What’s Wrong About the Normal Dude?

~ Clarissa

I honestly don’t get it. Dude has a wonderful life. I’m older so I have a family plus mostly bring lunch from home but other than that, it’s what it looks like. And I’m loving it. Are they dunking on him because he’s unmarried? But his personal situation can be absolutely anything. We can’t know that from the video. Are the clothes supposed to be not right? The food? What are people finding so unusual?

Looks like a very positive, healthy, good fellow. I watched twice trying to understand the drama but no go.

The Zeitgeist is leaving me behind.

Unknown's avatar

Published by Clarissa

17 thoughts on “What’s Wrong About the Normal Dude?”

  1. They are dunking on him because he is “normal,” i.e. working a normal 9-5 in the office and the like.

    That would be considered the worst you can do by most gen Z and quite a few millennials at the moment. There is a huge push towards working from home, and the same time being your own boss (in the sense of being a glitzy influencer rather than truly having a small business), constantly travelling at the same time when you’re supposed to be running a business (?) and being “exciting,” whatever that may mean.

    Apparently, this dude’s social media handle is @hubs.life and he tags his content #normalizethenorm. He is aiming to create content to help people feel better about not retiring at 22, travelling the world constantly and/or being super rich. I am honestly a bit surprised at the backlash. I had not realised how much younger people are living vicariously through influencers on social media and not in real life. And I agree, our dude here is living the dream!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Wow, people without subjectivities are already here, then. I thought we had a few more years.

      They have no inner world, and they can’t go there, like we, people with subjectivities do, while performing routine tasks. So they can’t tolerate such tasks. They need constant stimulation because there’s no depth to them and they can’t stimulate themselves from within.

      So that’s what it looks like. Oh wow. I predicted this tsunami but it’s weird actually to see it.

      Like

      Reply

      1. The ones mocking are people with normally developed subjectivities.

        We have seen nothing yet. Soon the kids born after 2012 will grow up and we’ll blame them instead of the mothers who stared at their phones while they breastfed.

        Like

        Reply

  2. “Are they dunking on him because he’s unmarried? “

    In the scenario presented I think the idea is that he’s completely atomized and doing dull reptitive meaningless work (reinforced by the music ominous slowed-down music). But if you put something more upbeat (I chose baby elephant walk and then walking on sunshine) it seems a lot less dystopian.

    But he has a wedding ring on (and apparently in real life he and his wife are expecting a baby).

    Here’s another video (he’s done a lot of these)

    Like

    Reply
    1. He is alone, all the time.
    2. His life is normal and in some people’s view, unoriginal. Against what we see on social media, where everything is always special (the food…the protein shake… the magic change of outfit in a snap of fingers, to some impressive fashion).

    Ol.

    Like

    Reply

  4. White straight dude acting out his “Whiteness”. Going to work on a regular 9 to 5 schedule (punctuality: Whiteness); going about his daily tasks (shopping for normative “White” groceries: “healthy” fruits&veggies – body shaming and culture shaming: many minority cultures have different food traditions; milk: “Whiteness” – BIPOC tend to be lactose-intolerant); changing into fitness attire for his workout practice: very “White” – minorities usually wear such attire as their everyday outfit. The whole performance is very problematic. Do you get it now?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I think what he’s doing is delightfully funny. Anti-influencer videos, where he’s not over-emoting (he’s under-emoting, if anything) for the camera, not pimping out his wife or kids for likes (just the dog maybe).

    It’s OK to talk about how that’s a lifestyle that’s out of reach for most Americans, and whether it’s realistic to think you can afford that shiny house and shiny car by “being normal”. But there’s nothing wrong with it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Needs different BGM, “The Police” isn’t doing it …

    Downtempo “The Price Is Right” … yeah, that works, he looks like a guy who hopes his next spin won’t put him over.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Downtempo “The Price Is Right”

      Or cumbia rebajada….. (style of cumbia from Mexico, at a live event the tape player mal-functioned and played at a reduced speed…. and people decided they like it.

      It adds a “at what precise moment will he crack?” frisson to the proceedings.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment