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Can we agree on the correct usage of the Citizen Kane "clapping" gif please?

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StuBurns

Banned
I never watched this movie. I've heard, however, the famous phrase
"it was his sled"
(spoiled just in case). I have no idea what it means in context.
The film is the retelling of his life from witnesses, conducted by a journalist attempting to find out who 'Rosebud' is, which was his final words.

It's actually a joke about the girlfriend of real news mogul W.R.Hurst, which Kane is based on, and actually had an even harder to believe life story.
 

Squalor

Junior Member
I only just woke up, and the first thing that greeted me on the Internet today was someone misusing this gif. This thread was just something to do while I eat breakfast...
Once it enters GIF and Internet lexicon, its original context doesn't matter.

Are you new to the Internet?

This thread is beyond stupid.
 

Oppo

Member
I only just woke up, and the first thing that greeted me on the Internet today was someone misusing this gif. This thread was just something to do while I eat breakfast...

Sure. I think the title phrasing sets the frame. You tried to corral everyone into a little box for no reason other than, cereal. "Can we all agree..." threads always, ALWAYS turn out like this. No, we can't.

The GIF works best as it appears.
 

BearPawB

Banned
The context of the scene in the movie does not matter.
What matters is what the .gif looks like it is saying at this moment, which to me is. "Damn..good post"
 
The next time I see reaction gifs, I'll make sure to view them only in the context of their source. So when someone posts a "bail out", it better be because they want out of an awkward situation and not jumping from a plane for safety reasons.
 
Sure. I think the title phrasing sets the frame. You tried to corral everyone into a little box for no reason other than, cereal. "Can we all agree..." threads always, ALWAYS turn out like this. No, we can't.
You're right, I should've realized that. Still, I kind of hoped that people expressing their disagreement could have done so more by offering their own alternative interpretations instead of just being contradictory...
 

Oppo

Member
You're right, I should've realized that. Still, I kind of hoped that people expressing their disagreement could have done so more by offering their own alternative interpretations instead of just being contradictory...

I think this is the weird genius of GIFs. They are little looping slices of life, basically made to be taken out of context. They live out of context. So there really isn't a 'correct usage' other than the one that makes you laugh. (Or I suppose, think more deeply, but that hasn't happened yet ;)
I actually think people use them around here the same way you'll see people bothering to post, say, a huge picture of a boxart rather than simply typing the name of the game, because it's a text based medium and they just want to SAY IT LOUDER. All sorts of dumb habits spring from trying to add volume and what may as well be hand-waving to posts. Like X >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Y >>>>>>>>>>>>> Z etc.
 

rjc571

Banned
You're placing far too much emphasis on the context of the scene in the movie. All Orson Welles' expression tells you is that he is clapping begrudgingly. The precise reason for his reluctance is not pertinent because it cannot be gleamed from viewing the gif alone. Thus it is acceptable to use the gif in place of "touché", or in any type of context where someone is deserving of begrudging praise.
 

.GqueB.

Banned
You could poke holes in the context of just about every gif. It's pointless. And this is extra pretentious since it involves Citizen Kane.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
I don't get your reasoning. It's a response gif, it's not in movie context. It doesn't matter what it's original intent is, it only matters what the intention of the response is. If the gif works in multiple ways, great.
 

Dilly

Banned
who-gives-a-shit-harrison-ford.gif
 
If we need to come to an absolute consensus on anything, then I'll become a contrarian just out of spite.

There needs to be a little crazy in this world, and I prefer surprise to conformity.
 
But if you do know what the context of the GIF is, their post sometimes ironically turns into the exact opposite of what they meant. That's what bugs people

Gifs are like words. A word can have its set definition, but the connotations change. It all depends on the context in which the gif is being used. Sometimes it's dependent on the source of the gif, sometimes it is not.
 
The context of the scene in the movie does not matter.
What matters is what the .gif looks like it is saying at this moment, which to me is. "Damn..good post"

This, really. If people only ever used .gifs literally and true to the context of the original source... no one would ever use .gifs. Not only would it be too much of a pain in the ass to make sure you're using the .gif appropriately, but in a world where everyone presumes they should interpret the .gif from its source context, its a small percentage of people that will know the context of any given .gif.

