Laugh it up, fuzz ball!
August 2, 2010 7:24 AM   Subscribe

"Security officer demonstrates how to easily hack into every imperial computer system with a simple jail-breaked R2 unit. #wookieeleaks"

In response to the leaks of top-secret military documents concerning the war in Afghanistan earlier this week on Wikileaks, (covered previously on MeFi) Twitter users started posting their “Star Wars”-themed parodies of the scandal days later using the hash tags #Wookieleaks and #wookieeleaks.

Examples from:

* The Atlantic: 1, 2
* Buzzfeed
posted by zarq (51 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
#wookieleaks

Nerds laugh at ongoing tragedy.
posted by empath at 7:27 AM on August 2, 2010 [5 favorites]


Reminds me of the radio story from the amazing "Space" episode of Newsradio:
"Tragedy struck today in Sector 9 as rebel terrorists blew up the Death Star killing thousands. The Rebel Alliance, a fringe group of Anti-Empire fanatics, has claimed responsibility for the terrorist act. Fortunately Lord Vader escaped without harm. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims."
posted by griphus at 7:28 AM on August 2, 2010 [6 favorites]


Nerds laugh at ongoing tragedy.

MeFite unable to cope with humor as a defense mechanism for tragedy.
posted by griphus at 7:30 AM on August 2, 2010 [15 favorites]


I've been trying to work out (constructively, rather than just posting "meh") why I didn't find these at all funny. Especially as I have argued on Metafilter before (and passionately believe) that there's no topic that can't be joked about if it's done right, including events even more tragic and horrific than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So what is it? Maybe the rapidity with which this got going? Or something kind of insular about it, a turning away from the horrors of the war logs story into cozy movie-nostalgia fun, when good satire looks bad things straight in the face? Yes, I'm overthinking.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 7:32 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


I yearn for a time when there is no more Star Wars inspired anything.
posted by josher71 at 7:35 AM on August 2, 2010 [16 favorites]


Nerds laugh at ongoing tragedy.

MeFite unable to cope with humor as a defense mechanism for tragedy.


Headline format used to convey snark.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 7:35 AM on August 2, 2010 [6 favorites]


Meme beaten to death yet again. Film at 11.
posted by jonmc at 7:37 AM on August 2, 2010 [7 favorites]


Yes, I'm overthinking.

Yes, much too much. There has been war story fatigue for a while, and most people see that there is nothing to do with the news of More Terrible Things Happened Because Of The War(s). Do we still write our congressmen? What if we're not in the US, do we still send hand-written letters to US politicians saying "enough is enough"?

Or do we write geeky jokes in 140 characters or less?
posted by filthy light thief at 7:38 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


Not really funny.
posted by MarshallPoe at 7:38 AM on August 2, 2010


empath: "#wookieleaks

Nerds laugh at ongoing tragedy.
"

Anyone who uses the tag "#wookieleaks" should have their nerd card confiscated immediately. There are two E's in Wookiee, goddamnit!
posted by Plutor at 7:39 AM on August 2, 2010 [15 favorites]


The sound of others laughing cuts through me like a knife! *leaps onto internet* THIS WILL BE YOUR UNDOING!

I think it's a pretty funny little meme and doesn't do anything to cheapen the situation at hand.
posted by codacorolla at 7:40 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'll happily give it up. I stopped giving a shit about star wars 10 years ago.
posted by empath at 7:41 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


Star.... Wars? Is this like some Hollywood battle-of-the-divas thing?
posted by shakespeherian at 7:41 AM on August 2, 2010


Film at 11.

Yes, but which film?!
posted by zarq at 7:45 AM on August 2, 2010


There was humor in the Nazi death camps; there was humor, from time to time, about the camps...but the inside stuff was those suffering; outside was a looking back when it was over.
Afghanistan is ongoing, like it or not, and laughing it off may be just as not so hot an idea as not addressing the issue of what got (and will further be) leaked.
posted by Postroad at 7:47 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


Yes, but which film?!

I'm thinking WarGames, actually.
posted by jonmc at 7:55 AM on August 2, 2010


Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks?
posted by jquinby at 7:56 AM on August 2, 2010 [2 favorites]


There was humor in the Nazi death camps; there was humor, from time to time, about the camps...but the inside stuff was those suffering; outside was a looking back when it was over.

