Don't Talk to Robots
July 17, 2009 6:02 AM Subscribe
Don't be a fool. Go easy on your E.B.E's.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:25 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:25 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
No Electric Gonorrhea, the Noisy Killer?
posted by gc at 6:26 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by gc at 6:26 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
"How's that retarded kid of yours? Still retarded?"
Holy shit this is funny.....
posted by lattiboy at 6:32 AM on July 17, 2009
Holy shit this is funny.....
posted by lattiboy at 6:32 AM on July 17, 2009
The SNL Robot Insurance sketch is pretty good, though styled as a commercial rather than a PSA.
posted by jedicus at 6:34 AM on July 17, 2009 [4 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 6:34 AM on July 17, 2009 [4 favorites]
More propaganda and disinformation from the Ad Council! The War on (Certain Types of People who Talk to Certain Types of) Robots continues!
posted by Bromius at 6:45 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Bromius at 6:45 AM on July 17, 2009
Spoilers: #1 really doesn't explain itself; it's just a non sequitur violence-to-elders gag. #2 is a two second Wile E Coyote joke stretched out to thirty seconds. #3 is the best, but still the sole point of the elaborate, annoying jackass sequence from #3 is so that his comeuppance is funny instead of tragic -- it has nothing to do with time-machines-qua-time-machines at all.
I like the concept a lot, but it needs more work in scripting and pacing.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:50 AM on July 17, 2009 [4 favorites]
I like the concept a lot, but it needs more work in scripting and pacing.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:50 AM on July 17, 2009 [4 favorites]
Spoilers: #1 The juxtaposition of the Christ-figure robot against the powerless peasant woman speaks to contemporary morays regarding to class and power. #2 is a class study on the effects of a fast-paced future society on a delicate infrastructure. #3 Some twat on a cell phone gets killed.
I totally dug #3.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:06 AM on July 17, 2009 [9 favorites]
I totally dug #3.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:06 AM on July 17, 2009 [9 favorites]
I saw this the other night. Yeah I thought the first one's pacing was way off. But it was funnier then the second one.
The third one was funny, mainly because the asshole's assholery was kind of funny on it's own. I assumed that he would get some kind of futuristic comeuppance for his dickishness, like pissing off the wrong person or getting some kind of futuristic revenge, rather then the non-sequiter ending.
But also, why is this futuristic person still using a bluetooth headset?
posted by delmoi at 7:09 AM on July 17, 2009
The third one was funny, mainly because the asshole's assholery was kind of funny on it's own. I assumed that he would get some kind of futuristic comeuppance for his dickishness, like pissing off the wrong person or getting some kind of futuristic revenge, rather then the non-sequiter ending.
But also, why is this futuristic person still using a bluetooth headset?
posted by delmoi at 7:09 AM on July 17, 2009
#1 The juxtaposition of the Christ-figure robot against the powerless peasant woman speaks to contemporary morays regarding to class and power.
My PSA is full of eels.
posted by fish tick at 7:15 AM on July 17, 2009 [9 favorites]
My PSA is full of eels.
posted by fish tick at 7:15 AM on July 17, 2009 [9 favorites]
moray - family of brightly colored voracious eels of warm coastal waters; generally nonaggressive to humans but larger species are dangerous if provoked.
Foiled by the MeFi Thought-Checker again!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:21 AM on July 17, 2009
Foiled by the MeFi Thought-Checker again!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:21 AM on July 17, 2009
why is this futuristic person still using a bluetooth headset?
What would you suggest instead?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:27 AM on July 17, 2009
What would you suggest instead?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:27 AM on July 17, 2009
"You, alright? I learned it by watching you!"
