Humour: a post -lolcat analysis by guest blogger Amelia Knowsalot
May 05
It has come to my attention that some people do not know what a lolcat is, or, if they do, fail to find them funny. This is wrong. Please let me explain. Take the lolcat below:
Now some people would think that this is simply a statement of fact. Clearly the cat in question is an animal. What is so funny in this statement of the obvious?
Firstly, there is the layering inherent in the joke. This healthy tabby cat is referencing the 1980 film The Elephant Man in which the very unhealthy, indeed deformed, John Merrick, is forced to cry, in a heart-rending fashion, 'I am not an animal! I am a human being!' This sophisticated filmic reference is one that the younger generation (Y, Z and the millennium generation) may not automatically get and I would urge you, younger people, to be ever-vigilant in your pursuit of knowledge and understanding of history and commend lolcats for challenging its audience in this fashion.
Secondly, there is the fact that cats are, inherently funny. Why are cats funny? Because they take themselves seriously, and that, dear reader, is always funny.
Thirdly, the lolcat phenonemen is funny because it relies on a complex repetition of jokes - similar, yet different -over and over and over. Such as the 'In 3, 2, 1 . . .' meme, the 'Invisible' series,
a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/02/12/funny-pictures-invisible-football/">
the 'Oh Hai' series,
the dog/cat wars riff,
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Your classic cheezburger moment
and, of course, an ongoing and sophisticated use of the concept of cuteness. (On which I could write much more, if only Meanjin hadn't banged on about word limits). The less sophisticated among us would call this use of humour 'a running gag'.
Fourthly, there is the issue of endurance. Lolcats are stubborn. They come at us time and time again, many times a day - much as a cat might stalk a mouse that has been released by the cat's uncomprehending owners several times over until the mouse simply dies of exhaustion. Many of you would have noticed that while something is not funny the first time you hear it, sheer persistence of the comedian (or comedienne) can render a situation quite amusing.
Fifthly, the use of lolcat speak, haz the effect of making event the older among us feel young again as the 'cute' shortening' and 'remixing' of language reminds us of care-free days when the climate was stable and all was good with the world.
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Comments
05 May 09 at 17:51
I may be even older than Amelia, as I detect even further layering in the first image: I took it to be referring to teh scene in Spartacus where Kirk Douglas objects to being given Jean Simmonds to mate with. (Dubious self-promotion: no one has yet found my sole attempt at a LOLcat funny, perhaps because it's a dog.
...05 May 09 at 17:54
Ah, you see that's your problem. Technically speaking, dogs are not as funny. Most interested by Spartacus reference however. Must do more research.
...05 May 09 at 19:22
lolcat analysiz - ur doin it rong. ur explanashun sux the lolz out. needz moar cheezeburgers.
btw haz u sen mai blu bukkit?
...05 May 09 at 19:50
Basement Cat - I hope your blue bucket is in the shower, for purposes of saving water. I know mine is. Alternativeyl: yr blu bukkit, i gives it bck 2 lolrus.
...05 May 09 at 21:38
I have from time to time attempted to explain the humour in a lolcat and it's always a mistake. Now I just accept that lolcats make life worth living, and if people don't get them, bad luck to them.
JS, dogs just aren't funny. Cats, hamsters, squirrels and
bunnies are funny. Dogs just are not. Sorry. (Love you and yer
front yard sculpture even so.)
05 May 09 at 22:45
I yield to no one in my enjoyment of LOLcats, but I laugh at my dog frequently. Obviously I'm weird.
...13 May 09 at 10:51
Rubbish, LOLdogs can be funny!!
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj73/Cowbell_2008/easter09-039.jpg?t=1242175887
...17 Jun 11 at 21:17
cute love them
...16 Oct 11 at 7:38
look at coach limited edition for gift to your friends
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