Posted March 24, 2011
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108674-L4D-Fans-Reprogram-Road-Signs-to-Zombies-Ahead
I tend not to take authority any more seriously than I think it should be taken. Which means, not very much... Which is why I liked this little Left 4 Dead gag a little bit, even though it ultimately falls flat.
This gag isn't new. It's been done before. And this gag changed a road hazard warning sign to warn of Zombies rather than to warn of road construction that won't be starting for several days. No real harm... and I for one would pay attention to a sign warning me of mythical zombies, if only because after I finished giggling, I'd know to keep my eyes peeled for whatever the real thing was the sign was supposed to warn me about.
But this time, I'm really underwhelmed by the joke. Why? Because a joke is funny when the audience gets it. And the audience gets "zombies" because we've all seen about a billion zombie movies and those who haven't still know what a zombie is. But the sign continues on...
The "Zombies Ahead" warning rotated to "Watch for Hunters," while the second sign read, "Be alert for Tanks."
Now, instead of being amused by a warning for zombies, drivers are befuddled trying to figure out what hunters and tanks are supposed to mean. That's because, of all the drivers passing the sign, only a tiny fraction play L4D and get the reference... and most of the ones who do get it missed it because they were sitting in the back seat of mom's SUV, eyes focused on a PSP or a DS, on the way to the soccer match.
My son, when he was a kid, loved Starcraft and we played over the LAN constantly. He began responding to basic communication with Starcraft quotes.
"Corey, clean up your room."
"My life for Aiur!"
"Corey, do you want to go to the movies?"
"I long for combat."
"Corey, you know when you say that stuff, no one knows what you are talking about... because the old lady at the lunch counter, where you just told her it was, 'in the pipe, 5 by 5', doesn't play Starcraft, and now she thinks you are retarded. What do you say to that?"
"Fire it up!"
So it is with this almost funny zombie warning gag. Zombies Ahead was funny. The rest is superfluous... and lost on the audience. All your base are belong to us. Have a good day.
I tend not to take authority any more seriously than I think it should be taken. Which means, not very much... Which is why I liked this little Left 4 Dead gag a little bit, even though it ultimately falls flat.
This gag isn't new. It's been done before. And this gag changed a road hazard warning sign to warn of Zombies rather than to warn of road construction that won't be starting for several days. No real harm... and I for one would pay attention to a sign warning me of mythical zombies, if only because after I finished giggling, I'd know to keep my eyes peeled for whatever the real thing was the sign was supposed to warn me about.
But this time, I'm really underwhelmed by the joke. Why? Because a joke is funny when the audience gets it. And the audience gets "zombies" because we've all seen about a billion zombie movies and those who haven't still know what a zombie is. But the sign continues on...
The "Zombies Ahead" warning rotated to "Watch for Hunters," while the second sign read, "Be alert for Tanks."
Now, instead of being amused by a warning for zombies, drivers are befuddled trying to figure out what hunters and tanks are supposed to mean. That's because, of all the drivers passing the sign, only a tiny fraction play L4D and get the reference... and most of the ones who do get it missed it because they were sitting in the back seat of mom's SUV, eyes focused on a PSP or a DS, on the way to the soccer match.
My son, when he was a kid, loved Starcraft and we played over the LAN constantly. He began responding to basic communication with Starcraft quotes.
"Corey, clean up your room."
"My life for Aiur!"
"Corey, do you want to go to the movies?"
"I long for combat."
"Corey, you know when you say that stuff, no one knows what you are talking about... because the old lady at the lunch counter, where you just told her it was, 'in the pipe, 5 by 5', doesn't play Starcraft, and now she thinks you are retarded. What do you say to that?"
"Fire it up!"
So it is with this almost funny zombie warning gag. Zombies Ahead was funny. The rest is superfluous... and lost on the audience. All your base are belong to us. Have a good day.
