"portlandia" ... satire or not-so-much-satire-actually?
February 2, 2011 8:44 AM Subscribe
how accurate is the show "portlandia"? i get the satire part ... but that doesn't mean it's not spot on.
i've been thinking about moving to portland (and posting a related broader question in the near future) ... but then i started watching "portlandia."
yes, i get satire. but there's satire and then there's "well, that's pretty much us."
i understand that could be a contingent ripe for jokes, but not really the tone of the city. in all other aspects it seems to be the city for me. especially ... dodgeball? hide and seek? crafting? i'm in. but a bunch of type-a hippies sucking the fun out of everything by over-intellectualizing with RULES and STRUCTURE and FAIRNESS might drive me insane. i don't know if it's a dealbreaker ... but i'd factor it in.
i like my hippies to be hippies. i'm way too rebellious for relentlessly earnest egalitarians.
i've been thinking about moving to portland (and posting a related broader question in the near future) ... but then i started watching "portlandia."
yes, i get satire. but there's satire and then there's "well, that's pretty much us."
i understand that could be a contingent ripe for jokes, but not really the tone of the city. in all other aspects it seems to be the city for me. especially ... dodgeball? hide and seek? crafting? i'm in. but a bunch of type-a hippies sucking the fun out of everything by over-intellectualizing with RULES and STRUCTURE and FAIRNESS might drive me insane. i don't know if it's a dealbreaker ... but i'd factor it in.
i like my hippies to be hippies. i'm way too rebellious for relentlessly earnest egalitarians.
I remember watching an interview with the two stars, and they said that the crew gets irked because whenever they walk around Portland they see characters from the show.
I've never been to Portland, but I've always thought it'd be a nice place to live - I can't imagine everyone there is as extreme as the characters on the show.
posted by backwards guitar at 9:04 AM on February 2, 2011
I've never been to Portland, but I've always thought it'd be a nice place to live - I can't imagine everyone there is as extreme as the characters on the show.
posted by backwards guitar at 9:04 AM on February 2, 2011
Best answer: Danf has a point. It's fairly diverse here, and you can find aspects of that show demonstrated in just about every city...but some of the tropes put forth in that show are so impossible to avoid here, especially if you live close into the city. It's really bad sometimes.
For example, my wife and i were driving over the Burnside bridge this past weekend, and noticed a dude wearing a bear costume holding a tall bike, looking like he was getting really upset and gearing up for a fight with a homeless dude.
Our first reaction was 'oh shit, should we call the cops? I hope that homeless dude is okay' and slowed down to see if we needed to call the cops.
The tall bike and the bear costume didn't even register as odd until we relayed this story to some family members. Shit like this happens every week. I was born and raised in Portland, but I have friends and family from Boston who are slack-jawed amazed at the bullshit that goes on in this city.
Unfortunately, in the past 6-7 years or so, Portland has gone from being a "Strange, Strange Place" to "Trying way too hard to be weird"
Strange and Weird are really big distinctions in my book.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:07 AM on February 2, 2011 [5 favorites]
For example, my wife and i were driving over the Burnside bridge this past weekend, and noticed a dude wearing a bear costume holding a tall bike, looking like he was getting really upset and gearing up for a fight with a homeless dude.
Our first reaction was 'oh shit, should we call the cops? I hope that homeless dude is okay' and slowed down to see if we needed to call the cops.
The tall bike and the bear costume didn't even register as odd until we relayed this story to some family members. Shit like this happens every week. I was born and raised in Portland, but I have friends and family from Boston who are slack-jawed amazed at the bullshit that goes on in this city.
Unfortunately, in the past 6-7 years or so, Portland has gone from being a "Strange, Strange Place" to "Trying way too hard to be weird"
Strange and Weird are really big distinctions in my book.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:07 AM on February 2, 2011 [5 favorites]
I live in Seattle, but I have family in Portland. I would say that the subgroup they're satirizing is definitely present and large, and that the satire of that group is pretty on-the-nose, but that there are huge segments of portland that have nothing to do with Portlandia.
