This betatted fellow isn't worried about disappointing box office returns or concomitant studio whinery — or, it would seem, the fact that ink in flesh lasts longer than internet fads.
BoingBoing reader Adam explains,
A gentleman named Jim Dozier ("Doz," or "iBgerd") decided he was so excited about the movie that he would have its logo tattooed on his arm. (Link) Doz has been a cherished member of our site for years now, so we all cheered him on when we realized the tattoo was real. One of our members photoshopped the picture of the tattoo replacing the logo with one from "Howard The Duck" and reminded Doz that he was really going to regret this in a few years.
A few days after getting the tattoo, New Line Cinema announced the "Snakes on a Plane #1 Fan Sweepstakes." (Link) Doz immediately entered the contest, and as of today, he's firmly in second place. Max (of YTMND.com fame) has a commanding lead thanks to his army of followers, but even he has admitted that Doz is clearly the #1 fan.
At this point, it's easy for people to roll their eyes and write Doz off as some creepy old guy living in his mom's basement. Indeed, he's gotten a bit of media exposure because of all this, and has been treated poorly by some. A few mouthbreathing DJ's on some morning show decided to interview Doz, and tried their best to run a bunch of cliche jokes into the ground while embarrassing and demeaning him. Doz handled it beautifully, turning their jokes around on them, and making the group look pretty dumb in the process. (Link) I couldn't be more proud of an "Internet guy" for shattering the stereotype in beautiful fashion.
We've collected many of the relevant links to Doz's story (along with plenty of childish banter) on the post we've been using to promote his contest entry the last few weeks. (Link).
David Goldenberg from GELF magazine sends their coverage of "Snakes on a Plane on a Dude." Link. Snip:
GM: Do you think you're too old to be so infatuated with movies?
Doz: I don't think I'm too old. We all have our fads as we go through life–remember Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Dolls (I NEVER got into either of those!)? It's just human nature. This was just something that struck a nerve in me and sounded like something fun. And I'm always looking for fun things to occupy my time with.
Woody from Dateline Hollywood attended the premiere and interviewed Sam Jackson and
the rest of the cast on the red carpet. The resulting video is pretty darned funny: Link. (thanks, Ben Fritz!)
Adam says,
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, TX is hosting a "Blanks on a Blank" filmmaking competition inspired by "Snakes on a Plane." All of the parody films are available on their site, and some of them are outstanding. Link
Dan Kaminsky offers a linguistics lesson here. Snip:
Perhaps one of the most interesting and colorful phrases in the English language today is the phrase "Snakes on a Plane". It is the one magical phrase, which, just by its sound, can describe pain, pleasure, love, and Samuel L. Jackson.
In language, "Snakes on a Plane" falls into many grammatical categories. It can be used as a verb, both transitive (John snaked Mary on a plane) and intransitive (Mary was snaked on a plane by John). It can be an action verb (John really snakes on a plane), a passive verb (Mary really doesn't snake on a plane), an adverb (Mary is snaking-on-a-plane interested in John), or as a noun (Mary is a terrific snake on a plane). It can also be used as an adjective (Mary is snaking-on-a-plane beautiful) or an interjection (Snakes on a Plane! I'm late for my date with Mary). It can even be used as a conjunction (John is ugly, SNAKES ON A PLANE, he's also stupid). As you can see, there are very few words with the overall versatility of the phrase "Snakes on a Plane."
Aside from its R-rated-because-that's-what-the-fans-demanded connotations, this incredible word can be used to describe many situations:
1) Surprise — "What the snakes on a plane are you doing here?"
2) Fraud — "I got snaked on a plane by the car dealer."
3) Resignation — "Oh, snakes on a plane!"
4) Trouble — "I guess I'm snakes on a plane now."
5) Aggression — "GO SNAKE YOURSELF ON A PLANE!"
6) Disgust — "Snake me on a motherfucking plane."
7) Confusion — "What the…snakes on a plane…?"
8) Difficulty — "I don't understand these snakes on a plane!"
9) Despair — "Snakes on a plane again…."
10) Pleasure — "I couldn't be happier if I had snakes on a plane."
11) Displeasure — "What the motherfuck is going on here, snakes on a plane?"
12) Lost — "Where are we going and why are there snakes on a plane?"
13) Disbelief — "UN-SNAKES-ON-A-PLANE-BELIEVABLE!"
14) Retaliation — "Up your fucking snakes on a plane!"
15) Denial — "I didn't do it. The snakes did. On a plane."
16) Perplexity — "I know everything to do with it, if it has anything to do with Snakes On A Plane."
17) Apathy — "Who really gives a snake on a plane, anyhow?"
18) Greetings — "How the snakes on a plane are ya?"
19) Suspicion — "Who the fuck are you, snakes on a plane?"
20) Panic — "Let's get the snakes on a plane out of here."
21) Directions — "Fuck off, snakes on a plane."
22) Awe — "How the snakes on a plane did you do that?"It can be used in an anatomical description — "He's got a motherfucking snake up his motherfucking plane." It can be used to tell time — "It's five snakes on a plane thirty." It can be used in business — "How did I wind up with this job? It's snakes on a plane!" And of course, it can be maternal — "Motherfucking snakes on a motherfucking plane."
The mind fairly boggles at the many creative uses of the phrase! How can anyone be offended when you say, "Snakes on a Plane"? Use it frequently in your daily speech! It adds to your prestige.
Reader comment: Bob Sterling says,
Ordinarily, I know no one likes a grammar fascist, but since the post
in question
directly pertains to linguistics, I hope you don't mind my nitpicking.The example given for intransitive usage is incorrect. An intransitive
verb is one that doesn't take a direct object; thus "Mary was snaked
on a plane by John" isn't intransitive but rather is just the
passive-voice equivalent of "John snaked Mary on a plane." An
appropriate intransitive usage would be "John snaked on a plane."Keeping with the passive voice, the example later given for it isn't
passive at all. "Mary really doesn't snake on a plane" is the negation
of "Mary snakes on a plane," which is spoken in the active voice. The
negation, however, doesn't make the verb any less active or any more
passive.Wikipedia has more information:
Link and another.For what it's worth, I loved "Snakes on a Plane," and "I've had it
with these mothafuckin' snakes on this mothafuckin' plane!" is
possibly the most beautiful example of English grammar I've ever
heard.
Michael Oliver says,
I just wanted to point out that the lingusitics lesson appropriated by Dan Kaminsky isn't unique. It's actually a rather famous monologue by George Carlin on the word 'fuck'. Dan has simply replaced the word 'fuck' with 'Snakes on a Plane'. It's funny, but George really should get some credit.
