Geeks logo

Some Dark humor to get me though

Series I love and you might like (if you love really dark humor)

By Melissa IngoldsbyPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
2
Some Dark humor to get me though
Photo by Josh Nuttall on Unsplash

Because of the isolation that was brought on by the Covid-19 Pandemic, I found something comforting to me that I hadn't watched in years.

https://www.fat-pie.com/

David Firth is an English animator, director, writer, musician, actor, voice actor, video artist and broadcaster. I remember when I first saw one of his videos from this kid in my middle school who was watching Happy Tree Friends and something called Salad Fingers on the school computers. He showed it to me.

I liked it. I know at the time, I acted outraged by it----but inside, I was intrigued, fascinated----too curious to see what the mystery of this "Salad Fingers" person was.

But before I go too much into that, I started recently watching the content I always glazed over. Like this one.

It is weird, gory, strange and disturbing, yes, I know.

But something about it---well two things about it.

I watch these videos without trying to understand it. I go into it to experience it, much like a dream can do. David Firth has said on multiple occasions that these animations are compilations of dreams and fantasies, delving into mental illness and depression, and like dreams---they are clunky, dissociative, scattered and non-sensical.

But the scene in this particular animation wherein the three men without skins order the obscenely complicated and robust order at the bar that borders on absurd---it feels real somehow anyway. The way they speak, the language, the tone, the pacing and the dynamics all feel too real---but the uncanny nature of the scenery and the way they look is a strange dichotomy.

It could be an expression how male toxicity and how egos and hyper masculinity can be negative and change society as whole---how we view gender roles and otherwise... but how I see it is like this: We all have roles to play, we play them, sometime we play them so well we fool ourselves... other times, we can't anymore, and we succumb to our repressed feelings of depression and anxiety.

I love the scene as it is: it soothes me. The way they are all sitting at the bar, ordering that long and complicated drink order. I like it. I can't explain it.

Anyway, going back to his other series that I like. It cracks me up, really.

Firth has a four piece set of "one-offs" that are mockingly referred to as "not a series" but they clearly are a series called Not Stanley.

They go into basic, everyday problems, and the long, non-sensical and curse-filled rants seem to go nowhere---but are very funny and actually seem to have little tidbits of meaning and wisdom hidden throughout them.

The problem of going into a Supermarket and realizing that you may not have enough money to cover everything you need to buy---that is so trivial and common that you might wonder---why even talk about it?

Well, Firth does. He does for almost two crazy, strange and bombastic minutes---and the result is something brilliant and hilarious.

The way he goes on a tirade to the grocery store employee about this exact issue----only for him to say in return, "What kind of a problem do ya got there?"

Well---that shows us, especially now in this extremely technology driven society, how oblivious we all are to each other's plights and problems---and how hyper focused we are on our own problems. It seems a little ridiculous how it is portrayed, given that the grocer just writes down the exact time instead of acknowledging the customer's issue, but it is the reality we all have faced.

It says: My time is more valuable than this. More valuable than you. And your problems.

Each of his videos for Not Stanley are long rants about something, and each of them make me laugh so bad, I cry a little. I think the truth is in there---in the surrealistic and crazy dark humor of his strange little animations, the truth of our alienation (from people as a whole, from the pandemic, in general) and of our emotional decay that has been brought on by this isolation.

I think that since things are slowly normalizing, it is important to be aware of how we react to others. How we think of others. How we treat others.

How we devalue others just because they are not in your regular social circle or immediate family.

Now, more than ever, we must try to be kind and just to others. This world is cruel. This world gives out more than we can take.

We all must find ways to help one another, and not take even more than what the world does.

I watch these artful, zany, brilliant and sometimes horribly disturbing and gory animations with that wonderful, cutting dark humor that I have come to love so much because they help me move on with my crazy, frantic, busy and sometimes hard day----and because they give me a little hope that maybe we can wake up to---and try to get up and help each other and be good people.

list
2

About the Creator

Melissa Ingoldsby

I am a published author on Patheos.

I am Bexley is published by Resurgence Novels here.

The Half Paper Moon is available on Golden Storyline Books for Kindle.

My novella Carnivorous is to be published by Eukalypto soon! Coming soon

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.