Parents who talk to robots have children who talk to robots.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:47 AM on July 17, 2009 [3 favorites]
Parents who talk to robots have children who talk to robots.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:47 AM on July 17, 2009 [3 favorites]
compound fractures freak me out like nothing else. even fake ones.
posted by mexican at 7:48 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by mexican at 7:48 AM on July 17, 2009
They have Grocer's Apostrophes in the future?
posted by Afroblanco at 7:49 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Afroblanco at 7:49 AM on July 17, 2009
He could have just been talking to the air. It actually would have been slightly funnier. They could still have him say, "sorry phone" in case we hadn't picked up the fact that he was talking on the thing.
posted by Peztopiary at 7:52 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Peztopiary at 7:52 AM on July 17, 2009
NEVER GIVE A ROBOT GUM
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 8:05 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 8:05 AM on July 17, 2009
Why didn't I find that funny in the least? I mean. At all.
posted by Lleyam at 8:35 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Lleyam at 8:35 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
They use Treo 650s in the future??
posted by LordSludge at 8:36 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by LordSludge at 8:36 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Since they're all done in the same city setting, it would've been kinda cool if we'd seen the characters from the other skits in the backgrounds for all the others -- for example, in the first one with the elderly woman we should see the girl run past and the a-hole walking on the other side of the street.
Still wouldn't make em funny though...
posted by LordSludge at 8:47 AM on July 17, 2009
Still wouldn't make em funny though...
posted by LordSludge at 8:47 AM on July 17, 2009
lotta potential... this application was not funny to me though
posted by edgeways at 8:55 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by edgeways at 8:55 AM on July 17, 2009
I didn't think I was going to laugh like I did, the videos themselves weren't all that good. The actual funny was the deadpan taglines at the end.
posted by Xoebe at 9:39 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by Xoebe at 9:39 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
I'm with Lleyam and edgeways, I didn't find any of those amusing. It was a bit too "man hit in crotch with football."
The production values were really good though.
posted by vespabelle at 9:51 AM on July 17, 2009
The production values were really good though.
posted by vespabelle at 9:51 AM on July 17, 2009
The actual funny was the deadpan taglines at the end.
Interesting. I'm with the "not funny at all" camp (which tells us nothing except that people have different senses of humor), but to me it was precisely the taglines where I felt let down. I guess what I was looking for was some kind of plausible attempt at capturing the look and feel of a real PSA--some attempt to imagine some sort of future where there are robots who will punch an old woman in the face and therefore PSAs are needed to remind people that such behavior is dangerous and not to be encouraged. I felt that the tag lines they had were essentially disposable--all they did was repeat the premise that had been established visually.
Maybe those of us who don't find them funny are just looking for a rather different kind of joke than the makers of these were aiming at. Maybe these are meant to be more purely absurdist slapstick than PSA-parody.
posted by yoink at 10:00 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Interesting. I'm with the "not funny at all" camp (which tells us nothing except that people have different senses of humor), but to me it was precisely the taglines where I felt let down. I guess what I was looking for was some kind of plausible attempt at capturing the look and feel of a real PSA--some attempt to imagine some sort of future where there are robots who will punch an old woman in the face and therefore PSAs are needed to remind people that such behavior is dangerous and not to be encouraged. I felt that the tag lines they had were essentially disposable--all they did was repeat the premise that had been established visually.
Maybe those of us who don't find them funny are just looking for a rather different kind of joke than the makers of these were aiming at. Maybe these are meant to be more purely absurdist slapstick than PSA-parody.
posted by yoink at 10:00 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
why is this futuristic person still using a bluetooth headset?
Because it's the ultimate, classic douchebag accessory, and its perfection in that regard cannot be improved upon.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:22 AM on July 17, 2009 [3 favorites]
Because it's the ultimate, classic douchebag accessory, and its perfection in that regard cannot be improved upon.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:22 AM on July 17, 2009 [3 favorites]
They have Grocer's Apostrophes in the future?
I assume you are referring to "PSA's"? (British-style use of quotation marks intentional here.)
"Some style guides continue to require such apostrophes—perhaps partly to make it clear that the lower case s is only for pluralization and would not appear in the singular form of the word, for some acronyms and abbreviations do include lowercase letters."*
posted by Pater Aletheias at 10:52 AM on July 17, 2009
I assume you are referring to "PSA's"? (British-style use of quotation marks intentional here.)
