ENDED! WIN A Copy of PORTLANDIA Season One on Blu-Ray/DVD [2 winners]

By Dead C 13 years ago

Written/created by and starring the duo of musician-turned-comedian-turned-fake musician parody, Fred Armisen (SNL) and indie music hero-turned-NPR blogger-turned-actor/comedian, Carrie Brownstein (Sleater Kinney, Wild Flag), PORTLANDIA has managed to find the perfect formula to not only make it successful, but to springboard itself prominently into the public consciousness within an extremely short period of time. That distinct intersection of corporate metropolis and new age, hipster, and slacker ideologies that is created in a city like Portland is what helps to put a fine point on every commentary and skit on the program. This is because there is generally at least one person reacting and/or in opposition to whatever’s being presenting in the skit and it’s that conflict that makes the show interesting. The other major factor that makes PORTLANDIA so successful is the credibility. Brownstein is a well-known fixture of the Northwest city and there’s an added dimension to the commentary when there’s a clear affection for the environment that they’re taking shots at, versus a malicious assault by outsiders. It’s the same reason that Les Claypool’s satirical view of the jamband scene in his film Electric Apricot worked so well, because he’s an insider that sees things from all angles.

The 2nd season of the highly-successful IFC sketch comedy program airs on January 6th and the duo will even be heading out on select show dates for a sold out live tour, beginning at the end of this month and following throughout January. For those who are huge fans of the program, know huge fans of the program, or simply want to catch up before the new season starts, the first season of PORTLANDIA will see a release date for both a DVD and a BLU-RAY/DVD combo format on DECEMBER 6th, just in time for the holidays. Thanks to our friends at MVD ENTERTAIMENT GROUP, we’ve been provided with 2 copies of the BLU-RAY/DVD pack for giveaway. That means we will be choosing 2 different winners. (enter below).

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Winners have been contacted.

[CLICK HERE to jump directly to giveaway]

The first time that I saw an episode of PORTLANDIA it was after getting a heads up about it from a friend on Facebook.  The IFC original comedy series was officially premiering on the network that week, but the debut episode was already up for free viewing online (we were actually going to embed the episode back then, but the screener was only temporary and set to expire).  I can’t remember who it was that posted the link and I can’t remember exactly what they had to say about the show, but I do remember that they were encouraging others to watch it and, although they were very general in their statements, they explained that the show was parodying some very specific Portland and Pacific Northwest tendencies.  My response was a half-joking inquiry about if the whole show as about organic foods/free range chickens and bicyclists.  I watched it.  It actually was.

Living in Seattle and not traveling anywhere near to the amount that I used to in my yoot, it’s easy to forget that the rest of the country can be so much different than out here.  This is especially true after moving from a place like Olympia, which falls in between both Seattle and Portland but has an even higher concentration of co-op, anti-corporate protest, DIY, organic farm, ethics and attitudes; without the contrast of the businessmen and right wing types that inevitably mingle throughout and co-exist in it’s larger metropolitan neighbors.  Portland and Seattle have Whole Foods and PCC, while Olympia primarily just has small legitimate co-ops that don’t have CEOs behind them.  Some people in Seattle still don’t know what quinoa is (incidentally, neither does spell check).  Good luck going to potluck in Oly that doesn’t have at least one dish with “hippie grits” in it.  You can still get butter on your popcorn in these cities instead of simply brewer’s yeast.  So, I forget to what degree that Portland and where I live in Seattle are still so heavily liberal, earthy, slim pants, and hip.  Then, occasionally, every ridiculous cliche can collapse in on itself around you and everything becomes painfully and hilariously absurd again.  But would anyone outside of the area even get the references or give a shit?  On the other hand, maybe the only people that would laugh at this show were the folks that didn’t live in the immediate area at all.  It didn’t take long before an answer regarding the level of universality for the program came; within a couple of weeks everyone seemed to be instructing each other to “Put a Bird on It“.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XM3vWJmpfo[/youtube]

