Posted by Katherine St Asaph on 06/07/2011 at 4:40 PM News

The Popdust Files: katy perry, last friday night (t.g.i.f.)

It’s probably not the best idea to expect comedy gold of someone whose lyrics include “You’re so gay, and you don’t even like boys!” (Never forget.) But Katy Perry’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, created for Katy’s gawky Kathy Beth Terry persona in the “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)” video, are awesome idea that are a little confused right now. It’s probably not Katy Perry herself behind these, but nevertheless.

We’ll let the cheap shots at geeks slide–but seriously, Katy? An “I don’t have friends” joke? That’s the kind of casual bullying that makes teens feel like plastic bags. We’re also wondering how a fast-fashion store like 5.7.9 is somehow less affordable than a department store like Dillard’s. But anyway. There’s another issue at hand: Kathy Beth Terry exists in about four decades at once. It’s a time paradox! Or it’s just really lazy writing. Allow us to illustrate just where all these trends fall:

1960s-1970s: “Kathy”

Scroll up to the author of this post, who’d know a bit about nicknames for Katherine. But don’t just take it from us that the nickname “Kathy” pretty much faded from widespread use around the 1970s in favor of Kate, Kat and, um, Katy. Check it out, courtesy of Name Voyager. Granted, this site only tracks birth names, and it’s a common trope to give geeky characters purposefully dated names, but still.

1980s: Fashion choices, teen-movie debauchery

Before any of this Twitter/Facebook/social media blitzkrieg happened, everyone’s consensus on the “Last Friday Night” video–based on about two pictures, but still–was that it’d be super ’80s. The wild-party theme is still kinda John Hughes, and there’s no question where Perry/Terry is drawing her fashion choices from. But alas…

1990s: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Beanie Babies, Hanson, Rider Strong, Skip-It

All these are things Kathy Beth Terry has shouted out and/or crushed on somewhere online. And all of these are definitely ’90s trends (well, the Skip-It could be ’80s too, but still.)

2000s: Crocs, Sudoku, Pluto being a dwarf planet, Internet slang

More of Kathy Beth’s favorite things! These are starting to bleed into the 2010s, and these in particular pull double-duty as token geek interests, but still: Crocs was founded in 2002, Sudoku puzzles left Japan in the mid-2000s, and Pluto was downgraded from full-planet status in 2006, breaking the hearts of high schoolers and fans of planetary underdogs everywhere. Also dating to the 2000s: the popularity of forum-tastic slang like “n00bs” and “<3".

2010s: Twitter hacks

And now Kathy Beth Terry’s come full circle. Twitter wasn’t founded in the 2010s, but it only really took off in 2009, and it wouldn’t be until a year or so later that it became the full-blown cultural force that’d attract kids and library block lists.

So many decades! Which one will prevail? We’ll have to wait until the video breaks the Internet to find out. Until now, carry out Katy Perry’s wishes, give her trailer another view, and guess away: