Allie Brosh (person)

Allie Brosh is an American comedienne best known for her work on her blog, Hyperbole and a Half, and also for writing on other sites with her distinctive brand of observational comedy and autobiography, told through a mixture of text and unrealistic but entertaining MS Paint pictures.

But before we start on Allie Brosh, we have to start on the internet. And on blogging and writing on the internet. There are thousands and thousands of people on the internet who have at some point written humorous bits about their life, mixed with absurdity, funny pictures or cultural observations. And, in most cases, such observations become just lost pieces of lore kicking around on the internet's many back channels. For some reason, Allie Brosh's blog hit a chord with many people. Which is not to say that her work isn't original and of good (if crude) quality, it is just to say that it is hard to say exactly what Brosh captured that sets her apart from the typical personal blog/webcomic.

Allie Brosh was is from Sandpoint, Idaho and was born in 1985. She was a cross-country runner in high school, and also ran for The University of Montana. She studied biology in college, and after graduating, moved to Hamilton, Montana, a small town with limited opportunities for young people. _{(Which point I will return to in my epilogue)} It was during these admittedly boring times that Allie started blogging about her life, with a mixture of general observational comedy, autobiography and blasts of sheer absurdism. She recently moved to Bend, Oregon. Over time, the posts have become more serious, with the most recent post being about her recent struggle with depression. Only, of course, she doesn't say anything as cliched as "struggle with depression."

If I was to hazard a guess about why she is as popular as she is, it would be that does the two things that an observational or autobiographical comedian should do. First, she takes something that the reader is familiar with (bad grammar, struggling with adult responsibilities) and then ads her own unexpected, personal take on it. Otherwise observational comedy is just airline peanuts. As examples of the above, she took the misspelling "alot", something that probably irks many people, and turned it into a humorous bear-like creature called an "Alot", which can be placed in various situations. And her take on being an adult was that she wished it came with a trophy that she could put on her mantelpiece and say "I got that when I was 25 for being a responsible adult". And so on. Almost everything she does is simultaneously mundane and ridiculous, and I think this is the appeal. And whatever her appeal is, it seems to be widespread enough that she got a book deal out of the deal.

Also, incidentally, along with her great talents, Allie Brosh is very attractive.

As a personal note, Allie Brosh and myself both moved to the small town of Hamilton around the same time, and while I also like staying up in the AMs writing things on the internets, no one has given me a book deal yet. Such is the way of life.