But, yeah, wow. It's. . . not inaccurate.
posted by KathrynT at 9:14 AM on February 2, 2011
But, yeah, wow. It's. . . not inaccurate.
posted by KathrynT at 9:14 AM on February 2, 2011
Tl;dr version:
New York can't be summed up by Woody Allen films, and Portland can't be summed up by Portlandia.
Longer, more thought out version:
As a Portland resident, I often wonder whether those outside Portland find any of Portlandia even remotely funny.
As with any satire, there is some truth to everything. The restaurant sketch from the first episode, where Carrie and Fred get a dossier on the bird they're about to eat? About 35% true. If you like backstory with your food, Portland cab certainly be your place. However, it's not as all-encompassing as Portlandia would make it seem - there are plenty of good places to eat that don't wear their food pedigree on their sleeves, as well.
The bookstore that has been in both sketches? Yeah, those people exist. but there aren't too many of them.
The hide-and-seek sketch, to me, was closer to what Portland is ripe for being mocked for. There are a shit-ton of young people here - which is by no means a bad thing - so a lot of the group activities you read about in the local alt-weeklies tend to be of the trendy sort, like dodgeball and whatnot, as opposed to "hey come join our softball league or bowling team". There are, however, many softball leagues and bowling teams, should that be your thing. It's just that the young, more "hip" activities tend to get more notice.
Again, though, that's not a bad thing, and Portland is an entirely pleasant place to live. You could live an entire life and never see the things you saw in Portlandia, or you could immerse yourself in that culture; that's the great thing about Portland, is that nobody gives a damn how you live. It's up to you.
posted by pdb at 9:15 AM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
New York can't be summed up by Woody Allen films, and Portland can't be summed up by Portlandia.
Longer, more thought out version:
As a Portland resident, I often wonder whether those outside Portland find any of Portlandia even remotely funny.
As with any satire, there is some truth to everything. The restaurant sketch from the first episode, where Carrie and Fred get a dossier on the bird they're about to eat? About 35% true. If you like backstory with your food, Portland cab certainly be your place. However, it's not as all-encompassing as Portlandia would make it seem - there are plenty of good places to eat that don't wear their food pedigree on their sleeves, as well.
The bookstore that has been in both sketches? Yeah, those people exist. but there aren't too many of them.
The hide-and-seek sketch, to me, was closer to what Portland is ripe for being mocked for. There are a shit-ton of young people here - which is by no means a bad thing - so a lot of the group activities you read about in the local alt-weeklies tend to be of the trendy sort, like dodgeball and whatnot, as opposed to "hey come join our softball league or bowling team". There are, however, many softball leagues and bowling teams, should that be your thing. It's just that the young, more "hip" activities tend to get more notice.
Again, though, that's not a bad thing, and Portland is an entirely pleasant place to live. You could live an entire life and never see the things you saw in Portlandia, or you could immerse yourself in that culture; that's the great thing about Portland, is that nobody gives a damn how you live. It's up to you.
posted by pdb at 9:15 AM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
As a 10+ year resident of Portland, I have to say that I found it pretty spot-on. Except for the polygamy farm - haven't heard of that particular trend taking hold here yet!
However, humor often relies on hyperbole, so the idea that aaaalll of Portland is like that is where it's a little exaggerated. But it does hit upon prevalent lifestyles/attitudes/what have you. Also, I have to wonder if you find them more in certain parts of Portland than in others. For example, in the more "close-in" areas, rather than out in the perimeters.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:15 AM on February 2, 2011
However, humor often relies on hyperbole, so the idea that aaaalll of Portland is like that is where it's a little exaggerated. But it does hit upon prevalent lifestyles/attitudes/what have you. Also, I have to wonder if you find them more in certain parts of Portland than in others. For example, in the more "close-in" areas, rather than out in the perimeters.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:15 AM on February 2, 2011
Unfortunately, in the past 6-7 years or so, Portland has gone from being a "Strange, Strange Place" to "Trying way too hard to be weird"
This is the most spot-on comment about Portland you will ever hear.
posted by pdb at 9:15 AM on February 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
This is the most spot-on comment about Portland you will ever hear.
posted by pdb at 9:15 AM on February 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
There are super earnest types here for sure, but most of the silliness is just silliness and not taken seriously. Another thing about Portland is that we're often non-confrontational to a fault. It's not like the earnest types will shun you for not following the RULES.
And I'm totally not seeing why a guy in a bear costume riding a tall bike is in any way "bad".
posted by chrchr at 9:19 AM on February 2, 2011
And I'm totally not seeing why a guy in a bear costume riding a tall bike is in any way "bad".
posted by chrchr at 9:19 AM on February 2, 2011
No, Portland isn't trying way too hard to be weird. There are just some very active sub-cultures here, I think. And, yes, a lot of young people and a high level of tolerance with a long history. Also, currently, too many people with lots of time on their hands and not a lot of money - you have to make your own fun.
Around Xmas, I was leaving Whole Bowl on Hawthorne when I heard bagpipes playing. Awesome, I love bagpipes! Looking around and coming down the street is a guy dressed as Santa, riding a unicycle, wearing a kilt on his bottom half, playing the bagpipes. Was he trying too hard? I don't know - looked pretty hard to me. But it was a cold, grey day and everyone in his path was smiling so, who cares? In another part of America, he would probably get assaulted.
Also: tall bikes are very real.
posted by amanda at 9:34 AM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Around Xmas, I was leaving Whole Bowl on Hawthorne when I heard bagpipes playing. Awesome, I love bagpipes! Looking around and coming down the street is a guy dressed as Santa, riding a unicycle, wearing a kilt on his bottom half, playing the bagpipes. Was he trying too hard? I don't know - looked pretty hard to me. But it was a cold, grey day and everyone in his path was smiling so, who cares? In another part of America, he would probably get assaulted.
Also: tall bikes are very real.
posted by amanda at 9:34 AM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I haven't lived in Portland, but several friends have, or are from there, etc.
The sense I get is that Portland is not a city of "hippies", in the traditional definition. The counterculture there is its own very specific thing, and yes, just like any culture (including hippie culture), there are rules and structure and ways of being moral/less moral.
If you are looking for a town full of deadheads and stoners in dreadlocks and tie-die playing hacky sack, Portland might not be your town (though I'm sure there are people there who do that).
If you are looking for a place where pesky things like social mores don't exist, I dunno. Mars, maybe? Your own private island?
posted by Sara C. at 9:53 AM on February 2, 2011
The sense I get is that Portland is not a city of "hippies", in the traditional definition. The counterculture there is its own very specific thing, and yes, just like any culture (including hippie culture), there are rules and structure and ways of being moral/less moral.
If you are looking for a town full of deadheads and stoners in dreadlocks and tie-die playing hacky sack, Portland might not be your town (though I'm sure there are people there who do that).
If you are looking for a place where pesky things like social mores don't exist, I dunno. Mars, maybe? Your own private island?
posted by Sara C. at 9:53 AM on February 2, 2011
DrGrilfriend:
I'm pretty sure that the polygamy-farm sketch was a reference to the Rajneesh cult action back in the 80's. They weren't polygamists, but they were pretty down with all kinds of sexual freedom within their organization.
Again, Cults operating in Eastern Oregon in the 80's: deeply strange. Not kitschy and weird.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:56 AM on February 2, 2011
I'm pretty sure that the polygamy-farm sketch was a reference to the Rajneesh cult action back in the 80's. They weren't polygamists, but they were pretty down with all kinds of sexual freedom within their organization.
