Chris Walsh (chris_walsh) wrote,
Chris Walsh
chris_walsh

DO BETTER, wanna-be funny people! (Alternate title: You didn't have to lie.)

"This is not a scene from a movie... this was Friday at Burning Man 2015"

That's the caption I saw with:


Which is so, so obviously based on:


Oh, just a shot from one of the most visually striking films of 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road. And the thing is, I would've been fine if the caption had been "Friday at Burning Man 2015." "What a lovely day! - Friday at Burning Man 2015" might have been a little obvious, though that's fine. Maybe "That escalated quickly," from Anchorman. But adding "this is not a scene from a movie" is kind of the equivalent of:


I know, a lot of comedy is creative lying. Exaggeration. Juxtaposition. Reductio ad ridiculous, as I sometimes say. I know, Jonathan Swift really wasn't suggesting raising babies as food. Johnny Carson wasn't the mind reader Carnac. Josh Blue was punchline-ing when he replied to a heckler with "This is the worst Make-A-Wish ever." Maybe whoever came up with that first shot thought it was so obvious where the clouds came from, saying "it's real!" when it's not is funny. But it's not creative lying. It's not clever. It thuds. Of course it was on Facebook. Ah, Facebook, you keep helping me dislike you more.

I'm less cranky than I would be because the Seattle Seahawks-St. Louis Rams game has been fought well. OT, yo!
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