Eric Conveys an Emotion
Encyclopedia
Eric Conveys an Emotion is a humor website
in which the site's owner Eric Wu (born 1976 or 1977) has taken requests for emotion
s, and then posts photos of himself acting out
the emotions.
, anger
and fear
, the scope rapidly broadened to include other mental states ("reserved", "flirtatious") and states with non-psychological components ("psychotic gaze", "sneeze coming"). Some images display Eric's imagined reactions to very specific situations sucn as "Working on a tech support line, answering your 500th call of someone who claims he can't send email", or envisage physical activity as in "I would like to see Eric hurt physically. Preferably, he falls down long stairs...like in The Exorcist
or something". Eric sometimes plays with the suggestions, as when "Stoned" featured him being hit with stones and "Procrastination" was simply labeled NOT FINISHED YET.
Eric conceded in one interview that the site was "pointless" but considered it justified by the e-mail feedback he had received.
. According to one report, he had "hooked a camcorder up to his PC and wondered what to do with it". Eric continued to update it after becoming a webmaster
in Silicon Valley
.
For the month of July 2003, Eric promised to update the website with new emotions every Tuesday. His reasons were "Why Tuesday? Simple, because Strong Bad
emails are on Mondays. See you Tuesday!" (Strong Bad Emails are the most popular feature of Homestarrunner.com). The Brothers Chaps, creators of Homestar Runner, are apparently friends of Eric; both they and several of their characters have appeared in the Football Game Adventure on the site. Some of these cameos
are hard to spot: The Cheat appears on the sole of a shoe, for example.
Eric stopped adding emotions on August 10, 2004, reporting on December 29 that his server was in a "tizzy" and he would give a full analysis later. On January 2, 2005, Eric announced his website was "broken", going through some upgrades, and should be up shortly. On December 25, 2005, the site was updated for the first time since January, adding a new adventure called "The Mall". After this it was widely accepted that the site had been abandoned, with one student journalist citing this as evidence that "auteur-style
" humor sites were being displaced by the more anarchic brand of comedy characteristic of YouTube
.
However, Eric posted a new news entry on July 21, 2006, renewing the possibility of a regularly updated website. Another update was posted on April 1, 2008, along with a new adventure.
interview appeared within two years of its foundation. By May 2000 Eric was receiving more than 100 requests and 1000 hits per day, and by December 2002 the site had been covered by "media in Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic".
In 2003, the site was one of five nominated for a Webby Award
in the humor category. In spite of being identified by the San Francisco Chronicle
s Peter Hartlaub as "[a]mong the best" that year (along with Whitehouse.org
in the same category), it lost out to the webcomic
Get Your War On
.
Eric's "Angry" emotion picture used for the web-cliché
picture "l33t Cereal". His picture was also used as a portrait for the main character in the cancelled PC game
Fallout 3 Van Buren in its tech demo
.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
in which the site's owner Eric Wu (born 1976 or 1977) has taken requests for emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s, and then posts photos of himself acting out
Facial expression
A facial expression one or more motions or positions of the muscles in the skin. These movements convey the emotional state of the individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information among humans, but also occur...
the emotions.
Description
The site features images of Eric Wu acting out almost 300 so-called "emotions" requested by readers. Although the earliest images uploaded depicted such traditional emotions as happinessHappiness
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
, anger
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
and fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
, the scope rapidly broadened to include other mental states ("reserved", "flirtatious") and states with non-psychological components ("psychotic gaze", "sneeze coming"). Some images display Eric's imagined reactions to very specific situations sucn as "Working on a tech support line, answering your 500th call of someone who claims he can't send email", or envisage physical activity as in "I would like to see Eric hurt physically. Preferably, he falls down long stairs...like in The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
or something". Eric sometimes plays with the suggestions, as when "Stoned" featured him being hit with stones and "Procrastination" was simply labeled NOT FINISHED YET.
Eric conceded in one interview that the site was "pointless" but considered it justified by the e-mail feedback he had received.
History
Eric Wu established the site in 1998, during a period of boredom while studying at the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. According to one report, he had "hooked a camcorder up to his PC and wondered what to do with it". Eric continued to update it after becoming a webmaster
Webmaster
A webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
.
For the month of July 2003, Eric promised to update the website with new emotions every Tuesday. His reasons were "Why Tuesday? Simple, because Strong Bad
Strong Bad
Strong Bad is one of the major characters of the Homestar Runner series of animated Flash web cartoons. He is portrayed by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-founder of the series. Strong Bad enjoys pranking the other characters of the series, along with his ever-diligent lackey pet...
emails are on Mondays. See you Tuesday!" (Strong Bad Emails are the most popular feature of Homestarrunner.com). The Brothers Chaps, creators of Homestar Runner, are apparently friends of Eric; both they and several of their characters have appeared in the Football Game Adventure on the site. Some of these cameos
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
are hard to spot: The Cheat appears on the sole of a shoe, for example.
Eric stopped adding emotions on August 10, 2004, reporting on December 29 that his server was in a "tizzy" and he would give a full analysis later. On January 2, 2005, Eric announced his website was "broken", going through some upgrades, and should be up shortly. On December 25, 2005, the site was updated for the first time since January, adding a new adventure called "The Mall". After this it was widely accepted that the site had been abandoned, with one student journalist citing this as evidence that "auteur-style
Auteur theory
In film criticism, auteur theory holds that a director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur"...
" humor sites were being displaced by the more anarchic brand of comedy characteristic of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
However, Eric posted a new news entry on July 21, 2006, renewing the possibility of a regularly updated website. Another update was posted on April 1, 2008, along with a new adventure.
Recognition
Eric states that he has never sought to publicise the site, but favorable press notices and a BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
interview appeared within two years of its foundation. By May 2000 Eric was receiving more than 100 requests and 1000 hits per day, and by December 2002 the site had been covered by "media in Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic".
In 2003, the site was one of five nominated for a Webby Award
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
in the humor category. In spite of being identified by the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
s Peter Hartlaub as "[a]mong the best" that year (along with Whitehouse.org
Whitehouse.org
Whitehouse.org is a parody website that Chickenhead Productions created in 2001, though the domain was first registered in 1995. The banner at the top of the website's front page read: "THE WHITE HOUSE" "OFFICIOUS WEBSITE OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH". The website is a parody of former U.S....
in the same category), it lost out to the webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
Get Your War On
Get Your War On
Get Your War On is a series of satirical comic strips by David Rees about political topics — originally the effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City but quickly switching focus to more recent ones, in particular the "War on Terrorism"...
.
Eric's "Angry" emotion picture used for the web-cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
picture "l33t Cereal". His picture was also used as a portrait for the main character in the cancelled PC game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
Fallout 3 Van Buren in its tech demo
Tech demo
A tech demo is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a product, put together with the primary purpose of showcasing the idea, performance, method or the features of the product...
.