We’ve all seen them, they walk among us everyday. Some are more obvious than others. Here are a few ways you can spot them. They will probably be walking at a pace that will make you have to change course and go around them. They are usually male although every once in a while you’ll see a girl fall victim to this stigma. If you look hard enough you can witness their casual indifference towards work or goals. I’m talking of course about slackers.

Now slackers are not bad people and I, being a recovering procrastinator — thirteen months clean and sober — know a thing or two about what it’s like. However, there is a new trend in popular media I felt should be pointed out for those who would care to notice. Slackers are a growing portion of movie and television heroes. I’ve taken the time to identify their flaws that make them funny, but also their strengths and why they make for solid protagonists who are capable of vulnerable in their weaknesses and strong in their journey towards personal improvement in modern comedies.

The slacker in films have similar characteristics, a few changes here or there but most of their inner workings are pretty standard. The Subject must always be considered less desirable, not physically mind you. Making the person less than desirable usually involves more than one humiliating trait such as: