#ben stiller’s sunglasses

[conkreetmonkey]

So in the process of reading Homestuck, I found out that Dave's iconic sunglasses are, in-universe, a pair worn by Ben Stiller in a film that has not been named but is almost certainly Starsky and Hutch since they appeared a lot in Problem Sleuth, with the bust they appear on in that comic almost identical to the photo of them hanging in Dave's room. It seems likely that their appearance in Homestuck is just a reference to Problem Sleuth.

Despite the fact that the most iconic piece of one of the main characters of a once massive comic franchise exists irl, I've been unable to track down the whereabouts of these sunglasses. I found one Reddit thread from eight years ago asking about them, with only one reply pointing to a website which sells props from movies saying that they may have at once point had them because they have props hailing from the same film, but the site doesn't seem to archive sold listings, so if they did it's a dead end unless a third party site archived the listing.

I'm kind of shocked people aren't looking for them. The Dave Strider sunglasses exist in real life, and people obsess over that little irony-poisoned asshole. He's probably the single most popular transmasc namesake on the planet. You'd think his iconic sunglasses would be culturally valuable and worth preserving, maybe even worth putting in a queer museum somewhere if such a thing exists, but I've only been able to find one instance of somebody caring, and it's from an obscure Reddit post from almost a decade ago. What gives?

[homestuckreplay]

tell him to arch his back and then look back at me, mean. like a dragon

ok I wasn't going to make a post about this but unfortunately I have no choice. I have just watched the 2004 movie Starsky & Hutch, starring Ben Stiller as David Starsky, also starring Dave Strider's very cool very ironic sunglasses.

now here's the thing. you would think that Dave, known cool guy who places a lot of Importance on being cool, would wear sunglasses that belonged to a suave badass character. NOT SO. Starsky is the biggest fucking loser in the world here, an absolute laughing stock, the butt of most of the jokes. here's a partial rundown of the shit he gets into (spoilers for the 2004 movie Starsky & Hutch)

attempts to trash talk a dead body

shoots the tail off an iguana

gets laughed at for wearing a fake mustache

tells criminals that it's cool to be themselves

owns a cooking apron that says KISS THE COP

puts police evidence in his night coffee

gets stabbed multiple times by a child

jumps out of a giant gift box while dressed as a mime

shoots a pony that is a gift for a girl's bat mitzvah

gets told by his boss that his mom would be disappointed in him

leaves a donut on his mom's grave

shoots his boss while trying to do a trick shot

drives his car into the ocean for no reward

meets the future version of himself and exclusively talks about driving tips

I understand why Dave likes this movie. It's funny, can definitely be read as ironic, very homoerotic in ways that can easily be played off as just jokes, a really terrible CGI explosion at one point, and Snoop Dogg kicks ass as Huggy Bear. But I'd expect Dave to watch this and thing 'I'm like Hutch, the cool and charismatic one who's above the rules, and my silly friend John is like Starsky who wears a cardigan to work and cries when he tells me I'm a good cop' but he is literally cosplaying Starsky every day. He even has a similar name.

Anyway this movie is very fun, it is a cop movie but all the cops are pretty incompetent and it's not as aggressively pro cop as a lot of cop media, and there weren't any super offensive jokes. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a goofy comedy. 7/10

[thesleutherrr]

The subject of my next research post will be Ben Stiller's sunglasses.

Among other things.

[dogwaffles-sodasauce]

hi dogwaffles-sodasauce fans my kidswap ideas (beta kids)

jade egbert: the witch of breath she lives with her pa in washington. a mysterious dog, nicknamed “bec,” hangs out around her house sometimes, but hes more of a nuisance than anything. she loves experiment in her pa's kitchen, much to his dismay. she makes up for my by helping him with the gardening! she is not a fan of pranks, despite the joke shop her pa runs. she knows of her pa's role as only a businessman since she never showed interest in joining the ranks of pranks. her planet is the land of glow and smog (logas)

rose strider: the seer of time she lives with her brother in texas. she spends most of her time writing in her room, only occasionally making comics. she enjoys a good strife with her bro, but she prefers to duel wield small knives instead of using the katanas he uses. she knows that her bro is not a good caretaker, but she appreciates that he is honest in his actions. when he dies, he ends up losing his shades. rose decides to give up her shades for him as a way of mourning for him. (originally has the unbroken disc symbol before the scratch, but i was too lazy to add that) her planet is the land of time and rain (lotar)

dave lalonde: the knight of light he lives with his mom in fuck all new york. he explores the forest often and brings home dead bugs and bones often. his mom makes helps him clean the fauna and they are displayed along her novelty items. dave's comics are displayed on the fridge proudly, despite the common sexual content. his friend john gifts him some sunnies on his 13th birthday, which he takes to immediately. his planet is the land of heat and luminance (lohal)

john harley: the heir of space he lives on an island alone with his dead pop-pop. he spends most of his time watching movies, since his pop-pop isn't exactly playing with him. he sets up small pranks for the dolls that decorates his house, pretending they fall for them. he also likes to pretend that his house is haunted so he can bust the ghosts! looking through the various artifacts around his home, he finds a pair of sunglasses that kind of look like the sunglasses that were once of Ben Stiller's sort of gaunt face. he decides to give them to his friend dave, the coolest kid he knows. his planet is the land of hills and frogs (lohaf)

[thirtheenprimes]

Isn't it funny that the symbol printed in the books for when the chapter is about Gideon the Ninth the one whereits the skull with no mandible (for the Ninth) but with aviators (because Gideon wears those) is so iconic and I have a sticker on my laptop for it and it's because of Ben Stiller's weird king of gaunt face?

Tamsyn Muir does not hide her Homestuck origins, and the books make so much fucking sense if you're already used to Homestuck and there are plenty of references all throughout.

And if John Egbert hadn't given Dave Strider Ben Stiller's aviators that he bought as an 'ironic' birthday present that Dave proceeds to wear constantly all the time and it becomes a part of his brand, those aviator sunglasses wouldn't probably be a thing in The Locked Tomb. Tamsyn would 100% have skipped over the sunglasses thing or done something else with the whole 'symbol of Gideon thing.

And in Homestuck it's a reference to a real world guy.

Anyway I'm drink and staring at the only sticker on my laptop.

[fanonical]

i’m reading gideon the ninth for the first time and every time gideon puts on those sunglasses i am distracted by the fact that canonically those are the ben stiller sunglasses dave strider has in homestuck

[freackthejester]

I have now watched the 2004 Starsky and Hutch movie. Yes, I did this mostly to try to understand the importance of Ben Stiller's sunglasses in the film and why they are important enough to be mentioned in Problem Sleuth and subsequently Homestuck.

I don't get it. He does wear the shades in a few scenes, but they are not nearly as prominent as I expected going in, which I guess makes a twisted sort of sense. It's not even a prop, he's just outside wearing sunglasses because he's outside and it's a very popular throwaway style of glasses. They came from a convenience store and are expected to break after a summer. They are not even that dark or reflective or anything special. They suck. And they are stuck in a movie that is weird about women, very paint by numbers and forgettable. But it does have a few of those things that I know by now that Hussie likes. Bad good acting. A homoerotiscm that is mostly a joke. Misattributed quotes.

And at the end the original actors of Starsky and Hutch show up and gift the Stiller and Wilson their version of the iconic car, and it's like "Who are these bozos?" but they very clearly just ARE Starsky and Hutch the originals, even though the movie takes place is the 70s, so by that logic the OG would have been doing all of their shit back in the 50s. Like, just running into what is clearly just an alternate universe version of yourself and not even taking note of it and just taking and wrecking their car for funsies.

On a scale of importance for viewing versus just getting by on the memes, I would rank Starsky and Hutch 2004 very low, and it does not feel essential to understanding. That said, I do not think it is a BAD film, and watching it was fun.

[dash-n-step]

Do I understand that Davepeta's glasses are the same Ben Stiller aviator sunglasses that Dave had at the very beginning of the story?

Yes.

