Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Taking back the name
This absolutely confirms that truth and quality aren't necessary conditions for a popular meme. Snakes on a Plane, a new Samuel L. Jackson action thriller movie, is set to become a new meme -- over a year before the movie itself is due to be released! The title of the movie sums up the action nicely. A plane is flying in the air and an assassin lets loose a bunch of snakes inside it. No messing around with arthouse names or faux-noir kinda titles here; no pretensions of granduer or sophisticated plotlines. As Samuel L Jackson put it, "Either you want to see it, or you don't".
In fact, when the producers tried to up the ante a little on the film (which is being roundly panned by reviewers, even though it's not even finished yet!) and rename it "Pacific Air 121" or something inane like that, Samuel L. refused to give over "Snakes on a Plane" as the title, arguing the title of the movie was the main reason he decided to take the role! And a meme is born.... and possibly a mutating meme at that.
And, of course, I absolutely, positively have to have this t-shirt [warning: not work-safe language] AND/OR this one [language here ain't work-safe, either].
Perhaps the movie isn't all that far from real life, after all...
