6: Irony
explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
| Irony |
 Title text: It's commonly known that too much perspective can be a downer. |
Explanation
It must be part of the human condition that causes us to think that odd statements are sometimes more humorous than those constructed to be funny. Cueball makes a true statement, that his statement is not very funny. But! Because he invoked irony, the sentence is now funny! Right?
The next joke is that in 20,000 years, human civilisation will have collapsed there would be no one to find the joke funny anymore. Also, the juxtaposition of a language joke with a landscape would be another ironic-ly (because it wouldn't be expected or anticipated, normally) funny twists.
Cueball gets a lot of mileage out of similar jokes throughout the comic.
Also see 33: Self-reference.
Transcript
- Narrator: When self-reference, irony, and meta-humor go too far
- Narrator: A CAUTIONARY TALE
- Man 1: This statement wouldn't be funny if not for irony!
- Man 1: ha ha
- Man 2: ha ha, I guess.
- Narrator: 20,000 years later...
- [desolate badlands landscape with an imposing sun in the sky]
Trivia
- [Quote from Randall] "Too much perspective can do that."
- Originally posted at Randall's livejournal site.
- Likely the "First" appearance of Cueball
- Also "First" comic featuring recurring stick figure style of character
- This is the ninth comic posted to livejournal. The previous one was 8: Red Spiders. The next one was 9: Serenity is coming out tomorrow.
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