Slacker
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The term slacker was commonly used in the United States in World War I and World War II to describe men who were avoiding the military draft. But in the 90s it specifically referred to a variety of tendencies in the young generation—a use popularized by Richard Linklater's movie Slacker - subsequently spawning the label "slacker generation." A typical slacker is characterized by a static, unenthusiastic air manifesting in an apparent lack of effort. This lack of motivation is usually represented as a status of unemployment or only minor employment in the service industry.
Hard work for its own sake is a fairly modern phenomenon, becoming culturally acceptable during the Protestant Reformation. A positive view on work was not a cultural norm for Hebrew, Classical antiquity, or medieval cultures. Greek society recognized that work was necessary for the satisfaction of material needs, but philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle made it clear that the purpose for which the majority of men labored was "in order that the minority, the élite, might engage in pure exercises of the mind — art, philosophy, and politics". The Greeks believed that a person's prudence, morality, and wisdom was directly proportional to the amount of leisure time that person had.
In some philosophies laziness is a virtue (especially constructive laziness). Another maxim that typifies the slacker is "Do not reinvent the wheel." For example, in computer programming, it often is easier to re-use previously written code than coming up with a new implementation of some algorithm.
Apart from meaning lazy, slacker may also be used to insinuate habitual procrastination and a disorganized, slovenly lifestyle. Proponents of slacker theory assert that managing to survive by doing things at the last possible moment improves intellect as a compensatory way to cope, fashioning a wily yet lazy person. Similarly, a disorganized lifestyle may be superior to an organized one from the pragmatic perspective that a slacker will adapt to disorderliness by improving skills at memorization and at effortlessly rummaging, whereas actively organizing would require serious effort. Hence, the epithet slacker, while often used in the pejorative, is growingly signifying a complimentary, cerebral quality of an unconventional person. For another example of a bimodally pejorative and affectionate term, see hacker. There is also a slight overlap among slacker culture, Stoner culture, and hippie culture insofar as they all are implying a disheveled appearance; however their relative apathy precludes their involvement in any movement, as the work involved in being involved in anything at all is against the slacker way of life.
The British equivalent of slackers are "idlers." In fact, it might be said that the British came up with the idea first. Several recent books are compendiums of "Lazy" writing, including "The Idler's Companion (1997)," edited by Tom Hodgkinson and Matthew De Albaituia, and "The Importance of Being Idle (2000)," by Stephen Robins. But their sources are as often American as British. Compare also Dr Johnson.
The term was revived in popular culture in the 1980s hit movie Back to the Future. In the trilogy, the high school principal Mr. Strickland and his ancestors call every youth a "slacker!".
[edit] Fictional slackers
- Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
- John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
- Jeff Spicoli (Fast Times At Ridgemont High)
- Dewey Finn (School Of Rock)
- Peter Gibbons (Office Space)
- Kumar Patel (Harold and Kumar go to White Castle)
- Randal Graves (Clerks)
- The Dude (The Big Lebowski)
- Marty McFly (Back to the Future)
- Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)
- Shikamaru (Naruto)
- Saburo (Status: Element)
[edit] Slackers and computers
The term Slacker is also used for a person who uses or advocates use of the Slackware distribution of Linux. This use of "Slack" comes from the Church of the SubGenius. Slackware does fit in with the concept of slacker in that it follows the KISS principle, relying heavily on simple, flexible text scripts rather than fancy yet brittle GUI elements. The Slackware logo is Tux the penguin with a corncob pipe.
