By definition, "Joshish" is the shortened form of the movement known as the Splendid Order of the Joshish Ones. The term is also used to describe their beliefs and practices. Tradition usually places the establishment of this subculture around January 11, 2004, the date of the first airing of the television sitcom Drake and Josh, the poster of which can be seen above. The true date however, is unknown. The ideas of Joshish gradually "faded in", and a solid date is hard to place. What we do know is that the term "Joshish" was not put into full use until more than a month later. The term comes from the show, and it was describing Josh Peck's many funny antics.
There have always been two main factions within the Joshish. A faction, by our definition, is a division in a subculture. They were known as the Josh Birnbaum Joshish (JBJ), and the Josh Peck Joshish (JPJ). They both held the same beliefs and practices, but commemerated a different Joshish model. These factions resided in relative harmony, however, the JBJ not only had a longer history, but were considered to be the first, and only true, Joshish. The JPJ splintered off from the original Joshish with the debut of Drake and Josh, and their influence weakend substantially as the JBJ initiated the Summer of the Josh, and was nearly eradicated at the foundation of Joshland.
As of now, that can be based on which faction one is refering to. The commonalities of both will be addressed later, but it must be know that each faction has its own unique beliefs. The Josh Peck Joshish mainly center their practice around the humor that can be found in complete silliness. Slapstick humor and situation comedy are their trademark. There are even comedy contests where the best award lies in the best display of utter foolishness.
The Josh Birnbaum Joshish are not like their silly neighbors. They value suavity and a cool, laid back atitude. The perfect Josh Birnbaum Josh has a social animal with a keen way with words. He strives to be the life of the party, and the leader of the "in" crowd. The JBJ believe in a sense of humor wrapped in a cool attitude boxed up in the high life. Viewing the movie Heavyweights, and watching the character Josh Birnbaum closely would give a suberb indicator of the goal of the Josh Birnbaum Joshish.
The individual beliefs of the two factions are indeed unique, but the Joshish as a whole share three fundamental points:
- The Casual is prefered over the Formal
- Expression is preferred over Conformity
- In some cases, rules are meant to be broken
- Hurt no one, even Yourself
- Laughter is the Best Medicine
- Look toward the Positive Side of Things.