"Some style guides continue to require such apostrophes—perhaps partly to make it clear that the lower case s is only for pluralization and would not appear in the singular form of the word, for some acronyms and abbreviations do include lowercase letters."*
posted by Pater Aletheias at 10:52 AM on July 17, 2009
Huh. Who knew?
posted by Afroblanco at 11:02 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Afroblanco at 11:02 AM on July 17, 2009
DON'T TALK TO ROBOTS.
umm...that's racist.
What, you mean robots are actually people now?
posted by neewom at 11:51 AM on July 17, 2009
umm...that's racist.
What, you mean robots are actually people now?
posted by neewom at 11:51 AM on July 17, 2009
What, you mean robots are actually people now?
Next you'll be saying they should have their own schools.
posted by HumuloneRanger at 12:05 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Next you'll be saying they should have their own schools.
posted by HumuloneRanger at 12:05 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
the sole point of the elaborate, annoying jackass sequence from #3 is so that his comeuppance is funny instead of tragic -- it has nothing to do with time-machines-qua-time-machines at all.
Really? I thought the point was that you couldn't get by being a jerk in antiquity because of the tightly knit communities and rigid social norms, whereas today's commerce-mediated human interaction (and presumably to a greater extent, the futures) will tolerate that sort of thing.
posted by phrontist at 12:33 PM on July 17, 2009
Really? I thought the point was that you couldn't get by being a jerk in antiquity because of the tightly knit communities and rigid social norms, whereas today's commerce-mediated human interaction (and presumably to a greater extent, the futures) will tolerate that sort of thing.
posted by phrontist at 12:33 PM on July 17, 2009
I thought these were kinda amusing, but I'm with yoink— I'd have liked them much better with a bit more background / incluing / worldbuilding / whatever you want to call it. The Hyper-Speed one worked OK, but the robots and time-machine ones were just random.
posted by hattifattener at 12:58 PM on July 17, 2009
posted by hattifattener at 12:58 PM on July 17, 2009
INT. Party.
MEDIUM SHOT. CIRCLE OF FRIENDS around A TABLE.
CLOSE UP. JEFF is in the middle of conversation.
JEFF. So then the guy turns to me and goes, "You think that's bad? My wife's in there!"
Everybody laughs except John.
CUT BACK TO TABLE.
JOHN. I think that story would've been better if the accident had occurred before the exposition.
The other guests stare at their empty glasses. Outside, a car is heard driving by. Someone clears his throat.
JOHN. I think everybody here agrees that it was a little funny, Jeff—no disrespect to you, clearly you tried—but the basic fundamental elements needed more work.
Some guests have started picking at their plate of green beans. Jeff picks up his fork, inspects it, and puts it back down.
CLOSE UP. JOHN.
JOHN. Wow, this food could really use a few more minutes on the stove, am I the only
CUT BACK TO TABLE.
MARTY (screaming over John, who keeps talking). SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.
Marty takes out a stainless-steel meat tenderizer and starts hitting John's face with it.
MARTY (punctuating his shouts with meat tenderization). SHUT UP (sploosh). SHUT UP (sploosh). SHUT UP (sploosh). SHUT UP (sploosh).
John makes a gurgling noise that vaguely sounds negative.
MARTY. I SAID SHUT UP (sploosh sploosh sploosh sploosh).
Marty puts down the tenderizer and breathes heavily for a while. It's hard to tell where John ends and the crimson wall behind him begins.
CUT BACK TO JEFF.
JEFF. So, Phil, how was your vacation?
CUT TO TITLE CARD.
DON'T BE THAT GUY
posted by shadytrees at 5:19 PM on July 17, 2009 [5 favorites]
MEDIUM SHOT. CIRCLE OF FRIENDS around A TABLE.
CLOSE UP. JEFF is in the middle of conversation.
JEFF. So then the guy turns to me and goes, "You think that's bad? My wife's in there!"
