When popular actors end up modeling/influencing human behavior and mannerisms

Okay, this is another one of those ambitious and half-assed threads I think of before sleeping on a Sunday and tend to regret later because it's so poorly constructed (but this is what message boards are for, right?).

I'm thinking about when people, especially teenagers and children, unconsciously model themselves after popular actors and entertainers. How certain mannerisms an actor might have end up being copied by teenage boys (for example), and then those boys grow up and you've got a legion of men who were influenced by the cadences and mannerisms (and ultimately the persona) of that specific actor.

This is on my mind as I'm watching Back to the Future right now and it occurs to me that Michael J. Fox, with his high-pitched thousand-words-a-minute smartass tone of voice, was a sort of touchstone for the way a lot of other young men spoke and acted over the next ten to twenty years after (also: am I right about this example at all or do you think that's crazy? Personally, I think there's a certain smart-ass persona, and accompanying mannerisms, that Fox brought to the table that seemed to become a popular male ideal for a long time - and perhaps still is).

I guess I want to ask you if you think actors actually have that sort of power and influence on mannerisms and behavior. Have people modeled themselves after their cinematic heroes? Can you name any examples, whether general or person-specific? And do you think the way you handle yourself has ever been based on a model such as an actor or entertainer from your youth?

Like I said, watching BTTF and I think "this type of smartass American teenager, vocal cadence and all, was everywhere after this came out...." and that got me wondering. And now here I am typing the thread at some weird hour.

It was further cemented by Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

http://www.wpri.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/fonz.jpg

i don't think of marty as that much of a smartass -- specially compared with bueller or 80s cusack.

http://www.extratextual.tv/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/fawlty.jpg

It's difficult to say which one came first though, isn't it? I mean, certainly Fox and Cusack influenced teen behaviour, but I think they also were portraying a type that already existed.

I think the cases where it's 100% certain that the actor came up with the mannerism first and teenagers followed it are much more specific, such as teenagers repeating certain phrases from Wayne's World.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/jerry_seinfeld1.jpg

http://agiletools.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/bruce_lee2.jpg

So many witeboys thought they were Snoop Dogg, a couple years ago.

(Srsly, would roll up to the house next door while "What's my name" played loudly on the car stereo, to announce the arrival. Of Keith.)

http://crazyabouttv.com/ImagesTwo/friends.jpg

In what way have the actors in Friends influenced human behaviour?

^such a ross

how you doin?

i had hair like Rachel

Hair is not behaviour.

behairviour

jeez tuomas, know many teens that have travelled backwards and forwards in time?

ie Friends was at least as influencial in the 90's as Fox/Bueller were in the 80's. and probably on many of the same people, tbh.

Hair is so not behaviour.

Fixed

i bought a pet monkey because of friends.

and became a paleontologist.

Phoebe inspired me to never learn to play guitar properly.

Jennifer A's hair in that pic is just awful. Man, I detested that hairstyle so much. Still do.

I do think it's more interesting to consider actors' influence on things like speech patterns and mannerisms than on fashion, if only because the latter is so obvious.

http://www.tvgasm.com/shows/RHNYC/urkel.jpg

Did anyone ever wear those MC Hammer trousers?

I guess it was kinda cute.... NOT.

(Also, I'm not totally convinced that actors do have this kind of deep influence on mannerisms etc so I find this question interesting.)

ie Friends was at least as influencial in the 90's as Fox/Bueller were in the 80's. and probably on many of the same people, tbh.

Okay, but the question was, how did it influence mannerisms etc?

Like, I totally see how people might have watched Friends and copied a hairstyle. But it's harder for me to imagine that people watched BTTF and consciously decided to actually talk and gesture like Fox on a regular basis. (It's almost harder for me to imagine that it could have worked on a subconscious level.)
xpost

I had an insufferable housemate who was weird and neurotic like Monica, including using v similar speech patterns and catchphrases in an everyday, non-ironic context, and also watched a hell of a lot of Friends. Don't know how common this phenomenon is...

And it isn't really related to mannerisms exactlt, but the explosion in popularity of shit coffee places like Starbucks in the UK at least, seemed to coincide with the popularity of Friends.

The guy sitting next to me at work has the exact same speech pattern as Chandler with the same if-by-x-you-mean-y constructions and sarcasm as a substitute for wit. I actually blame Friends for a lot of society's cuntiness. Is Friends popular because we are all horrible people, or are we all horrible people because of Friends?

society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
society's cuntiness
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Yes, obviously society was humble and friendly before 1996.