Again, Cults operating in Eastern Oregon in the 80's: deeply strange. Not kitschy and weird.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:56 AM on February 2, 2011
Response by poster: this makes me feel better. i know it's not representative of every single person - i'm not 12 years old. but most cities have a prevalent character and being at odds with the tide can be exhausting.
part of why i'm leaving my current, newer, very large midwestern city is that i don't really fit in. which is fine with me, but frowned upon by the masses. not everyone is like this (blah blah blah), but it's enough of them for me to be ready to leave.
lest you think i've been in a bear suit riding a tall bike (those were the days) ... i have very short, platinum hair. for the last year, people on the street have yelled "hey, lady gaga" at me weekly. i'm twice her age, wear jeans and tshirts and sneakers. no meat dresses - just short, blonde hair and i'm a freak. (in la, i was the square one ... here i'm lady gaga.)
by all rights, portland seems to be the ideal place for me. but i would be remiss if the show had been a very large red flag i ignored.
ok - sorry for the hijack. longer "where should i live" post tk.
posted by crankyrogalsky at 10:13 AM on February 2, 2011
part of why i'm leaving my current, newer, very large midwestern city is that i don't really fit in. which is fine with me, but frowned upon by the masses. not everyone is like this (blah blah blah), but it's enough of them for me to be ready to leave.
lest you think i've been in a bear suit riding a tall bike (those were the days) ... i have very short, platinum hair. for the last year, people on the street have yelled "hey, lady gaga" at me weekly. i'm twice her age, wear jeans and tshirts and sneakers. no meat dresses - just short, blonde hair and i'm a freak. (in la, i was the square one ... here i'm lady gaga.)
by all rights, portland seems to be the ideal place for me. but i would be remiss if the show had been a very large red flag i ignored.
ok - sorry for the hijack. longer "where should i live" post tk.
posted by crankyrogalsky at 10:13 AM on February 2, 2011
Best answer: I live in Portland, moved here in 2000. I just watched Portlandia last night for the first time with my sweetie, who has been here all her life. Her reaction was more severe than mine. She worried that the show would make too many people want to live here. :) She also worried that people would think that we are all like that. We're not. We're much more diverse.
That said, there is a huge Burner community here. There's a huge hipster community, and a gay community. There are also very strong open-source and business communities. It is like any relatively big city, full of interesting affinity groups, not all that different from Minneapolis, just warmer, with less Norwegians and many fewer rapes.
I think the "hippie" aspects are overplayed in the show, for example, I've been to a feminist bookstore like the one they are satirizing, and they were perfectly happy to take my money and not quibble about my choice of book. Business is business, even in Portland.
I thought it was great that our actual mayor, Sam Adams, was in episode 2. I love the guy. I met him at a house party during his campaign. I asked him a hard question and ... he *did not* give me the obvious answer I wanted. He actually took the time to explain a few details I did not know. He got my vote and my confidence. I also absolutely loved the simple fact that he was elected mayor without my realizing he is gay. Think about that. In almost any other city, it would have been part of the debate, the news, the fight. Not in Portland. We wouldn't have reacted well to that campaign ploy, not civilized.
One thing I think is a bit unusual, based on my past living all over the place in the U.S., is the attitude toward Fridays. There really isn't a Friday traffic jam at 5. That's because most of Portland appears to knock off at noon on Fridays. Maybe not Nike (which isn't really in Portland anyway), but most local companies seem to turn a blind eye to the fact that their employees stop working or leave at noon on Friday. Even my kids' school lets out at noon on Friday. We don't talk about it much, but it is just something we do here. I own my own business, I work 10-14 hour days most days, but I too succumb to the allure of stopping early on Fridays.
Another thing that Portland has that most cities do not is actual neighborhoods. By that I mean a place that one can mostly live, work, shop, and get on with life without ever *having* to hit the interstate. Contrast that with Austin (also a great city, not as good as Portland, IMHO) where I had to spend 30 minutes on the interstate just to go to a cruddy grocery store.
If you want to live in a "normal" city, but want access to Portland, live in Beaverton. Boring, corporate, strip-mall-filled, easy to predict. Portland is simply my favorite of the five cities I've lived in, I will never leave.
posted by Invoke at 10:22 AM on February 2, 2011
That said, there is a huge Burner community here. There's a huge hipster community, and a gay community. There are also very strong open-source and business communities. It is like any relatively big city, full of interesting affinity groups, not all that different from Minneapolis, just warmer, with less Norwegians and many fewer rapes.
I think the "hippie" aspects are overplayed in the show, for example, I've been to a feminist bookstore like the one they are satirizing, and they were perfectly happy to take my money and not quibble about my choice of book. Business is business, even in Portland.
I thought it was great that our actual mayor, Sam Adams, was in episode 2. I love the guy. I met him at a house party during his campaign. I asked him a hard question and ... he *did not* give me the obvious answer I wanted. He actually took the time to explain a few details I did not know. He got my vote and my confidence. I also absolutely loved the simple fact that he was elected mayor without my realizing he is gay. Think about that. In almost any other city, it would have been part of the debate, the news, the fight. Not in Portland. We wouldn't have reacted well to that campaign ploy, not civilized.
One thing I think is a bit unusual, based on my past living all over the place in the U.S., is the attitude toward Fridays. There really isn't a Friday traffic jam at 5. That's because most of Portland appears to knock off at noon on Fridays. Maybe not Nike (which isn't really in Portland anyway), but most local companies seem to turn a blind eye to the fact that their employees stop working or leave at noon on Friday. Even my kids' school lets out at noon on Friday. We don't talk about it much, but it is just something we do here. I own my own business, I work 10-14 hour days most days, but I too succumb to the allure of stopping early on Fridays.
Another thing that Portland has that most cities do not is actual neighborhoods. By that I mean a place that one can mostly live, work, shop, and get on with life without ever *having* to hit the interstate. Contrast that with Austin (also a great city, not as good as Portland, IMHO) where I had to spend 30 minutes on the interstate just to go to a cruddy grocery store.
If you want to live in a "normal" city, but want access to Portland, live in Beaverton. Boring, corporate, strip-mall-filled, easy to predict. Portland is simply my favorite of the five cities I've lived in, I will never leave.
posted by Invoke at 10:22 AM on February 2, 2011
As a Seattle resident, Portland often appears like that. Portland seems to be over-educated and under-employed. So you get a lot of young, smart people taking an idea and running with it no matter where it leads on a small budget.
It's also much less of a nanny culture than a lot of west coast cities.
It's a great place, and if I didn't have to work for a living, that's where I'd move.
posted by lumpenprole at 10:23 AM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's also much less of a nanny culture than a lot of west coast cities.
It's a great place, and if I didn't have to work for a living, that's where I'd move.
posted by lumpenprole at 10:23 AM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
On reflection, a lot of the punchlines to Portlandia are a bit meanspirited in that "anybody who cares about anything must be a kook" kind of way. Yes there are tote bags with birds on them, no the artists aren't phobic of real birds. Yes there are feminist bookstores and co-ops and social justice groups and yes sometimes they have long conversations about equality or their own intragroup politics, but the bookstore scenes are filmed at a real feminist bookstore called "In Other Words" and they approve and are in on the joke. I've had my "bicycle rights" moments because I get sick of having cars cut me off on everyday commutes. Nevertheless, the bicycle scene in Portland has switched mostly to bike fun focus instead of activism over the past several years.
In a lot of ways, the evolution in Portland has been 1) we care about stuff. 2) we want to have fun. 3) it's okay to care about serious stuff and have fun with it at the same time. Portlandia is a logical continuation of that dialectic. The creators really do love Portland and sympathize with the characters they lampoon. I'm not sure if divided America is in on that message, though. It's easy to just see easy targets getting piled on and want to join in.
Which is all to say, if people who care about egalitarianism make you uncomfortable, yes, you will meet people like that in Portland in many subcultures.