Do I still think it's fun to pretend that they have prescription sunglasses, just because I wear glasses?

also yes.

anyway someone left an in-character dave strider review on these random glasses

[thealmightyemprex]

Halloweenathon: Highway to Hell

So for this installment we shall look at yet another retelling of the Orpheus legend

In this 1992 film Charlie (Chad Lowe ) and Rachel (Kristy Swanson ) are a young couple planning to elope when on a back road,Rachel is kidnapped by the monstrous Hellcop ( C.J. Graham ) ,and Charlie must travel into Hell to save Rachel

This was a ton of fun and might be my favorite film of the month so far .This is a very smart horror comedy ,with a lot of allusions to both the Divine Comedy and Greek Mythoogy (Including having Cerberus,Charon and a rather funny refrence to Tantalus except its cops being unable to get their coffee and doghnuts ) .I like the depiction of Hell ,as the film couldnt go too crazy due to the budget ,Hell is depicted as a desert road full of the annoyances of the world taken to a darkly humorus level ,with some clever jokes (My favorite being the road to hell being paved by good intentions,meaning they litterally make the road by crushing up people with good intentions who did bad things ,I had to pause the film I was laughing so hard ) .The film has a bit of a fantasy feel ,focusing not on gore (I dont recall there being any ) but on surreal visuals,and crazy creatures .

The cast is superb ,Chad Lowe and Kristy Swanson being really likable leads ,Richard Farnsworth is excellent as an old man who knows how to enter Hell ,Kevin Peter Hall has a very good small role as Charon the Ferryman ,and there are humorus cameos by Gilbert Gottfried as Adolf Hitler and the entire Stiller family (Jerry Stiller ,Anne Mearea ,Ben Stiller , and Amy Stiller )

Patrick Bergan plays Beezle AKA the Devil....Yeah the movie acts like this is a twist but ......His name is Beezle AKA Beezlebub ,PAtrick Bergan is given top billing ,so yeah it was kind of obvious hes the devil .In fact I am very split on this Devil in general ,cause Bergan does a good job as this false friend and is menacing ,and the makeup for him is interesting ,however while interisting I wish his motivation was clearer . I will say he is a solid devil just have seen better ,though I do like the line about him having many manifestations

The weakest element of the film is the leader of a biker gang named Royce who just feels like an unnecessary extra antagonist ,though Adam Storke does a good job

The BEST aspect of the film is our main heavy,the Devils right hand man THE HELL COP .Firs he looks great with ritualistic writing carved into his skin and orange tinted sunglasses embedded into his face ,and C J Graham is very imposing giving a very scary unstopabble silent cop from Hell .I think he is such a menacing villain

Overall this is a fun movie ,grat sense of humor,great effects and makeup and a unique take on Hell .I had a blast watching this

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1 @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland

[lemonsnouturnabout]

be starsky and hutch: you are on the cutting edge of slash fiction and shipping culture in the 1970s ==> be hollywood executive in the early 2000s: what if we remake classic of homoerotic television content with ben stiller and owen wilson? ==> be andrew hussie: think this is hilarious and make an extended gag in problem sleuth about ben stillers sunglasses in the hollywood remake movie starsky and hutch ==> be dave strider: wear said stiller shades perching the talisman of homoeroticism on your nose gaze thru the shipping shades (given to him by john foregrounding homestucks first slash ship) but do not let it mean anything as fault in our stars guy once said put the killing device between your teeth but dont actually light it ==> rose: dave why are you leaving an unlit phallic symbol in your mouth? ==> be andrew hussie: open pandoras box and revolutionize shipping culture for the internet age and also ruin everyones lives ==> be dave: you are now gay

[dailyproblemsleuth]

Problem Sleuth, page 1,453

NB: Put on sunglasses.

What you witness cannot be described by words. A spectacle transcending time and space. If it is true a thousand angels dance on the head of a pin, then so it seems all universal events imagined and real play on the polarized lens of a Hollywood B-list celebrity.

Author commentary: Nervous Broad, you do realise those shades touched Ben Stiller's weird, sort of gaunt face at some point, right?

