I have become slightly addicted to that strange genre of YouTube videos in which Adolf Hitler’s breakdown (depicted in Downfall) as Germany capitulates is applied to other, more ephemeral subjects.
I don’t know what makes it so compelling — perhaps the mixture of high and low subject matter, perhaps the inherent humour in the punchline repetition — but on idle days (like when I’m waiting for 15,000 photos to be imported into the new version of iPhoto) I can’t get enough of them.
With the advent of the new football season, a spate of clips have been added in which Hitler has a breakdown over things like Adebayor’s wage hike, Chelsea’s pre-season, being a Spurs fan, and Ronaldo’s pre-season flirtation with Real Madrid.
The genre originated with the geeks*: showing Hitler getting banned from Windows Live and World of Warcraft, as well as fuming that HD-DVD lost the format war. What is interesting in any such ultra-niche genre are the subtle differences - whether they change the context and how much they try to stay within the boundaries of the words spoken.
Of course you could argue that the producers and consumers of these videos are the gravediggers at the funeral of civilization: a world that is so cynical and decadent and lacking in intellectual engagement is ultimately destined for Wall-E style collapse (without the techno-afterlife).
* This video of Hitler’s car being stolen appears to be the earliest, unless you know different. Well?
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