Not, like, politics or racism or anything like that, but everyone should have some weird or obscure thing they like that is definitely not something everyone likes. There is some kind of weird, obscure, maybe hard to find thing that speaks to you on a specific level that only a certain amount of people also like. I think it’s an important part of finding yourself.
For instance, my favorite book series is John Dies At The End, not just because it’s the most fun you can have reading a book, but because it introduced me to gonzo lovecraftian as a genre. I try to get everyone I know to read those books. A lot of people just don’t get it. Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place might have been the most formative experience in my life. A lot of people just don’t get it. (I’m from the states, I understand a lot of folks from the UK understand how great it is. Even better than quantum leap.) Tetsuo: The Iron Man is probably my favorite movie of all time. My brother loved it, it has made some people stop talking with me. I like weird shit, I could go on. I raced home from school to watch Beetleborgs.
What weird, obscure, specific thing have you fallen in love with that it seems like nobody else is aware of?
Also, Phantom Crash is the best game there ever was. I will fight you.
(This was an actual thought I had in the shower. I take long showers.)
I’m obsessed with a genre I can’t quite find a solid name for, but it’s the middle of a venn diagram where the circles are “surreal horror” and “uncomfortable comedy”.
Stuff like Adult Swim Infomercials, Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, Buffet Infinity, and Greener Grass.
I watched that new movie Buddy this weekend and was absolutely cackling at the most horrifying parts because the context made them hilarious.
Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell is one of my favorite shows. Henry Zebrowski is a gem.
Have you watched Monkey Dust?
No, but I just found a stream for it and just a few minutes into the first episode I’m digging it. The bit with the dad killing himself because he thinks the kid’s life with his mom is so much better, then the kid yelling up the bloody stairs “can I come live with you?” Perfect.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’m going to binge this all tonight and then be a bit sad when it runs out.
Aye, that storyline gets pretty dark like
Probably a few genres that fit that description, but one i enjoy a lot is Afro-surrealism.
Media like “Atlanta” and “Sorry to Bother You” are a couple of personal favorites, but there’s lots more
Adultswim’s ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ is also very good at this experience, but I wouldnt call it afro-surrealist.
Oh yeah Too Many Cooks is great, that’s one of the Infomercials. Casper Kelly did that, Buddy, and YPFIGTH. He’s one of my favorite creators in that sphere. The Adult Swim Yule Log specials he did are also really good.
I’ll have to check out Atlanta, I guess I assumed it was some basic standard dramady. But I liked Sorry to Bother You. I thought the second half was some fever dream I had for a while.
Atlanta is definitely more subtle and less horror-comedy, but the surreal elements can catch you when you’re not expecting it and it has the same effect IMO
You should check out the movie Friendship with Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. It’s like an I Think You Should Leave skit that just keeps going, which quickly turns into a surreal psychological horror situation. It’s fucking hilarious.