[erigold13261]

oh here's the thing dave's sunglasses are those of ben stiller which dave is a fan of and ben stiller played zoolander

Oh yea, I wouldn't have known that because they just look like regular sunglasses to me.

I know Egbert's birthday note probably explained that, but all I got from it was how ironic the glasses were and that they were better than the ones Dave's brother gave him or something like that.

Didn't realize the glasses were referencing an actor (this is why references suck with me, I barely get them at all, especially if it's for actors or live action movies).

Thanks for informing me!

[29pageshomestuckeveryday]

Homestuck, page 318

Dave: Check the blue box.

This is the package that your friend John Egbert sent you for your 13th birthday a little while ago. It now contains nothing except a NOTE and a CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY vouching for the genuine Hollywood memorabilia which the box originally contained, and which you are now wearing to be IRONIC but also to be INCREDIBLY COOL IN A WAY SOMEHOW INTANGIBLY RELATED TO THE IRONIC NATURE OF THE ACCESSORY. You find it sort of exasperating to explain these subtleties to people.

The BOX also included a signed photo of BEN STILLER which now proudly hangs above your closet. Proudly and IRONICALLY.

Author commentary: In PS, the Stiller shades were swiped by a thieving prostitute (probably?) from a stone bust of Ben Stiller (which was wearing real shades I guess?) In HS I apparently go to the bother of explaining these glasses once belonged to Stiller himself, or at least was one of his accessories in a film. They actually did touch Stiller's weird, sort of gaunt face. The myth surrounding these sunglasses is layered, like an especially ironic helping of lasagna.

[homestuck-affirmations]

You are allowed to love and cherish your online friends, to want to send them gifts! If you’re practicing internet safety and still manage to make a true friend, the miles between you doesn’t make that bond any lesser.

(If you and your friends want to send eachother gifts, a P.O. Box can help ensure your buddy receives their gift safely, and can cherish it as much as Dave does! )

[facesofcinema]

Zoolander (2001)

[simmonsized]

novie i'm cracking i'm finally breaking down i have to know

WHAT is the difference between bro dirk and dave they are like the same twink at varying levels up to twunk with goofier sunglasses than the last i NEED TO KNOW

okay hello this is SO fucking funny jack

i have drawn you a chart actually

but basically there are two (mostly) parallel timelines in Homestuck. Due to in-universe shenanigans, Timeline 2 was created in Timeline 1, but from a temporal standpoint, they happened at the same time. if that makes sense??

But Timeline 2 changes the circumstances of "the game" that is played in Homestuck (called Sburb) by changing its players.

To do this, it flips the guardians of each kid, and their respective player. So alternate bro becomes the kid, and alternate dave becomes the guardian. but for that i drew a shitty chart!]

SO: THE CHART

BRO STRIDER:

actual name Dirk Strider (yeah i know)

genetic brodad of Dave Strider, raised as brothers bc??? who knows

raised him, did a bad job

wears a hat

pointy sunglasses

dubiously-canonically a twunk

DIRK STRIDER:

Alternate timeline version of Bro Strider

yeah they're the same person genetically like literally the same exact baby but flipped turnways so he's the player instead of the guardian

He is still genetically the father of Dave, so even though he perceives alpha Dave as his "bro," he is still genetically his dad. cringe culture.

pointy bird hair like an anime

wears a hat on his SHIRT

pointy sunglasses

DAVE STRIDER:

Original 1/4 kids you meet in the first few acts of homestuck

genetic offspring of Bro and a character called "Mom"

wears aviator shades that used to belong to Ben Stiller from the movie Starsky and Hutch

yes literally the same glasses i know

hair like a dead bird (rounder)

i wouldn't worry about the "alpha" version of dave too much he like, doesn't rly exist except in my mind palace lol

they are all related, technically, but not in the way you expect! Dirk and Dave actually meet at the same age, and it's a whole very nice thing actually, even if it is complicated!

I think that is all you really need to know???

Basically, Dave is Bro's kid, and Bro and Dirk are the exact same person genetically but with completely different circumstances which changed large swaths of what make them, them, except their love of puppets, which at this point, we can only assume is genetic