| Zeke Durden | |
|---|---|
| File:ZekeDurden.jpg Zeke Durden mullet photo | |
| Created by | Zach Downey |
| Portrayed by | Zach Downey |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
Zeke Durden is a character created in 2003 by Indiana University photographer Zach Downey that has circulated widely via the internet.[1] A photo of Durden sporting a mullet haircut and standing shirtless next to a pickup truck has been a popular image online, on television, and in print media for a decade. The photo also became the basis of an internet meme, Almost Politically Correct Redneck.[2]
Origin
editDowney created the Durden character for a Halloween costume in 2003 by giving himself a mullet haircut. He donated the hair cuttings to Locks of Love, and his wife took the photo of Durden that would spread virally on the internet.[1]
Viral phenomenon
editThe Durden photo began to spread virally after one of Downey’s friends posted it on a website devoted to mullets, where the image was named “mullet of the month.”[1] The photo was widely reposted thereafter. In 2005, the photo appeared on the cover of the Oklahoma Gazette as part of an article titled “Mulletude.”[3] It appeared on the Huffington Post website in an article titled “Ten Percent of Americans Can’t Decide Not to Be Idiots,”[4] and on Fox News’ The Fox Nation website to promote a Fox News Radio episode by Todd Starnes titled “My ‘Big Redneck Wedding.’”[5] Fox Nation erroneously credited the image to the Associated Press.[5][1]
Parodies and adaptations
editNumerous parodies and adaptations of the Zeke Durden image have subsequently appeared. An illustration based on the Durden photo accompanied a 2009 article on Heavy.com, "How to Survive in a Redneck Bar."[6] Cloyd Rivers, a Twitter personality with about a million followers,[7] originally used the Durden photo for his Twitter feed[8] but later replaced it with an illustration that resembles Durden.[7] An animated Almost Politically Correct Redneck video appeared on the Animeme YouTube channel in 2012.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Leonard, M. (2011-08-28). "IU photographer enjoys secret life as Mullet Man". Herald-Times. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
Zach Downey had at least a few of these unflattering descriptors in mind when he cut his long hair and created a mullet as his costume in 2003. Little did he realize at the time that a photograph that he and his wife, Trisha, took for laughs the next morning would become an iconic shot that would be reproduced countless times in mullet galleries on websites across the country and in other forms as well. ... The photo entered the zeitgeist after a friend submitted it to a mullet photo gallery website with no copyright protection. It was named 'Mullet of the Month' on the site, and after that, site after site lifted it and posted it.
- ^ "Almost Politically Correct Redneck: Part of a Series on Advice Animals". Retrieved 2013-04-14.
- ^ "Mulletude". Vol. 27, no. 9. Oklahoma Gazette. March 2, 2005.
- ^ "Ten percent of Americans can't decide not to be idiots". Huffington Post. 2008-10-31. Archived from the original on 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
- ^ a b Starnes, T. (2011-05-14). "My 'Big Redneck Wedding'". Retrieved 2013-04-14.
- ^ "How To Survive In A Redneck Bar". November 2009. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
- ^ a b "Cloyd Rivers Twitter Statistics". Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ "Twitterholic".
- ^ "ALMOST POLITICALLY CORRECT REDNECK". 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
External links
edit- The official Zeke Durden website No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.