PORTLANDIA LAND

[Note from Editor Wm. Steven Humphrey: Hey! So apparently there's this show called Portlandia, that's supposed to be a parody of Portland, or something? And it was created by... I don't know... the bass player from the Go-Go's and the guy from SNL who used to play "Mango," I think. Anyway, I wrote a review about it, and people got all twitchy. Here are some of the best comments!]

I think that Carrie and Fred are laughing as much at themselves as they are any other group. Carrie, at least, lives in Portland—if she were annoyed to the point of dislike by hipsters and hippies, she'd probably choose to live someplace else. Lighten up, or is your solid-colored beanie too tight?

-posted by senatorjoe

It looks like a mediocre review from the one publication in town whose readers remember Sleater-Kinney.

-posted by oregometry

This PM review is terrible. Is the author's head so lost in the world of Portland's "creative class" that he has forgotten how to take a joke and laugh? My wife and I play the "Portland game—raising chickens, bikes, etc." And that is EXACTLY why the show was hilarious to us. I suppose some people cannot laugh at themselves. Which is sad...

-posted by jjdrury

I like funny things. That's why I don't like Portlandia.

-posted by rich bachelor

Insight is precisely what Portlandia is missing. The article is exactly right in that Portlandia needs to strike a balance between "annoying" and "real." Presently, the scales are tipped too far in one direction. It is too broad, too fake, too much of a bad cartoon for me to laugh at it.

-posted by JStreckert

I love reading the pseudo-intellectual critiques by the so-called hipsters who are being mocked. We would not expect any other kind of response from Portland's self-proclaimed hip intellectual trendsetters. I love this show... and yes... I'm a Republican.

-posted by hahahahahaha

OH MY GOD. Can we PLEASE stop implying that if you don't think it's especially funny that you're a humorless hipster who hates being satirized???? This line of reasoning is fallacious. And stupid.

-posted by Aunti

I can't wait for the episode that mocks the editor in chief of the local "alternative" rag. You know, the guy who is hugely influential in promoting the creation of Douchelandia and then gets all sensitive when people call it out for what it has become.

-posted by zipitup

How about some of Portland's fine "creative class" people invest some of the energy they would normally put into starting moped gangs, making mixtapes, and playing in crappy basements bands and try to come up with some "creative" solutions to Portland's gentrification, transportation, gang violence, police violence, and homelessness problems?

-posted by Snagglepuss

I thought Humpy's review was pretty right on. I'll probably keep watching even though I can't tell when Fred Armisen is supposed to be a woman.

-posted by beer batter

Accusing Portlandia of having an "Andy Rooneyesque anti-creative class subtext" is just absurd. It's like saying someone hates Christians because they made a joke about the size of the pope's hat.

-posted by beaton

If they'd called it Hipsterville, they could do all the same jokes in all the same settings and it wouldn't matter if or how much it diverged from Portland. In the end, "hipster" is just a word left-liberals use to give themselves permission to bitch about other left-liberals using the same terms conservatives use. It's a way to parrot Fox news and right-wing talk radio without being held in contempt by civilized human beings. Yawn.

-posted by danceswithanxiety

HOW MAY WE OFFEND YOU TODAY?

TO THE MERCURY, VIA VOICEMAIL: Hi, my name is Paul Zenk, I'm the owner of Infinity Tattoo in North Portland. We've advertised with you guys in the past, but I will NOT advertise in your magazine until the Portland Mercury prints a formal apology to the city of Portland for that HORRIFIC article you guys published this week. I thought it was very insulting to the greater Portland area. It was obviously written by a 20-year-old, and I thought the whole thing was in bad taste. It reflected poorly on your magazine, and I think you owe the entire city of Portland an apology—because it was an ugly, ugly article.

Even though we're not sure which story Paul is referring to (after all, there were so many horrific, ugly articles to choose from), we'll just assume he's right, and make the necessary amends. Soooo... WE'RE FORMALLY SORRY, PORTLAND! And to make up for our ugly article(s), we'd like to give the City of Portland (not any of its residents; the actual city itself) two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater, and a delicious lunch at No Fish! Go Fish! (where "sorry" always seems to be the hardest word).