LARP Nation

This is a continuously updated list of examples of people being ‘false’ by role play acting rather than being authentic in real life situations. It’s based on the observation by Scott Smith than the entire population of the United Kingdom is engaged in a never ending form of Live Action Role Play of tropes from popular culture.

Suggestions welcome

Examples:

Builder LARP: Middle class British people making their accent temporarily blue collar in front of people involved in building/mending things in their home. Calling same people ‘mate’.

Jesus LARP: The ‘humblebrag’ mannerisms of clerics.

Einstein LARP: Academics and classical musicians with wild hair.

Don McCullin LARP: People with large cameras pretending to be professional photographers.

Northern European/American LARP: Peer pressure induced drinking of beer as opposed to, say, wine.

Football Commentator LARP: Commenting on sporting activities on TV in a bar that indicate nonexistent expertise.

Landed Gentry LARP: English people at events like Goodwood or Glyndebourne pretending to be members of 19th Century aristocracy by genuinely using terms like ‘by Jove’.

Injured Soldier LARP: Swallowing a pill by throwing the head back and gulping (even when actors do this it seems false).

Europhile LARP: Pronouncing Parmesan as ‘Parmejaan’, as if it has anything to do with Italian.

Erdos LARP: Leaving books open with or black/whiteboards full of equations.

Woodward LARP: People taking notes at conferences as if they are part of the White House press corps.

Liberal LARP: White Americans calling black people ‘Sir’ in situations where the black person is more senior, but doesn’t quite warrant that overkill, as if it shows that they aren’t racist.

Begbie LARP: Laddish walking — any kind of walk that involves overly wide separation of legs or wrists rotated so that palms face back.

Wittgenstein LARP: Looking down, screwing up eyes when thinking (supposedly originated by Wittgenstein).

Frat boy LARP: American male to male greetings that involve manly hugging.

Gainsbourg LARP: French people imitating any bohemian mannerism of Serge Gainsbourg.

MP LARP: Antiquated British parliamentary behaviour, which is somewhere between Hogwarts and Blackadder e.g. shouting hear hear

Jason Bourne LARP: People stretching their neck from side to side as if to ‘crack’ it, to appear athletic.

Professor LARP: Looking pensive and sucking the arm of a pair of glasses.

Strongman LARP: Trump-Putin bromance (lifted from imaginary Putinesque character on House of Cards). In general, all of Trump’s behaviour seems as skin deep as the gold leaf on his furniture.