# Is The Harlem Shake really the new Gangnam Style?



## KingVamp (Feb 10, 2013)

No, not that one.
This one.

and many others.
Have you been watching these videos? What do you guys think about this? Funny, stupid, or even both? Going make your own harlem shake videos? Post it here. While you gather your thoughts, I'll leave you with this.


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## Forstride (Feb 10, 2013)

It's an actual trend, unlike Gangnam Style, where people just made a bunch of fucking garbage parodies of it.  The videos are funny, short (Which is one big factor that makes it less annoying), and I don't really mind this trend catching on TBH.


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## Veho (Feb 10, 2013)

KingVamp said:


> Is The Harlem Shake really the new Gangnam Style?


No. It's not.


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## frogboy (Feb 10, 2013)

I have not seen one person do the Harlem Shake, as opposed to the hundreds of _"cool kids"_ who do Gangnam Style at school.

it never should have left South Korea.


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## Jax (Feb 10, 2013)

IMO, the Jesus Lean is the new Gangnam Style


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## Wombo Combo (Feb 10, 2013)




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## Depravo (Feb 10, 2013)

I didn't realise Gangnam Style was the old Gangnam Style.


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## Guild McCommunist (Feb 10, 2013)

Well Gangnam Style became popular not because of the dance, but also the music video. I mean the dance also became famous but a lot of people remember the music video (hence the billion-plus views on Youtube).

I've never heard of the Harlem Shake either.

But like every single "meme" it'll get old and overused in a matter of days. If a popular video that capitalizes on the Harlem Shake emerges, you'll see the flood of horrific parodies (like Gangnam Style or any other meme) emerge.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Feb 10, 2013)

Oh come on! Please don't make Baauer annoying, what the fuck!


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## gamefan5 (Feb 10, 2013)

Baauer - Harlem Shake for those who do not know, is trap music.

A funny and entertaining one at that. But yeah, no it's a far cry from being Gangnam style bro.


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## Gahars (Feb 10, 2013)

I haven't even heard of it until now, so probably not, no.


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## DinohScene (Feb 10, 2013)

If it's stupid and on facebook, yeh it'll become popular.

For me, I hardly care.


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## Jamstruth (Feb 10, 2013)

I hope not. Reason: Gangnam Style actually sounds decent while this is just generic dance music whooping.

Yes. I actually like Gangnam Style. Sue me.


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## Sychophantom (Feb 10, 2013)

Jax said:


> IMO, the Jesus Lean is the new Gangnam Style




Screw the Jesus Lean. The Riker lean is where it's at.

http://rikerlean.ytmnd.com/


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## HtheB (Feb 10, 2013)

Best version of Harlem Shake ever...


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## Wizerzak (Feb 10, 2013)

In the mean time, Gangnam Style has gained more views than all these videos in <24 hours.


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## Veho (Feb 10, 2013)

The Flop is the next Gangnam Style.


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## yuyuyup (Feb 10, 2013)

Soldier Boy has the best dances (Besides Crunchy Black)


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## The Catboy (Feb 10, 2013)

I have never even heard of the Harlem Shake


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## MelodieOctavia (Feb 10, 2013)

The difference between The Harlem Shake and Gangnam Style is, there is a much higher level of making a Gangnam Style parody as opposed to the average "LOL OMG SO RANDOM XD" with a webcam making a Harlem Shake video. With the average short length of the clips, and the minimal video editing it takes to actually make one of these, you'll not only notice the mass influx of these videos, overshadowing even that of Gangnam Style, but it will also hit mainstream media even faster, thus ending it's cycle as fast as it came. A figurative cloudburst of Internet culture.


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## ThatDudeWithTheFood (Feb 10, 2013)

yuyuyup said:


> Soldier Boy has the best dances (Besides Crunchy Black)



Soldier Boy?
BOY WE TALKIN SOULJA


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## pyromaniac123 (Feb 10, 2013)

Ain't nobody got anything on this guy.


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## ShadowSoldier (Feb 10, 2013)

WHY THE FUCK IS THIS THREAD WORTHY?!?!

Seriously, dancing has become such a fucking joke. Remember when Dancing was.. you know, actually having moves and not looking like you're having a fucking stroke?

6:38


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## narutofan777 (Feb 10, 2013)

this is some wack stuff that's trending.

i feel like a [email protected] for reading about this st00f. I m talking about harlem shake, dude not ur thread.

how the beep beep did it make headlines???

i'm gonna stay away from the news for a few days.


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## Brian117 (Feb 10, 2013)

Harlem Shake > Gangnam


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## ShadowSoldier (Feb 10, 2013)

Brian117 said:


> Harlem Shake > Gangnam


 
They're both stupid and retarded and anybody who does it deserves to be slapped with a rotten fish. But at least Gangnam is actually funny.


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## WolfSpider (Feb 13, 2013)

I think the Harlem Shake will die out in a moth or so, but that's just my opinion.


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## Gahars (Feb 13, 2013)

WolfSpider said:


> I think the Harlem Shake will die out in a moth or so, but that's just my opinion.


 
A month? You're too generous.


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## KingVamp (Feb 13, 2013)

Gahars said:


> A month? You're too generous.