(Also: rain, no jobs, "Seattle freeze" but worse...)
posted by Skwirl at 10:58 AM on February 2, 2011
In a lot of ways, the evolution in Portland has been 1) we care about stuff. 2) we want to have fun. 3) it's okay to care about serious stuff and have fun with it at the same time. Portlandia is a logical continuation of that dialectic. The creators really do love Portland and sympathize with the characters they lampoon. I'm not sure if divided America is in on that message, though. It's easy to just see easy targets getting piled on and want to join in.
Which is all to say, if people who care about egalitarianism make you uncomfortable, yes, you will meet people like that in Portland in many subcultures.
(Also: rain, no jobs, "Seattle freeze" but worse...)
posted by Skwirl at 10:58 AM on February 2, 2011
Here's proof that Amanda's comment about the unicycling Santa bagpiper* is true!
*make that Utilikilt-wearing unicyclist, bagpipper Santa.
posted by vespabelle at 11:11 AM on February 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
*make that Utilikilt-wearing unicyclist, bagpipper Santa.
posted by vespabelle at 11:11 AM on February 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
More evidence: He's on facebook, and is available for weddings, funerals, and other special occasions.
posted by zamboni at 12:01 PM on February 2, 2011
posted by zamboni at 12:01 PM on February 2, 2011
No, nobody here is going to scold you about adherence to rules and structure. They'll just grumble about you after you leave, then forget to invite you next time they meet up.
posted by milk white peacock at 12:31 PM on February 2, 2011
posted by milk white peacock at 12:31 PM on February 2, 2011
I love the weird culture in Portland. It's totally not my cup of tea, and I would never live in the Hawthorne district because it would drive me nuts (I live out in Beaverton), but it certainly exists.
When I bring in friends or family to visit, I always show them some of the hipster/urban/trendy spots and they are usually amazed.
posted by tacodave at 12:53 PM on February 2, 2011
When I bring in friends or family to visit, I always show them some of the hipster/urban/trendy spots and they are usually amazed.
posted by tacodave at 12:53 PM on February 2, 2011
More than anything, Portlandia makes fun of what people who don't live here imagine Portland to be like - and some of it is pretty spot on. But like everyone else has said, this is a diverse city (in the lifestyle/social culture sense).
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:02 PM on February 2, 2011
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:02 PM on February 2, 2011
i have very short, platinum hair. for the last year, people on the street have yelled "hey, lady gaga" at me weekly. i'm twice her age, wear jeans and tshirts and sneakers.
In Portland, I can almost guarantee that no one will look at you twice for that. If someone does, it's likely to be right before they stop and ask you where you got your hair done.
As I and others have mentioned, one of the best things about Portland is that there is no one dominant culture - there are many cultures, all of which seem to either coexist peacefully or exist in blissful ignorance of the other cultures. It's not some sort of free-living utopia, though, Portland definitely has its problems, but no worse than any other mid-sized American city; as far as people and culture goes, it sounds like it'll be right up your alley.
posted by pdb at 1:29 PM on February 2, 2011
In Portland, I can almost guarantee that no one will look at you twice for that. If someone does, it's likely to be right before they stop and ask you where you got your hair done.
As I and others have mentioned, one of the best things about Portland is that there is no one dominant culture - there are many cultures, all of which seem to either coexist peacefully or exist in blissful ignorance of the other cultures. It's not some sort of free-living utopia, though, Portland definitely has its problems, but no worse than any other mid-sized American city; as far as people and culture goes, it sounds like it'll be right up your alley.
posted by pdb at 1:29 PM on February 2, 2011
You should just move up the road to beautiful Madison. It's like the place that Portlanders would be if they weren't all living in a communal house until their band went somewhere. AND it has feminist bookstores and free-range chickens named Colin. A Chicken Underground, even!
posted by Madamina at 1:46 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Madamina at 1:46 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
There's been at least some degree of weirdness here my whole life. The city has an annual Rose Festival, which includes a couple of major parades.
It used to be (60's and 70's) that one of the parades was put on the Portland Rainmakers, and it was a silly parade where one of the goals of some of the people in the parade was to wear silly costumes and squirt water on those watching it.
