see if I can argue in there forever.) The whole “we should not make fun of people who are poor brown/black people” argument is really patronizing to us poor brown/black people. It suggests that we need special protection because we’re not as fortunate…..to be….rich and white? Gross. No thanks. That’s what Paltrow is. On the reg my friends and I say we’re gonna do “hoodrat things” not because we think it’s funny that Latarian Milton is working class and black, but because that is an idiotic thing to say. When my boss is trying to get to the bottom of mystery at work, I will ALWAYS suggest that it involves “a crackhead that got a hold of the wrong stuff, climbed up into a tree and posed as a leprechaun.” Not because I think being poor and black in Mobile Alabama is worthy of ridicule, but because I am so terrified of the power of herd mentality in that it can make a neighborhood group hallucinate a LEPRECHAUN and I need to use humor as a coping strategy for with my anxiety. I mean, cool, if you don’t want to laugh at Internet memes that feature a disenfranchised population, that’s fine. But when I read comments about how mean it is, I can’t help but think of Videogum’s Juggalo posts and Gabe’s trek to Comic-Con. Being mean is being mean is being mean. If, in a post about a bad tv show that relies on terrible generalizations about groups of people you don’t belong to as means for a cheap LOL, maybe think twice about responding with your cutting observations about how all of Stereogum’s commenters are awful, terrible human beings. I mean at some point don’t you have to ask yourself, “am I the type of person who groups people together and laughs at them or aren’t i?” It’s great if you want to compartmentalize, “it’s ok to do to Juggalos, it’s not ok to do to Mexicans.” But you still have to ask yourself THAT question and you have to live with yourself after you answer it. Growing up and living here in Phoenix as a Mexican American, I am exposed to a LOT of prejudiced chatter and I would STILL choose a racist over a hypocrite any day of the week. Because at least they’re honest.
Also I can’t believe no one has posted the sexy Finding Nemo costume yet! If I knew how to post pictures I would totally do it. You guys should see it. It’s SO sexy.
I think you are taking this the wrong way. I think he was just saying it is a dumb costume because most people aren’t going to get it, and trying to explain who you are dressed up as could be awkward. You say that “removing the context from this situation is reductive and insulting,” but what context does wearing a costume of the guy give? Most of the memes on the internet don’t translate well to real world application. You might as well go out in a goatse costume.
And likewise Icy, I believe that it is YOU that is taking this the wrong way. Since Videogum started reporting on Antoine Dodson, the writer has communicated that he’s of two minds on the popularity Mr. Dodson is enjoying. Gabe admits that the Bed Intruder song is funny, however he also, like other blogs like The Awl, observes that the meme is little more than finding humor in poor, black people. I encourage you to read earlier Videogum coverage about Antoine.
I confess, despite my earlier comment, I always thought wondered the same thing. I was also always a bit unsettled by the Aucoustic And Slowed To 3/4 Time indie band versions of rap songs. I can’t deny it makes me uncomfortable when I see white people, taking some fool thing that one of us minorities has done and holds it up for ridicule. But once I got honest about the origin of my unease – I have a persecution complex, AND I like the superiority that reprimanding people brings), once I got honest about those character defects. then I had to ALSO be honest that 1) I’ve seen every one of those people have a good laugh at white, privileged people and 2) they were laughing at someone being ridiculous, not being black. Rich white people say ridiculous things all the time. That’s the mission statement of Fox News for crying out loud! Once I realized that, I stopped being troubled by all of it.
You suggest that Gabe is merely pointing out how irritating it will be to show up to parties, dressed as Antoine and have to explain yourself over and over. You think he’s trying to spare us from having to spit out a mouthful. You argue that dressing as Internet memes is too “insider-y.” Let’s keep in mind that Antoine *did* blow-up pretty big. No joke, my grandmother knows who he is. Also, this is just a guess, but I’d bet that people whose costumes are “something from the Internet” are pretty familiar with feeling misunderstood. I’m sure it’s not a concern.
And while being honest with myself led me to stop being bothered by the enjoyment people were getting at the expense of the disenfranchised, I have to be honest with you Ice, and tell you that YOUR translation is deeply troubling to me. You thought that Gabe was ACTUALLY offering that as a script of what you would say if you wore this costume. And you didn’t even blink.
Good job, underwear. Well said.
I can’t believe my earlier comment has downvotes! Instead of doubting myself, I’m starting to doubt the downvoters. At first I thought they were being ironic; then I thought they were poor readers; now I think they’re dumb. Next I’ll think that I could have been more articulate, but eventually I’ll settle on smugness.
Upon re-read, you are kind of right but Underweareyes put your point a lot better than you did. I’m guilty of a misread (I was in class), my apologies. I think the issue at hand is that…nevermind. It’s 7:56am and I don’t want to talk serious anymore/don’t have anything really cogent to add to this argument besides it makes me sad the number of white frat bros at schools like Miami University that will go out in blackface on October 31st.
Sexy nemo! Man it is horrifying.
ianthemighty, do not take downvotes to heart. This is the Internet. It should change it’s name to “Who Cares.biz” Videogum commenters, or Monsters, as they are called, are a very great group. They are smart, they are funny, they have excellent taste, and I have witnessed some amazing examples of kindness and empathy between these people. And because they are EXTREMELY kind, they go to great lengths to avoid hurting each others feelings. These kids have MANNERS! They are a thoughtful group. So thoughtful in fact that sometimes in efforts to avoiding tipping forward into the racism fire, they lean so far back that they go up in flames. Really what am I saying other than, “hey you guys, stop being so thoughtful of my feelings!” It’s a cool problem to have. Like I said Monsters are sharp mofos, but at times their overwhelming kindness creates static and they can’t access the Critical Thinking parts of their brains. When this happens, you should point it out to them. No joke, they will downvote the fuck out of you. It will make grumble “next time I’ll just keep my comments to myself.” You will even swear off coming back. But seriously it’s WhoCares.biz. If people want to further the “Protect The Meme” agenda, let ‘em. But don’t let that stop you from advancing your “Hey Internet! Use Your Brainz!!” platform.
Very funny idiots.
Obviously, I was not taking what Gabe said as a script that someone would actually say. But it did make me think about how someone might answer if they were asked what their costume was. I didn’t come up with anything that the asker might hear, and come to an understanding of how the costume was clever or funny.
I didn’t get into the racial aspect of this meme in my first response, because I tend to be overly sensitive about issues of race, and especially in the current climate, people throw around the “race card” so much that it loses meaning. Growing up with an adopted brother who was black as a white kid gave me a fairly unique, and many times uncomfortable perspective. You mention that you had to come to terms with various things that made you uncomfortable or angry, and get past them because they were issues that ultimately were based on your perspective. Where we differ, I guess, is that I don’t think that the problem is with my perspective. I don’t need to change my opinion that the popularization of this meme has undertones of racism, because it does.
I didn’t say anything( I guess I did now!) about Ian’s use of the phrase “call a spade a spade” because that was used before spade became a racial term. However, his follow up sentence that used “exploitation spade” made it clear that he was using the word/phrase in a derogatory manner. It is that type of pseudo subtle bullshit that only reinforces my opinion.
In short, I am glad Gabe points out this type of thing and that it makes apologists uncomfortable.
I didn’t know that spade was a racial term. I was just trying to be silly. “I’m cutting down to bedrock: Everything is a spade!” My bad.
It may be true that Antoine Dodson became a meme partly because everyone who sees the Internet has a bit of racism in them. There’s no way to prove otherwise.
But if you’re giving a bare-bones definition of this meme and all you mention is “an impoverished black man living in the projects talking about the attempted rape of his sister,” then you’re claiming that the only relevant issues are race, socio-economic status, and crime.
This definition focuses solely on the context, ignoring what Antoine Dodson said and how he said it. In other words, Gabe’s definition takes away Antoine Dodson’s choice of words and his personality — his individuality — and reduces him to something you can easily fit into an argument. We can’t react to what Antoine Dodson said or did; we can only react to who he IS: a poor black man. What about his other characteristics? Is that all I should see? Yep.
It’s true that the Internet doesn’t care about the real people behind its laffs. The Internet is a bad place. But when you try to hold up a mirror to the Internet and show it how it’s being racist, be careful that you don’t show up in the reflection, too. (that’s a bit hash, you’re right. when you stand up and give an opinion, you’re making an easy target of yourself for all the shy assholes. sorry.)
As far as the term “spade”, before the 1920′s it wasn’t, but during that time and afterwords, it became a derogatory term. The phrase “calling a spade a spade” goes back to like the 16th century, but once some genius decided to call black people “spades” in the 20′s it has taken on a different meaning. I am a little troubled that you did not recognize it as such, because you seem to be a pretty knowledgable person, and for that to be outside of your purview is unsettling when you have such a strong opinion on the matter.
On the subject of this meme, you imply that there is something more than an “impoverished black man living in the projects talking about the attempted rape of his sister,” that is driving this popularity, but I don’t really know what that is. What is the aspect of this that people find so engaging?
On the subject of holding a mirror up to the internet and seeing racist tendencies in yourself, shit. I don’t need the internet to see that I do or say racist shit every now and then. Everyone does. The challenge is recognizing it and trying to change the way you look at the world.
I’m not good at the Internet — I don’t see the reply button below your most recent comment, Icy Mike.
I should have known about the racial definition of spade, you’re right. I grew up in the woods, if that’s any excuse. Also, I might have heard this use before, and it only came out just now subconsciously to express my fears of the black man! Maybe?
Anyway, the matter I have a strong opinion about is the interpretation of this meme, not the term spade. I contend that there is more to it than race and socio-economic status, yes. Of course. He said some ridiculous things! Part of how he said them might stem from black culture, and maybe when people are entertained by the meme they’re really being racist, but as far as I know, hiding your husbands to protect them from rape isn’t part of black culture.
You also missed that when he mentions how supposedly racist something is, he does so to an imaginary all white readership (e.g. all those “Being white is hard. Right guys?” comments, the idea that only white people are laughing at/with Antoine Dodson and so the humour must be based on his ethnicity, etc.)… like a racist.
I like to mash-up my costumes and see if people figure out who I am.
They usually don’t get it.
Hide ya stegs, hide ya trics. (sorry)
Heeeeey! Mine too. Some sexy ghost is messing up our comments!
Heeeeeey! Mine too. Some sexy ghost is messing up our comments (Also I can’t believe we jinks on hooks thing. Freaky)
I’m going as a sexy Ke$ha.
Hi all, dont worry to select which kind of costume you want to buy for this halloween, recently i have come across a site, there i saw all kinds of halloween costumes. you may have a look at the site http://www.mycouponbasket.com/stores/costume_kingdom/