Only got two more weeks to stay around to be a month.


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## Sop (Feb 13, 2013)

gangnam style was bet- oh wait, i prefer trap-tards to- fuck that's one hard decision.

in conclusion, they're both shit.


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## Sicklyboy (Feb 13, 2013)

One of the best I've seen.

THE GUY ON THE LEFT HAS AN ICE CREAM CONE WITH PANCAKES ON IT WHAT



ShadowSoldier said:


> WHY THE FUCK IS THIS THREAD WORTHY?!?!
> 
> [...]


 
Because it's a forum where we discuss shit?  General Off-Topic Chat for a reason, dude.


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## qwertymodo (Feb 13, 2013)

My favorite so far:


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## Hanafuda (Feb 13, 2013)

Stupid, but a few stand out.





I was impressed by this one. Pretty bold when you consider most of the people who watch the evening news are waaaaay too old to get it.



And this one is definitely the best.


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## Bake (Feb 14, 2013)

Been a while since I saw something so obscurely retarded. It's literally making me vomit.


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## Sicklyboy (Feb 14, 2013)

Bake said:


> Been a while since I saw something so obscurely retarded. It's literally making me vomit.


 
I'm sorry your stomach is so weak if it's literally making you vomit.


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## Bake (Feb 14, 2013)

Sicklyboy said:


> I'm sorry your stomach is so weak if it's literally making you vomit.


 
You better be.


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## urbanman2004 (Feb 14, 2013)

wth! when I heard about this dance, i thought it was a resurgence of a dance with the same name that became popular in the early 2000s in a bunch of rap videos, not this bullshit. that's not the original harlem shake.

And it will be shortlived like planking.


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## ProtoKun7 (Feb 15, 2013)

No, because I hadn't heard of it.

If I haven't heard of it it's not worth hearing about.


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## Blood Fetish (Feb 15, 2013)

ITT: Everyone is too cool for school.


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## Nah3DS (Feb 16, 2013)




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## Sicklyboy (Feb 16, 2013)

NahuelDS said:


>


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## Nah3DS (Feb 16, 2013)

​​


Spoiler



































Spoiler



D: 










































​


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## KingVamp (Feb 16, 2013)

As funny as that is, this isn't the EOF.

I got to say, that video I posted before is one of my favs.


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## CrimzonEyed (Feb 16, 2013)




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## Gahars (Feb 16, 2013)

CrimzonEyed said:


>




PewDiePie is the absolute worst at everything. I've never seen someone try so hard to be so grating, obnoxious, and juvenile.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Feb 16, 2013)

My school decided to do one at our talent show last night. The fucking worst >.<


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## Deleted-236924 (Feb 16, 2013)

Blood Fetish said:


> ITT: Everyone is too cool for school.


There's the word "cool" in "school."


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## Sicklyboy (Feb 16, 2013)

Gahars said:


> PewDiePie is the absolute worst at everything. I've never seen someone try so hard to be so grating, obnoxious, and juvenile.


 
He's about as shitty as Youtube gets.


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## Attila13 (Feb 16, 2013)

Well, I don't think that Harlem Shake is the new Gangnam Style, but for a starnge reason, that even I'm surprised about, but I thought that this video is fucking hilarious and WTF at the same moment...  



Just like Costello said a couple of times, that GBATemp is PG 18 (sometimes)! Now's the same... 



Costello said:


> GBAtemp now PG-18 ... I'm sure that's going to draw a lot more people in !
> congrats to the team behind this for the excellent marketing... yeah... hmm





Costello said:


> GBAtemp, still PG 18


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## totalnoob617 (Feb 16, 2013)




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## KingVamp (Feb 17, 2013)

Nintendo should do one for SSB.


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## jacksprat1990 (Feb 17, 2013)

Who cares? They're both sh*te.


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## duffmmann (Feb 17, 2013)

It honestly makes me a little sad that this is what our evolution has come to.  Harlem Shake is the latest viral video thats gotten huge, but its so depressing to me, that this is now the norm, there's going to be plenty of other new viral videos that catch on like wildfire, and thats just how its going to be.  And sure some of the viral videos will be a bit creative, but what fun is creativity without originality?


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## Gahars (Feb 17, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> It honestly makes me a little sad that this is what our evolution has come to. Harlem Shake is the latest viral video thats gotten huge, but its so depressing to me, that this is now the norm, there's going to be plenty of other new viral videos that catch on like wildfire, and thats just how its going to be. And sure some of the viral videos will be a bit creative, but what fun is creativity without originality?


 
Dumb fads are nothing new; the only thing different is that they spring up on the internet now. They spread quicker but burn out and die sooner. There's no real harm in it, and ignoring it is pretty easy.

If we could weather the macarena and the pet rock without a hitch, I think we're going to be okay.


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## Alexrose (Feb 17, 2013)

The Harlem Shake is like.. the new Migraine Skank. Nothing like Gangnam Style.


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## duffmmann (Feb 17, 2013)

Gahars said:


> Dumb fads are nothing new; the only thing different is that they spring up on the internet now. They spread quicker but burn out and die sooner. There's no real harm in it, and ignoring it is pretty easy.
> 
> If we could weather the macarena and the pet rock without a hitch, I think we're going to be okay.


 
Well exactly.  I mean I know there were always fads before, but now the fads are going to be _everywhere.  _And they're just gonna get worse and worse, I'd take the Macarena over The Harlem Shake anyday because it was never intended to be what the Harlem Shake clearly set out to be, The Macarena was genuinely meant to be a song by a band with a dance, and thats it.  The Harlem Shake was made to be recreated by everyone, and we're going to continue to see that kind of crap more and more often.  Its going to get to a point, where we have The Harlem Shake one day, and then the next day everyone has already moved on to "the next thing."

My real point though, is because of junk like this, people are being less and less encouraged to create youtube footage that is original and instead create their own version of something already on youtube.  Heck, there are people making money on youtube by only having videos of them reacting to the latest fad/someone else's take on The Harlem Shake etc.  Its depressing.  Its the same thing you see happening in movies, tv, and videos games.  Everything is getting remade, sequels, prequels, spinoffs, etc.  Sure some of this content is great, but I'm just depressed by how originality seems to be disappearing because of more and more junk like this.


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## Alexrose (Feb 17, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> Well exactly. I mean I know there were always fads before, but now the fads are going to be _everywhere. _And they're just gonna get worse and worse, I'd take the Macarena over The Harlem Shake anyday because it was never intended to be what the Harlem Shake clearly set out to be, The Macarena was genuinely meant to be a song by a band with a dance, and thats it. The Harlem Shake was made to be recreated by everyone, and we're going to continue to see that kind of crap more and more often. Its going to get to a point, where we have The Harlem Shake one day, and then the next day everyone has already moved on to "the next thing."
> 
> My real point though, is because of junk like this, people are being less and less encouraged to create youtube footage that is original and instead create their own version of something already on youtube. Heck, there are people making money on youtube by only having videos of them reacting to the latest fad/someone else's take on The Harlem Shake etc. Its depressing. Its the same thing you see happening in movies, tv, and videos games. Everything is getting remade, sequels, prequels, spinoffs, etc. Sure some of this content is great, but I'm just depressed by how originality seems to be disappearing because of more and more junk like this.


 
Are you joking?

When it wasn't AYBABTU, Chip 'n Dale's MMORPG, Metal Gear Awesome and the Llama Song it was.. Happy Tree Friends, everything on Weebl's stuff, Ultimate Showdown and Fatpie. Then came along Smosh, TWK etc. Youtube Poops, over 9000, Sparta Techno Remix, Potter Puppet Pals. Arnold Schwarzanegger references and Ventrilo Harassment. Then fail videos picked up, caturday and image macros went everywhere, which turned into Demotivators, Shitbrix stuff and all Today's Big Thing stuff. Even the whole shitty Let's Play genre, and the whole of Minecraft's playerbase are largely based on people who follow shitty fads.

Literally, the internet has been fad after fad. A couple of years ago we had Friday. Only a little over a year ago everyone was constantly making "Arrow to the Knee" references. Half a year ago we had Gangnam Style. Harlem Shake is nothing in comparison to any of these, and nothing new.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> Are you joking?
> 
> When it wasn't AYBABTU, Chip 'n Dale's MMORPG, Metal Gear Awesome and the Llama Song it was.. Happy Tree Friends, everything on Weebl's stuff, Ultimate Showdown and Fatpie. Then came along Smosh, TWK etc. Youtube Poops, over 9000, Sparta Techno Remix, Potter Puppet Pals. Arnold Schwarzanegger references and Ventrilo Harassment. Then fail videos picked up, caturday and image macros went everywhere, which turned into Demotivators, Shitbrix stuff and all Today's Big Thing stuff. Even the whole shitty Let's Play genre, and the whole of Minecraft's playerbase are largely based on people who follow shitty fads.
> 
> Literally, the internet has been fad after fad. A couple of years ago we had Friday. Only a little over a year ago everyone was constantly making "Arrow to the Knee" references. Half a year ago we had Gangnam Style. Harlem Shake is nothing in comparison to any of these, and nothing new.


 

haha I'm not saying that Harlem Shake is the start of it, not by a long-shot.  What I am saying is, the Harlem Shake is the first to make me realize how little originality seems to be left, or at least how few people are willing to work to be original anymore, not when they can make their own Harlem Shake, their own Lets Play, their own meme, etc etc.


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## Alexrose (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> haha I'm not saying that Harlem Shake is the start of it, not by a long-shot. What I am saying is, the Harlem Shake is the first to make me realize how little originality seems to be left, or at least how few people are willing to work to be original anymore, not when they can make their own Harlem Shake, their own Lets Play, their own meme, etc etc.


 
It's not at all a bad thing, it's the nature of humanity. We need memetics. Our genes haven't changed much in the past 60,000 years, just our memes. At birth you are no different from a caveman, the only thing that differentiates you is the advancement of society and thought. Ideas that we like propogate through huge portions of our population, and we seek to replicate and strengthen ideas we like. It's what's responsible for our morals, law, mathematics and language. It's also responsible for the Soulja Boy dance, Lip Sync videos and Religion, but overall it is the most powerful and important tool we have. Innovation is best created by a small proportion of talented people, and spread by a large proportion of untalented people.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> It's not at all a bad thing, it's the nature of humanity. We need memetics. Our genes haven't changed much in the past 60,000 years, just our memes. At birth you are no different from a caveman, the only thing that differentiates you is the advancement of society and thought. Ideas that we like propogate through huge portions of our population, and we seek to replicate and strengthen ideas we like. It's what's responsible for our morals, law, mathematics and language. It's also responsible for the Soulja Boy dance, Lip Sync videos and Religion, but overall it is the most powerful and important tool we have. Innovation is best created by a small proportion of talented people, and spread by a large proportion of untalented people.


