Frenemy: Difference between revisions
→In popular culture: deleted scene -> interstitial |
|||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
On [[February 13]], [[2007]], comedian [[Stephen Colbert]] quoted the word '''frenemy''' on his [[Comedy Central]] show ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' during his segment "[[The Wørd]]." He used the word to describe the foreign policy between the [[United States]] and [[China]], saying that the United States is friends with China as far as the "invisible hand of the market," but enemies as the two nations are widely considered to be international rivals in military power. He then hosted an interview with ''[[New York Times]]'' editor [[Sheryl WuDunn]], author of the book ''[[China Wakes]]'', to discuss whether or not China is a "friend, enemy or frenemy" to the United States. |
On [[February 13]], [[2007]], comedian [[Stephen Colbert]] quoted the word '''frenemy''' on his [[Comedy Central]] show ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' during his segment "[[The Wørd]]." He used the word to describe the foreign policy between the [[United States]] and [[China]], saying that the United States is friends with China as far as the "invisible hand of the market," but enemies as the two nations are widely considered to be international rivals in military power. He then hosted an interview with ''[[New York Times]]'' editor [[Sheryl WuDunn]], author of the book ''[[China Wakes]]'', to discuss whether or not China is a "friend, enemy or frenemy" to the United States. |
||
The film, [[Mean Girls]], is a good example for frenemies. The term is discussed in detail in one of the [[ |
The film, [[Mean Girls]], is a good example for frenemies. The term is discussed in detail in one of the [[interstitial]]s that appears on the DVD. |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 06:25, 28 October 2007
 |
Frenemy can refer to a number of forms of relationship, including:
1) People; 2) Politics and International Relationships; 2) Commercial Relationships between Companies; or
...that can be both partners (customer, vendor, etc.) and competitors at the same time. These type of relationships grow more common in times of great change and make for uneasy relations.
More generally, frenemy also refers to two opposing parties, be it in personal relationships or in large scale interaction between nations, organizations, political parties, etc., that are mutually beneficial, yet are at odds to be mutually destructive.
Frenemy is a similar concept to Promoting adversaries
People
In personal relationships, the use of the term 'frenemy' has become increasingly used to describe two (or more) people who are apparently friends but are actually enemies. Such relationships may occur due to the desire (of either) to keep a close eye on the actions of their close rival (i.e. keep your friend close, keep your enemies even closer).
Alternatively, two people who are apparently enemies may actually be friends in private, with the apparently hostile relationship portrayed in order to deceive or for other forms of gain. Such an arrangement may even be used to cover up a secret relationship between the two parties.
Politics and International Relations
Frenemy has also been used by some scholars of International Relations to refer to countries that are both allies and enemies. Key frenemies of the United States include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the People's Republic of China. It can also refer to the mutually beneficial relationship between fundamentalist terrorist organizations and authoritarian political parties/military structures.
Commercial Relationships
An example of a commercial 'frenemy' relationship is that between Google and WPP. Sir Martin Sorrell said he counts Google as a frenemy of WPP, the ad agency empire that he built.[1] On one hand Google offers WPP a chance to buy cutting edge interactive ads for its clients. One the other hand, Google makes no secret of its intentions to allow anyone to buy ads for themselves, which could disintermediate against ad agencies.
Strategies for dealing with frenemies vary. Sorrell said at UBS Media Week's conference that he wants WPP to be Google's biggest customer, but that he knows Google sees him as competition.[2] Microsoft climbed to greatness on IBM's back, but had to go to great lengths to appease its much larger partner. Microsoft called this practice "riding the bear".[3] Similar relationships existed between PayPal and eBay (the latter of which acquired the former after unsuccessfully competing) and YouTube and MySpace.
In popular culture
Frenemies was used in the popular New Radicals song, You Get What You Give - released on April 20, 1999.
The word was further popularized when used as the title of an episode in the HBO series, Sex and the City episode #46 October 1, 2000 Frenemies.
On February 13, 2007, comedian Stephen Colbert quoted the word frenemy on his Comedy Central show The Colbert Report during his segment "The Wørd." He used the word to describe the foreign policy between the United States and China, saying that the United States is friends with China as far as the "invisible hand of the market," but enemies as the two nations are widely considered to be international rivals in military power. He then hosted an interview with New York Times editor Sheryl WuDunn, author of the book China Wakes, to discuss whether or not China is a "friend, enemy or frenemy" to the United States.
The film, Mean Girls, is a good example for frenemies. The term is discussed in detail in one of the interstitials that appears on the DVD.
References
- ^ Chris Hughes (2006-10-28). Ad and subtract Financial Times.
- ^ Staci D. Kramer (2006-12-4). Sorrell On AnyThing And Everything; Google Is The “Frenemy” paidContent.org.
- ^ Riding the Bear PBS: Nerds 2.0.1.