things that are hilarious, vol. 17: the comments section on hulu

If you've ever watched anything on hulu, you may have noticed that below each episode/clip/etc. there is a section where anyone can comment on what they just watched and discuss it with other people. as i'm sure you can imagine (purely based on the fact that these are internet commenters we're talking about), the hulu comments section suffers from the usual terrible things that happen when the internet and stupid people collide: egregious spelling errors, unnecessary political arguments/baiting and even the occasional reference to hitler. despite these things, i still feel compelled to read the comments sections for shows anyway.

why, you ask? well, it's simple: my very favorite thing about the hulu comments section is when people get so engrossed in a show that they start commenting as though the characters are real people.

take for example, a recent episode of Parks & Recreation. if you aren't familiar with the show, there is a running joke about how everyone hates jerry, a long-standing government employee who happens to be sort of clumsy/awkward/clueless. the fact that jerry is actually a really nice person makes the joke funnier, mostly because the point of the joke is that you aren't laughing at jerry, you're really laughing at how ridiculous it is that everyone hates him for no reason. however, there is obviously a significant segment of parks & rec viewers that don't get the joke (somehow despite the fact that it's made in every single episode?), as several people got very up in arms about how jerry is treated in a recent episode - you know, because JERRY IS A REAL PERSON THAT THEY KNOW IN REAL LIFE:

(you can click to enlarge this)

(Side note: apparently i have worked in health policy for so long, dealing with lots of data privacy issues, that i feel compelled to explain that i figured it was fine to leave their names and pictures in this post, since they already posted these comments on a publicly accessible website).

i especially appreciate the last guy's comment, as he even manages to argue that jerry's impressive penis size is a legitimate reason that his coworkers shouldn't make fun of him.

an even worse example (or better, if you are a terrible human being like me) is a comment i found on an episode of Bunheads. obviously i am embarrassed to admit that i have watched this show, but in my defense, it is written and produced by the same person who wrote and produced Gilmore Girls, which was completely underrated given it was one of the quirkiest/wittiest shows of its time. anyway, if you are not aware, Bunheads is about teenage ballerinas. yes, you read that right. as embarrassed as i am to have watched a few episodes, at least i'm not this guy, who is so into the show that he actually rants Mean Girls-style about one of the characters. extra props to him given that he is wearing a football jersey in his pic (way to defeat stereotypes, dude!):

i mean, obviously GINNY IS A REAL PERSON THAT HE KNOWS. ok, ok, so maybe it's his girlfriend/sister/daughter (or even son) that posted that, but i actually prefer to believe that it was the dude in the picture talking shit about a fictional teenage character, because that is just much funnier somehow.

anyway, to wrap up, the message of today's post is: 1. the line between reality and fiction is surprisingly unclear to a lot of people, and 2. it is really fun making fun of those people.