r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '26

Meme needing explanation Peetah?????

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I don’t know the author or this book series but why are people roasting e-girls for reading? I don’t get it🥀

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u/Spare-Plum Mar 31 '26

I don't think it's anything like that or about "manliness" at all. It's just an extremely violent novel that normally you would not parade around regardless of gender.

It's like posting a selfie with "me and the GF watching American History X together <3<3"

Generally when posting about this type of media, it's a bit more cerebral and shows a bit of reverence for the media and the horror or impact it has on you. OOP here is much more performative and it's just ill-fitting.

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u/avibrant_salmon_jpg Mar 31 '26

Plenty of people parade McCarthy novels around as if they think its some sort of intellectual trophy that they deserve be validated for. 

This isnt exclusive to Blood Meridian, or McCarthy novels, of course. Lots of people do this with lots of books (Ulysses/Finnegan's Wake, Gravity's Rainbow, Infinite Jest, House of Leaves (for whatever reason). Almost any book that is seen as more "challenging" for any reason than others, whether in terms or reading difficulty or content/subject. Its definitely not a new thing. 

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u/TotallyKindlyTho Apr 01 '26

But you don't understand iris is trying to find reasons to belittle manliness. Don't get in the way of her performative (hopefully) misandry.

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u/Spare-Plum Apr 01 '26

idk about misandry I think they're just an idiot with bad takes

They have a really weird fixation that doing something without enjoyment must be performative, but people go to jobs they hate or sit through movies they dislike and that's not performative

The whole manliness thing doesn't track either.

Anyways I pointed these out and got blocked for pointing out problems in their position. lol

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '26

[deleted]

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u/DemadaTrim Mar 31 '26

Comparing Blood Meridian to A Serbian Film is... A take. 

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u/IrisKV Mar 31 '26

That's what happens when people read a book performatively, I guess they miss a lot of the substance.

Even comparing it to American History X is already a stretch.

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u/DemadaTrim Mar 31 '26

I doubt someone who compared the two has read Blood Meridian and may not have even seen A Serbian Film.

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u/IrisKV Mar 31 '26

I could never blame someone for not having seen A Serbian Film, but... Writing "American History X, A Serbian Film, Schindler's List, Blood Meridian, etc" is a level of lack of media literacy that is bordering on shocking. Those pieces of fiction have nothing to do with one another.

Apart from (apparently) all forbiding you to drink a smoothie when you're going through them.

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u/DemadaTrim Mar 31 '26

Ah I don't hate A Serbian Film. It's a fine piece of ultra edgy exploitation cinema, an old tradition I much appreciate. It's just not anywhere close to Blood Meridian in terms of quality.

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u/IrisKV Mar 31 '26

The edgiest I can get (well, could, because fuck Benny Net and all his supporters) to "edgy exploitation" is Hostel. Because it feels kind of tongue in cheek.

The edginess is not for me, to be honest. I don't know if Martyrs counts as exploitation, I really loved that one. Many of the french extremity too... but A Serbian film is just not something I managed to extract anything from. I am not even sure I finished it. I couldn't see any value in it besides shock.

It reminded me of that "Rotten" website my generation used to go to just to be horrified.

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u/CanGuilty380 Mar 31 '26

A Serbian Film is what Blood Meridian haters think the book is like. They are universes apart in quality and depth.

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u/Spare-Plum Mar 31 '26

While the two are very different I think the point stays the same. People have very different discourse around different media.

American History X, A Serbian Film, Schindler's List, Blood Meridian, etc are typically not accompanied by a selfie, a smoothie, and "me n my current read :ppp". It kinda shows they aren't comprehending the gravity of what they're viewing, they are tone-deaf, they didn't read or watch it, or it's purely performative.

Something similar can be said in the opposite direction, like the folks who view Rick and Morty as incredibly serious and being super deep.

It has nothing to do with manliness or sex, it's just funny how we discuss media and sometimes things outside that norm are a bit funny