 
I know its the nature of humanity, hence why I said its saddening to me that this is what our evolution has led to.  None of this shit matters.  We're talking about Harlem Shake today, but tomorrow it will be the next retarded thing that everyone is copying and making youtube videos of and no one will be talking about the Harlem Shake anymore.  If you like it, god bless ya, but it's just very depressing to me.


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## Alexrose (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> I know its the nature of humanity, hence why I said its saddening to me that this is what our evolution has led to. None of this shit matters. We're talking about Harlem Shake today, but tomorrow it will be the next retarded thing that everyone is copying and making youtube videos of and no one will be talking about the Harlem Shake anymore. If you like it, god bless ya, but it's just very depressing to me.


 
If evolution didn't lead to us valuing memetics, we'd would be living in caves. We wouldn't care what other people come up with, we would have to rediscover, reinvent and relearn everything that any human has ever known every single generation. It would be like playing an RPG and resetting your game progress every day.

I don't like the Harlem Shake videos, but I don't care. They'll be gone in a month. What's slightly more depressing is that Trap has dethroned Dubstep, for the forseeable next few years, so all clubs will be playing music that builds up to nothing, instead of having drops, but that's the way it goes. All you can do is keep up with ideas as they go along, instead of becoming some old miser who scorns all new technology that everyone else enjoys.


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## Gahars (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> Well exactly. I mean I know there were always fads before, but now the fads are going to be _everywhere. _And they're just gonna get worse and worse, I'd take the Macarena over The Harlem Shake anyday because it was never intended to be what the Harlem Shake clearly set out to be, The Macarena was genuinely meant to be a song by a band with a dance, and thats it. The Harlem Shake was made to be recreated by everyone, and we're going to continue to see that kind of crap more and more often.


 
Fads were like that even before the internet, and fads have been with society since the very beginnings of society.

And how do you even measure which is "worse" anyway? They're just two strands from the same cloth; "intention" or whatnot doesn't make a difference. Using your logic, the Macarena was bad because it encouraged people to imitate its dance rather than come up with their own.

Your entire point is moot anyway because the Harlem Shake wasn't created just to be imitated - it was a segment from some relatively unknown Youtuber that caught on and spread organically.



> Its going to get to a point, where we have The Harlem Shake one day, and then the next day everyone has already moved on to "the next thing."


 
That is, quite literally, how it's always been.


> My real point though, is because of junk like this, people are being less and less encouraged to create youtube footage that is original and instead create their own version of something already on youtube. Heck, there are people making money on youtube by only having videos of them reacting to the latest fad/someone else's take on The Harlem Shake etc. Its depressing. Its the same thing you see happening in movies, tv, and videos games. Everything is getting remade, sequels, prequels, spinoffs, etc. Sure some of this content is great, but I'm just depressed by how originality seems to be disappearing because of more and more junk like this.


 
Bull and shit. As I keep stressing, there have always been fads - and yet creative types still kept putting out original works. Exactly nothing has changed. (Besides, the Harlem Shake videos are, what, 30 secs max? People make one and move on - it's not like they're chained to it forever).

Is there shitty, unoriginal stuff out there? Sure, but (as the recurring theme goes), that's nothing new. There's always been shit, and there always will be shit. The thing is, the crap gets largely forgotten by history; the genuinely great stuff gets recognized, passed down, and immortalized. William Shakespeare, the single greatest writer in the English language (or, indeed, any language), only had modest success in his lifetime.

If anything, with the internet allowing more and more people to express themselves in new and creative ways, the amount of quality material produced is on the rise. This is not the death of culture; it's a renaissance. You're crying over a bottle of milk that hasn't been spilled.

If you used a little perspective here, you'd see that, of all society's ills, people dancing to a song means absolutely nothing.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> If evolution didn't lead to us valuing memetics, we'd would be living in caves. We wouldn't care what other people come up with, we would have to rediscover, reinvent and relearn everything that any human has ever known every single generation. It would be like playing an RPG and resetting your game progress every day.
> 
> I don't like the Harlem Shake videos, but I don't care. They'll be gone in a month. What's slightly more depressing is that Trap has dethroned Dubstep, for the forseeable next few years, so all clubs will be playing music that builds up to nothing, instead of having drops, but that's the way it goes. All you can do is keep up with ideas as they go along, instead of becoming some old miser who scorns all new technology that everyone else enjoys.


