WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE INTERNET, SOMEWHERE IN THE LATE 2000S, A DISTINCT TYPE OF HUMOR EMERGED IN THE DIGITAL SPACE. THE SO-CALLED META HUMOR. FOLKJOKES, AS A POWERFUL ELEMENT OF FOLKLORE, HAD NOT YET DISAPPEARED, BUT NEW FORMS—DESTINED TO OVERSHADOW THEM—WERE ALREADY BREWING. IT WAS AT THIS INTERSECTION THAT META HUMOR APPEARED, AND ITS CLASSIC EXAMPLE IS A ONE-SENTENCE FOLK JOKE: A BEAR GOT INTO A BURNING CAR AND BURNED DOWN.
IN OUR CASE, HE DIDN’T BURN—HE DROVE OFF. WE DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS KIND OF HUMOR, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY WE USE THIS PLOT FOR EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO GENERATION. THIS WAY, APOLOGISTS OF SUCH HUMOR CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT IT.