Probably the second, I'm a horrible person and I've never seen much friends. So it must've been modeled after me. (Having trouble with this question because I've always, always been behind on the movies "everyone" sees.)

acting like chandler bing

i kinda agree

i think this might be more obviously true about a lot of older actors, Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando come to mind.

I think Friends tapped into a well of horribleness that was extant at the time, but by shining a spotlight on it, they only served to perpetuate it indefinitely.

friends is funny.

i bet there are as many zach braff/jim halpert types out there now anyway.

i don't know, i think they are popular because they mimic a type people think they are, they don't really provide a particular mannerism to copy.

Do you really think Zach Braff in real life is like Jim Halpert?

The idea of feedback in Stanley Cohen's Folk Devils and Moral Panics seems to apply here. Kids see reflected but distorted version of themselves in media, ape the reflection, new reflections ape the new behaviours and so on and on.

Do you really think Zach Braff in real life is like Jim Halpert?

― sorry i poisoned u with nachos :( (HI DERE), Monday, June 15, 2009 3:15 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

idk, i just meant "sensitive underdog" sitcom/faux-indie dudes.

cunga: are the michael j fox mannerisms from back to the future or family ties? i think alex p keaton really set the template for the kind of know-it-all teenager you're referring to, and marty mcfly was an extension or maybe solidification of that character. i think you're right that michael j fox, in both roles, had a big impact.

now that we have mass media and collapsible distance and communities of shared interest we can assign popular behavior tropes to fictional figures we all watch on our flashing screens!

i think it's more worthwhile to figure out the particular sorts of behaviors that have been shaped by various pop culture phenomena than to try to come up with individual pop cultural referents in a sea teeming with them that we believe to be particularly outsize (we're kinda beyond Bogie these days).

i think alex p keaton really set the template for the kind of know-it-all teenager you're referring to

Wait, when have teenagers NOT been portrayed as know-it-alls in popular entertainment?

Before 1950s.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mlPoGU4VqSk/R05LyI6w__I/AAAAAAAABPY/ZHiMukMKs2I/s400/Dead+End.jpg

i.e. RONG

i think this whole not arguing thing gets at a really big problem that i've noticed in a lot of my acquaintances. i've met tons of people that obviously just haven't learned how incredibly satisfying and life-enriching great in-depth conversation can be. it is bizarre how often i'm around people that literally just ignore each other's opinions and don't give it a second thought. its so boring! if you agree there's often nothing much to say so you move on, if you disagree you go back to distracting yourself with something that's easier and seemingly more pleasant, like TV for instance. its like a lot of people are forgetting how to have long, satisfying conversation because its so rarely depicted on TV.

― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Monday, June 15, 2009 2:20 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

fyi people have been avoiding confrontation since there was confrontation to avoid

also have u ever seen a tv show people have long & satisfying conversations way way waey way way more than they do in real life

& funnier too

I don't get a common personality type from those dudes at a all -- a common social class or social type, maybe, but not common personality (and I think we should be wary of thinking of "social class/type" as the same thing as actual personality)

― nabisco, Monday, June 15, 2009 2:28 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

they also all look vaguely similar like if you told me it was a group of cousins id believe you

i wouldnt id scoff like ive seen ppl do on tv o id scoff at u

"he's so sensitive -- he owns a hoodie and a Mac"

xpost - if real-life hanging-out were reliably like the time Cliff and his old Hillman professor played pinochle with Russell and his friends, I would invite people over for dinner every other night

when popular posters end up modeling/influencing posting styles and mannerisms

could prob add Ted from HIMYM to that list. they might not share a common personality but i bet they're all wilco fans.

you realize that yr archetype basically boils down to "dork with Hollywood face", right

xpost - if real-life hanging-out were reliably like the time Cliff and his old Hillman professor played pinochle with Russell and his friends, I would invite people over for dinner every other night

― nabisco, Monday, June 15, 2009 2:32 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ya this is why how i met your mother bugs me, im like, that seems so fun, they all just hang out in this one apartment and theres a bar downstairs that they go to every night, seems like basically the greatest life in this world, and then you realize how un-great that would be in reality

"on tv now you've got Zachary Levi from Chuck, Lee Pace from Pushing Daisies, the Mac guy, Demetri Martin, etc.. they all seem to be variations on a mold"

someone with hard sociological evidence please back me up on this but lets pat nerds on the back a little and say that nerds thru sheer nerd-power made these popular images acceptable not the other way around.