Written/created by and starring the duo of musician-turned-comedian-turned-fake musician/parody, Fred Armisen (SNL) and indie music hero-turned-NPR blogger-turned-actor/comedian, Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag), PORTLANDIA has managed to find the perfect formula to not only make it successful, but to springboard itself prominently into the public consciousness within an extremely short period of time.  That distinct intersection of corporate metropolis and new age, hipster, and slacker ideologies that is created in a city like Portland is what helps to put a fine point on every commentary and skit featured on the program.  This is because there is generally at least one person reacting and/or in opposition to whatever’s being presented in the skit and it’s that conflict of personalities that often makes the show interesting.  The other major factor that makes PORTLANDIA so successful is the credibility.  Brownstein is a well-known fixture of the Northwest city and there’s an added dimension to the commentary when there’s a clear affection for the environment that they’re taking shots at, versus a malicious assault by outsiders.  It’s the same reason that Les Claypool‘s satirical view of the jamband scene in his film Electric Apricot worked so well, because he’s an insider, but an objective one that sees things from all angles.

The 2nd season of the highly-successful IFC sketch comedy program airs on January 6th and the duo will even be heading out on select show dates for a sold out live tour, beginning at the end of this month and following throughout January.  For those who are huge fans of the program, know huge fans of the program, or simply want to catch up before the new season starts, the first season of PORTLANDIA will see a release date for both a DVD and a BLU-RAY/DVD combo format on DECEMBER 6th,; just in time for the holidays and a month before the debut of season 2.  Thanks to our friends at MVD ENTERTAIMENT GROUP, we’ve been provided with 2 copies of the BLU-RAY/DVD pack for giveaway.  That means we will be choosing 2 different winners. (enter below).

.

PRIZE DETAILS:

PORTLANDIA BLU-RAY/DVD [2 copies/2 winners]

Features

  • All SIX Season One Episodes on BLU-RAY
  • All SIX Season One Episodes on DVD
  • Guest stars include: Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Adams (Portland Mayor), Selma Blair, Steve Buscemi, Heather Graham, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Aubrey Plaza, Gus Van Sant and Jason Sudeikis.

Bonus Materials

  • Bonus features include extended & deleted scenes, bloopers, Fred Armisen’s speech to Oregon Episcopal School graduates, original ThunderAnt videos from which Portlandia spawned, and commentary with Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstien and director Jonathan Krisel (Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!) over six episodes.  There’s also a preview of what’s in store for the second season

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

THE CONTEST / GIVEAWAY:

*2 separate winners will receive a copy of the PORTLANDIA Blu-Ray/DVD Pack
(full product details above)

HOW TO ENTER:

Since we have 2 copies available for giveaway this time, we’re also providing 2 separate ways to enter.

#1)

(option “A”)

Since the “Put a bird on it” sketch is, arguably, one of the most recognizable bits from Portlandia, we’re asking you to answer the following question:  “What is one thing that should either definitely have a bird put on it or definitely should NOT have a bird placed on it and for what purpose and/or reason?“

(option “B”)

While working as a barista in Seattle, I had some young -clearly more financially stable than I- kid come in, blocking the paying customer line, with hopes of speaking to the manager about automobiles in the area.  More than simply pro-bikes, he had a proposal to eliminate all cars from the high-traffic streets around the shop (a block away from the freeway entrance), altogether.  Happily delusional, he thought the coffee shop could assist these policy changing efforts and, when I told him that I was gonna have to get a car soon because we were having a baby and that I’d need to drive to the hospital, doctor’s appointments, etc. he asked if I didn’t just have a neighbor that would let me use their car and why all of the neighbors -whom I’ve never even met- didn’t all just share one vehicle in my neighborhood.

In the same manner that each skit in Portlandia attempts to epitomize  a specific, real life character profile that genuinely exists in the area that it represents, your job is to think of a real life situation that you’ve experienced which you feel adequately epitomizes the area of the country and/or city that you live in.

#2)

Post your answer in the comment section below.

#3)

There is no part 3.  That’s all there is to the contest.  It’s pretty easy… but you should probably read the fine print.

The Fine Print:

All entries must be received by Tuesday December 6th at 11:59 pm to be eligible.

U.S. Residents only.

You can enter as many times as you want but, use a valid email so that we can contact you.
Winner’s will be chosen arbitrarily, based on our personal “favorite”, so try to be clever and/or interesting.
If we are unable to contact the winner in a reasonable amount of time, a new winner will be chosen.

