The Big Picture: Dumping Irony

[CrazyGirl17]

Well said, Bob. I kinda think the internet's interpretation of "Irony" is overrated.

According this vocabulary book I have, the definition of irony is: "Hidden sarcasm or satire; use of words that convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning."

Huh. Wonder how one would show that...

 

[Jayemsal]

No, Norris is not "a nice guy". He is notoriously bat shit hyper-religious crazy. He has publicly stated that he literally believes that the POTUS is the antichrist. Yea, he's one of THOSE people.

 

[Vault Citizen]

I' don't use the phrase guilty pleasure myself because I haven't had one for years, I used to feel bad about liking Pokemon in my mid teens at boarding school and I felt bad about liking Powerpuff girls and Sailor Moon a few years earlier but I haven't felt anything comparable since then.

 

[ace_of_something]

While I don't remember watching Karate Kommandos (I was maybe 6 or 7 from the date you posted). I definitely had the claw main bad guy toy. It could squeeze people and spin them.

 

[theSteamSupported]

Out there, there's at least one person, who genuinely prefers Pitbull over Vivaldi. Think about that.

Seriously, if there's anything I hate more than "ironic appreciation" and "guilty pleasure", it's people who tell others "This movie/game/song/book/etc. SUCKS and anyone who likes it has an objectively bad taste". Urgh.

 

[UrinalDook]

Bob sunk his own argument. Chuck Norris; Karate Commandos looks GLORIOUS. It couldn't stop laughing at how many times they said "Chuck Norris" and the whole "A Sumo Champion!... *GONG*" made the whole thing even funnier. It's the epitome of why "So bad it's good" enjoyment works.

Yeah, pretty much this. I feel like I've completely missed Bob's argument here, because Karate Kommandos (seriously???) looks incredible. Did they really call the sumo guy a Japanese-d up 'Tubby'? And the guy defeating the crocodile by shoving a stick in its mouth... oh man, it looks awesome.

Also, the villain! Did you see the size of his motherchucking claw? That shit was dope.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

No, Norris is not "a nice guy". He is notoriously bat shit hyper-religious crazy. He has publicly stated that he literally believes that the POTUS is the antichrist. Yea, he's one of THOSE people.

>.> Really? He said Obama is the antichrist?
I don't suppose you can give a link to that? Don't want to call ya a liar, but that is something I don't want to take on face value.

 

[rayen020]

I very unironically like Walker Texas Ranger. Maybe this has more to do with I grew up in Texas and seeing a place I have been to and can go to on TV was/is cool. Texas doesn't get filmed very often modern day so while everything else is in New York, those few Episodes that took place in DFW were really special.

This even carries over today. I loooove Fast'n'Loud. However i do not work on cars, i know nothing about cars or how they really work (i know gas goes in and explodes moving the pistons which somehow turns the wheels. But WTF is the Cadalidic Converter and why does mine keep breaking?), and i know nothing about how much cars should be worth, how they're sold and what the difference between air ride and normal suspension is. Yet i love watching that show because Gas Monkey garage is in Dallas and I have been on those roads and to those places and it's fun to see them on TV.

 

[Jayemsal]

No, Norris is not "a nice guy". He is notoriously bat shit hyper-religious crazy. He has publicly stated that he literally believes that the POTUS is the antichrist. Yea, he's one of THOSE people.

>.> Really? He said Obama is the antichrist?
I don't suppose you can give a link to that? Don't want to call ya a liar, but that is something I don't want to take on face value.

[youtube]d47tQp3IAC0[/youtube]

there ya go, this embed will probably fail

http://youtu.be/d47tQp3IAC0

link otherwise

 

[Anchupom]

Well, now I want to go find that Chuck Norris cartoon.

 

[loa]

I'm not sure I follow?
That chuck norris cartoon looked glorious!

 

[Imp_Emissary]

No, Norris is not "a nice guy". He is notoriously bat shit hyper-religious crazy. He has publicly stated that he literally believes that the POTUS is the antichrist. Yea, he's one of THOSE people.

>.> Really? He said Obama is the antichrist?
I don't suppose you can give a link to that? Don't want to call ya a liar, but that is something I don't want to take on face value.

[youtube]d47tQp3IAC0[/youtube]

there ya go, this embed will probably fail

http://youtu.be/d47tQp3IAC0

link otherwise

HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! xD I remember this! How could I forget this?!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

He and his wife didn't outright say it, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out what he is talking about.
Here this is how ya need to put the video in the post.
Ya go youtube and then put in this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d47tQp3IAC0&feature=youtu.be, but remove everything before the v in front of the = (v=). Ya put the whole thing inside [ ].

xD Thanks again for that!

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Obligatory
...[/youtube]

 

[geier]

Uhm.... stupid question from someone not US based:
Why is the title of the show "Chuck Norris: Karate Kommando", written with a "K" ?

Shouldn't it be Commando, with a "C" ?

 

[Blade_125]

We're generation X. We experience neither spiritual highs nor lows.

Really? What's that like?

Meh.

 

[Xenedus]

Uhm.... stupid question from someone not US based:
Why is the title of the show "Chuck Norris: Karate Kommando", written with a "K" ?

Shouldn't it be Commando, with a "C" ?

Yes it is supposed to be a C but occasionally companies will substitute other letters in the titles as a marketing gimmick.

Basically they just did it so that Commando would synch better with Karate. It also probably makes it easier to trademark the title.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I feel like the whole 'like what you like' idea is pretty recent, so people aren't used to it yet. I mean, the whole gay rights movement is all about people being allowed to enjoy things that other people don't like or understand. Before, with things like civil rights, it was about giving all humans equality, but now we've moved past physical forms and into mental and emotional ones, dealing with the rights of thoughts and feelings rather than bodies. Unfortunately, giving people the freedom to think what they want to isn't as fun as it sounds, as can be seen in almost any flame war. I think the real problem isn't that people are afraid to be themselves, but that they fear the backlash from their peers. When people come out and tell the world that they like things that are stupid or bad or even mildly offensive, it's the job of the world to accept that. Within reason, of course, but where we have to draw the line is impossible to know.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

I think the elephant in the room that Bob forgot to mention, was that for Generation X, enjoying pop culture was a taboo. Whereas for Generation Y and beyond, it's something that is celebrated, and almost required to exist.

We're living in different times. Generation Xers grew up with their elders hating every kind of music or entertainment made after 1975, and were told we were worthless for liking it. Current generations basically grow up with constant approval, and their parents feeding them whatever media they like, or at least allowing them access to what they want.

We didn't have the internet to satiate ourselves, we were fed what the Baby Boomers and even "The Greatest Generation" wanted us to see, with little choice in the matter. Speaking of Generation X, I thought in the last episode, Bob mentioned that he was in his early 30s or something? That's Generation Y, not X.

 

[geier]

Thanks Xenedus, i thought so.

 

[Caostotale]

For me, the whole irony thing showed itself as a deep, cynical, and desperate blight when crap like the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels/movie took off. "Oh look, he's in a band with the word Bob-omb....(groan)....oh look, there's a Smashing Pumpkins Zero t-shirt.....(wanders off to shoot one's self)."

I knew something eerie was afoot at that point, when irony had evolved from an artistic device into a form of entertainment currency. For me, irony certainly has a very distinct shelf-life but recent years have shown that it can quickly rot into the stylish nihilism that characterizes the worst short-run hipster crud we've been seeing more and more of in the arts, in entertainment, in attitudes, and in dialogue.