To max's point, the time distortion thing in TV series definitely screws with perception of relationships; pretty much by definition you only see the characters on a show when they're hanging out together because those are the only times something intersting happens in their universe whereas in real life you probably have an entirely different set of people that you spend time with every now and then, plus there is at-home-having-sex-and/or-masturbating time.

i wonder how many people have moved to NYC because of shows like how i met your mother and sex and the city and how fun they make new york seem

I'm guessing like 80% of the under-30 population

(the other 20% moved there specifically for school/work)

hi dere those arent mutually exclusive

i moved to new york because of teenage mutant ninja turtles

What shows are immigrant underclass of NYC watching to draw them there? Seinfeld?

the takeaway is that there are ppl in the 80% who picked work/school that could get them to NYC because of the madcap HIMYM lifestyle

i moved to st. louis because of the john larroquette show

i moved to new york because i was a teenage mutant ninja turtle

i've never lived in new york, it looks like a shithole from what i can tell on tv

mr. que have u seen tmnt?

mr que watched a lot of west wing and capitol critters

You guys should just be getting ready for the wave of Brits who are preparing to move to Baltimore in order to pursue their dreams of being homicide detectives.

it is true that TMNT makes living in a sewer seem like the greatest idea ever

wow, turtles named after painters eating pizza, new york has everything doesn't it?

also have u ever seen a tv show people have long & satisfying conversations way way waey way way more than they do in real life

idk what shows you're watching. how can you even depict a realistic "long & satisfying" conversation on a tv show?

i joined the foot clan to get to nyc but instead the transferred me to dimension x

idk what shows you're watching. how can you even depict a realistic "long & satisfying" conversation on a tv show?

― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Monday, June 15, 2009 2:58 PM (11 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

by filming two actors engaging in a pre-written dialogue?

wow, turtles named after painters eating pizza, new york has everything doesn't it?

it even has a technodrome and long satisfying conversations

"idk what shows you're watching. how can you even depict a realistic "long & satisfying" conversation on a tv show?"

There was an episode of Deep Space 9 called "Brunching with Grand Nagus" (Wallace Shawn plays the Ferengi Grand Negus)

Que, you're forgetting:

- giant rats who know martial arts
- hot reporters with low standards
- evil samurai
- brain aliens in punchable robot suits

well it's relative, though -- moving to New York does genuinely provide something closer to that lifestyle (haha especially if everyone you meet came looking for the same thing) ... or anyway real NYC isn't that much more distant from camera NYC than real Chicago is from camera Chicago (even on My Boys)

no no no i'm totally joking around, TMNT is great

There was an episode of Deep Space 9 called "Brunching with Grand Nagus" (Wallace Shawn plays the Ferengi Grand Negus)

in fairness, nothing Star Trek-related is likely to be a good example of a long & satisfying conversation

I should have noted earlier that I WISH my mom talked like Clair Huxtable.

I mean, doing a long & satisfying conversation on Star Trek usually means you are doing Star Trek wrong.

i like my long and satisfying conversations punctuated by shrilling yelling SHREEDDDDER! just btw

i think i learned to be a sarcastic smartass from 'blackadder' most of all </britishes>

someone with hard sociological evidence please back me up on this but lets pat nerds on the back a little and say that nerds thru sheer nerd-power made these popular images acceptable not the other way around.

No sociological evidence, but this thing wasn't cool when James van der Beek was doing it.

i like my long and satisfying conversations punctuated by pizza, ninja throwing stars, nunchuks and sewer drippings

SSSHHHRREDDDDDDER!!!!

NB this is making me want a thread about what not-super-realistic films/TV people think really capture a given city or place -- like sitcoms and whatnot that feel right in spirit

Minneapolis = The Mary Tyler Moore Show (except for the hat-throwing; no one in their right mind is throwing their hat in the air during a MN winter)

has Minnesota ever offered Betty White some kind of official recognition for her tireless work in pretending to be from there?

Actually IIRC there was a minor uproar over The Golden Girls and the fictional town of St. Olaf, since that's the name of one the more-visible liberal arts colleges in the greater TC metro area and it was being used to depict clueless yokels!

the Department of Chickens was especially incensed

(but yeah, I remember finding it funny as a kid when I learned that was a college)

they have very good choirs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkv6aoATm0Q&feature=related

bbc presenters of facual history/science/nature programmes and their hugely fucking irritating mannerisms, discuss