"You can't move to New York City unless you're not afraid to fail."
August 13, 2015 3:04 PM   Subscribe

Millennials of New York. True stories from real millennials living in New York City.
posted by grouse (29 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Some of the commenters seem to miss that it's satire?
posted by lineofsight at 3:09 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]


Snake People of New York
posted by jcruelty at 3:11 PM on August 13, 2015 [15 favorites]


I... I think it might be bad satire regardless of the comments.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:12 PM on August 13, 2015 [10 favorites]


Those commenters would have an even harder time if they read it with the Millennials to Snake People Chrome extension.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:13 PM on August 13, 2015


A millenial of my acquaintance has been sharing a few of these on facebook, and it did take me a little while to realize they were satire.
posted by maggiemaggie at 3:13 PM on August 13, 2015


Bah. Beaten to the punch.

*shakes fist at jcruelty.*
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:14 PM on August 13, 2015


I can't tell if it is poorly-crafted satire by one author or by these people (and the dog.)
posted by griphus at 3:14 PM on August 13, 2015


Someone is making a mockery of making a mockery and I want accountability.
posted by griphus at 3:15 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]


Hey, I'm game for anything that mocks snake people, New Yorkers, and the glurginess of "Humans of New York" -- despite loving all 3.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:16 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I read like 5 and totally didn't get that it's satire. So it's poorly made or I'm dumb.

(possibly both.)
posted by saul wright at 3:22 PM on August 13, 2015


Satire where most people don't get it is satire is not poorly done satire, it is bestly done satire.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:24 PM on August 13, 2015 [16 favorites]


But, but, but... True stories!
posted by Splunge at 3:25 PM on August 13, 2015


I was filling up with bile at the creator only choosing attractive, well-dressed people with capital, so I'm glad I came here and everyone clued me in on the satire. I guess it's alright? Humans of New York is obnoxious, but I don't know if this pinpoints why, exactly.
posted by naju at 3:32 PM on August 13, 2015


If your genre of writing defines quality by how many people "get" it, write something else.
posted by LogicalDash at 3:36 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


It's not really satire for the most part... They're just using the HONY format as a platform for making jokey-jokes, some of which are pretty funny. They mostly don't rely on the framing of millennials and New York, though.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:45 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


This one is pretty funny: ""I’m a professional talent scout. I spend my days walking around the city looking for a subject that I can turn into the next big meme."
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:55 PM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]


It is the thing it's making fun of posing a thing that is making fun of that thing. A lot of people call that satire! Those people are wicked wrong. What is it? I don't know, but it's something that sure can make people pretty rich!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:02 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


The photos are the best. Whatever stock photo company they're getting these from, they gotta stick with it.
posted by crazy with stars at 4:07 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


The one about the subway performers, though... that's honestly something I wish would happen every fucking time I hear "showtime!" yelled out on a train.
posted by SansPoint at 4:20 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


I have a lot of white friends. I like them, but they’re obsessed with trying to convince me that they aren’t racist. Last week one of them told me he couldn't possibly be prejudiced because, as he put it, 'I always tip delivery men and cab drivers.'

So this is satire making fun of... Asian-Americans who think white people are sometimes clueless about race?
posted by escabeche at 4:25 PM on August 13, 2015


Humans of New York is obnoxious

Wha... really?

I mean, more than humans are obnoxious?

I guess I could see getting potentially annoyed at looks at everyday humanity, like... it's so adolescent to suddenly realize whoa there are other people having lives out there, I went through that phase where I thought I was part of a select few that realized life is going on all around us man, but now because I've grown up past that it's just part of the landscape for me instead of something to be amazed at or beat people over the head with as part of my career.

But I think it's pretty human to forget this stuff.
posted by weston at 4:40 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


I don't want to derail too hard into a discussion of HONY; there are some critiques out there that capture my problems with it. Mefi has discussed this.
posted by naju at 4:54 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]


This is missing the subtlety required of good satire.
posted by Flashman at 5:36 PM on August 13, 2015


If you want accentuate the positive and get a Gen X take on what it was like (according to Bob Fingerman) to struggle to pay the bills in New York City as a twenty-something (what we used to call 'Millenials') in the 90's, Minimum Wage is awesome. I loved that comic when I was younger.
posted by Nevin at 6:08 PM on August 13, 2015


I don't want to derail too hard into a discussion of HONY; there are some critiques out there that capture my problems with it. Mefi has discussed this.

Quite amusing that an utterly soulless "media property" like Gawker would criticize HONY for being "sentimental."
posted by Nevin at 6:09 PM on August 13, 2015


Yeah, this is way too overt to be good satire. This is more parody of Humans of NY. A lot of the punchlines are anything but subtle. Example:

"After a long, stressful day, there's nothing I love more than popping open a can of rosé and trying to figure out who bludgeoned a prostitute to death with her own prosthetic leg"

It might be funny to a good handful of folks, but subtle it is not, unless you'd call MadTv subtle.
posted by Philipschall at 6:55 PM on August 13, 2015


...a Gen X take on what it was like (according to Bob Fingerman) to struggle to pay the bills in New York City as a twenty-something (what we used to call 'Millenials') in the 90's, Minimum Wage is awesome.

Also Processed World
posted by thelonius at 6:57 PM on August 13, 2015


So this is satire making fun of... Asian-Americans who think white people are sometimes clueless about race?

It's making fun of clueless, racist white people and the fears some modern progressives have of seeming racist while still probably holding racist beliefs. Think of it as a talking head a la the Office. We've just heard from a white person who's like, "I'm not racist, I have an Asian friend!" Then we cut to the Asian friend, who's like, "...You know, I think all my white friends are racist dicks."

For the record I love HONY, and I think his international trips in particular have done so much good to increase understanding of different parts of the world. I also think this parody's hilarious and on-point. Maybe I am too millennial.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:47 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


"I totally know how Pluto feels right now. I went out with this guy in high school for a couple of years until one day he sat me down and said he didn't think we had that much in common anymore. Then, like a decade later, I was standing in line at a Panda Express and saw him try to take a picture of me from the other side of the food court. It. Was. Pathetic."

this is my new headcanon of pluto by the way
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:57 PM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]


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