Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video is a classic of the early art form. It was so nice Dee Snider and and Lit decided to do it twice, sort of. But really, it was done three times. Let’s explain.
To truly understand, you’ve got to go back to the iconic 1978 comedy Animal House. Dee Snider, who was 24 years old at the time the movie came out, was an instant fan. So much so that he stored away one of the films indelible scenes to co-opt for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video six years later.
In Animal House, actor Mark Metcalf played Douglas C. Niedermeyer, who is a total dick and the antagonist of the film. Niedermeyer is Sargent of Arms of rival frat Omega House and the ROTC leader that torments eager pledge Kent “Flounder” Dorfman. Note the spittle-producing speech below where he taunts Dorfman for his “pppp-ledge ppp-in.”
Niedermeyer Is a Total Dick to Dorfman in Animal House
This is the germination of the Dad character that we’d see and love-to-hate in the “We’re Not Going To Take It” video. Snider tapped Metcalf to reprise his dick-ish role as the patriarch of the family. Note that the Mom refers to Dad as “Doug C,” a thinly-veiled tribute to Niedermeyer.
Metcalf as the Total Dick Dad in “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
It’s really a great performance. Is it weird that his mouth seems so wet there? It’s disturbing. So that’s time two.
For time three, we get Snider in the total dick Dad role. From MTV News in ’99, it seems like Lit had the idea to cast Snider in their video for “Zip-Lock.” I imagine Dee agreed to it before the whole pitch was outta their mouths.
Snider does a masterful job of combining Metcalf’s two performances from Animal House AND “We’re Not Gonna Take It” while making this total dick Dad role his own. It’s clear that he’s relishing this opportunity and makes the most of it.
Dee Snider as the Total Dick Dad in Lit’s “Zip-Lock”
There we have it. Niedermeyer was that powerful of a character, and thanks to Dee Snider’s zeal for the role – one total dick performance regenerated itself two more times.
As for Lit, their latest video has them going over a fairly popular trope from bro-country videos. Watch as they cavort on jet skis and throw a dock party in “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.”
Lit, “Yeah Yeah Yeah”
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