Topic: Are we any better than the folks who watch stuff like The Hills? (Read 13532 times)

Eddie 88 · « **on:** 11 Jul 2009, 09:41 »

Reading a slice-of-life webcomic that has no overt plot, just follows the lives of a handful of twenty-somethings as they go through various bouts of comedy and drama, speculating on who's going to end up with who on a forum, expressing our love and hatred of the characters, I sort of feel like I can't make fun of people for watching stupid reality shows that essentially do the same thing anymore. That'd be like Sarah Palin preaching abstinence-only sex education.

Wait, that's it! I'll be a hypocrit!

So, reality TV shows hinging on superficial teenage drama are so dumb, right?

Seriously, though, I'm addicted to QC, but I can't think of one good reason why. I love Gene Wolfe because of his mastery of the first-person perspective, rampant philosophizing and insights into human nature that never come off as preachy, I love M. Night Shyamalan for doing his own thing with gusto and not giving half a damn that nobody but me likes his movies, I love Shonen Knife because despite silly, Engrishey lyrics and only being 4 feet tall each, they rock the ol' guitar-base-drums combo as hard as mighty Thor, but why do I love QC? Am I living vicariously through a protagonist not entirely unlike myself in personality and demeanor? Is this the reason nerdy teenagers read harem manga? Am I going to answer my own questions here? No. Well, yes for that last one, but that's it.

To give this topic a purpose; why do you like QC?

blaha 41 · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 10:20 »

Why do I read something that people who watch the hills would think is the ne plus ultra of lame?

... it reminds me of a very hard time in my life, and helps me go back and find some very special parts of it even though it was very rough.

edit: which is maybe a reason that people watch the hills, too?

nichidani · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 10:42 »

i guess we aren't. i just think qc is funny, and that's it. i haven't really stopped to think of reasons other than that for why i read it, or why i go on forums to talk about it.

Juniper Jade · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 11:54 »

I just like the comic, I like the characters and I like the scenarios Jeph puts said characters in. Not to mention it has little trouble making robits. The Hills don't have that.

I never really thought I was better than the people who watched The Hills. I don't watch it and I think it's a silly show, but thats what I think. If someone said the same thing about QC I would just shrug and say it's okay to think that.

nichidani · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 12:58 »

Quote from: Juniper Jade on 11 Jul 2009, 11:54

not to mention it has little trouble making robits. The Hills don't have that.

fucking exactly.

kemon · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 13:27 »

i like qc because it's funny, the art is really good, and the characters are all so interesting.

also, i'm in love with faye.

just kidding.

but seriously, faye... call me?

Kross · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 13:32 »

Okay, I'm just going to chalk this thread up as a delusion brought on by boredom and sweet tea, because I know someone did not just compare Questionable Content with The Hills. If they did, then we would have to immolate them.

Eddie 88 · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 13:53 »

@Jeans: Nah, it was just me who thought he was better than people who watch The Hills. Then I realized I'm not. Cue sad guitar png.

@Kross: At least I didn't compare old Trek with new Trek. That's blasphemy.

maddness · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 16:50 »

I try to make it a practice never to think myself better than anyone else. I will however cop to a certain disdain for reality tv. Most people watch them for the drama and I don't think that's a good thing. They suck you in and you often end up watching people at their worst. There's always at least one toxic person in the mix who manipulates and sets people against each other. I've seen what that does up close and personal and I don't want to sit around and watch it on tv. It just makes me feel angry and a bit bitter.

The thing about QC is that, aside from being a cartoon and therefore a less realistic, most of the characters are decent folk at heart and all though Faye rips on people, no one is really malicious.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 17:48 »

I enjoy QC for the wit and wordplay, not being as visually oriented as many of the people here. Never occurred to me to feel superior to viewers of other media, and the ugly fact is that I spend too much time on QC anyway.

Ivaness · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 18:28 »

Quote from: Eddie 88 on 11 Jul 2009, 13:53

@Kross: At least I didn't compare old Trek with new Trek. That's blasphemy.

Agreed.

@OP: I enjoy QC ... just because. That's a fantastic reason!

Mr. Doctor · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 05:02 »

I would never think I'm better than anyone jsut because of what they watch... Even if that program is totally crap.

And to answer the question... I enjoy QC because I see that most of the characters and the different kinds of events that happens to each one of them are quite realistic and natural [with some exceptions like the robots... or pizzagirl]. but overall...It just feel more natural than most of the things on the tv that are waaaaaaay too exaggerated. Or maybe that's just me.

Surgoshan · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 07:30 »

Are you saying "Chuck" couldn't happen?

Juniper Jade · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 08:55 »

Quote from: Surgoshan on 12 Jul 2009, 07:30

Are you saying "Chuck" couldn't happen?

Please don't kill my dreams.

SigPig · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 10:19 »

I like the comic because it is funny. No other reason.

akronnick · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 12:52 »

People should watch/read/listen to/wear what they like and not worry about what others watch/read/listen to/wear or what others think about their viewing/reading/listening/wardrobe choices. I think the reason there is so much popular crap out there is that stuff is popular not because it is good, but because it is popular.

Professor Snuggles · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 15:05 »

YOU GUYS ARE ACTUALLY WORSE, PROBABLY.

AT LEAST THE PEOPLE WHO WATCH THE HILLS DO NOT NAVELGAZE ABOUT IT ON MESSAGEBOARDS.

Professor Snuggles · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 15:06 »

ALSO, THE HILLS? SERIOUSLY?

UPDATE YOUR CULTURAL REFERENCES MOTHERFUCCA

Juniper Jade · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 15:14 »

YEAH!

Surgoshan · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 20:31 »

WHAT.

Penquin47 · « **Reply #20 on:** 12 Jul 2009, 23:06 »

If I ever thought I was better than them, I'd have my brother sit me down and remind me of all the utter CRAP that I love.

Star Trek V.
Lord of the Rings (Bakshi, not Jackson (not that I don't love Jackson's as well, but I would not put it under crap (except for what he did to Treebeard and the Ents))).
Batman and Rob... okay, I'm kidding on that one and can't even finish.

NotAFanOfFenders · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Jul 2009, 16:45 »

the fuck?

shatterednoises · « **Reply #22 on:** 15 Jul 2009, 14:13 »

I try not to think I'm better than anyone. Also, I don't necessarily love QC. There, I said it.

LeeC · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Jul 2009, 11:14 »

No we are no worse and no better.

we are who we are, nothing more and nothing less.

Scotto · « **Reply #24 on:** 20 Jul 2009, 14:47 »

Worse? Naw. Now, I've never watched the Hills (outside of clips on he Soup) although there was a time I did watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Jon and Kate Plus 8.

Considering QC is a work of fiction, the creator of which puts a great deal of time and effort into, involving character building and comedy-writing, and those shows typically just film the results of whatever situation gets cooked up, I'd say there isn't much comparison.

Now, are we better than the people who obsess about Family Circus? Yes.

westrim · « **Reply #25 on:** 20 Jul 2009, 18:18 »

QC takes a minute, tops, to read a strip. The Hills takes a minimum of 22 minutes to watch. Even if both are exactly the same in terms of inanity, those who read QC are still 21 times better. Since QC has actual humor and an overall plot, so that bumps it up to 42 times better (does this mean that QC is the answer?).
And what do people have against Jackson's Ents and New Trek?

Scotto · « **Reply #26 on:** 21 Jul 2009, 09:45 »

I think the point was, if QC is inane, and the Hills is inane, then a shorter burst of inanity is preferable. But then, that's if both are inane.

As to Stalker... oh, man. If you're watching Stalker for entertainment value, then good on you. It's a very well-made movie to be sure, but for entertainment, I'd rather have Ghostbusters.

