Portlandia : Hipster Humor

Hipster Humor

It's not funny. It tries to be, but unfortunately fails. Same with Comedy Bang-Bang. No real comedy.

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Exactly! See my post "Rampant Arrogance in Portlandia"

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lol yeah I saw that. I think all these hipster comedies/comedians try to ride the wave of cultural hype/fad that their material has become. George Carlin was funny throughout his career. I don't see Portlandia or Comedy Bang-Bang being considered classics 20-30 years down the line. Whereas Carlin and Pryor are.

It's a hype and fad culture. In the past you watched comedians/comedy shows because they made you laugh so hard
your sides hurt. Now they watch to be considered "cool."

Those watching Portlandia or Comedy Bang-Bang wouldn't be caught dead tuning into say Larry the Cable Guy or Norm McDonald. Why? Because the latter are not "hip" enough to be given attention. Even if they are far more funnier.

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Who is this "they" you're talking about? This mysterious target audience you keep referring to. I watch this show because it ridicules the heck out of hipsters and yuppies, not because I am one. If you don't like the show, that's cool. You don't like it's purported "audience" well, then you're the one with issues. Don't try to idolize Carlin and Pryor like they're some kind of humor gods. They made a lot of crap too.

Funny thing is, I'll bet you ARE a hipster and that's why you don't like the show. You probably weren't even alive when Carlin and Pryor were doing comedy. Lemme guess, you dug comedy before comedy was "in" huh? ZOMG your post is so meta!!!

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Well the audience can watch whatever they want. It's a free country. I simply think the show garners a lot of attention because for the moment its considered "cool" and "hip" by the very audience tuning in, not because its funny.

Compared to Portlandia and Comedy Bang! Bang!, Carlin and Pryor were Gods. They did have their not so golden moments too.

I'm as much a hipster as a NASCAR crowd.

Wouldn't I like the show if I was a hipster? It is about hipsters. If the show makes fun of hipsters, it definitely needs new writers. Tired, old, over-repeated jokes. Nothing really resembling a plot. REAL comedy shows, had REAL humor. Like Seinfeld, Friends, Becker, Frasier, etc.

And you just gave yourself away. Not a hipster, my ass! You sure as hell are. Only hipsters follow with zeal that which is now. So what if I wasn't alive when Carlin was breaking into comedy? I wasn't alive when Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were at their peak. Still doesn't change the fact that Cool Hand Luke is one of my favorite movies.

I dug comedy before it was "in?" Only a hipster would make that comment. I dug comedy because it was comedy. Because it was funny and laughing makes me feel good. Lemme guess, you dug comedy AFTER it was "in." Right? After it was considered "cool." Because to be caught watching something not considered "cool" by a minority of social snobs would most certainly ostracize you from their crowd.

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Just wondering, MaxOcean4, since when is a plot required for comedy? lol.

Me thinks you over-analyze to the point of un-enjoyment. Just let it go.

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Agreed, i don't know how anyone can relax when they are spending so much time being critical (and ironically acting like some of the worst hipsters they claim to hate). It must be exhausting.

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Hipster isn't even an insult, so stop using it like one. It's just a word dull, tedious people use to describe people who they don't understand feel threatened by. It's actually a compliment.

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Portlandia is often hilarious. Hit or miss like all comedy, but when they miss I can at least appreciate what they were going for. When they hit, I laugh so hard my sides hurt. That's why I watch this. Absolutely nothing to do with being "hip."

Also, Norm MacDonald has been and remains one of my favorite comedians ever. So either I'm an outlier or your theory is wrong.

~Rebel

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>> Norm MacDonald has been and remains one of my favorite comedians ever. <<

"That Rikki Lake is some animal lover. She has three dogs, two cats, and a big a$$ that follows her everywhere." Wait, what? Classic Norm.

"I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others" Cleaver Greene

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Yeah a lot of unfunny shows keep getting renewed. Two and a Half Men stopped being funny when Charlie Sheen left the show. And it still got renewed. Reneweal is not an indication of anything, just wether it's commercial or not.

It has enough ratings because people still stick around hoping it's going to become funny, or it's that fad/hype "cool" factor that wannabe hipsters crave. It doesn't matter if it's not funny, just so as long as you're seen watching the show. That's all that matters for those seeking entrance into the hipster social status.

It's like being seen at the right club, or with the right people. It's the hype and fad that elevates something mediocre into stardom. And Portlandia is a prime example of that. Getting renewed? That's almost irrelevant. Because it wasn't its comedic prowess that got it renewed. It was it's hyped up cultural appeal. And for now Hipsters are the new "it." Once the Hipster mania dies down, these cultural phenomena usually last a decade, maybe more, who knows we'll see unfunny shows about some other sub-cultural group. Who will remain on TV not because of its comedic merits, but because people will desperately watch them for the flicker of a hope in being considered a part of which ever future hyped sub-culture group will come to dominate the arts and fashion.

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Blah blah blah. Go tell someone who cares.

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Ok. It's alright if you don't have a rebuttal right away. Take your time Blah Blah Blah Man.

Alright that was juvenile. I apologize.

You don't have to take it so personally. It's just a TV show.

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I was just posting my constructive criticism of the shows' purported humor. If you want to call it diatribe, well that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. It's a free country.more or less.

As you yourself said. It's just a TV show. So why get upset and lurch into personal attacks? I'd rather welcome a thoughtful and concise rebuttal on my critique of the shows' lack of humor. And if you don't feel like doing that, that's alright too. I wish you a nice day and happy readings on the IMDB board. Ciao.

Re: Hipster Humor


You don't have to take it so personally. It's just a TV show.




so says the person rampantly dumping on a show for being "unfunny" and pandering to hipster "elitists". Jesus, dont take it so personally yourself..Your blatant hostility for the "cool" hipster sub culture is outing you as a very uncool and uptight killjoy. humor is subjectivefor instance, I find Portlandia to be full of quirky, silly and ironic humorI am not, nor will I ever be considered a hipster, and I did not start watching the show until recently, so clearly its not because the show is a "fad" that keeps me watching it.so your point is moot. And while we are speaking of subjectivity.George Carlin is one of the most unfunny and over-rated comedians I've ever had the displeasure of watching.. Obviously this show is not your brand of humoryoure welcome to your opinion, but dont bother coming on these boards trying to convince people that the show is only popular because its "trending"

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I like Portlandia because making fun of pretentious, self-righteous aholes is funny. I don't really pay much mind to the hipster stuff, but the show is very absurdist and satirical. It makes me laugh, unlike Two and Half Men which was never funny, Sheen or no Sheen.

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!

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yes indeed, cheezmunky - if you can't see that Portlandia is SATIRICAL then you probably won't enjoy it. Fred and Carrie are certainly hipsters in every traditional sense, but they also happen to be SELF-AWARE hipsters and see the hilarity in that kind of earnestness. They are able to satirize 'hipsterism' so effectively because they understand hipsterism so deeply!

Have any of you people watched "Trailer Park Boys"? Its the flipside of the same coin - both shows satirize people who, because of their deep insecurity TAKE THEMSELVES AND THEIR LIFESTYLE TOO SERIOUSLY and feel it enables them to act superior to others simply because of the lifestyle they espouse. Even ignorant trailer trash are guilty of this!

Get it?


"A sword is useless in the hands of a coward" - Nichiren Daishonin

Re: Hipster Humor

Surprisingly I find the show very funny and the thought of me watching it because of other reasons in which you've stated, "as long as you're seen watching it" has never crossed my mind. Yes, there are several people who just watch the show because its hip but I really don't care and you shouldn't either. This world is filled with people like that including the media. The show shouldn't be criticized because of it's audience.
& also it's a sketch comedy not a sitcom so it shouldn't be compared to a show like Friends or Seinfeld.

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Hipster.

Such a hip word to use at the moment, perhaps ironically. Usually used by bitter old trolls who can't stand that they're too old to appreciate something new.

Seriously, if you want your opinions to be taken seriously, stop relying on essentially meaningless buzzwords.

And with regards to the showobviously your opinion is in the minority.

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Hipsters? So, if someone wears a dorky hat and has a piece of wire sticking out of his face, that makes him hip? There are so many of these ridiculous looking clowns around today that any weirdo-distinction that might have at one time come from dressing funny and having tattoos has turned into nothing more than a silly mainstream fad.

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Seems like your reply is disconnected from the person your replying to, or you just ignore what people say because you're so eager to start bitching.

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Thanks Spike.

*

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Portlandia mostly makes fun of hipster and scene sillness.

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You understand that this show is making FUN of hipsters, right? I'd think that would mean you would like it, since you're clearly basing your opinions on whether something is "hipster" or not, rather than its actual quality.

        palindromes are rasemordnilap
. .

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Exactly. I don't get why people go out of their way to hate comedy shows. Lol

On every board for comedy shows some people are so disdainful and angry because that particular type of comedy doesn't make them laugh. So they have to label the show and everyone that watches and likes it as something they can't stand to show everyone else hw above it all they are. Like they're some consumer watchdog protecting the public from indulging in laughing at something they don't approve of. " I don't find that cool or funny so if you laugh at that, you're not cool like me."

Comedy is subjective. TV is voluntary. Laughter, fun, ad joy have no labels. If something makes you laugh it's funny; if it doesn't it's not funny to you. ONe person can't determine what's funny to another person or why it's funny. ONe person's need to hate a show, the show's humor or style, or the people that love the show has noting to do with anything but that person's own issues.

If the show lasts long it's because tit entertained enough people. That's all it has to do. It doesn't and can't entertain everyone. That's why there are s many different types of comedy shows out there for all of us to choose from. But if they have no sense of humor and hate the fact that other people may find different things funny, then maybe comedy is just not their thing. It's all in fun and not anything to be mad at.

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Maybe if the 2 main characters didn't look like aliens. There comedy is for the same idiots that like extra, today, ect. Brainless shows made for idiots.

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It'd be a lot funnier for somebody whose attitudes didn't lock him into forgettable mid-90's rom-coms. You have to actually know a hipster or two to get it. Somebody still hung up on Gross Pointe Blank probably doesn't.


Do Ditko inks make my hips look fat?

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don't you know? hipsters chuckle at the outrageous irony of just about anything you put in front of them, so they don't actually NEED any humor specifically designed for their demographic.

that said, i think that the show has it's moments, but when you start satirizing people who think, dress, & act like the whole world is merely out there for the sole purpose of their own ironic (read: hi-LAR-ious) entertainment, then you're running out of good ideas.

 (spoiler)

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It's funny in that it exposes what it's like to live in Oregon in general. Visit a Market of Choice or a bus station or downtown.. even the smallest towns in Oregon to the biggest towns like Portland are like this.

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corvallis vibes abound in this show.



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