From the category archives:

DEFICTIONALIZATION

Return of the Swingline

March 24, 2011

Talented character actor Stephen Root may be finished with his role as Milton from Office Space, but the most iconic office supply in cinema history is not finished with him.

I’ve already written about the storied past of the Red Swingline Stapler (see Jam Resistance). Apparently the story isn’t over, because here it is resting [...]

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Olde Frothingslosh

June 10, 2010

Lately it seems like a lot of things from the fifties are making a comeback, like fedoras, the Red Scare, and mainstream racism. One thing that hasn’t resurfaced from that period, however, is zaniness. For those of you who aren’t REALLY OLD, zaniness sounded something like this:
Olde Frothingslosh commercial from KDKA Radio
Olde Frothingslosh, [...]

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Talkboy and the Gypsy Curse

May 23, 2010

May you get what you want. I’m pretty sure that’s how the old curse goes. After the release of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, millions of kids wanted something that didn’t exist – Talkboy, the futuristic (tee hee) handheld cassette recorder/pitch modifier used by young Kevin to torment hotel staff [...]

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Captain Mal: Man of Mystery

April 30, 2010

My torrid love affair with a space western series called Firefly has kept me away from Nathon Fillion’s new(ish) ABC show, Castle. I don’t want to see Captain Mal Reynolds, the rugged individualist and lovechild of Han Solo and Jesse James, prancing around New York City cracking wise with a cute lady detective while [...]

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This Blood’s for You

March 25, 2010

This commercial for Tru Blood (from the HBO show of the same name) packs a fictional multiverse whammy. Not only is it hawking a defictionalized product, but a close look about five seconds in reveals that the alpha males are clinking “de-Simpsonized” Duff Beer cans!

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60% of the Time it Works… Every Time

March 9, 2010

There’s something truly artful about a fragrance laden with notes so elusive that all those who encounter it have a deeply subjective experience.  Those who’ve had the rare pleasure of taking in the aroma of Odeon’s top-shelf men’s cologne, Sex Panther, have described it as a formidable scent which stings the nostrils… in a good [...]

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Jam-Resistance

February 24, 2010

During pre-pro, Office Space production designer Edward T. McAvoy was faced with a challenge: How to modify Milton’s stapler to justify his deep emotional connection to it. The original script only called for a Swingline stapler. No other details were specified. Within a few days he was standing in an auto [...]

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