The Unique New Humor of Twitch Streamers
I absolutely adore anything that produces humor. From silly muppets to the raunchiest stand-up comedy to the most cringe-worthy dark dry jokes, there’s nothing I find more valuable than a potent package of potential laughs. To make something funny is uniquely human and that effort is an art form.
Humor also comes in all shapes and sizes, conditioned by both the conveyor and the context in which it is made. Most comedy we experience toady is either situational jokes and stories from friends/family or Netflix specials and YouTube clips of Chappelle, CK, Wong, Burr, and so on. The first category is mired under layers of shared experience and private memories and the jokes are usually just a spark that leads to a firework of memories and emotions. The latter is very tailored humor, written and tweaked on paper and performed with endless hours/years of practice. As such, each has a unique flavor that is, again, dictated by personal artistry and the conditions in which it is made.
Today, I want to talk about a particular type of humor that I’m experiencing now for the first time, one that I believe is fundamentally different than what we’ve yet seen. It is paired with a technology that has burgeoned over the last few years - Twitch humor. Specifically, I’ll be looking at the dynamic of the TSM Fortnite professional team and how they produce a very different type of humor for the world.
Endless Entertainment
Unlike the unassuming environment of friend-centric humor or the scripted hour—ish presentation of comedy specials, Twitch has a very different environment. Pro streamers have to be accessible and online for most of each day, and there is a limit to which humor can be sustained in that environment. It is the purest access to a celebrity-type and there isn’t enough energy for a facade. These streamers are also trying to maintain steady flow of adrenaline to keep them going at it. This is very particular situation.
And so this brings us to TSM, a premiere team in competitive E-Sports. The Fortnite sub-team is composed of Hamlinz, Daquan, and the most famous, Myth. They’re all in their low low 20s, other than Myth who is currently 19. They live and stream out of the same house and stream at least half of everyday. They each have respective YouTube and Twitch channels, often playing together in almost a fraternity of pro gamers.
Since they have to go countless hours on end training, competing, and overall entertaining, they’ve conjured up a unique style of funniness to sustain their energy and competitive edge. Let’s take Hamlinz for instance -
Impromptu raps, constant egging, and bouts of boyish adrenaline. But there’s more -
He often takes on the persona of ‘Lil Sus’, a pretend middle-schooler who apparently blew out his vocal chords and is amazing at the game. He’ll stream with this persona and upon victory, reveal his true celebrity self to his unsuspecting teammates.
You’ll find the same layers of antics from Daquan (who is more of a playful troll) and Myth (more of pure jokester). Nothing overtly entertaining but a marathon and effortless way in engaging the audience. It’s a type of humor you have to invest time into, like watching the Truman Show. Jokes wrap around and reference one another, across videos and various situations. Your perception warps with their unique jargon and a certain addiction emerges as you wait for how their characters pan out with new people.
There is a sense of impromptu-ness, like a mime in a new place each time. This is all difficult to put into words but just have a look at how a recent version of Lil Sus’ antics created such a particular outcome -
I encourage to have a good look at this, whether it’s with TSM or another well-known streamer. I believe this environment has produced a muscle for long-form humor that’s ‘off-camera’ and simultaneously no audience/all the audience at once.
Let me know what you think. Can you tag this with a particular quality of “humor?” Any other long-form entertainment you’ve found on Twitch? Let me know below!
