Absurdist humor is not a new phenomenon. It most likely has been around for centuries, but was more or less defined once the surrealist movement became prominent after World War I. It has been growing in popularity ever since and, with the help of the internet, has recently gone completely mainstream.
The reason for that is because internet humor easily lends itself to the absurd. On one hand, it has to be quick and understood with no context whatsoever. It’s a picture, a tweet, a short video—something that is presented to you out of the blue and has very little narrative.
On the other hand, the internet and memes are all about context. You won’t necessarily find it all in the pictures or videos themselves, but it’s there. Jokes often build upon themselves online and knowing them is important to be able to stay in the loop.
This is why so many find it hard to understand Gen Z humor. They took the absurd that was so beloved by millennials for years and took it to the next level. To the point that it is often referred to as anti-humor. The jokes often have no actual punchline, which serves as the punchline of the joke. It’s as absurd as absurd can get.
The reason for why this type of humor is so prominent in this generation seems to be the fact that Gen Z is very aware of the state of the world and the anxiety that comes with it. Their generation has been exposed to a lot of negativity early on and that doesn’t do much good to a person’s psyche.
While people in the '70s, '80s, and (partially) '90s grew up believing in a brighter future, Gen Z was bombarded with messages of hopelessness and dystopian realities. With climate change, political unrest, and overall doom and gloom presented to them every day, it’s no surprise they started seeing life and hope as absurd.
This is also where humor comes in. It is an effective coping mechanism that can help manage stress. So, when you hear that the world is falling apart, the instinctive reaction is to make a joke about it. It’s not like you have any power to do anything else.
This hopelessness is where the absurd came from, where it saw its rise. World War I had shaken up society, showing the atrocities that humans are capable of. The only way that artists could deal with it was through jumping into the surreal and absurd. Seems like memes are just an extension of that desperation.
In other words, don’t mistake this list for a simple jokey collection of weird pics. While it might come off as just a bunch of oddities, it is, in fact, an artful depiction of today’s society. And that in itself is quite absurd, too.
