December 7th, 2009 / 4:35 pm
Snippets
Snippets
Blake Butler—
People of WalMart is a hundred novels. [via Blythe Winslow]
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Meta
My baby brother introduced me to this site and it is my favorite website these days. I am amazed by what people will wear in public.
My baby brother introduced me to this site and it is my favorite website these days. I am amazed by what people will wear in public.
Godammit what’s the matter with you people.
Godammit what’s the matter with you people.
how is this any different http://www.laminationcolony.com/arobinson.html
how is this any different http://www.laminationcolony.com/arobinson.html
looking only at the pictures, not the captions.
looking only at the pictures, not the captions.
there is no sympathy in those photos.
there is no sympathy in those photos.
why not
why not
sympathy for what?
sympathy for what?
It just seems to me that it is saying, simply, “these people are laughable.”
When the guys at work pointed that site out and just couldn’t believe how stupid people are, I felt bad.
It just seems to me that it is saying, simply, “these people are laughable.”
When the guys at work pointed that site out and just couldn’t believe how stupid people are, I felt bad.
i guess in the context of people looking at this for ‘how stupid people are’ i agree with you. but i don’t see that in these pictures. in the context of the site’s labels, which i ignored when i looked at it, the same way i ignore context of people when i look them as much as possible i think, sure, it’s ugly.
but the pictures, the people themselves, there is nothing requiring your sympathy there. they are people.
i guess in the context of people looking at this for ‘how stupid people are’ i agree with you. but i don’t see that in these pictures. in the context of the site’s labels, which i ignored when i looked at it, the same way i ignore context of people when i look them as much as possible i think, sure, it’s ugly.
but the pictures, the people themselves, there is nothing requiring your sympathy there. they are people.
I’m fairly cool with saying people are laughable, but this site is just a little too “lol @ poor people!” for me. Why limit this to wal-mart? Just have a site for dumb people in public in general.
I’m fairly cool with saying people are laughable, but this site is just a little too “lol @ poor people!” for me. Why limit this to wal-mart? Just have a site for dumb people in public in general.
adam, i like the pictures themselves, but i agree that the site contextualizes them—with the captions, with the snarky “sad” wal-mart emoticon on top—in a mean way
and worse, maybe, than even mean: with all the advertising and the contests and the merch, it seems like “They’re” trying to make money off of pictures They’re presenting in a mocking way. that’s ugly.
i think it’s true that you can view these pictures with all the empathy you want—”a hundred novels”—and that will be your experience, and you can make a good thing out of it, and that’s good. but i think the window here is undeniably dressed by an ugliness of spirit, and that’s part of the experience.
adam, i like the pictures themselves, but i agree that the site contextualizes them—with the captions, with the snarky “sad” wal-mart emoticon on top—in a mean way
and worse, maybe, than even mean: with all the advertising and the contests and the merch, it seems like “They’re” trying to make money off of pictures They’re presenting in a mocking way. that’s ugly.
i think it’s true that you can view these pictures with all the empathy you want—”a hundred novels”—and that will be your experience, and you can make a good thing out of it, and that’s good. but i think the window here is undeniably dressed by an ugliness of spirit, and that’s part of the experience.
you guys are right. the framing here is shit. but the pictures, those are fantastic i think.
you guys are right. the framing here is shit. but the pictures, those are fantastic i think.
is dumb the idea? i didn’t get the dumb people thing. i should read surroundings of things i guess more. i just liked the people.
is dumb the idea? i didn’t get the dumb people thing. i should read surroundings of things i guess more. i just liked the people.
Poor people are fat, stupid, ugly, and dress badly! Haha!
Poor people are fat, stupid, ugly, and dress badly! Haha!
agreed
sometimes people are cruel but the scar is beautiful
as always: it’s weird to be made of 70% water and 30% %-signs
agreed
sometimes people are cruel but the scar is beautiful
as always: it’s weird to be made of 70% water and 30% %-signs
hm. i guess there’s a whole context people are applying here that just went right over my head.
hm. i guess there’s a whole context people are applying here that just went right over my head.
Well some of it is showing dumb stuff like unsafely placing a baby below heavy boxes and such or a girl hanging out with black dudes but wearing a swastika shirt. But you right, a lot of it is just weird or fashion no-nos.
Well some of it is showing dumb stuff like unsafely placing a baby below heavy boxes and such or a girl hanging out with black dudes but wearing a swastika shirt. But you right, a lot of it is just weird or fashion no-nos.