 

Our evolution could have led in infinite direction, I dunno about you, but I believe in the idea of the multiverse.  At any moment we can make and decision and act on it.  We as a human species have embraced the idea of parodying every damn thing that was once original, it didn't have to be that way, but it is that way.  I understand it, and I'm aware of all the latest junk, but I am not a fan for the most part.  So many of these people are wasting time making their own Harlem Shake videos when they could be spending that same time perfecting an artform of their own.  They could be mastering an instrument, painting the next great mural, writing a fantastic new screenplay, but instead choose to spend that time copying something that someone else already made.  I get where you're coming from, but I think we could have such a better more advanced society if everyone was instead more focused on leaving their own unique footprint, instead of copying along with what the masses have decided is the next thing worth parodying. 

I do get that if something is unique enough to be parodied, then that means they must have been original themselves, but I just feel like parodies themselves are a waste of time.  We can appreciate unique artwork without copying it.  Imagine how much better our world would be without Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, etc, but still with the films that inspired those parodies.


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## Alexrose (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> Our evolution could have led in infinite direction, I dunno about you, but I believe in the idea of the multiverse. At any moment we can make and decision and act on it. We as a human species have embraced the idea of parodying every damn thing that was once original, it didn't have to be that way, but it is that way. I understand it, and I'm aware of all the latest junk, but I am not a fan for the most part. So many of these people are wasting time making their own Harlem Shake videos when they could be spending that same time perfecting an artform of their own. They could be mastering an instrument, painting the next great mural, writing a fantastic new screenplay, but instead choose to spend that time copying something that someone else already made. I get where you're coming from, but I think we could have such a better more advanced society if everyone was instead more focused on leaving their own unique footprint, instead of copying along with what the masses have decided is the next thing worth parodying.
> 
> I do get that if something is unique enough to be parodied, then that means they must have been original themselves, but I just feel like parodies themselves are a waste of time. We can appreciate unique artwork without copying it. Imagine how much better our world would be without Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, etc, but still with the films that inspired those parodies.


 
You believe in a multiverse. Interesting that, because you didn't come up with the idea of a multiverse, it predates you by a long way.

They're spending 30 fucking seconds making a Harlem Shake video. You probably spent 2 minutes on that post you just made. Why aren't *you* painting a mural? You are just.. all talk. People aren't 100% productive, creative, innovative, original and useful 100% of the time. If you want to go to a scoiety where everyone is focusing on getting shit done, go to North Korea.

All those films you named, saying you wish just the original films were around. The reason Scary Movie etc. appeared in the first place was because there WASN'T originality in the first place. It was a parody of the generic Scary Film template that was already being used by so many. And every good film has drawn inspiration from some other film, some novel, some series. Even the idea of making a film is an idea stolen from decades of other humans perfecting the technology to MAKE films. If everyone was out being "original", one guy would work on making the pinhole camera, everyone else would go "Well, that's his idea, I'm off to do something else" and we would have no television.

And quite why you would want everyone to be their own special snowflake is beyond me. Every youtube video would have 1 view - the uploader. Why would you bother watching other people's things when you're busy being fulfilling, original, creative and amazing yourself.

Like, literally, what the fuck are you doing with your life that's so great that you can judge people who spend a couple of minutes making a silly video?


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Gahars said:


> Fads were like that even before the internet, and fads have been with society since the very beginnings of society.
> 
> And how do you even measure which is "worse" anyway? They're just two strands from the same cloth; "intention" or whatnot doesn't make a difference. Using your logic, the Macarena was bad because it encouraged people to imitate its dance rather than come up with their own.
> 
> ...


 

You're just not getting it, every moment you spent copying something thats already established, is time taken away from being original.  Let me point to my favorite drummer Travis Barker.   If he spent his youth only covering drummers he admires and not trying to adapt and create his own style, he wouldn't be half the drummer he is today.  He might still be famous for being naturally talented, but he wouldn't be as amazing as he is.  I seriously wonder if he would be nearly as amazing is if he grew up watching youtube videos and only posting drum covers of himself copying another established drummers style.


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## Gahars (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> ]I do get that if something is unique enough to be parodied, then that means they must have been original themselves, but I just feel like parodies themselves are a waste of time. We can appreciate unique artwork without copying it. Imagine how much better our world would be without Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, etc, but still with the films that inspired those parodies.


 
what.

The world would be so much worse off without the Naked Gun, Airplane, the works of Mel Brooks, Weird Al, the Lonely Island, etc., etc. Writers from Shakespeare to Mark Twain have incorporated elements of parody into their works, so bam, out they go, too. And if we stretch the label a bit and include satire, we'd be missing out on the likes of Voltaire (the French writer, not the shitty musician), Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, A Modest Proposal, Animal Farm, etc., etc.

Parody is as valid of a genre as any other. Acting as if that's not the case because of a few bad eggs is a hilariously short sighted, ignorant position.


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## Alexrose (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> You're just not getting it, every moment you spent copying something thats already established, is time taken away from being original. Let me point to my favorite drummer Travis Barker. If he spent his youth only covering drummers he admires and not trying to adapt and create his own style, he wouldn't be half the drummer he is today. He might still be famous for being naturally talented, but he wouldn't be as amazing as he is. I seriously wonder if he would be nearly as amazing is if he grew up watching youtube videos and only posting drum covers of himself copying another established drummers style.


