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[Rell]

Tbh this is so much better than lazy internet "humor" from the 00s like cheezburger cat and ALL YOUR BASE, come at me

I don't know about ALL YOUR BASE being lazy, it was just kind of a starting point regarding how much participation was required to make this kind of humor work.

The joke barely meant anything on its own, and only through repetition did it take on any sort of meaning. But the unique thing is that it wasn't scripted repetition, it was repetition that was exclusively provided by people who already thought it was funny. Everyone saw it everywhere and the joke started to take form. Almost like the presence of the joke was funny and not so much the actual joke itself.

Same story with the O RLY owls and all the cat pictures (limecat, ceiling cat, long cat, cheezburgers, etc).

But it was incredibly basic compared to the amount of participation that the newer generation of "internet humor" relies on. Jokes live by being adapted and remixed, to the point where the joke is the format and not the actual punchline.

Then we got to the point where the punchlines are intentionally left out, and the humor is entirely from the format and the anti-climax.


All these forms of humor have been around for centuries and have names, but the important part of all the weird-ass new shit is that it all happened more or less organically in an entirely unscripted and spontaneous way.

I legitimately like this new stuff. It cracks me up.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

It can only be the height of delusion caused by American exceptionalism that you'd even think to suggest that 9/11 compares with the 18 million deaths and absolute ruin done to Europe over the course of WW1. Fuck me. 9/11's not even the most tragic world event since 2001, not even close.

It can only be the height of European salt and bitterness that you are unable to grasp that these two events could have similar effects on art and culture, even if the actual results were different.

Like there's some Art King tallying up the deaths caused by 9/11 and saying "NOPE, not nearly as many as WWI! Another forty years of the Beverly Hillbillies it is!"

 

[Falchion]

Maybe every other generation's humor is just boring.

 

[Zubz]

Does Homestar Runner qualify as Gen X humor, being that it's entirely from two Gen Xers, or Millennial humor, since the largest portion of the fanbase was/is Millenials?

I'd say it's that nice bridge between the 2. A lot of series millenials enjoy were made by Gen X'ers so the whole point's moot anyway, but Homestar Runner nails the absurdity & self-referential nature without the nihilism, so it's a nice bridge between the 2.

 

[Earthbound64]

What an odd 15-day bump...

Also, re: Homestar - I'd definitely consider that Millennial, since:
1) I taught kids who drew Trogdor
2) I never found him funny in the least
3) It all needs to stay off my lawn