Alas, that particular tradition seems to have gone by-the-by.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:05 PM on February 2, 2011
It used to be (60's and 70's) that one of the parades was put on the Portland Rainmakers, and it was a silly parade where one of the goals of some of the people in the parade was to wear silly costumes and squirt water on those watching it.
Alas, that particular tradition seems to have gone by-the-by.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:05 PM on February 2, 2011
A friend of mine is a screen printer here in Portland. In honor of Portlandia, he has put a bird on it.
Chocolate Pickle, the Rainmakers still march in the St. John's Parade.
posted by vespabelle at 3:39 PM on February 2, 2011
Chocolate Pickle, the Rainmakers still march in the St. John's Parade.
posted by vespabelle at 3:39 PM on February 2, 2011
I think Portlandia is funny and, in many ways, spot on in its satire. Not all Portland dwellers feel the same though. Many think it's either just straight up unfunny or actually mean spirited.
Sometimes I am totally in love with this city. Other times it makes me want to scream.
I'm an east coast transplant and it is easy to get tired of the hipsters and burners. God love em! Some of my best friends are burners (no! really!).
Generally, I get tired of the spiritualism crap the most. Most of my friends here believe in "magic" of some sort and it gets tiresome. I guess no more tiresome than than bible thumpers back home, but still irritating. I was actually asked, during an interview to rent a room, whether or not I believed in magic. I said no and they let me move in anyway, but from an east coast perspective, how weird is that? Here, it's totally normal!
In retropspect, I'm using this askme answer to rant about something that's been irritating me recently and that's probably not okay. But . . . does anybody read the posts down here anyway?
posted by dchrssyr at 3:42 PM on February 2, 2011
Sometimes I am totally in love with this city. Other times it makes me want to scream.
I'm an east coast transplant and it is easy to get tired of the hipsters and burners. God love em! Some of my best friends are burners (no! really!).
Generally, I get tired of the spiritualism crap the most. Most of my friends here believe in "magic" of some sort and it gets tiresome. I guess no more tiresome than than bible thumpers back home, but still irritating. I was actually asked, during an interview to rent a room, whether or not I believed in magic. I said no and they let me move in anyway, but from an east coast perspective, how weird is that? Here, it's totally normal!
In retropspect, I'm using this askme answer to rant about something that's been irritating me recently and that's probably not okay. But . . . does anybody read the posts down here anyway?
posted by dchrssyr at 3:42 PM on February 2, 2011
Response by poster: i'm still reading and appreciate the insight. i suspect most of the "PORTLAND IS DIVERSE" responses are from people who are exactly like the people on the show (go ahead, flame me ... awfully serious about not being serious).
i expect i'll want to scream once in a while ... it's to be expected. magic is obviously the cure.
(i swear i'm going to write a "where do i belong?" post that will be more pointed. i just wanted to know the answer to my actual question, is the show uncomfortably accurate. as for madison - i have midwest-itis ... am addressing in therapy.)
posted by crankyrogalsky at 5:08 PM on February 2, 2011
i expect i'll want to scream once in a while ... it's to be expected. magic is obviously the cure.
(i swear i'm going to write a "where do i belong?" post that will be more pointed. i just wanted to know the answer to my actual question, is the show uncomfortably accurate. as for madison - i have midwest-itis ... am addressing in therapy.)
posted by crankyrogalsky at 5:08 PM on February 2, 2011
Yeah, just read it. I don't live in Portland, but magic people are annoying and everywhere.
posted by thylacine at 5:10 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by thylacine at 5:10 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yup, I read your magic post just now because at 8:44 this morning I was in a meeting about [corporate thingy]. I have to wait until home to get caught up on the green.
posted by sfkiddo at 7:46 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sfkiddo at 7:46 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Heh, my boss (a hipster himself, but in denial) was visiting from Philly last week and we were doing some work in a coffee shop when that unicycle/utilikilt/bagpiper wheeled by. Boss: look of bewilderment. Me: eye roll.
