“I think people saw that… there’s a whole new way of doing things. It kind of allowed people to dream again,” said comedian Nathan Fielder, creator of the new and controversial Dumb Starbucks, on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel sipped on his Dumb Starbucks coffee cup, and Fielder shrugged as the audience laughed at the overwhelming irony.
Under the Parody Law, Fielder has morphed a potential lawsuit into an incredibly laughable political statement.
Dumb Starbucks, located in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, has accumulated a menu quite similar to Starbucks’ menu, only with the word “dumb” preceding every item. After waiting hours in line outside the venue–whose aesthetic is almost an exact replica of Starbucks–customers can order anything from Dumb Blonde Roast and Dumb Vanilla Lattes to Dumb Norah Jones CDs.
But how could this possibly be legal?
The catch, stated in fine print right in the window of the venue, is that Dumb Starbucks is not actually a coffee shop. Rather, it is a piece of conceptual art. And because it’s technically an art gallery and claims no part in the food service, no health permits are needed.
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s possible under the fair use doctrine for parodies to claim fair use like any other literary or artistic comment and criticism. Nor does it violate the copyright law as long as it does no harm to the original company.
“It’s not something I can believe is a real law, it just doesn’t seem practical at all,” said junior writing major Ashley Yepsen. “I don’t think it’s very smart of Fielder, either, to assume this law will protect him from any kind of issues or negative press from Starbucks themselves.”
Like Yepsen, many other consumers and employees of Starbucks are more confused than anything by what exactly the concept even is behind Fielder’s “concept art” and how he’s so easily able to get away with it.
Some view it as his way of poking fun at Starbucks, the mother ship of chain coffee companies. Others believe it to be a political statement about consumerism, capitalism and the many large and easily manipulated loopholes that weave through them.
However, it’s been said that Fielder never intended his hoax to be a direct insult to Starbucks. He revealed at a press conference that the whole ordeal was simply a promotion for the upcoming season of his show Nathan For You on Comedy Central.
“One could always say it’ll get shut down and the attention from it and for it will wane quite easily, but then again, this is something that could really take off and become a successful endeavor. Who knows?” Yepsen said.
However, after being open for only a few days, Dumb Starbucks was shut down Feb. 10 by the Los Angeles County health inspectors. The closure was in consequence of not having a valid permit.
Perhaps what Fielder was trying to accomwplish was nothing more than a social experiment. After the many hours people waited in line outside of Dumb Starbucks, maybe it’s true that people will eat up anything that gives them the opportunity for some Instagram “likes.”
Until a real conclusion is drawn, consumers will be left with nothing but dumb coffee, dumb CDs and they’ll be completely dumbfounded.
Jackie Braje can be reached at jacquelyn.braje@theminaretonline.com