Everything Is Terrible! is an
artist collective
An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the need ...
based in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
that finds and manipulates unusual, dated, and
campy
Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting ae ...
clips of
VHS tapes from the late 20th century and early 21st century. It was founded in 2007 by a group of friends who met in college at Ohio University in the early 2000s.
The collective has posted daily onto its blogger-hosted website since its founding.
Activity and reception
"Every weekend or free afternoon they get", according to
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, they search at
thrift stores, garage sales, and bargain bins for the worst and most outrageous VHS tapes to share with each other.
The website was launched in 2007. The group has also been attempting to amass the largest collection of ''
Jerry Maguire
''Jerry Maguire'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama sports film written, produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe; it stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, and Regina King. Produced in part by James L. Brooks, it was ins ...
'' on VHS; according to member Ghoul Skool: "We always have noticed since the beginning that there seems to be nothing but just ''Jerry Maguire'' tapes filling our nation's thrift stores. I don't know why".
Collective members keep a tally of tapes and a leaderboard of contributors on their website watch.everythingisterrible.com. In January of 2017, the group opened their Jerry Maguire Video Store at iam8bit Gallery in Los Angeles. At the time of the installation, the number of Jerry Maguire VHS tapes collected was 14,000. Donations are accepted via mail to P.O. Box 50825, Los Angeles, CA 90050. As of August 20, 2022, the group has gathered an estimated 35-40,000 Jerry Maguire VHS tapes, but their final goal is to build a pyramid in the desert made out of those tapes.
In addition to posting videos online of re-edited footage, the people behind Everything Is Terrible! have created 8 feature-length, psychedelic found-footage documentaries.
In 2009, the group released their first film titled ''Everything Is Terrible! The Movie'', which featured the same type of VHS clips that would be featured on their website. ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' called the video "a portal into a world halfway between showbiz and real-life—a look at how the people who make entertainment for a living think the rest of us saps actually live", adding that it's "simultaneously enlightening, hilarious, and deeply sad". ''
Paste'' magazine called the film "the best (worst?) clips from a range of categories and spin them together like a terrible salad". ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
'' has praised one of the collective's more popular clips titled "Infomercial Hell" – a series of clips from different
infomercials pasted together – calling it "depressing" as well as "terribly funny". Since 2009, they have also toured extensively in the US, Canada, and Europe, showing their films and performing a puppet variety show. In 2019 they opened their "semi-fake" East Los Angeles storefront at 754 S. Atlantic Blvd to the public, which stores their VHS and DVD collection as well as immersive installations.
Notable videos
One of their more notable videos has been an instructional clip titled "So Your Cat Wants a Massage?" – a video that was designed to show people how to
massage a cat; it has amassed over 4 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
.
The video's creator, Maryjean Ballner, has since appeared as a guest on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman'' on December 9, 2009.
According to Ghoul Skool, despite her feelings that "YouTube can be a very negative place", Ballner thanked Everything Is Terrible! for bringing back something which she had not seen in over 15 years.
Other notable videos have included an
edutainment
Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...
clip about a dinosaur named Yello Dyno who, while dressed in a leather jacket and sunglasses, teaches children to protect themselves from
pedophile
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
s. Videos from Everything Is Terrible! have also been featured on the comedy show ''
Tosh.0
''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...
'', in which the show's blog has posted the website's request for any available Jerry Maguire tape. Other videos have included a rejuvenating mask infomercial that featured
Joe Cocker's "
You Are So Beautiful
"You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher that was first released in 1974 on Preston's ninth studio album, '' The Kids & Me''. It was also the B-side of his single "Struttin'". Later that same year, English sing ...
" (which, according to the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', helped launch the site in 2007), a direct-to-video crime drama featuring
Jay Leno, and a video that features babies singing "
Ten Little Indians
"Ten Little Indians" is a traditional American children's counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. The term "Indians" in this sense refers to Indigenous North American peoples.
In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapt ...
" that was followed by, according to ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', "what can only be described as '
A Clockwork Orange
''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to:
* ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess
** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel
*** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...
' reel for toddlers".
Filmography
Video series
* ''Everything Is Terrible!'' (2007–present)
* ''Memory Hole'' (2014–present)
Films
* ''Everything Is Terrible! The Movie'' (2009)
* ''2Everything 2Terrible 2: Tokyo Drift'' (2010)
* ''Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez!'' (2012)
* ''Everything Is Terrible! Holiday Special'' (2012)
* ''EIT! Does the Hip-Hop Vol. 1: Gettin' a Bad Rap!'' (2013)
* ''Comic Relief Zero'' (2013)
* ''Everything Is Terrible! Legends'' (2015)
* ''The Great Satan'' (2018)
* ''Kidz Klub!'' (2022)
TV pilots
*''Gigglefudge, USA!'' (
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
; in co-production with
PFFR
PFFR is a Brooklyn-based production company and art collective consisting of Vernon Chatman, John Lee, Alyson Levy and formerly Jim Tozzi until 2009. The group has been active since 1998.
Work
The group's portfolio of work includes two albums ...
)
In other media
Two of Everything Is Terrible! founders, Nicholas Maier and Dimitri Simakis, created and wrote a
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
television pilot
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...
starring
Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...
and
Eric Bauza
Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on '' The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot '' Fairly Odder'', Thunderbol ...
entitled ''Gigglefudge, USA!'', which premiered in 11 April 2016 on
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
. Reubens act as a TV host who introduce videos taken from ''Memory Hole'' (a previous collective title).
See also
*
Found Footage Festival
The Found Footage Festival is an American film festival and live comedy event and featuring unusual and humorous found footage clips and films.
History
Founded in 2004, the Festival originated in Wisconsin and Minnesota by Joe Pickett, Nick Prue ...
*
Derrick Beckles, creator of TV Carnage
*
Tim & Eric
Tim & Eric are an American comedy duo consisting of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They are the creators and stars of the Adult Swim television series '' Tom Goes to the Mayor'', '' Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'', ''Check It Out! w ...
*
Red Letter Media
Red Letter Media, LLC is an American film and video production company operated by independent filmmakers Mike Stoklasa (formerly of GMP Pictures) and Jay Bauman (formerly of Blanc Screen Cinema). It was formed by Stoklasa in 2004 while he was li ...
References
{{reflist
Online mass media companies of the United States
Video blogs
American artist groups and collectives
YouTube channels
Internet properties established in 2007
Audiovisual ephemera
Film production companies of the United States
Companies based in Los Angeles