I think there’s a really high incidence of people who behave and dress strangely at Wal-mart, thus the specificness of the site. I don’t think this is about poverty. If you’re obese and you’re wearing a strappy open-backed tank top or if you have some kind of really different hairdo or outfit, you have to know on some level (however unfair and unfortunate it may be) that there will be commentary. These aren’t children in the pictures. They live in the world and on some level I have to believe they know they will garner attention for their chosen mode of dress.
I think there’s a really high incidence of people who behave and dress strangely at Wal-mart, thus the specificness of the site. I don’t think this is about poverty. If you’re obese and you’re wearing a strappy open-backed tank top or if you have some kind of really different hairdo or outfit, you have to know on some level (however unfair and unfortunate it may be) that there will be commentary. These aren’t children in the pictures. They live in the world and on some level I have to believe they know they will garner attention for their chosen mode of dress.
yes.
yes.
Strongly disagree that there isn’t a huge undercurrent of classism in the framing, commentary and appeal of this site. This isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally complain about either and sure some of the pictures are pretty odd/funny in any context.
Strongly disagree that there isn’t a huge undercurrent of classism in the framing, commentary and appeal of this site. This isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally complain about either and sure some of the pictures are pretty odd/funny in any context.
in the framing, i agree with you. but we can look at the pictures and ignore the obnoxious frame, yes?
i also might even say that even the ridiculous framing isn’t aiming at class as much as it is aiming at how bonkers people are. but that may be me interpreting this in my own lens. i don’t know the curator’s intent, but his ads all over the place are a bad sign.
in the framing, i agree with you. but we can look at the pictures and ignore the obnoxious frame, yes?
i also might even say that even the ridiculous framing isn’t aiming at class as much as it is aiming at how bonkers people are. but that may be me interpreting this in my own lens. i don’t know the curator’s intent, but his ads all over the place are a bad sign.
There may well be, but I ignore the commentary and enjoy the pictures. I live in one of those towns where Walmart is the only game in town so for me it’s not so much a place to laugh at poor people as it is a place where I buy shampoo and DVDs and so on and so on. People are very odd and I think Wal-mart is a real magnet for that kind of oddity because SO many people shop at Wal-mart. For those of us who don’t live in big cities, it is often the center of the universe.
There may well be, but I ignore the commentary and enjoy the pictures. I live in one of those towns where Walmart is the only game in town so for me it’s not so much a place to laugh at poor people as it is a place where I buy shampoo and DVDs and so on and so on. People are very odd and I think Wal-mart is a real magnet for that kind of oddity because SO many people shop at Wal-mart. For those of us who don’t live in big cities, it is often the center of the universe.
Blake, Roxane,
Feel free to enjoy the site. I’m hardly calling it some moral outrage. Still, I think this is pretty clearly a “lets laugh at white trash” thing to a large degree. For example, I opened the site and clicked to a random page. Here was the first image: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=7060
Shows a normal looking dude with a T-Shirt that has two naked fat people, too round to bone, with the caption “Mission Impossible.” Okay, that’s a funny shirt maybe, but then look at the caption: “You actually being able to spell either one of those words on your own seems more of an impossible mission to me.”
The joke here being is that this dude shops at wal-mart meaning he is poor and stupid meaning he can’t spell basic words. First picture with a black guy I saw (a dude putting shampoo in his hair while standing in line [something that is absolutely funny and weird]) had a caption saying something like “Shampoo in your hair. It that’s whats going down on the streets, yo?” Those kind of things are hard to read any other way.
Of course, you can enjoy the crazy photos and ignore the captions.
just sayin’!
Blake, Roxane,
Feel free to enjoy the site. I’m hardly calling it some moral outrage. Still, I think this is pretty clearly a “lets laugh at white trash” thing to a large degree. For example, I opened the site and clicked to a random page. Here was the first image: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=7060
Shows a normal looking dude with a T-Shirt that has two naked fat people, too round to bone, with the caption “Mission Impossible.” Okay, that’s a funny shirt maybe, but then look at the caption: “You actually being able to spell either one of those words on your own seems more of an impossible mission to me.”
The joke here being is that this dude shops at wal-mart meaning he is poor and stupid meaning he can’t spell basic words. First picture with a black guy I saw (a dude putting shampoo in his hair while standing in line [something that is absolutely funny and weird]) had a caption saying something like “Shampoo in your hair. It that’s whats going down on the streets, yo?” Those kind of things are hard to read any other way.
Of course, you can enjoy the crazy photos and ignore the captions.
just sayin’!
you are right, the commentary is pretty vapid and idiotic.
you are right, the commentary is pretty vapid and idiotic.
It would be really cool if a Wal*Mart regular had made this site as revenge… http://www.latfh.com/ but surely it was made by the targeted demographic …
It would be really cool if a Wal*Mart regular had made this site as revenge… http://www.latfh.com/ but surely it was made by the targeted demographic …
The only people who should be mocked are the lying bullshit artists who come on here and make it a point to make sure that everyone knows that they never, EVER, make fun of anyone or think bad thoughts about the general public and that it’s not nice. Boo hoo. Get over yourselves. If you really do think this way, and I doubt that it’s anything other than a pose to make yourself feel better about yourself, then you are in for one long, long life.
The only people who should be mocked are the lying bullshit artists who come on here and make it a point to make sure that everyone knows that they never, EVER, make fun of anyone or think bad thoughts about the general public and that it’s not nice. Boo hoo. Get over yourselves. If you really do think this way, and I doubt that it’s anything other than a pose to make yourself feel better about yourself, then you are in for one long, long life.
I think the site is fucking hilarious. And I think to say it’s making fun of poor people is pretty simplistic and inaccurate. Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you have to put a sticker on your truck that says I Like Cock. You’ll notice most of the comments are from people who shop at Walmart themselves. And to assume that people are poor because they’re trashy–not true at all. Sure the site makes fun of trashy people–but so? Look, I work for a labor union, and nobody makes fun of trashy people more than the working class. If you really don’t think it’s funny, then don’t laugh, of course. But don’t feel bad about laughing at some seriously ridiculous shit. And regardless, enjoy the stories, like Blake says.
I think the site is fucking hilarious. And I think to say it’s making fun of poor people is pretty simplistic and inaccurate. Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you have to put a sticker on your truck that says I Like Cock. You’ll notice most of the comments are from people who shop at Walmart themselves. And to assume that people are poor because they’re trashy–not true at all. Sure the site makes fun of trashy people–but so? Look, I work for a labor union, and nobody makes fun of trashy people more than the working class. If you really don’t think it’s funny, then don’t laugh, of course. But don’t feel bad about laughing at some seriously ridiculous shit. And regardless, enjoy the stories, like Blake says.
Blake is totally out of line.
But really? Thanks for the link-to-link, Blake. I always post story ideas on my blog, and this site stirred me up as a writer not because I objectify or look down on the people featured in the photos. Instead, I was doing what Carver has said a writer needs to do: “gape.” I gape at everthing these days. I watched The Today Show yesterday for some awful reason and saw a nine-year old “relationship expert” promoting his next book. I could not flip channels. I just kept watching.
The photos on the site do have gross framing, but this could be good story fodder as well. As Blake’s short post says, “Wal-Mart is a hundred _novels_.” Not, “Wal-Mart is a hundred sad sacks we should all make fun of.” As writers, it’s often best to be aware of politics and framing but then just go ahead and observe and portray. And, the site represents in my mind a great and true slice of American kitsch and glimmer. The photos are amazingly situational and lend themselves well to creating story premises, which, again, was my angle (and Blake’s too, I guess).
See? The difference is….we’re writers. We want to see things up close. We want to see pretty and gross. We want to Google phrases like “bloodfart” and “baby boner” and then reply: RESEARCH, my love RESEARCH.
Blake is totally out of line.
But really? Thanks for the link-to-link, Blake. I always post story ideas on my blog, and this site stirred me up as a writer not because I objectify or look down on the people featured in the photos. Instead, I was doing what Carver has said a writer needs to do: “gape.” I gape at everthing these days. I watched The Today Show yesterday for some awful reason and saw a nine-year old “relationship expert” promoting his next book. I could not flip channels. I just kept watching.
The photos on the site do have gross framing, but this could be good story fodder as well. As Blake’s short post says, “Wal-Mart is a hundred _novels_.” Not, “Wal-Mart is a hundred sad sacks we should all make fun of.” As writers, it’s often best to be aware of politics and framing but then just go ahead and observe and portray. And, the site represents in my mind a great and true slice of American kitsch and glimmer. The photos are amazingly situational and lend themselves well to creating story premises, which, again, was my angle (and Blake’s too, I guess).
See? The difference is….we’re writers. We want to see things up close. We want to see pretty and gross. We want to Google phrases like “bloodfart” and “baby boner” and then reply: RESEARCH, my love RESEARCH.
http://thegirlprojectblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/andrea-modica-treadwell.html
http://thegirlprojectblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/andrea-modica-treadwell.html
hi Blythe. Yes. and good to see your name talking.
hi Blythe. Yes. and good to see your name talking.