Line #52 WebVideo/ThugNotes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thug_notes_platform_graphic.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:" 'Sup, my well-read ballers?"]]
3	''Classical Literature. Original Gangster.''
4
5	Yo yo yo, what up, dawg? This week, we gettin' up in this crib with ''Thug Notes'', by Sparky Sweets, [=PhD=].
6
7	A collaboration between comedian Greg Edwards (playing Dr Sweets), Napkin Note Productions (Jared Bauer and Jacob Salamon) and researcher Joseph Salvaggio, ''Thug Notes'' is a weekly WebVideo series. Each five-minute episode is devoted to a brief summary and analysis of a particular work of Western literature as explained by a SoulBrotha and punctuated by deliberately unpolished illustrations. The result is half irreverent, half educational, and completely hilarious.
8
9	Books analyzed by ''Thug Notes'' include:
10
11	* [[Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey 50 Shades of Grey]]
12	* Literature/NineteenEightyFour
13	* Literature/AClockworkOrange
14	* Literature/ASeparatePeace
15	* Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront
16	* Literature/AliceInWonderland
17	* Literature/AmericanPsycho
18	* Literature/AnimalFarm
19	* Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness
20	* Literature/BraveNewWorld
21	* Literature/{{Beowulf}}
22	* Literature/{{Beloved}}
23	* Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov
24	* Literature/CatchTwentyTwo
25	* Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye
26	* Theatre/TheCrucible
27	* Literature/TheColorPurple
28	* Literature/DonQuixote
29	* Literature/{{Dracula}}
30	* Literature/{{Dune}}
31	* [[Literature/TheDivineComedy Inferno]]
32	* Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh
33	* Theatre/OedipusTheKing
34
35	...and many more.
36
37
38	''Thug Notes'' is available for viewing on its [[http://www.thug-notes.com/ official site]] or on its [[https://www.youtube.com/user/thugnotes/featured Youtube channel]].
39	----
40	!!This series contains examples of:
41	* AprilFoolsDay: On April 1st 2014, the channel posted an episode covering Creator/StephenieMeyer's ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]''. [[spoiler:It turned out to actually be analyzing ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn''.]]
42	* BigWhat: His reaction to the huge ContinuitySnarl at the end of ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''.
43	* CatchPhrase:
44	** "Nah, blood!"
45	** "Damn!"
46	** "Cold-blooded!"
47	** "Peep this {{motif}}, son."
48	** "He/she dead."
49	** "Street justice!"
50	** "Peace!"
51	** "[Character] chucks deuces outta there."
52	* DramaticIrony: ''Theatre/OedipusTheKing'' begins with Sparky wishing us a happy UsefulNotes/ValentinesDay and that today we're going to look for some motherf(bleep)in' truth, completely unaware of the [[SurpriseIncest big twist]].
53	--> '''Sparky:''' [[ParentalIncest His mama]]! Ughhhhhhh! An' his kids are his brothers and sisters! Aw man, that's nasty, man! Disgustin'!
54	* EyePop: The preferred method of showing surprise in the illustrations.
55	* EyeTake: Commonly seen in the episodes, especially when the work being analysed moves into disturbing territory, and occasionally caught on the video thumbnails.
56	* [[ImNotADoctorButIPlayOneOnTV I'm Not a Doctor of Philosophy, but I Play One on YouTube]]: While the ''character'' of Sparky Sweets has a [=PhD=] in Classics, [[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1xnwdf/we_are_the_team_behind_thug_notes_yo_main_hookup/cfd1lea this doesn't carry over to the actual crew. Joseph does have a master's in the subject, though.]]
57	* IncrediblyLamePun: "So Literature/DonQuixote gets up on his horse, and Sancho gets up on his [[HaveAGayOldTime ass.]]"
58	* JiveTurkey: The entire premise of this series is the analysis of (predominantly) famous works of Western literature in a style that's far, far from normal academic discourse.
59	** Done deliberately, as the original intent was to Lampshade how literary analysis doesn't ''have'' to use high academia to be valid discourse.
60	* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: Sweets often cites specific pages where something he seemingly exaggerates turns out to be an actual thing in the text, such as the descriptions of Nurse Ratchet's breasts in ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest.''
61	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness The first few episodes aside,]] most episodes open with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, except the Halloween episode (''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''), which opens with [[StandardSnippet Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor]].
62	* RunningGag: Sweets saying "Damn" whenever a depressing plot point is described.
63	* SophisticatedAsHell: In general, the idea of delivering literary analysis in slang, and this juxtaposition is most pronounced when Sweets quotes from either the original text or other sources - and by necessity, jumps back and forth between slang and regular English.
64	* SoulBrotha: Sparky is a stereotypical one - if the JiveTurkey didn't clue you off, the do-rags and gold chains probably should.
65	* SoundEffectBleep: The bleep sees limited use, usually for "F*" and "S*" - lesser words like "bitches" and "ass" are routinely left uncensored. When the N word is suitable for its historic content (''Literature/ToKillAMockingBird''), it would be left alone.
66	* StylisticSuck: Most of the characters in the videos, are portrayed as stick-figures with the faces of public domain photos or photos from movies, copypasted onto them.
67	** Subverted by the provided analysis, which is always well-researched and quite on-point.

Context WebVideo / ThugNotes