Basically OPs position is only acceptable if he is Draxx the Destroyer (movie version)
 

eot

Banned
The context that scene has in the movie isn't relevant, only the imagery is. A lot of great images are great because they're taken out of context.
 

Renekton

Member
As some background, leading up to this scene, Kane had been trying to build up his mistress-turned-second-wife, Susan, as an opera star to make her look like more than just some fling he had. In this scene, Susan had just given a "bad" (by the standards of the time) opera performance, and Kane realized that it was bad, but was still forcing himself to clap for it to show support for his creation.
I don't think it was reluctant, it was defiant against the crowd.
 

-x.Red.x-

Member
I agree with OP

but i do also agree that the GIF can be used however a poster chooses, as many posters, lurkers, whatnot do not know the "True" form of the GIF and will most likely interpret the GIF as they please.

That being said, fuck you pay me
 

Trey

Member
Another .gif that bugs me, is the one with the guy who is trying to say something and then probably thinks it over or something, and cheekpalms (sic) himself.

I don't know the film it's from, so I don't know if this is the correct context, or if he just realises there's no point in disagreeing with what the other party considers a given.

It's from Castle, a TV show. His daughter does something witty/defiant that makes him speechless.
 
a gif's usage depends on the poster's interpretation of that particular gif and the emotion that they believe it conveys

there's no need to understand the context of it within the original work, that's dumb, all you need is the imagery
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
The context of the scene in the movie does not matter.
What matters is what the .gif looks like it is saying at this moment, which to me is. "Damn..good post"

Really? Because to me it clearly looks like Kane is not at all happy about the fact that he's clapping. Does that look like the face of a man who is clapping for something he enjoyed to you?
 

Mononoke

Banned
lol GIF's aren't based on the context of the scene/movie. Since there is no sound or overall context to the scene, it's literally just physical movement. Hence why it's interchangeable with how people want to use it (how the action fits the needs of what they want to express).

While you are right that this scene is NOT what people use the gif for, divorced from the film it's just a clapping gif.
 

Forkball

Member
It is pretty much impossible to use that gif in the same context as the film. At this point of the film, Kane's ambitions have been destroyed due to his affair, and he tries to regain some notoriety and success by pushing his mistress into a singing career. She has no talent for this, and everyone sees it, yet Kane in his delusion applauds uproariously in an attempt to rekindle the fading embers of his ambitious nature. It is a sad and haunting scene in the film because it ties in so well with the development of the character and the plot. Of course you cannot pull it out of context and make it work accurately so easily.
 

Sojgat

Member
It is pretty much impossible to use that gif in the same context as the film. At this point of the film, Kane's ambitions have been destroyed due to his affair, and he tries to regain some notoriety and success by pushing his mistress into a singing career. She has no talent for this, and everyone sees it, yet Kane in his delusion applauds uproariously in an attempt to rekindle the fading embers of his ambitious nature. It is a sad and haunting scene in the film because it ties in so well with the development of the character and the plot. Of course you cannot pull it out of context and make it work accurately so easily.

The closest approximation actually happens a lot.

Someone posts something obviously, and completely incorrect, and then someone else posts the gif in agreement.
 
For real, man? We needed a thread to clarify proper GIF context? You know I will say that I enjoyed learning the actual movie context of this GIF, so thanks for that.

Your post was really bad, but you are my protégé, and so I must clap for you to build the impression that your post was actually good, because my mental well-being depends on your posting success.

I'm sure situations like this come up all the time on NeoGAF.

Or we could just use a gif of clapping to mean clapping.

This thread gives me a headache, maybe it was a joke. You know what, yes. Yes it was.
 

TriniTrin

war of titties grampa
Very deep introspection into the very psyche of gifs and their uses. You should try to get a grant from a university to start testing your theories of usages of gifs relating to context of the original source. Bravo! :D
9df.gif
 
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