Home > Computers, Technology, and Internet > Newgrounds > Watching ScientLOLojyuuichi!!
ScientLOLojyuuichi!!
I first watched the Flash movie ScientLOLojyuuichi!!
(SWF file) soon after it was uploaded to Newgrounds on 6 February 2008; although I cannot remember for sure, I most likely viewed it during either February or March 2008. The movie itself is an animated music video that satirizes Project Chanology, mocking both the Church of Scientology as well as those members of Anonymous that had taken it upon themselves to oppose and protest against the church, though of the former the criticism is definitely heavier. Apparently, the movie was first uploaded to Albino Blacksheep rather than Newgrounds, and I only categorize it here on this site under Newgrounds because, I remember, I first encountered it there.
At the time, I had known about 4chan for no more than a few months, and Chanology had begun only weeks before. I was following closely all the then-recent developments of Chanology, and so when I first saw this movie, it felt to me incredibly immediate and relevant; as it also incorporated many 4chan memes—which back in those days were still limited almost exclusively to that site—naturally I took an instant liking to both the movie as well as the author, whom I considered, by his many references to then-underground parts of Internet culture, to be very hip and cool. Even without these 4chan jokes and catchphrases, however, the movie is still highly entertaining: the animation is smooth, expressive, and polished; the song is very pleasant and catchy; the general mood, although not aiming to be absolutely hilarious, is nevertheless always lighthearted and silly; and the whole thing, despite being made by amateurs, is very skillfully done, and could easily match anything produced by a professional animator on TV or in film—even today, I find myself as impressed with the movie's excellent quality and overall presentation as I was back in 2008. There are a great deal of jokes and visual gags contained in the movie's five minutes of animation, and multiple viewings are required to catch everything. It is one of my favorite Flash animations, and also stands, in my opinion, as one of the highlights of anything that has ever been produced with the platform.
However, it is definitely the inclusion of numerous pieces of Internet culture that gives me the most enjoyment when watching ScientLOLojyuuichi!!
. The entire thing is a time capsule full of references to early/mid-2000s Internet culture, particularly old 4chan memes and the beginnings of Chanology, but also a few old Newgrounds and old YouTube fads/memes, and today I would even consider it an effective test for determining whether or not somebody was heavily involved in the 2000s Internet: if you are able to recognize all or most of the references and characters that appear in this movie, then I would consider you a fellow veteran of that era. Its lighthearted and humorous tone—and especially the author's description of the movie as just one person's fictional take on the whole drama [of Chanology] and intended to produce nothing other than lulz
—truly captures the old, carefree spirit of not only 2000s 4chan, but, I think, of the 2000s Internet as a whole, back when very little online was taken seriously, when people were still capable of laughing at anything, and when everything was done for fun.