Everybody laughs except John.
CUT BACK TO TABLE.
JOHN. I think that story would've been better if the accident had occurred before the exposition.
The other guests stare at their empty glasses. Outside, a car is heard driving by. Someone clears his throat.
JOHN. I think everybody here agrees that it was a little funny, Jeff—no disrespect to you, clearly you tried—but the basic fundamental elements needed more work.
Some guests have started picking at their plate of green beans. Jeff picks up his fork, inspects it, and puts it back down.
CLOSE UP. JOHN.
JOHN. Wow, this food could really use a few more minutes on the stove, am I the only
CUT BACK TO TABLE.
MARTY (screaming over John, who keeps talking). SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.
Marty takes out a stainless-steel meat tenderizer and starts hitting John's face with it.
MARTY (punctuating his shouts with meat tenderization). SHUT UP (sploosh). SHUT UP (sploosh). SHUT UP (sploosh). SHUT UP (sploosh).
John makes a gurgling noise that vaguely sounds negative.
MARTY. I SAID SHUT UP (sploosh sploosh sploosh sploosh).
Marty puts down the tenderizer and breathes heavily for a while. It's hard to tell where John ends and the crimson wall behind him begins.
CUT BACK TO JEFF.
JEFF. So, Phil, how was your vacation?
CUT TO TITLE CARD.
DON'T BE THAT GUY
posted by shadytrees at 5:19 PM on July 17, 2009 [5 favorites]
Loves it!
posted by futureisunwritten at 5:36 PM on July 17, 2009
posted by futureisunwritten at 5:36 PM on July 17, 2009
Metafilter: has nothing to do with time-machines-qua-time-machines at all.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:52 PM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:52 PM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
Maybe in the future this will get funnier.
posted by functionequalsform at 7:34 PM on July 17, 2009
posted by functionequalsform at 7:34 PM on July 17, 2009
delmoi: "
But also, why is this futuristic person still using a bluetooth headset?"
My interpretation is that he's a sad 1970's jerk who stumbled into a time machine some tourists were using and he's been stumbling around ever sense. Note the senseless littering, and primitive speaking loudly into telephones as the other person "is so far away."
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:02 PM on July 17, 2009
But also, why is this futuristic person still using a bluetooth headset?"
My interpretation is that he's a sad 1970's jerk who stumbled into a time machine some tourists were using and he's been stumbling around ever sense. Note the senseless littering, and primitive speaking loudly into telephones as the other person "is so far away."
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:02 PM on July 17, 2009
shadytrees: "CUT BACK TO JEFF.
JEFF. So, Phil, how was your vacation?
CUT TO TITLE CARD.
DON'T BE THAT GUY"
I think your analysis would have been better if Jeff and John had different names. I mixed them up at first.
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:04 PM on July 17, 2009
JEFF. So, Phil, how was your vacation?
CUT TO TITLE CARD.
DON'T BE THAT GUY"
I think your analysis would have been better if Jeff and John had different names. I mixed them up at first.
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:04 PM on July 17, 2009
Grocer's Apostrophes
Yeah, I'm with Father Truth on this one, but minus the "some style guides" part.
What I learned in school was that when you pluralize letters themselves, or abbreviations (or the thing the abbreviation refers to, if you use the abbr. as a word), you use an apostrophe, e.g., "Mind your p's and q's," or "The insurgents attacked the caravan with RPG's." Or even, I suppose, ROUS's.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:45 PM on July 17, 2009
Yeah, I'm with Father Truth on this one, but minus the "some style guides" part.
What I learned in school was that when you pluralize letters themselves, or abbreviations (or the thing the abbreviation refers to, if you use the abbr. as a word), you use an apostrophe, e.g., "Mind your p's and q's," or "The insurgents attacked the caravan with RPG's." Or even, I suppose, ROUS's.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:45 PM on July 17, 2009
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posted by Happy Dave at 6:11 AM on July 17, 2009 [3 favorites]