 
In what way is Travis Barker original? He takes a drum, that someone else invented it, and hits it with drumsticks that someone else invented, in rhythm, an idea someone else invented, to music, an idea that has existed since the whole of humanity. All that he does is hit it in a slightly different order to other people.

You are saying:

Oh yeah, it's alright to be completely unoriginal and copy the idea of drumming, and being a drummer, and being in a band, that kind of unoriginality is fine. It only matters that the very slight end change is original.

Well that's exactly what a god damned harlem shake video is.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> You believe in a multiverse. Interesting that, because you didn't come up with the idea of a multiverse, it predates you by a long way.
> 
> They're spending 30 fucking seconds making a Harlem Shake video. You probably spent 2 minutes on that post you just made. Why aren't *you* painting a mural? You are just.. all talk. People aren't 100% productive, creative, innovative, original and useful 100% of the time. If you want to go to a scoiety where everyone is focusing on getting shit done, go to North Korea.
> 
> ...


 

Every moment spent making a Harlem Shake video is a moment taken away from being original. Our time here is fleeting to say the least. I, myself am wasting time arguing my point and I'm aware of it. I'm absolutely part of the problem, the internet is as much of a curse as it is a blessing. However, I am not just talk, you want to see my spec script for an episode of the Simpsons? I'm trying to become a writer. I don't copy anyone's style, I come up with creative and new storylines, and I may never go on to be a famous writer but at least I'm trying. And to be fair, by responding to all this crap, while something of a waste of time, is also helpful for my writing. I learn how to properly express what I mean and what I want to say.

I want everyone to try to be a special snowflake because you can appreciate art without parodying it. I want there to be The Harlem Shake, but only ONE Harlem Shake. Let it stand for itself. Imagine if everyone went along painting the ceiling of every building in the same style of the Sistine Chapel. Sure the art is magnificent, but whats exciting about it when its the same thing on every ceiling?

Also, if you think Travis' drumming is no different than your everyday drummer, well then you just don't have an appreciation for what he's actually doing.  Heck, I can point to his band and explain my point perfectly, before Travis was in blink, they had Scott, Scott was not unique, and the drumming in early blink songs was pathetic, it was nothing to point to and say, look what he's doing?  Isn't that different?  Isn't that interesting?  Without Travis, blink wouldn't be the band that it is today, no fucking way.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Feb 18, 2013)




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## Alexrose (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> Every moment spent making a Harlem Shake video is a moment taken away from being original. Our time here is fleeting to say the least. I, myself am wasting time arguing my point and I'm aware of it. I'm absolutely part of the problem, the internet is as much of a curse as it is a blessing. However, I am not just talk, you want to see my spec script for an episode of the Simpsons? I'm trying to become a writer. I don't copy anyone's style, I come up with creative and new storylines, and I may never go on to be a famous writer but at least I'm trying. And to be fair, by responding to all this crap, while something of a waste of time, is also helpful for my writing. I learn how to properly express what I mean and what I want to say.
> 
> I want everyone to try to be a special snowflake because you can appreciate art without parodying it. I want there to be The Harlem Shake, but only ONE Harlem Shake. Let it stand for itself. Imagine if everyone went along painting the ceiling of every building in the same style of the Sistine Chapel. Sure the art is magnificent, but whats exciting about it when its the same thing on every ceiling?


 
You can acknowledge the fact that you're wasting your time on an internet argument all you want, but admitting it doesn't mean your first two sentence aren't completely moot.

Oh wow, you're writing a script.. FOR THE SIMPSONS. A 23 year old show which is renowned for having exhausted every original idea ever already. Wow, how fucking original. Shouldn't you be writing a screenplay for, I dunno, your OWN idea?

What you're describing here, "I take someone else's characters and write them in a way that's different and original to how they write them" - is a FANFIC. The lowest of the low on the scale of unoriginality.

And you think that every single youtube video should be comparable to the Sistine Chapel? Are you high? In an ideal world of originality where everyone is doing there own thing - people wouldn't be making shitty videos at all.

The only reason you're even arguing right now is that, as a human, you want to push your memetics out and try and overpower other memetics to let yours spread. Your whole argument is based around the fact that you apparently don't like this system that humans have evolved to rely on. Well then stop fucking replying, because you're fuelling it. It's literally impossible to argue (a battle of memetics) against memetics without being a hypocrite. It is like having a war against war. It is an oxymoron in itself.


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## Gahars (Feb 18, 2013)

Also, the anti-cover/parody/remake/etc. bullshit is woefully misguided.

Something doesn't have to be "new" to be creative. A cover, for instance, allows a musician to take a familiar song and add their own spin to it; the best covers create music that can easily stand alone. Is Jimi Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower" any less valid because Bob Dylan wrote the tune first?

Remakes are basically along the same lines. Different filmmakers can take the foundation of a previous film - its themes or driving ideas - and present it in a new, exciting way. Take a look at John Carpenter's The Thing, the holy grail of remakes - Carpenter took a nice little B-movie from the 50s and produced one of the single greatest horror movies of all time.

Parody is different from these two, but just as valid. Parody is inherently criticism - criticism that makes you laugh, sure, but criticism nonetheless. It plays with the tropes of a particular film or genre - exaggerating them, flipping them around, or even just points them out. Hell, parody can even be great social commentary - Blazing Saddles was both a commentary on race relations in the US and a hysterical send up of Westerns.

