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January 28, 2006

Is Chuck Norris a Jungian Archetype?

she.jpgWhy should it be the case that without any provocation I should see a copy of Chuck Norris' book Chuck Norris: The Power Within at the Langley Park Value Village for $1.01 and decide that I MUST buy it for my brother for Christmas, and only then discover an internet groundswell of Chuck Norris appreciation? Why? Why should I choose the name Violet under the express condition that it has been declining in popularity in the recent Social Security surveys, only to have both The Incredibles and the wretched Ben Affleck (via Jennifer Garner) ruin my world? On the one hand it seems as though I am a trend-setter; on the other, it seems as though society-wide trends are taking my brain over via some unspecified mechanism. Wha? Finally, is this real, or only fake-believe? (via Ezra "I will studiously refrain from making any jokes about the Kind, but still you should totally talk to me about this one café" Klein.)

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Comments

Russell Arben Fox

I can remember this Washington Post article from years ago that tried to describe William Shatner. A cult icon? A ham? Cheesy? No, the author concluded, Shatner is so far above and beyond such descriptions. He is in a category all his own.

With this video, I suspect Hasselhoff may have joined him beyond the event-horizon. (Though Shatner, tragically, at least has talent.)

Posted by: Russell Arben Fox | January 28, 2006 at 01:39 AM

yabonn

Everything Jung knew was taught to him by Chuck Norris.

(scnr)

Posted by: yabonn | January 28, 2006 at 03:05 AM

LizardBreath

There is something about baby-names -- ones that are to become popular get communicated through the Zeitgeist unbeknownst to the unsuspecting parents. I gave my kids two pleasant, conventional, but (I thought) unfashionable and a little archaic or at least dated sounding names. Wrong. When I started taking them to playgrounds, yelling either name caused half the heads on the playground to snap around to look.

Posted by: LizardBreath | January 28, 2006 at 06:33 AM

Daryl

Chuck Norris is not part of the collective unconscious. Chuck Norris makes the collective unconscious.

Posted by: Daryl | January 28, 2006 at 02:10 PM

Daryl

Oh, and according to the Baby Name Wizard (http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html), Violet did see an increase in popularity as a baby name in 2004...

Posted by: Daryl | January 28, 2006 at 02:21 PM

ben wolfson

Chuck Norris is not part of the collective unconscious. Chuck Norris makes the collective unconscious.

By means of a roundhouse kick to the collective head.

Posted by: ben wolfson | January 28, 2006 at 02:54 PM

Kieran

Re Violet, see Stan Lieberson's A Matter of Taste (Yale 2000).

Posted by: Kieran | January 29, 2006 at 09:16 PM

Gary Farber

Dunno, but the Chuck Norris thing has been going on for a couple of years now on the internets. It passed the "noticed in the lamest newspapers" thing about four months ago. I hope this doesn't bring anyone down.

It was about a year ago, maybe more, that Conan O'Brien really made it mass and past lame by installing a lever on his desk that "triggered" Chuck Norris clips ("Walker, Texas Ranger," to be precise, since they had the rights), and working it to death as only he can.

I realize it's hard to follow U.S. trends from Singapore, and I'm always a killjoy. Except for the more subtle, darker, joys of appreciating that.

Posted by: Gary Farber | February 01, 2006 at 01:33 AM

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