This city is great, but there are also some aspects to it that can irk. The "Put a bird on it" thing made me think of the vast majority of art here, which is overwhelmingly juvenile and cartoony. The "hide and seek" sketch also recalled the Peter Pan-esque element here. I sometimes feel like I'm living in Logan's Run.
I feel like the city has taken on a blander aspect, at least in the half dozen years I've lived here and observed comings and goings. I mean, it makes sense. A certain type of person is attracted to the city, they move here en masse, often following in the footsteps of similarly-minded friends who have already done so, and --shockingly! --it becomes a city of residents with very uniform opinions/philosophies/interests.
(PS Has there been a Subaru Outback and/or VW Van reference in Portlandia yet?)
posted by medeine at 11:48 PM on February 2, 2011
This city is great, but there are also some aspects to it that can irk. The "Put a bird on it" thing made me think of the vast majority of art here, which is overwhelmingly juvenile and cartoony. The "hide and seek" sketch also recalled the Peter Pan-esque element here. I sometimes feel like I'm living in Logan's Run.
I feel like the city has taken on a blander aspect, at least in the half dozen years I've lived here and observed comings and goings. I mean, it makes sense. A certain type of person is attracted to the city, they move here en masse, often following in the footsteps of similarly-minded friends who have already done so, and --shockingly! --it becomes a city of residents with very uniform opinions/philosophies/interests.
(PS Has there been a Subaru Outback and/or VW Van reference in Portlandia yet?)
posted by medeine at 11:48 PM on February 2, 2011
live in Beaverton
Wow. They are saying that Beaverton is like the new, um, Hillsboro. . .
posted by Danf at 8:05 AM on February 3, 2011
Wow. They are saying that Beaverton is like the new, um, Hillsboro. . .
posted by Danf at 8:05 AM on February 3, 2011
I felt pretty awful when I saw the trailer for Portlandia. I've lived there for a good portion of my 21 years on this planet, and the show doesn't feel right. Just ten years ago, Portland was still a kinda scary place. When I was a little kid, there was stuff like gang violence and meth-heads, and most people who've lived here their entire lives still worry about that stuff. I hate the feeling, that as a young person, I immediately get lumped into a sort of "you're what's ruining portland" category. I love my home town, I know what it was like, and it some ways it breaks my heart to see so many youngn's moving here without any understanding of it's history, or where this town has come from.
I too am afraid that portlandia will encourage more people to move here, because I'm not comfortable with change. I imagine I'm five clicks away from being a hardcore Portland fundamentalist, if there ever was such a thing.
posted by Philipschall at 8:56 AM on February 3, 2011
I too am afraid that portlandia will encourage more people to move here, because I'm not comfortable with change. I imagine I'm five clicks away from being a hardcore Portland fundamentalist, if there ever was such a thing.
posted by Philipschall at 8:56 AM on February 3, 2011
When I first moved here (Portland) it was explained that everyone here dresses like they are either:
posted by wcfields at 9:55 AM on February 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
- Sexy Librarian
- About to go on a hike
posted by wcfields at 9:55 AM on February 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
Wow. They are saying that Beaverton is like the new, um, Hillsboro. . .
Hillsboro is even farther down on the chain-of-U.S.-normal-suburbs than Beaverton. Do they even have a single non-strip-mall dining establishment? I'll never bother finding out.
I've turned down jobs because they were in Hillsboro. No thanks.
posted by Invoke at 8:21 PM on February 5, 2011
Hillsboro is even farther down on the chain-of-U.S.-normal-suburbs than Beaverton. Do they even have a single non-strip-mall dining establishment? I'll never bother finding out.
I've turned down jobs because they were in Hillsboro. No thanks.
posted by Invoke at 8:21 PM on February 5, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
That said, you can find restaurants, bookstores, small urban farms, etc. which supply the kernel of what you see satirized on Portlandia. But you could find that stuff in Atlanta or Boston or any large urban area, methinks.
posted by Danf at 8:53 AM on February 2, 2011 [3 favorites]