SleeperCylon · « **Reply #27 on:** 22 Jul 2009, 12:37 »

I like QC because it has a unique perspective on life. QC tells a the same story a little different than everyone else tells it. It takes place in the (Mostly) real world with characters I (Mostly) like and identify with. They're three dimensional and sympathetic. The focus of QC puts flawed beauty over ugly perfection. The characters are flawed, but do the best they can and end up helping each other cope with and overcome their issues.

Whereas shows like The Hills tell the same story in pretty much the same way everyone else tells it. Characters are two dimensional and not particularly sympathetic, and take part in the same little consumerist utopian-for-the-beautiful-elite fantasy spoiled rich kids are brought up in.

I can't imagine anybody who could be on the Hills not treating anybody who could be on Questionable Content like shit.

Of course we're not better than people who watch the Hills. We just identify with a ecclectic group of normal-but-flawed people more than rich, vacuous beauty-elitists.

Ikrik · « **Reply #28 on:** 23 Jul 2009, 00:42 »

The Hills? Seriously?

I would like to think we're much different from the people who watch The Hills...but better? Naw. QC is about a minute of my time every weekday. Sometimes I'll spend a few hours rereading the archives. I'll have a discussion about it with someone but it's certainly not the object of my obsession. The Hills however, has a huge, possibly rabid, audience that are desperately thirsty for anything regard Speidi (right?) It's possible for anyone to flip on the TV and find themselves watching The Hills...wondering how the world came to this and how suddenly The Flavour of Love seems almost sophisticated in comparison. QC on the other hand is a lot harder to find, I'm going to assume that most of us did not turn on the internet one day and come across this website by accident. I'm going to further assume that you might have stumbled across it by accessing another webcomic or a friend who reads webcomics. I'll just say that the audience for both are extremely different. The Hills panders to 14-16 year old girls who love Twilight whereas QC targets 16-30's boys and girls who might possibly like Twilight. The Hills certainly has a much larger audience whereas QC is composed of mostly core fans.

And I think the fact that Jeans mentioned Tarkovsky's STALKER just proved that, yes, we are better. (and I should really watch that movie)

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #29 on:** 23 Jul 2009, 07:07 »

Quote from: Mr. Doctor on 12 Jul 2009, 05:02

I would never think I'm better than anyone just because of what they watch... Even if that program is totally crap.

I would. Anybody who watches Hogan knows Best or the follow-up with his daughter, that amazingly blonde girl whose name has slipped from my mind right now or a show like Kendra voluntairily deserves to have some scorn heaped upon them.

Pypoli · « **Reply #30 on:** 23 Jul 2009, 08:13 »

Though QC does not have a main plot, it is still written by an intelligent, person with an obvious interest of the world surrounding him, a widespread music knowledge, and a detailed knowledge of the relationships between people through what i can only assume is experience.

This puts him in stark contrast with anyone that has ever signed up for a reality show.

Plus, it's written to be funny, so there's at least some hope that it will turn out that way.

lunchmeat · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Jul 2009, 14:37 »

Quote from: Eddie 88 on 11 Jul 2009, 09:41

Are we any better than the folks who watch stuff like The Hills?

If you take a personal interest in the lives of the people in the comic, then no.

jonarus_drakus · « **Reply #32 on:** 27 Jul 2009, 12:33 »

I read QC for the large helpings of both comedy and Drama (Dramedy?). While both the 'world' and the characters in it are fictional, they are a believable fictional (by which i mean people exactly like the characters could easly exist in the real world - not neccisarily all together or anything, but out there... Just like the Truth...). So, multi-dimensional characters that can be identified with, humor & Drama, compeling interlinking sub-plots (stop me if i start getting over-complicated), and lets face it, the sexual inuendo (in-YOUR-endo! High five!) both implied and actualised.

I could keep going, but i figure i should stop before i say something i regret...

like that...

and that... >message repeats<

PS: I hate the Hills, not because i have a blanket hatred of reality TV, but because i hate that sort of vapid, one dimensional (if that), directionless, 'trust-fund baby'.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Are we any better than the folks who watch stuff like The Hills? (Read 13532 times)

shatterednoises

Scotto

westrim

Scotto