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	<title>Betabeat &#187; Torturous Ennui of the Upper Middle Class Explored with #ThisAmericanLifeStories Hashtag</title>
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		<title>Betabeat &#187; Torturous Ennui of the Upper Middle Class Explored with #ThisAmericanLifeStories Hashtag</title>
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		<title>Torturous Ennui of the Upper Middle Class Explored with #ThisAmericanLifeStories Hashtag</title>

		<comments>http://betabeat.com/2012/07/torturous-ennui-of-the-white-upper-middle-class-explored-with-thisamericanlifestories-hashtag/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:28:28 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://betabeat.com/2012/07/torturous-ennui-of-the-white-upper-middle-class-explored-with-thisamericanlifestories-hashtag/</link>
			<dc:creator>Jessica Roy</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://betabeat.com/?p=54066</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_54079" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 230px"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Patton_Oswalt_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/220px-Patton_Oswalt_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-54079" title="220px-Patton_Oswalt_by_Gage_Skidmore" src="http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/220px-patton_oswalt_by_gage_skidmore.jpeg" alt="" width="220" height="263" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Oswalt (Photo: Wikipedia)</p></div></p>
<p>"This American Life" is a radio show so beloved--and so unfailingly pretentious--that even its biggest fans have to concede that it's mostly a portrait of the spoiled upper middle class. Today comedian Patton Oswalt took to Twitter to playfully mock the show, first <a href="https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/222748557449510913">tweeting</a> "A small, local post office #ThisAmericanLifeStories" and <a href="https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/222749857637601280">following</a> that up with "Hats #ThisAmericanLifeStories."</p>
<p>Of course, the hashtag tore off like Ira Glass in an artisanal cheese shop: soon it was trending, and our Twitter feed was filling up with hilarious suggestions for upcoming show topics, like "Alfalfa farmers who also read The New Yorker<s>#</s>ThisAmericanLifeStories," as a user named Henning Fog <a href="https://twitter.com/HenningFog/status/222780681070182401">tweeted</a>.</p>
<p><!--more-->Eventually, even "This American Life's" Twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisAmerLife/status/222757522816237569">jumped</a> into the fray: "Why did #ThisAmericanLifeStories suddenly start trending?" they tweeted. They then failed to humorously deflect the hashtag's rise by <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisAmerLife/status/222758422259580930">offering</a> an alternative: "Two can play at this game: #pattonoswaltroles."</p>
<p>Below are some of our favorite #ThisAmericanLifeStories tweets.</p>
<p><script src="http://storify.com/JessicaKRoy/our-favorite-thisamericanlifestories-tweets.js"></script>
			<noscript>[<a href="http://storify.com/JessicaKRoy/our-favorite-thisamericanlifestories-tweets" target="_blank">View this story on Storify</a>]</noscript></p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_54079" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 230px"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Patton_Oswalt_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/220px-Patton_Oswalt_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-54079" title="220px-Patton_Oswalt_by_Gage_Skidmore" src="http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/220px-patton_oswalt_by_gage_skidmore.jpeg" alt="" width="220" height="263" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Oswalt (Photo: Wikipedia)</p></div></p>
<p>"This American Life" is a radio show so beloved--and so unfailingly pretentious--that even its biggest fans have to concede that it's mostly a portrait of the spoiled upper middle class. Today comedian Patton Oswalt took to Twitter to playfully mock the show, first <a href="https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/222748557449510913">tweeting</a> "A small, local post office #ThisAmericanLifeStories" and <a href="https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/222749857637601280">following</a> that up with "Hats #ThisAmericanLifeStories."</p>
<p>Of course, the hashtag tore off like Ira Glass in an artisanal cheese shop: soon it was trending, and our Twitter feed was filling up with hilarious suggestions for upcoming show topics, like "Alfalfa farmers who also read The New Yorker<s>#</s>ThisAmericanLifeStories," as a user named Henning Fog <a href="https://twitter.com/HenningFog/status/222780681070182401">tweeted</a>.</p>
<p><!--more-->Eventually, even "This American Life's" Twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisAmerLife/status/222757522816237569">jumped</a> into the fray: "Why did #ThisAmericanLifeStories suddenly start trending?" they tweeted. They then failed to humorously deflect the hashtag's rise by <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisAmerLife/status/222758422259580930">offering</a> an alternative: "Two can play at this game: #pattonoswaltroles."</p>
<p>Below are some of our favorite #ThisAmericanLifeStories tweets.</p>
<p><script src="http://storify.com/JessicaKRoy/our-favorite-thisamericanlifestories-tweets.js"></script>
			<noscript>[<a href="http://storify.com/JessicaKRoy/our-favorite-thisamericanlifestories-tweets" target="_blank">View this story on Storify</a>]</noscript></p>
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