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TikTok is something I resisted but people doing observational comedy into their camera phones is a source of great delight in my life, so I'm going to do a thread featuring some favorites from micro-genres of comedy that have flourished on the platform this year
I've tried to focus on stuff that's served really well by the format of sub-60-second video; lots of it would work in other formats (standup, tweets, gags) but does find a certain perfection on TikTok. (it'll be long, so feel free to mute if you're not into this!)
I intended to comb through my likes from the whole year but I got way too in the weeds with it, so this is going to be weighted toward stuff from the last quarter of the year. some of these are one-offs, some are just one of dozens of great videos that person put out this year
(also, lots of these were very popular, I'm not claiming I'm original for enjoying them, mostly just collecting them here for my own amusement and the edification of people who are here and not there)
probably my favorite macro-genre was character comedy & skits, which I've split up into a few micro-genres. First up is SCHOOL DAYS—the kids are doing lots of amazing work deconstructing the experience of childhood and public school in the 2000s.
there are lots of great little TikTok texts on “cousin culture.” this, by @VincentMarson, is evocative
“rare aesthetics” are their own whole thing on TikTok but I found this one to be particularly specific and vivid: “middle school basketball practice at local elementary school on a winter night”
this is a small thing keenly observed
something we’ve all seen and not known how to talk about: the way that one kid was walking
related to cousin culture is sibling culture. I have never seen this phenomenon, of elaborately bothering your sibling for a single slice of attention, captured so succinctly
youth group skits are also their own rich subgenre. “arrogant youth group kid offers to pray for you” is a perfect setup
PE is another rich arena for skits. apparently this was a surprisingly universal phenomenon
I’ve already posted this one by @pgallypgally but it’s been known to elicit a visceral response in people. It’s SO detailed
but the (to me) undisputed king of the school days genre is @ZachHone, who has so many good ones it’s impossible to choose. he’s identified a particular way for a kid to have been annoying in the 2000s and commits to it with his entire spirit
and one more from @ZachHone that has a lot going on
next subgenre of TikTok skits/characters is TWENTYSOMETHINGS. first up is the always great @HannahPilkes’s brewery chick
lots of amazing work being done on TikTok codifying what “basic” looks like these days
this is a beautiful musical tribute to @magicmolly’s Garbage Language piece, by @JonTheWiggles
this one was painful to reckon with, from @maggothershey
the TikTok account of @ElsaAngel19 is an elaborate piece of performance art offering an aspirational level of chaos
millennial white women on New Year’s Day have been destroyed
watching the work of @actressbecc is sometimes like looking into the sun. essential and yet too much
using this Lana del Rey song as a shorthand for young people sentimentalizing/cinematizing their own lives was brilliant move— she made so many of these and they’re all great
if you saw any comedy tiktoks this year you probably saw something by the queen @hicaitlinreilly, who plays a wonderful range of HIGHLY expressive white women
Ceara has so many great characters but this is one of my favorites
and of course Jordan Firstman, the breakout character comedy star better known from instagram, who channeled millennial mannerisms into “impressions” of circumstances, concepts, and inanimate objects
that’s all for the moment, maybe more categories tomorrow!
now a brief jaunt into ACADEMIA and THEATER characters. @TheresaYonash is in the space
a multifaceted lens brought to us by @Austin_Maguire
this one really does a lot with a little
love when someone parodies something so accurately that they leave it shot dead on the ground but in the process also casually reveal their own incredible technical skill
one more from @hicaitlinreilly because while high school theater KIDS are one thing, high school theater acting TECHNIQUE is under-explored
but when it comes to theater kids, @ZachHone may have found the ultimate expression
up next we’ve got characters in MUNDANE ADULT SITUATIONS. “receptionist checks you in” is a perfect micro-genre for TikTok and @emgracedawg nailed this
this is such a perfect portrait of what it looks like when someone has a repetitive job that they’ve decided to love
sometimes an impression/character is so specific and weird that it crosses back over to become universal. @brianjoralvarez is great at this
this is an important anthropological document by @sk_griffith
. @grace_africaa truly has the range
this is what I experience every time someone explains a game to me, thank you @ReiterGrace
if you miss dining inside a family restaurant let @JoeyMulinaro take you there
“we switched systems a while back” @subhitaha_
this subtle piece of anthropology and linguistics speaks for itself
“every Midwest gas station” by @kelseyfairleigh is a tour de force. the green screen, the vocal work, the costume design, the surprise ending
that's enough for tonight