And while we're on the subject, what about adaptations? I mean, there's nothing original about taking one work and sticking it into another medium under your logic - and yet, that's where some of our greatest works originate. From the aforementioned The Thing (based on a 40's short story), to Jackson's take on the LotR mythos, to Shakespeare himself (Romeo and Juliet? Hamlet? Adaptions of stories that predate him by centuries).

Saying "Everything must be absolutely original" is a, frankly, dumb standpoint to take. Complete originality isn't the pressing concern - simply put, it's quality. Creating something that resonates with an audience in some way - that's the goal. It's why we still read Shakespeare's works to this day, watch Quentin Tarantino's films, or laugh at Airplane.

Come on, man, this isn't hard.


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## gamefan5 (Feb 18, 2013)

I have never facepalmed as much as this.
Not everything has to be serious in life, it's nice to unwind and just dance like a crazy ass fool like there's no tommorow.

As for the whole "everything has to be new for it to be creative and original", I find it absurd and ridiculous.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> You can acknowledge the fact that you're wasting your time on an internet argument all you want, but admitting it doesn't mean your first two sentence aren't completely moot.
> 
> *Oh wow, you're writing a script.. FOR THE SIMPSONS.* A 23 year old show which is renowned for having exhausted every original idea ever already. Wow, how fucking original. Shouldn't you be writing a screenplay for, I dunno, your OWN idea?
> 
> ...


 
You don't know how script writing for television works do you?  Let me explain.  You write a script for an established show, if you're applying for a different show, you write for a different show so as to not affect those that see what you've written if they pass on you  For example, if I want to work for Family Guy (I don't, that would be awful), they'd want to see a script for a different show, this is called a spec script.  Hence why I wrote a script for The Simpsons, I know those characters like the back of my hand, writing a script for it is both easy and fun, and its very fulfilling when you're done to realize you've written something better than they've written in the past 15 years.  The fact that you think this is only a fanfic is hilarious, I love your ignorance, I really do.

No every video isn't comparable to the Sistine Chapel, I was illustrating a point, but clearly this went over your head.  You see when all everyone doing is making the same product but with their face on it instead of the original face, it doesn't change the fact that its essentially the same product, be it the Sistine Chapel or the song Eleanor Rigby. Having said that, are there some amazing covers of Eleanor Rigby?  Sure, but these are few and far between.  There may be some great versions of The Harlem Shake, but for every 1 of those, there are a hundred pieces of unoriginal shit.  I really don't know how to illustrate this anymore.


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## Gahars (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> You don't know how script writing for television works do you? Let me explain. You write a script for an established show, if you're applying for a different show, you write for a different show so as to not affect those that see what you've written if they pass on you For example, if I want to work for Family Guy (I don't, that would be awful), they'd want to see a script for a different show, this is called a spec script. Hence why I wrote a script for The Simpsons, I know those characters like the back of my hand, writing a script for it is both easy and fun, and its very fulfilling when you're done to realize you've written something better than they've written in the past 15 years. The fact that you think this is only a fanfic is hilarious, I love your ignorance, I really do.


 
You think your fanfiction is a spec script, now? Oooooookkkkkkkaaaaaaayyyyyy...



> No every video isn't comparable to the Sistine Chapel, I was illustrating a point, *but clearly this went over your head*.


 
I hate to break it to you, but you have no leg to stand on when it comes to this...



> You see when all everyone doing is making the same product but with their face on it instead of the original face, it doesn't change the fact that its essentially the same product, be it the Sistine Chapel or the song Eleanor Rigby. Having said that, are there some amazing covers of Eleanor Rigby? Sure, but these are few and far between. There may be some great versions of The Harlem Shake, but for every 1 of those, there are a hundred pieces of unoriginal shit.


 
...Especially when you keep falling back to this argument. Are you not reading or just not retaining what you read?



> I really don't know how to illustrate this anymore.


 
Because you have nothing to illustrate and you've made it clear that you don't know what you're talking about. Don't worry, we figured it out awhile ago.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

Gahars said:


> You think your fanfiction is a spec script, now? Oooooookkkkkkkaaaaaaayyyyyy...
> I hate to break it to you, but you have no leg to stand on when it comes to this...
> ...Especially when you keep falling back to this argument. Are you not reading or just not retaining what you read?
> Because you have nothing to illustrate and your clearly don't know what you're talking about. Don't worry, we know.


 

Wow wow wow.  Ok, I don't have an agent, we haven't been pitching my script to television shows, I haven't already had two interviews, because my Spec Script is apparently only a fanfic L O fucking L.  Next time, maybe you should know what you're talking about before being a fool.  But ok, its true, a Spec Script may be nothing more than a fanfic if you do nothing with it.  But this is how television shows get writers, maybe you should look it up if you don't believe me.

You clearly just don't understand my point.  I get what you're all trying to say, but clearly you're not getting what I'm saying.  And so perhaps today, I have failed.  My point is not being properly illustrated, and instead I'm wasting my time trying to convey it.  Oh well, you go enjoy watching all these "different" versions of the same thing.  Clearly I'm the fool for thinking thats a waste of time.


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## Alexrose (Feb 18, 2013)

You just gradually stop failing to address the points, talk as if you're right and pick out tiny irrelevant things.

Your whole point is that you think everyone should be original. If everyone was original, language would be impossible, why would anyone copy each other's sounds? And why would we use fire? One guy invented that, that's his idea. Same with tools, some guy invented the spear already. Why should I go hunt efficiently, it wouldn't be original.

Humanity depends on copying. Every word you've written is copied from what you've been taught. Every idea you have is subconsciously derived from millionf of little factors in your environment and what you learnt from them. There's no such thing as originality, everything is just building on knowledge that someone else already collected for you.

And the fact that you are doing one original (debatable) idea is completely irrelevant. Your argument is that nothing should be unoriginal, so 100% of what you do should be original. Writing (invented by neolithic man) an episode for a show (an idea from the 1920s, for televisions, which are derived from radio, which is derived from photonics) so you work for money (standardised money comes from 1000BC) while persuing something you enjoy (an idea expressed properly by Hedon), so you can survive (the only thing here that actually comes from your genetics and not memetics). Everything you do is entirely copying, and reapplying learnt knowledge to different situations. You literally have no point. As I've said, you are arguing against memetics, using memetics, so you're therefore a hypocrite simply by posting at all, not to mention the fact that you're talking about people wasting their time while you're wasting the shit out of yours right now.

And, btw, you having an agent is irrelevant.
"One day Homer went to the shop and burped it was funny." Gahars I just wrote this amazing Simpsons screenplay, wanna be my agent?


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## Gahars (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> Wow wow wow. Ok, I don't have an agent, we haven't been pitching my script to television shows, I haven't already had two interviews, because my Spec Script is apparently only a fanfic L O fucking L. Next time, maybe you should know what you're talking about before being a fool. But ok, its true, a Spec Script may be nothing more than a fanfic if you do nothing with it. But this is how television shows get writers, maybe you should look it up if you don't believe me.


 
You might want to simmer down, buddy - you seem mighty butt flustered at the moment.



> You clearly just don't understand my point.


 
You keep saying that, but it doesn't make it true. (Unless you've been trying to say the exact opposite of what you've been typing, I suppose.)



> Oh well, you go enjoy watching all these "different" versions of the same thing. Clearly I'm the fool for thinking thats a waste of time.


 
Case in point.


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## duffmmann (Feb 18, 2013)

I'm not arguing anymore, because I've laid out my point, and you're all not getting it.  That's probably my fault, but I would be embracing exactly that which I don't want to be (though I do do so from time to time, I will admit) if I kept arguing against every point you think you're making.  If you think being original is only meant for some people and not yourself, well cool beans, you embrace making your own version of The Harlem Shake, and watching other versions of it as well.  Enjoy your Disaster Movie, Amazing Spiderman, and A Haunted House.  These things just don't interest me, and thats really all it gets down to.  It depresses me and that's the truth, you can argue against that all you want, its not going to change the fact that I find all that crap very sad, and that really is and was all my point ever was.


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## Guild McCommunist (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> I'm not arguing anymore, because I've laid out my point, and you're all not getting it.


 
I'd just like to point out that going "You just don't understand!" is usually an indicator that you have a terrible argument. It's happened countless times on this site.


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## ShadowSoldier (Feb 18, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> In what way is Travis Barker original? He takes a drum, that someone else invented it, and hits it with drumsticks that someone else invented, in rhythm, an idea someone else invented, to music, an idea that has existed since the whole of humanity. All that he does is hit it in a slightly different order to other people.
> 
> You are saying:
> 
> ...


 
sidenote: Barker is one of the greatest drummers of this generation. I think there's a video of him when they were with +44, and they were on MTV, and he did the song with one arm, because his other was broken.

Not the video I was looking for, but he does it here too..:


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## Forstride (Feb 18, 2013)

GBAtemp: The only site where a thread about the Harlem Shake turns into an argument about writing scripts for the fucking Simpsons.  Stay classy, folks.


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## Gahars (Feb 18, 2013)

duffmmann said:


> I'm not arguing anymore, because I've laid out my point, and you're all not getting it.


 
Ditto, Guild.



> If you think being original is only meant for some people and not yourself, well cool beans, you embrace making your own version of The Harlem Shake, and watching other versions of it as well. Enjoy your Disaster Movie, Amazing Spiderman, and A Haunted House.


 
Because that's exactly what we've been saying this whole time. Exactly. Spot on.

Really, I have to worry about the quality of your "spec script" if this is the quality of your reading comprehension.



> It depresses me and that's the truth, you can argue against that all you want, its not going to change the fact that I find all that crap very sad, and that really is and was all my point ever was.


 
Well, I can only hope you enjoy getting depressed over entirely harmless, inconsequential fads and missing out on perfectly valid forms of expression for completely baseless reasons. Sounds like you're in for a world of fun!


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## KingVamp (Feb 19, 2013)

For you.^


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## Arnold Schwarzen (Feb 26, 2013)

That's some fag ass shit.


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## the_randomizer (Feb 26, 2013)

The music is too techno/sound is too razor-like in its modulation (like a Sega Genesis, but worse). No thanks.


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