Eric Andre, Connor O'Malley, Gmod videos, Tim and Eric Show, etc. all things that tickle my brain. I can't help but think there's a relationship between enjoying crazy ass content and having a clear understanding of the insane capitalist system I live in.

  • bigboycumminthru [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Another note about Eric Andre that I really appreciate is how his show has evolved over its seasons as his popularity has grown. The more notoriety and name recognition he has, the more his interviewees are expecting to get fucked with. They sign up attempting to be in on the joke. So you see a natural progression through the seasons of Eric upping the absurdity in a sort of arms race between him and the guests. Complemented by an increase in budget over the show's run, it gets to some very complex places. The joke is no longer fucking with B-listers, but challenging them to expect the worst but still outdoing them.

    • happybadger [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      That's where the creative strength of absurdism shines. When you understand your comedy mechanistically you can always find some new way to subvert a greater expectation. I think Conan O'brien and Craig Ferguson are talented performers with good writers but I don't think either could have that same arms race because they're too bound to the idea of what a late night talk show is supposed to be. There are material constraints like their need to have advertisements and attract new guests by letting them platform their product, there are social constraints like FCC and network censorship and audience demographics and cultural expectations for the late night talk show experience as people unwind in bed and don't want to think about the thing they're watching. Five seasons and Eric Andre has consistently impressed me as someone who's pedantic about this shit. Tim Heidecker has that same ability to be continually innovative way into his career and still pushing the boundaries of what can even be considered funny.