[If you have any intentions to post comments asking us to pick you, or asking when the winner will be announced… how about, just don’t do it?  It’s pretty fucking obnoxious and it won’t help your chances.]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0aC8aj5Y30[/youtube]

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16 thoughts on “ENDED! WIN A Copy of PORTLANDIA Season One on Blu-Ray/DVD [2 winners]”

  1. I am choosing Option A, I dont think you should ever put a bird on another bird, particularly a raptor because they would hate having a bird on them and it would interfere with their ability to murder other birds (if it was not well positioned).

  3. B:

    I grew up on an island in the NW, which is populated a strange mix of rich white people and hermetic, intrepid people who live right at the bass of a cliff by the water, using driftwood to heat their homes. As I spent more time away at college (though I studied in Seattle, so I came back often enough not to idealize the island,) I started to realize how weird this is. This was epitomized by a conversation with friends of mine, who were aghast at me when I was not surprised that a murder had been recorded there in our lifetime. “It’s so peaceful and safe here!” Yes, but also filled with wooded nooks and crannies where weirdos can hide. But these very nooks and crannies are what they so desperately try to protect, in the face of urbanization and condos. Both the crazies and the yuppies want it to be left alone, but for completely different reasons.

  4. Option A) I would put a bird on the Portlandia discs because they probably weren’t clever enough to do that themselves and so the discs probably just have pictures of Fred Armisen and the words “Portlandia Disc 1” on them.
    Option B) I live in Austin and east Austin is pretty similar to Portland in that it’s a traditionally multicultural, ethnic neighborhood (ie brown people live there) being rapidly gentrified by white kids. While walking through the neighborhood one day, probably to get a cup of coffee at some place with lomography prints for sale on the walls, I saw that someone had wheat-pasted a poster that said “What are you doing to stop gentrification?” to a light post. Though that certainly could have been put there by a long time Mexican-American resident, for some reason I highly doubt it. I would bet good money that it was put there by some white “punk” kid because it had the word gentrification on it. When the original residents of these neighbors complain about the problem, they tend to say, “too many dumb white kids” rather than gentrification. Anyways, it’s pretty hilarious to imagine the person gentrifying this neighbor patting themselves on the back for “fighting gentrification” by wheat-pasting posters.

  13. Option B.
    I recently had a customer come into my bar. After a few drinks, she told me a “horrifying” story. She was visiting a natural history museum with a couple friends. There was an interactive exhibit which enticed the visitors to put their hand inside an unmarked box and identify what was inside, then lift a lid to see if they were correct. The boxes contained fairly easily-identifiable things like mossy bark, rocks, etc. The last box, however, startled the woman. She lifted the lid to find a taxidermy bobcat paw.

    She stormed up to the man at the counter (who I assume was an unpaid museum volunteer) to yell at him.
    “I am a MORAL VEGAN. How can you TRICK people, nay, CHILDREN into touching that kind of thing?”

    “Can you fucking believe that?” she asked me.
    “Huh! Yeah that’s kinda weird I guess…” I said.

    I will end my submission with a joke:

    Q. How do you know someone is vegan?

    A. They tell you.

  14. B:
    I live in a suburb just outside of Portland called Beaverton.
    In Beaverton you are surrounded by ether people that rarely go into downtown portland, or people that use to live in downtown portland, but moved away because they couldn’t handle the city life.

    Even though we are so very close, its such a different world, that most people out here think Sam Adams is just a beer.

    We have some of the highest unemployment rates & yet when Wal-mart wanted to build a store here, the citizens would not let them build where they wanted to due to worries of “high car traffic”.

    Then Wal-mart bought out the nearby Haggen Food Store so they didn’t have to build, and guess what? again the citizens had a cow & got the city to reject Wal-Mart moving in.

    So now not only is everyone who worked at Haggen out of a job, but no Wal-mart jobs are gonna happen ether.

    So now after personaly being unemployed for many years I have the following exchange with a fellow citizen “Nick” of Beaverton….

    Me “man i’m so broke, sorry I can’t hang”

    Nick “well whats wrong with you, don’t you want to work”

    Me “Yes I want to work, i’ve been putting in apps everywhere, wish Wal-Mart could open here”

    Nick “well Wal-mart would have killed all the small businesses here”

    Me “But none of the small businesses are hiring, and most of them are going out of business anyway”

    Nick “you are just not trying hard enough, and besides Wal-Mart is evil”

    and… scene!

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