Community, the tv show

J., although I haven't read Socrates or Plato, I think I basically agree with your first long post except for the characterization of Troy's and Abed's friendship as 'homoerotic' in any sense. It's a close friendship but I don't see any reason to attribute eroticism to it: If anything, it makes me think more of a pre-sexual sort of childhood friendship, like the bond I had with my best friend when I was 10. (These are often also based on love of imagination, of course.)

ya i think it sort of speaks to the uneasiness in our culture that we have about close male relationships that the "homo-erotic" modifier gets appended to describe that kind of friendship

they hold hands which is p gay

they should totally make an episode where Troy realizes he acts gay around Abed so Troy purposely avoids Abed and acts like a jerk when he does see him... (dot dot dot)

oh, surely—if i were being more careful i would have said 'homosocial', and of course a lot of the in-show jokes are about it being misrecognized as (proto-)homo-erotic by others. (and of course, troy's got a thing for butt stuff.)

the stuff about childhood is good—and it's connected up with the contemporariness of the show (a culture of adolescents staring at fart videos on youtube instead of actually learning about human culture) and the romantic-artist-imagination-self-creation stuff that i mentioned above. the end-show bit with abed fooling troy with the wall mural was amazing—especially troy's sad closing repetition about not being taken in by the prospect of a return to childhood wonderland.

i mean TENT FORT

<3

can't believe Abed is now on ILX

the end-show bit with abed fooling troy with the wall mural was amazing—especially troy's sad closing repetition about not being taken in by the prospect of a return to childhood wonderland.

― j., Monday, December 6, 2010 12:08 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

omg the "TOOOOOOO YOU!" opening of the most recent ep was so good

i have a different take on abed, which is that Community (and Dan Harmon specifically) recognizes that the two most popular modes of articulation atm are this kinda 'aspie' dialogue and this 'snarky' dialogue (obv living in different contexts; psychology v. popular culture) and that they are actually speaking in a similar disaffected/affectless voice. these two voices come together in abed who is simultaneously aspie (unable to fully grasp real emotional depth) and snarky (like in robocop snark episode or really any time where he seems very saavy). the concept being that both dialogues are actually one + the same; these modes of articulation that fail to address serious emotional lacunas. one reason Community speaks so strongly to me is that it's about creating these communities of support + family in light of absolute failure (and moreover, in this Hegelian twist, creating this communities in the very failed institutions that necessitate them). that's why plotlines like jeff sleeping in his car, or troy moving in with abed, or pierce, are so important -- this is a show literally about grappling with notions of domesticity + family in the broader experience of total failure (homelessness, unemployment, the very model of community college as institutions of higher education that fail the majority of its students). abed is then this almost liminal figure between the disaffected tone we take on in our experience of alienation from the community but also recreating that community within new models. (And then on a personal experience level we experience community in watching the show every week and posting about it and sharing it with friends so this very savvy piece of popular culture also becomes a way for us to create families, even as the institutions around us - government, education, economy, pop culture itself - fall to pieces.)

jesus did society crumble in the time it took to read that post?

yes

"oh shit, i got really engrossed in a message board thread and looked up, and there was no more postal service"

it's cool dude we got owl city now.

it has begun!!

sooooo psyched for this!!!

here. we. go.

asterisk.

because I'm progressive and kick ass

cookies.

if only he could find the power to not be a smug douche

bjork

this is really something else

That turned out to really be sweet.

This was the best show that was ever on TV ever in the history of TV.

it was pretty awesome. not my fave ep of the season, but def one of the best christmas television episodes i've ever seen

I didn't lol very much but I still enjoyed it. and the ending was nice

also Mordy I like yr thesis about the snark/aspie overlap — it's something that used to weird me out when I first started watching the show and didn't really 'get' Abed's character

Lost DVD joke was hilarious and also legitimately cathartic.

Wow that was genuinely moving. Love this show SO much

This ep made me realize how sick I am of Christmas culture in general.

I believe the phrase you're looking for is, ahem, "BAH HUMBUG"

yeah pretty much.

Christmas Pterodactyl

Just noticed that, right after "The End" on the TV they're watching, you can see the non-stop-motion cast in the reflection of the screen.

Lost DVD joke was hilarious and also legitimately cathartic.

Yes.

Such a great, and sweet, episode.

My favorite bit was probably when John Oliver skated backwards on one foot out of the Cave of Frozen Memories, such a nice touch.

agree that it didn't really bring the lulz but was very well made and entertaining

I liked the songs!

i thought this was kinda wack guys, sorry.

>:(

i did too^^^. I was disappointed.

Nice to find out which ilxors lack hearts.

i thought it was touching and all...but....

yeah yeah, take it to the "Bah Humbug" thread :)

did i miss something, why did they want to kick abed out of school?

haha

slow sad Christmas song