Hitler sure made some funny videos

by Mathew on August 8, 2008 · 14 comments

John Biggs’ post at CrunchGear about a video his coworker made lampooning Twitter (which I’ve embedded below for your viewing pleasure) provided hard evidence that the Hitler video meme is still alive and well, putting it right up there with “You’re The Man Now, Dog” as one of the longest-lived Internet memes. What’s fascinating about the Hitler video theme is that it’s so incredibly inappropriate and tasteless that it simultaneously makes some people outraged — at the idea that something so serious would be used to make fun of something so inane and ridiculous — and at the same time makes fun of those people for being so serious. Wired magazine wrote a great roundup of the Hitler meme back in May, noting that the same clip (from the movie Der Untergang or Downfall) has been used to make fun of Xbox 360 problems, Vista blue screens and fans of the Dallas Cowboys. Enjoy — or not :-)

 

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  • Nico

    Well, after having watched two of those Hitler videos, I’m still not sure what I should think of them. I don’t find them particularly funny, but that’s probably just because I understand German and know what they’re actually saying.

    I agree that you should be allowed to make fun of (almost) anything, including, of course, Adolf Hitler. And the fact that the Hitler video meme is so popular is probably a good thing, because it shows how far away the horrors of the WWII are. But at the same time, that also worries me – because what happened then should never be forgotten. “Those who fail to respect history are doomed to repeat it” wrote one commenter over at TechCrunch. That may be a bit too dark – but isn’t there some truth in that as well?

  • http://www.storyofmylife.com/antje antje wilsch

    even funnier if you can understand what he’s really saying :)

  • bill finerman

    i understand german and it’s not funny. it’s even less funny when you consider the obvious: that they’re playing off a collection of real (not virtual) murderers whose MO was to beat, mutilate and humiliate millions of innocents before

    A) smashing their head with blunt instruments
    B) hanging them while still alive on meat hooks
    C) gassing them
    D) shooting them
    E) Pick whatever method of execution I omitted in A through D

    Yeah, yeah, I know it’s supposed to be a spoof. Try and be more clever next time. Bad enough that this Twitterocracy is incredibly inane as it is. Now this?

    Puh-leez

  • http://www.storyofmylife.com/antje antje wilsch

    I”m German, I hate Hitler like you can’t believe, yet I still think it’s funny. Tasteless, yes, but making fun of twitter is the point.

  • http://www.mediareinvent.com Safran

    A. I’m Jewish.
    B. I have found this to be one of the funniest memes the Web has yet to produce.
    C. It is precisely because of its absurdity and tastelessness that makes it so.

  • http://www.mathewingram.com/work mathewi

    Thanks for the comment, Safran — yours and Antje’s more than made up for Bill’s humourless comment :-)

  • bill finerman

    “Bill’s humorless comment” ?

    well, you don’t know but i have a wonderful sense of humor. i thought i explained why i believe this is in poor taste. maybe if some of your relatives were tortured and then murdered, you’d be less likely to dismiss disagreement with priggish snark.

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  • http://www.mathewingram.com/work mathewi

    Thanks for the follow-up comment, Bill. It’s a well-known fact that most humorless people believe that they have an excellent sense of humour.

  • bill finerman

    sigh. matthew, you’re not engaging seriously. if some of your family members had been gassed or incinerated by the germans during the war, perhaps you’d have more empathy. instead, you’re opting for snark

  • http://www.lajollahomesource.com/login.php la jolla condos

    those are really funny, but its too bad hitler wasnt known as a comedian but a horrible tyrant.

  • http://www.pagebucks.com/ monetize blog

    those are kinda of disturbing but funny!

  • dfdfdf

    Lol that quote you gave is such a rip off.
    The real quote is from George Santayana and he's a famous writer(was, he's dead)

    Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it- George Santayana

    A lot better then that quote you used :P

  • dfdfdf

    Lol that quote you gave is such a rip off.
    The real quote is from George Santayana and he's a famous writer(was, he's dead)

    Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it- George Santayana

    A lot better then that quote you used :P

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