Last night I had some plans, but they fell through. So I found myself sitting on the couch flipping through the channels until I landed on American Idol. I think I lasted five minutes before I absolutely had to change the channel.
Cringe verb 1. draw back, as with fear or pain; “she cringed when they showed the slaughtering of the calf”
You know the feeling. You’re watching something that is so embarrassing that you simply cannot take it anymore. You feel a physical reaction. The muscles in your body tense up and you are compelled to distance yourself from the situation.
I listen to Opie and Anthony each weekday, and they often refer to their show as “cringe radio.” For example, yesterday they were playing clips from the first time they were ever on the air together. They were making awful jokes, putting on terrible “radio voices”, etc. They had to shut it off. It was just too embarrassing.
I’m curious to hear what makes you recoil with empathetic embarrassment.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Barry Freed // Jan 18, 2007 at 9:24 am
By the way….the most cringe-inducing movies I’ve ever seen:
1) Gummo
2) Happiness
2 evan // Jan 18, 2007 at 10:15 am
Cringe-inducing movie:
–The Devil’s Rejects
3 Steph // Jan 22, 2007 at 10:58 am
Billy Squire’s ‘Rock Me Tonight’ video. Admittedly I didn’t think of this on my own, Howard Stern was talking about it this morning, but it really is painfully embarrassing (albeit hysterically funny) to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnlV8a1vIdE
4 KTina // Jan 22, 2007 at 11:26 am
In Jerry McGuire, when he gives the speech before leaving the office. So awful. I wanted to hide in the corner for him.
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