Why Does This Humor Exist?

In this blog, I’ve examined examples of the various types of humor that exists in such a way that you can’t always tell from first glance whether or not they are real. Now I would like to spend a post discussing why this type of humor exists at all.

The main reason that I think this type of humor has gotten so big is that it is relatively easy to do and still make it look as though you were not consciously making it. That is, even though you are doing it on purpose, it’s easy to make it look like it was not on purpose. This applies less to people like Milonakis – although his condition did give him an edge for fooling his audience – and more for Turquoise Jeep or “Toby Jones” and their YouTube released and promoted videos. YouTube has opened the door for anyone and everyone with a camera and an internet connection to upload blogs, home movies, and humorous videos. 

Take, for example, this video of one boy supposedly secretly filming his brother’s reaction to a cancelled video game account.

At first glance, it seems pretty legitimate. The boy talks to the camera before hiding it, and it was probably filmed with a real webcam. But since the brother admitted it was a fake on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0 (warning: language), it’s clear that the two boys were just trying to make it look as real as possible.

The reason that they were successful is because this type of video has many real counterparts. From “Candid Camera” to “Punk’d” on TV or hidden webcam videos on YouTube, the world has plenty of precedent for a secret filming of an outrageous reaction. I think that this is an essential part of the equation. There must be real counterparts somewhere for it to be believable.

“But wait, what about the Turquoise Jeep videos?” you may be thinking, “Surely you don’t think there can be a real analog to such sexually ridiculous lyrics and atonal music!” Indeed I do, reader, and don’t call me Shirley.

Take for example this real song and video, which is entirely serious, called “Smell Yo D*ck” by Riskay.

(I’ll refrain from linking because it is not appropriate for all audiences.) 

Discussing the back and forth between a woman trying to confirm if her man has been cheating (via the test described in the title), the song includes such gems of lyrics as, “You was on the dance floor grindin’/ with a stripper-hoe named Diamond.” The chorus is somewhat catchy but badly sung, and the rapping is laughable. 

But it is entirely serious, and therefore so may be Turquoise Jeep Records.