clex_monkie89 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clex_monkie89) wrote2006-08-10 07:14 am
clex_monkie89) wrote2006-08-10 07:14 am
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[Meta] Sideways and Super Troopers... (Spoilers for Supernatural 0117 - Hell House)
Okay. So when I signed up for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
super_summer originally my net was kind of working and I was going to do icons. But now my net is beyond wonky and uploading even a single userpic is more trouble than it's worth. My next thought, sadly, was a fanmix because my brain took a few minutes to remember that whole thing about not being able to upload anything.
After a surprisingly short amount of time to think about and a surprisingly lot amount of time to actually do I present you with a meta on Hell House. Well, part of it anyway.
Sideways and Super Troopers: The humor of Sam and Dean Winchester
Ask a fan about Hell House and you'll probably hear something along the lines of this: It's their funny episode. Fun to watch but not exactly much in the way of character development.
I disagree.
Through the pranks played Sam and Dean in Hell House you can tell a great deal about them and their senses of humor. Through humor you can tell a way someone sees life and how they approach it and react to some things.
Prank one initiates the war and is done by Dean while driving down the Interstate 35. He picks up a spoon from somewhere near him, shoves it in Sam's mouth, takes a picture and then "accidentally" wakes him up. The fact that he wakes him up to the chorus of Fire of Unknown Origin could possibly be seen as an incredibly cruel end to the prank, but seeing as how Sam didn't seem to react to it at all and that Dean is not actually an evil bastard I think it's safe to say that was just a little musical easter egg from the writers.
Many people wonder just what the hell is so funny about this first prank. Yeah, it seems to upset Sam and the picture might be worth something somewhere down the line but it seems less like a prank and more like a Random Act of Stupidity. Until one realizes that in the pilot Sam said that "Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old." And then in Hell House Dean shoves a spoon in sleeping Sam's mouth and takes a picture. Possibly a subtle dig at the ex-chubby brother and a nice throw-back to continuity. Like the kid was "so fat he fell asleep eating" or something.
The prank is simple, spur-of-the-moment, personal and invades Sam's personal bubble (And an orifice).
Prank two is Sam's first retaliatory prank. Sam turns the stereo full blast in the Mettalicar and turns on the wipers and everything else he can so that Dean is assaulted by it all upon turning the car on. A nice sensory overload.
This prank involved The Car. Dean's girl. His pride and joy. You can almost see Dean thinking "now it's personal" in his head when he turns everything off. The prank itself does not seem personal, randomly chaotic, but not personal. The "victim" of the prank is the personal part, the car. It's even a tad bit elaborate when you consider that Sam had to sneak into the car (Which, given, was apparently unlocked) and turn on everything while making sure that Dean didn't come around the corner at that second and find him. He would have to think of a way to get Dean away long enough to do his thing and then head back into the building (Library?) we saw him exit.
The prank is somewhat thoughtful, somewhat elaborate and impersonal in nature while actually being very personal and a violation of sacred space.
Prank three is Dean's first retaliatory prank, seeing as how the first one seemingly came from nowhere. He waits until Sam is in the shower and then pour itching powder in Sam's underwear, causing him to scratch and grab and grope himself in public.
I don't think I need to explain why this prank is funny. Or why we love it so, for it brings us Sam getting to second with himself on camera. This one was planned though. Dean thought of it in advance, waited until Sam hopped in the shower and then went out and bought the itching powder. This is actually a pretty good feat when you consider that Dean managed to find itching powder that actually worked in a town he had (presumably) never been in before.
The prank is simple yet somewhat elaborate, personal and it invades Sam's personal bubble (And an orifice. Again.).
Prank four is the final prank played by a Winchester on a Winchester. It is done by Sam to Dean in Random Dinner in Texas and consists of Sam super-glueing Dean's hand to his beer bottle.
This is actually pretty damned good considering that Sam would've had to wait until Dean got up from the table for some reason (Likely the bathroom) and then spread the glue on the bottle. Super-glue hardens pretty fast once exposed to air (Trust me on this one) so theoretically Sam would've had to then get Dean to drink fairly quickly before his prank was nullified.
The prank is simple, elaborate and impersonal in nature while simultaneously violating Dean's right palm (And therefor possibly ruining the next week or so for him).
Pranks five and six are done by Sam and Dean (Each thinking they are acting alone) to the Ghost Busters (Harry Spangler and Ed Zedmore). Sam calls them up and pretends to be an "important Hollywood producer" who wants to make both a movie and RPG on them. Dean shoves dead fish into their backseat before they leave.
This time Sam's is personal while Dean's is not. Sam gets the Ghost Buster's hopes up with a false promise and actually manages to get them to pick-up and leave town. I would also like to point out that this means Sam knows what an RPG is. GEEK. Dean's? Consists of putting something that smells in their car. Sam took the time to think up a story and perpetrate it. Dean bought some fish, broke into their car and hid it in the back.
Sam's prank is complex, elaborate and personal.
Dean's prank is simple, relatively spur-of-the-moment and impersonal.
Dean makes reference to Sam getting Nair in his shampoo in a previous prank war, we'll call this Prank Zero.
I think it's safe to say that Sam is fairly attached to his hair (more than physically) so it's safe to say that Prank Zero was personal and yet again invaded Sam's personal bubble. Now, unless the Winchesters just happen to have Nair sitting around (Which I could see for head wounds or other places with matted hair if not for the fact that it would undoubtedly get into the wound and infect it) Dean would have had to make a trip to the store and buy some. He then would have had to mix it in the shampoo before Sam used it (It couldn't be just any old time because if John had gotten it Dean's ass would'a been grass). Pretty damn thought-out, really.
Let's review.
Dean's pranks are personal, they involve Sam's body, tend to be rather simple in nature and, most importantly, they give him the giggles.
Sam's pranks tend to be impersonal, semi-elaborate and, again most importantly, they give him his doofy giggles.
This leads me to conclude that Sam and Dean have very different senses of humor. Dean's sense of humor is more "childish" and "simple," fart jokes and dick jokes and generally very "boy-like" humor. He loves Will Ferrell and Zoolander and Road Trip and Euro Trip. He thinks Anchorman and Old School are works of genius. Jackass and CKY are two of his very favorite series' ever. He still knows The Blues Brothers is the best movie ever made though and anyone who dares speak ill of it suffers his Wrath.
Sam? Prefers more "mature" humor. Likes things you have to think about a little and things about "normal" life. He loves Kids in the Hall and Seinfeld and The Larry David Show. Sam loves Dennis Miller. Thinks he's one of the funniest people ever created. He cries from laughing so hard at him. He likes Eddie Izzard because of all the historical humor. He loves The Life Aquatic with Steve Zsusou and The Royal Tennenbaums. He loves Rushmore and I ♥ Huckabees even more than Dean loves The Blues Brothers.
They would of course like some of the same things but probably for different reasons. Sam would love George Carlin for some reason he can't explain and Dean would like that he's got the balls on him to say his shit. They both would love Kevin Smith but for different reasons. Dean totally for the crass things and Sam for the intellectual stuff. Sam would love The Office and Dean wouldn't admit to liking My Name Is Earl for the moral of doing good things for people. They would both like Scrubs though and Dean would think Dr. Cox is The Man.
In summary? Dean likes it when people get hurt. He thinks it's funny when things happen to people. Sam likes it when things happen in general. He likes people commenting on society and people.
Sam likes when someone breaks the million dollar vase because they think it's the identical one from the garage sale.
Dean likes it when either vase is smashed on someone's head.
super_summer originally my net was kind of working and I was going to do icons. But now my net is beyond wonky and uploading even a single userpic is more trouble than it's worth. My next thought, sadly, was a fanmix because my brain took a few minutes to remember that whole thing about not being able to upload anything.After a surprisingly short amount of time to think about and a surprisingly lot amount of time to actually do I present you with a meta on Hell House. Well, part of it anyway.
Sideways and Super Troopers: The humor of Sam and Dean Winchester
Ask a fan about Hell House and you'll probably hear something along the lines of this: It's their funny episode. Fun to watch but not exactly much in the way of character development.
I disagree.
Through the pranks played Sam and Dean in Hell House you can tell a great deal about them and their senses of humor. Through humor you can tell a way someone sees life and how they approach it and react to some things.
Prank one initiates the war and is done by Dean while driving down the Interstate 35. He picks up a spoon from somewhere near him, shoves it in Sam's mouth, takes a picture and then "accidentally" wakes him up. The fact that he wakes him up to the chorus of Fire of Unknown Origin could possibly be seen as an incredibly cruel end to the prank, but seeing as how Sam didn't seem to react to it at all and that Dean is not actually an evil bastard I think it's safe to say that was just a little musical easter egg from the writers.
Many people wonder just what the hell is so funny about this first prank. Yeah, it seems to upset Sam and the picture might be worth something somewhere down the line but it seems less like a prank and more like a Random Act of Stupidity. Until one realizes that in the pilot Sam said that "Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old." And then in Hell House Dean shoves a spoon in sleeping Sam's mouth and takes a picture. Possibly a subtle dig at the ex-chubby brother and a nice throw-back to continuity. Like the kid was "so fat he fell asleep eating" or something.
The prank is simple, spur-of-the-moment, personal and invades Sam's personal bubble (And an orifice).
Prank two is Sam's first retaliatory prank. Sam turns the stereo full blast in the Mettalicar and turns on the wipers and everything else he can so that Dean is assaulted by it all upon turning the car on. A nice sensory overload.
This prank involved The Car. Dean's girl. His pride and joy. You can almost see Dean thinking "now it's personal" in his head when he turns everything off. The prank itself does not seem personal, randomly chaotic, but not personal. The "victim" of the prank is the personal part, the car. It's even a tad bit elaborate when you consider that Sam had to sneak into the car (Which, given, was apparently unlocked) and turn on everything while making sure that Dean didn't come around the corner at that second and find him. He would have to think of a way to get Dean away long enough to do his thing and then head back into the building (Library?) we saw him exit.
The prank is somewhat thoughtful, somewhat elaborate and impersonal in nature while actually being very personal and a violation of sacred space.
Prank three is Dean's first retaliatory prank, seeing as how the first one seemingly came from nowhere. He waits until Sam is in the shower and then pour itching powder in Sam's underwear, causing him to scratch and grab and grope himself in public.
I don't think I need to explain why this prank is funny. Or why we love it so, for it brings us Sam getting to second with himself on camera. This one was planned though. Dean thought of it in advance, waited until Sam hopped in the shower and then went out and bought the itching powder. This is actually a pretty good feat when you consider that Dean managed to find itching powder that actually worked in a town he had (presumably) never been in before.
The prank is simple yet somewhat elaborate, personal and it invades Sam's personal bubble (And an orifice. Again.).
Prank four is the final prank played by a Winchester on a Winchester. It is done by Sam to Dean in Random Dinner in Texas and consists of Sam super-glueing Dean's hand to his beer bottle.
This is actually pretty damned good considering that Sam would've had to wait until Dean got up from the table for some reason (Likely the bathroom) and then spread the glue on the bottle. Super-glue hardens pretty fast once exposed to air (Trust me on this one) so theoretically Sam would've had to then get Dean to drink fairly quickly before his prank was nullified.
The prank is simple, elaborate and impersonal in nature while simultaneously violating Dean's right palm (And therefor possibly ruining the next week or so for him).
Pranks five and six are done by Sam and Dean (Each thinking they are acting alone) to the Ghost Busters (Harry Spangler and Ed Zedmore). Sam calls them up and pretends to be an "important Hollywood producer" who wants to make both a movie and RPG on them. Dean shoves dead fish into their backseat before they leave.
This time Sam's is personal while Dean's is not. Sam gets the Ghost Buster's hopes up with a false promise and actually manages to get them to pick-up and leave town. I would also like to point out that this means Sam knows what an RPG is. GEEK. Dean's? Consists of putting something that smells in their car. Sam took the time to think up a story and perpetrate it. Dean bought some fish, broke into their car and hid it in the back.
Sam's prank is complex, elaborate and personal.
Dean's prank is simple, relatively spur-of-the-moment and impersonal.
Dean makes reference to Sam getting Nair in his shampoo in a previous prank war, we'll call this Prank Zero.
I think it's safe to say that Sam is fairly attached to his hair (more than physically) so it's safe to say that Prank Zero was personal and yet again invaded Sam's personal bubble. Now, unless the Winchesters just happen to have Nair sitting around (Which I could see for head wounds or other places with matted hair if not for the fact that it would undoubtedly get into the wound and infect it) Dean would have had to make a trip to the store and buy some. He then would have had to mix it in the shampoo before Sam used it (It couldn't be just any old time because if John had gotten it Dean's ass would'a been grass). Pretty damn thought-out, really.
Let's review.
Dean's pranks are personal, they involve Sam's body, tend to be rather simple in nature and, most importantly, they give him the giggles.
Sam's pranks tend to be impersonal, semi-elaborate and, again most importantly, they give him his doofy giggles.
This leads me to conclude that Sam and Dean have very different senses of humor. Dean's sense of humor is more "childish" and "simple," fart jokes and dick jokes and generally very "boy-like" humor. He loves Will Ferrell and Zoolander and Road Trip and Euro Trip. He thinks Anchorman and Old School are works of genius. Jackass and CKY are two of his very favorite series' ever. He still knows The Blues Brothers is the best movie ever made though and anyone who dares speak ill of it suffers his Wrath.
Sam? Prefers more "mature" humor. Likes things you have to think about a little and things about "normal" life. He loves Kids in the Hall and Seinfeld and The Larry David Show. Sam loves Dennis Miller. Thinks he's one of the funniest people ever created. He cries from laughing so hard at him. He likes Eddie Izzard because of all the historical humor. He loves The Life Aquatic with Steve Zsusou and The Royal Tennenbaums. He loves Rushmore and I ♥ Huckabees even more than Dean loves The Blues Brothers.
They would of course like some of the same things but probably for different reasons. Sam would love George Carlin for some reason he can't explain and Dean would like that he's got the balls on him to say his shit. They both would love Kevin Smith but for different reasons. Dean totally for the crass things and Sam for the intellectual stuff. Sam would love The Office and Dean wouldn't admit to liking My Name Is Earl for the moral of doing good things for people. They would both like Scrubs though and Dean would think Dr. Cox is The Man.
In summary? Dean likes it when people get hurt. He thinks it's funny when things happen to people. Sam likes it when things happen in general. He likes people commenting on society and people.
Sam likes when someone breaks the million dollar vase because they think it's the identical one from the garage sale.
Dean likes it when either vase is smashed on someone's head.
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Dude, you just gave me brain food for the book I'm working on.
(I'd write more, but I've never seen 'Hell House'...though your analysis of various pranks seems to work, and I like the extended example at the end.)
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Yay! Glad to be of help!
I'd write more, but I've never seen 'Hell House'
If you're in the US it should be playing tonight on the WB. It's worth watching, very funny.
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That'd be nice...I am in the Eastern Time Zone. Unfortunately, lack of TV! The husband is paying for cable, but the only TVs we have are a teeny black-and-white that is so old there isn't a place to plug in the cable 0_o and a 25" with a bad screen (it looks like you're watching everything through a very thick layer of tomato soup). This is what we get from salvaging our electronics from the side of the road. ::sigh::
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And anytime Dean slips anything into any of Sam's orifices is a good day. :P
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And? too true, too true. Dean seems to have a thing for Sam's orifices, doesn't he?
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Or, y'know, typed.
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Spin off! Spin off! On Showtime I guess, Dean, Sam, and Sam's orifices - A Love Story.
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Supernatural: The story of a boy and his love of his brother's orifices.
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Dean likes it when either vase is smashed on someone's head.
This is something I haven't thought about.
Its interesting since Deans' motto could be "Saving people, hunting, its the family business" even with this brand of humor.
Sammich's sense of humor doesn't surprise me much.
Great job!
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Dean strikes me as the kind of guy who will laugh his ass off at the painful kind of humor that only hurts for a little bit. Like you know Dean was the kind of kid who hurt himself and laughed immediately because it seemed like the appropriate response.
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Kinda makes me wonder how John fared in their prank wars.
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There was this one time when John managed to get the hot water to their motel room cut off, the boys still aren't sure how he did that. And on more than one occassion they only kinda know about he'd gotten a room with two singles instead of two queens and watched in amusement as his boys tried to both fit on it without killing each other in their sleep.
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Why would Fire of Unknown Origin be cruel? Because it's loud or because it's BOC? Have I missed something from previous eps or just the fact that it comes up again in that one?
And the two ghost busters: what's the name of the dark haired one in real life? I know that guys face.
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And Fire of Unknown Origin would be cruel because the chorus is "A fire of unknown origin, took my baby away from me" alludes to Jessica and Mary and their deaths.
The dark haired one is Travis Wester, he was one of the Worst Twins Ever in Euro Trip.
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Thanks for the ID, I knew I knew his face.
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And it's no problem, I love being able to help!
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Sam's prank is complex, elaborate and personal.
Dean's prank is simple, relatively spur-of-the-moment and impersonal
great summary of their differences.
With Sam here the humour arises out of sibling rivalry. Whereas I think humour is almost an instinct with Dean - it comes out all the time even when it might be inappropriate.and maybe i relate a bit to that. Like using rock muso names as aliases, or giving Sam a bikini inspector id etc.
Sam - remember - is the guy who wouldn't dress up for Halloween. I'm not saying Sam doesn't have sense of humour, just that it is differently driven to dean's.
See - you made me think! *goes to rest brain*
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Sam? He's funny but in a different way. More dry. Like the line in the itching powder scene. When Dean asks why Santa isn't bringing him tons of presents and he responds very matter-of-factly "Because you're a bad person."
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I'm not sure about Dean liking The Blues Brothers considering his comment about wearing a suit in Phantom traveller, but that wasn't the point of your post, so I'll go hide overe there now. *exits*
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See I think Dean would like The Blues Brothers. Between the car and the music and the chase and the utter coolness I think he'd like it. At the same time I don't neccesarily think he wants to be them.
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And hilariously it`s the total opposite of how they come across in Interviews. In real life I`d totally attribute Dean`s pranks to Jared and Sam`s to Jensen. ;)
Also regarding their own prank war, I`d give Dean the edge here. I thought the spoon-picture was funnier than the car thing, yet the itching powder and the super-glue were a tie.
With the Hellhounds though Sam definitely wins.
He then would have had to mix it in the shampoo before Sam used it (It couldn't be just any old time because if John had gotten it Dean's ass would'a been grass).
Teeheehee. And now I wonder if John eventually fell victim to one of their pranks? *g*
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Makes me think John may have gotten them back in his own way too, extra sprints, tooling with the water heater until it's only ice, etc.
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Sam likes when someone breaks the million dollar vase because they think it's the identical one from the garage sale.
Dean likes it when either vase is smashed on someone's head.
This at the end was priceless. So clearly delineates the difference between them. :D
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Thank you very much, I was always told to have a strong closing line on an easy, a conclusion can make or break your essay.