This simpleton with a funny name on the Internet is more popular than many politicians and showbiz stars. Who is Vasya Pupkin and why does everyone know him?
Internet meme
A paradox, but in fact it does not exist. He is a fictional character, an Internet meme (a media object created by mass media).
For such purposes, even a new scientific word has been identified - an exemplifier. In this context, it is
a proper name that is used to indicate an unknown person. For example, often Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov appear in jokes.
From the school bench, we are more familiar with the notion of “common name” (for example, Judas are called traitors, Stakhanovites are the leaders of production), but this is not the same as an exemplifier. If in the first case, usually some real person or artistic character gave the name to the generalized image, then in the second case the name and surname were specially invented to indicate an already existing social phenomenon.
Vasily Pupkin is a real phenomenon. Although he really is not, like Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus, the media of the Internet wants to convince us otherwise.
It is surprising, but the number of Vasya Pupkin’s home pages is just off scale. There are more than 38 thousand profiles of the same name, and this is only on the Internet.
Who is the author of this brainchild, it’s impossible to say for sure. Folklore is an oral folk art. Therefore, Vasya is a native of the people.
Who does the proverbial character represent?
Often, our compatriots like to remember in vain the name of Alexander Sergeyevich. For example:
- And who will clean?
- Pushkin! (used in the meaning of "nobody").
But Vasily Pupkin is "someone, but not me."
Currently, this character is a reflection of a massive Russian Internet user. The fact is that the World Wide Web has penetrated every cell of the post-Soviet space, the number of network users is growing every year, and this people is rather motley and many-sided.
And there are some simpletons among them who consider themselves beaten experts in some areas and who like to talk about it. They were baptized by Vasily Pupkin.
What is he like?
In fact, netizens created Vasya Pupkin in their image and likeness. Therefore, it is constantly evolving, like its creators: its values are changing, thinking is being transformed, it is acquiring new qualities.
Vasily Pupkin is active. He likes to be smart at all kinds of forums, he will never miss the opportunity to insert his five cents into any discus. Although actually a little stupid, but absolutely harmless. He lives according to the laws of network culture, supports average values.
Sometimes by Vasily Pupkin is meant a presumptuous writer, critic or political scientist, one hundred percent confident in his innocence. Although even from the very combination of the name and surname is overwhelming through provincialism. What can I say if naive simpletons, which are easily used for their own benefit, are popularly called Vasya. Often they play the same role in jokes.
Also, this virtual character is sometimes used to personify his “not-self,” rewarding him with negative qualities and primitive thinking that are hated by the one who opposes himself and Vasya Pupkin. For example, one can often hear such dialogues in everyday life: “I won’t take this. Let Vasya Pupkin buy this.” This is the name of the collective class of those individuals who are considered worse or lower than themselves, loved ones.
The origin of the folk character of Vasya Pupkin is ambiguous. Some associate his surname with the word "navel", that is, this man suggested to himself that he is the navel of the earth. The second ones even ascribe historical roots to it: they say that there was such a failed rhyming machine Vasily Pushkin, a relative of Alexander Sergeyevich, but he was not suitable for poetry and soles. Therefore, they jokingly twisted his name to emphasize the absurdity of his claims to a pedestal in the field of high poetry. Still others are sure that by their appearance this hero is connected with the author of the arithmetic textbook from the time of tsarist Russia, but more on that later. In addition, Vasisualiy Pupkin (aka Vasya Pupkin) is sometimes awarded with patronymic Alibabaevich (from the film "Gentlemen of Fortune").
Why took root
It is interesting that, unlike other common nouns, this is written not with a lowercase, but with a capital letter, creating the illusion of the real existence of such a person, and not just a collective image.
Russians are a nation that loves to laugh at themselves. Vasily Pupkin is the product of such self-irony. Even a combination of a rustic name and a grand name creates a comic effect.
Among other things, it is convenient. His name and surname help to express the whole concept, to characterize someone, or simply replace the usual username (username).
It is estimated that almost every second user of the network calls himself Vasya Pupkin when registering on some site. This is such an anonymous self-name.
Beyond the Web
This product of folklore has expanded its habitat and stepped beyond the boundaries of web pages. He is often mentioned in his speeches of politics, referring to a whole class of commoners, a conditional image of a carrier of public opinion.
This shows the condescending attitude of the higher intelligentsia towards the people, and specifically towards the Russian people. Dagestan or Ossetian Vasya Pupkin will not dare to name the language.
In the army you can hear: "Sergeant Vasya Pupkin is ready for military service!" and the like. That is, these first and last names have long been used as an example of representation.
Vasily Pupkin "Arithmetic"
If you believe in the existence of a teacher of arithmetic, who published a textbook for parish schools with the notorious tasks about the capacity of pools, it becomes clear where his modern namesake has “legs growing”. Although the connection between them is difficult to establish. True, for some reason there is no such textbook anywhere in the libraries, there are no records about its existence in the archives, it is known only from the stories of old people who went to parish schools in their distant childhood. Therefore, we can assume that this book - a textbook by Vasily Pupkin - is just a propagated myth and nothing more.
Analogs in other languages
Such exemplifiers are not a phenomenon of purely Russian folklore. For example, in English vocabulary there is a certain John Doe. Initially, the so-called male plaintiff was called in a lawsuit if the real name is unknown or anonymous. The defendant was named Richard Rowe. Now, John Doe is a pseudonym denoting the unidentified body of a man in judicial practice. If it was a question of the same corpse of a woman, then they give her the name Jane Doe. The baby is called Baby Dow. Also under such fictitious names are patients in hospitals who are not able to give their real name due to coma or amnesia.
A similar role is played by Mr. Smith. True, his name and surname are used in a broader sense of "anonym" or "typical Englishman."
America has its own folk character - Joe-Six-Pack (Joe Six-Cans). This is a representative of the working profession, not particularly burdened with intelligence, who is used to skipping just such a quantity of beer after work.
Real Vasya Pupkin
But how many namesakes of this virtual hero live in the real world? At first glance it seems that there should be at least a couple of dozen. Studies were even conducted on this subject, and it turned out that such a surname is very rare for Russian society. Only about fifty representatives of the Pupkins were found, and then among them was the only Vasily living in the Saratov region. What his name deserves so much popularity, he does not know.
Although this image is fictitious, it lives a little in each of us. So who is Vasya Pupkin? He is truly a hero of our time. Sadly, but what time, such and heroes.