Talks to Watch

Papyrus - SNL

25.9M views · Oct 1, 2017 · 3:06 · 0 HN recommenders · 9 mentions · discussed 2021–2026

An SNL sketch in which Ryan Gosling's character is obsessed with the font choice (Papyrus) in the movie Avatar's title. It is a comedy bit about a widely mocked typeface.

Why Hacker News points people here: Posted as a joke in threads about typefaces and typography.

What Hacker News said 9

Joke45ureOct 2021
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It does seem to stir up some strong emotions. Years after Avatar's release, there's one thing Steven (Ryan Gosling) just can't get over. this video

in “Typography of 2001: A Space Odyssey (2014)” · view on HN
JokethegabrieleMar 2023
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Avatar (billions in box office) and papyrus come to mind (classic: this video ). Sometimes the triteness it's just...ok?

in “Word-as-Image for Semantic Typography” · view on HN
Jokely3xqhl8g9May 2023
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"He just highlighted Avatar, he clicked the drop down menu, and then he randomly selected Papyrus, like a thoughtless child just wandering by a garden yanking leaves along the way." [1] As iconic a moment as the creation of the first sans serif font [2]. [1] this video [2] "The earliest printing typefaces which omitted serifs were not intended to render contemporary texts, but to represent inscriptions in Ancient Greek and Etruscan. Thus, Thomas Dempster's De Etruria regali libri VII (1723), used special types intended for the representation of Etruscan epigraphy, and in c. 1745, the Caslon foundry made Etruscan types for pamphlets written by Etruscan scholar John Swinton." link .

JokeesafakJul 2023
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Papyrus! As it happens I have a friend who worked on the Avatar poster and he loves this SNL sketch: this video

in “KernType – A Letter Spacing Game” · view on HN
JokeTerr_Aug 2023
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> It has recontextualised every other redesign I can remember disdaining in my life. But does it go so far that it even excuses Papyrus? :P this video

in “Going back to the old (pre-X) Twitter iOS app” · view on HN
JokeirrationalSep 2023
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Don’t you dare forget Papyrus! this video But, the reality is 99.9999% of websites can use one of the free Google fonts. The other .0001% could too, but they want to show that they are not like all the other websites.

in “Using popular font Proxima Nova could get you sued” · view on HN
JokeHenryBemisOct 2023
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I assume this is a Blade Runner 2 thingie.. which I actively deny its existence, as the first (and ofc the only one) is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made, so there was never a need to make another one. So your question is moot because there is no JOI in Blade Runner (the good - orthodox - 1!) :) But because I am "a generous god" ("300" reference), for the fans of Ryan Gosling, you can always watch his SNL - Papyrus skit: this video

in “Ask HN: Would you buy 'JOI' from bladerunner if it existed?” · view on HN
JokeesafakFeb 2024
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If you are a designer and think about this all day, you might have reason to take offense. Here's a humorous look from the designer's side: this video

in “Web design inspiration catalog” · view on HN
JokeApocryphonJan 2026
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I feel like hipster typography is as much an intrinsic part of 2010s culture as cafes that have a barn aesthetic, or startups named after common nouns. SNL made a sketch about Papyrus almost ten years ago: this video link

in “Buttered Crumpet, a custom typeface for Wallace and Gromit” · view on HN