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The Conversation
The Conversation
Benjamin Nickl, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Culture, Literature and Translation, University of Sydney

Why TikTok is the perfect home for absurdist comedy

The Conversation, Ashby/TikTok, CC BY-SA

Why do so many of the funniest things on social media make no sense at all?

How about Ashby’s stunt scenes for a back brace infomercial on a white swivel chair, overlaid with Chopin’s Nocturne in E Flat Major – or her improvisations as The Lorax; a sequence of HOW I LOOK: #brainrot memes; or a congregation of cats lip-syncing the national anthem. These short, sharp jolts of what some may label “nonsense” dominate feeds worldwide.

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