Yeah well, no-one wants to hear Germans tell concentration camp jokes.

To be fair though, I do find some of these funny.
posted by atrazine at 7:58 AM on August 2, 2010


Yeah well, no-one wants to hear Germans tell concentration camp jokes.

I think he was referring to the jokes told among the Jews et. al.
posted by griphus at 8:00 AM on August 2, 2010


Several transmissions were beamed to this website by rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the leaks they sent you.
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:00 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


Yes, but which film?!

There's three of them, take your pick.
posted by Dr Dracator at 8:05 AM on August 2, 2010 [2 favorites]


I'd linked to this story in the comments of your previously link. I think some of them can be quite funny. The guy who came up with the idea was interviews on NPR, but I couldn't find that at the time.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:13 AM on August 2, 2010


Anyone who uses the tag "#wookieleaks" should have their nerd card confiscated immediately. There are two E's in Wookiee, goddamnit!

We've been over that issue before.
posted by jedicus at 8:14 AM on August 2, 2010


I think he was referring to the jokes told among the Jews et. al.

Obviously, but these jokes aren't being made by people from Afghanistan.
posted by atrazine at 8:14 AM on August 2, 2010 [5 favorites]


There's three of them, take your pick.

Look, I know they don't convey the spirit of the original trilogy and feature any number of objectionable plot points and characters, but the other three films are canon, like it or not.

I am of course referring to The Ewok Adventure, Ewoks: The Battle of Endor and the Star Wars Christmas Special
posted by griphus at 8:14 AM on August 2, 2010 [6 favorites]


I'm not quite sure if this is dumber than the "Do The Lynndie" response to Abu Graib, or not.
posted by quarsan at 8:26 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


This is dumber.
posted by josher71 at 8:31 AM on August 2, 2010


This latest twitter fad is an affront to those who fell in service to their cause.
posted by All Out of Lulz at 8:36 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


A German told one of the funniest jokes I've ever heard. And it really wasn't funny at all, it was just that it was him telling it.

Firstly, Germans aren't particularly renowned for their humour. National stereotypes include: precisions; beach towels; all kinds of wurst. They do not include humour.

Secondly, this guy is, whilst a really nice guy, quite academic in his use of English. Obviously, it's his second tongue, and the not-quite-fluent shows up in a need to have idiom explained etc., which means that all sorts of wordplay often goes over his head and has to be explained (quite naturally, of course - it would be the same for anyone in a foreign language).

So anyway, a group of us are at a café, and people start telling jokes.

And then this guy pipes up with one. The mainly English gathering collectively raises its invisible eyebrow - there was definitely a shared sense of "oh god, this isn't going to be funny"

So he tells it:
There's a small German lighthouse in the North Sea. It's quite a stormy evening, and it picks up the distress call of an English ship.

"Mayday, mayday" radios the English ship "We've sprung a leak below the water line. We're taking on water fast, and the pumps have stopped working. We're sinking!"

"Ah yes" replies the German lighthouse "but what are you sinking about?"


Pause, and then hysterics around the table. Not only German humour, but self-deprecating German humour. Bloody brilliant.


A German speaking in English is quite likely to pronounce "thinking" as "sinking", apparently, for those of you who didn't get it. It works better when spoken.
posted by djgh at 8:43 AM on August 2, 2010 [24 favorites]


Eh.
posted by Mooseli at 8:45 AM on August 2, 2010


I thought Wookieeleaks was that spot behind the dive bar they went because the bathroom didn't have universal design.
posted by edgeways at 8:47 AM on August 2, 2010




IT'S A TRAP!!!!!!!!!!
posted by fuq at 8:56 AM on August 2, 2010


a simple jail-breaked R2 unit.

OK, this shit stops here. The past participle of jailbreak is jailbroken. End of story.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:00 AM on August 2, 2010 [6 favorites]


OK, this shit stops here. The past participle of jailbreak is jailbroken. End of story.

Heh. I nearly changed it before posting. But decided it wouldn't be honest to make the correction.
posted by zarq at 9:04 AM on August 2, 2010


I heard the NPR story about this the other day. It was so mind-numbingly insipid that I had to turn off the radio.

In terms of unlistenability, NPR's features about internet memes are right up there with their features about hip-hop and/or banjo music.
posted by usonian at 9:06 AM on August 2, 2010 [3 favorites]


One of these days a drone or a bunch of soldiers is going to wipe out some farmhouse, orphan some kid, and that kid is going to come looking for revenge and sex with his sister.
posted by swift at 9:40 AM on August 2, 2010 [6 favorites]


I yearn for a time when there is no more Star Wars inspired anything.

That time will come. Unfortunately, the very absence of things inspired by Star Wars will have been inspired by (the overexistence of) Star Wars.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:46 AM on August 2, 2010


I waiting for the time when Star Wars becomes the newer, hotter Scientology.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:50 AM on August 2, 2010


Yeah, Star Wars inspired stuff should be done away with. We already had three Star Wars movies inspired by three Star Wars movies, that is enough recursion for one franchise.
posted by TwelveTwo at 9:54 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


Episodes 1-3 revealed to be Cardassian holodock plot to break will of Captain Picard. "There are three films!" yelled Picard

I think it's worth it simply for the meta-nerdosity of the above tweet.
posted by Panjandrum at 9:59 AM on August 2, 2010 [5 favorites]


Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks?

Use your imagination, sport.
posted by klanawa at 10:03 AM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


Use your imagination, sport.

No! Ladies and gentlemen of Metafilter, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.
posted by jquinby at 10:10 AM on August 2, 2010


Many Bothans died to bring us this information.
posted by thescientificmethhead at 10:45 AM on August 2, 2010


usonian: In terms of unlistenability, NPR's features about internet memes are right up there with their features about hip-hop and/or banjo music.

I found a story NPR about ukuleles fairly interesting lately but I bet people who play the ukulele would have hated it. What I'm saying is that NPR is really good about telling you about stuff you don't know about but if it's about your life, it can be somewhat painful. And it's triply painful to listen to others complain about how they. just. doesn't. get. it.

In other words...

Don't listen to Car Talk with mechanics.

Don't listen to This American Life with hipsters.

Don't listen to the patriotic bits of Lake Wobegon with James Lileks.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:09 AM on August 2, 2010 [2 favorites]


Heh. I nearly changed it before posting. But decided it wouldn't be honest to make the correction.

The proper way to convey editorial disapproval is with a [sic] qualifier.
posted by Caviar at 11:12 AM on August 2, 2010 [2 favorites]


"Tragedy struck today in Sector 9 as rebel terrorists blew up the Death Star killing thousands. The Rebel Alliance, a fringe group of Anti-Empire fanatics, has claimed responsibility for the terrorist act. Fortunately Lord Vader escaped without harm. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims."

You might ask, "Twitter in space? Why?" But we ask, "Twitter in space? Why not?"
posted by zvs at 11:27 AM on August 2, 2010


Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks?

Pedowook?
posted by maxwelton at 12:55 PM on August 2, 2010


replies the German lighthouse "but what are you sinking about?"

I was sailing with a buddy recently and we got caught in a nasty squall that could've easily sunk the boat and killed us. But I laughed so hard at this joke and wished I had known it before so I can tell it to my buddy during the worst part of the storm.
posted by slipperytoast at 2:06 PM on August 2, 2010 [1 favorite]


I've been trying to work out (constructively, rather than just posting "meh") why I didn't find these at all funny. Especially as I have argued on Metafilter before (and passionately believe) that there's no topic that can't be joked about if it's done right, including events even more tragic and horrific than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So what is it?

It's that not all jokes are funny to all people. Even if, without dissent, one could joke about absolutely anything, no matter how horrible, it does not follow that everyone will find it funny, even if no one is offended. So, yeah, you're overthinking.
posted by rtha at 2:12 PM on August 2, 2010


What I'm saying is that NPR is really good about telling you about stuff you don't know about but if it's about your life, it can be somewhat painful. And it's triply painful to listen to others complain about how they. just. doesn't. get. it.

What's painful for me is the cutesy, weird, lighthearted-yet-anthropological tone they always use for these pieces... "Now it's time to see what the inter-net users are up to this week! Maybe they've come up with some more of those 'mash-em ups'!". That tone bugs me just as much when I don't know anything about the subject being discussed.

On-topic: In the case of the wookieleaks story specifically, I thought that Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo was laying it on a bit thick... it's just an internet meme, for crying out loud.
posted by usonian at 2:54 PM on August 2, 2010


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