Column:

Tucker Max isn't the problem, you are

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Sept. 25, 2009

Tucker Max, the Luke Perry of Internet douche bags, has a new movie coming out today based on his best-selling book, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." And judging by the bits of the initial script, the guy's no Scorsese. Nevertheless, I think it's fair to say a sizable chunk of the people reading this already have tickets.

The people who have tickets probably find the marketing for the film, featuring signs with slogans, such as "Blind Girls Will Never See You Coming" and "Strippers Will Not Tolerate Disrespect (Just Kidding)," hi-larious.

The purpose of this column is not to disparage Max, as he knows what he's doing and will continue to do it regardless of what some silly, oversensitive, feminist columnist says. And why shouldn't he? He's doing what he loves and pretty much living the American Dream. And no one can touch him because he has a law degree and actually knows how publication and intellectual property law works.

What's disturbing, even dangerous, about Max is not his own writing, but the people he's managed to surround himself with to create and reinforce his persona and lifestyle. It's the voracious readers who worship his every move, who shot him to the top of the New York Times bestseller list three years in a row, and to make matters worse, the few who take his writing seriously, who make him into a problem.

The genre in which Max writes has been affectionately labeled as fratire, the key component of that portmanteau being satire. Whether "Beer" succeeds at the satire part or is just a series of degrading, privilege-reinforcing remarks disguised as edgy humor is subjective, but I'm going to give Max the benefit of the doubt and operate under the notion that this was at least his intention.

Much in the same way "National Lampoon's Animal House" was meant to be a parody of the Greek system, "Beer" is meant to take a stab at the shenanigans of the young, alcohol-fueled Common American Douche. You're meant to laugh at his mistakes with women, not relive them.

The trouble is the readers who have elevated Max to demigod status and take the gospel of the "What Would Tucker Do?" T-shirt as a literal guide for how to live their lives. Tucker-worship has seen its share of violent consequences: Last year, at the University of Connecticut, a 21-year-old student who referred to Max as his "hero" on his MySpace.com page, was arrested "allegedly forcing his way into a sleeping woman's apartment and raping her," according to TrueCrimeReport.com.

Although this is an extreme and the majority of Max's fans treat women as human beings, it's fair to say there is a lunatic fringe whose criminally misogynist behavior is reinforced and enabled through Max's words. And as his die-hard fans continue to worship him, his power is reinforced, and increasing numbers of said fringe begin to think the behavior he espouses is OK. There needs to be a more visible disclaimer — from Max, from his non-crazy fans, from someone — that this is all meant to be satire and an example of what not to do.

And before you jump to conclusions, I've read some of Tucker's work. And I'm really sorry his first attempt at anal sex ended in such a horribly graphic way for him. But, to use the sort of excuse his fans perpetuate, he was asking for it.