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societyApr 18, 202621:33pending

The Banned Animation Before YouTube (Rejected)

About this episode

Don Hertzfeldt's "Rejected" basically invented internet humor 5 years before YouTube even existed.

We're looking at the legendary 2000 animated short that became the blueprint for absurd online comedy. From "My spoon is too big" to existential stick figure breakdowns, this 10-minute masterpiece of deliberately terrible "rejected commercials" predicted the entire landscape of internet memes and random humor. Plus, we explore how minimalist animation can convey complex ideas and why this film hit different in the pre-YouTube era of bootleg VHS tapes and college dorm viewings.

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The Banned Animation Before YouTube (Rejected)

Paranoid American

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