Stop! I Could’ve Dropped My Blog Post!

There is nothing new under the sun, or perhaps, if you subscribe to the ideology of the obnoxious postmodern detective, time is a flat circle. The short film, and the gag or mischief film in particular, is back in style, courtesy of the Internet. The ultramodern example of the prank or gag film as discussed by Tom Gunning is of course the Vine (and its unmentionable variants). And king among these films is undoubtedly the infamous “Stop! I could’ve dropped my croissant!”

While the technological differences between the gag film and this Vine are striking—sound is a key component to the gag, and the camera is handheld and kinetic rather than stationary—still more striking are its aesthetic similarities. As with early gag films, this Vine is filmed in one continuous take, with our cameraman awaiting his victim with all the suspense and forbearance of a slasher, before yelling inarticulately as he rounds a corner, making him jump. In both this Vine and the gag film, as Gunning points out, “Brevity is the soul of the gag”, which itself “work[s] on the principles of surprise” (95). Vines, of course, clock in at 6 seconds or less, making the first few seconds of suspense all the more crucial to establishing the stakes of the gag.

Also striking is the way that the composition of this Vine differs from that of the gag film. Gunning points out that these films “have to make good and economical use of the space of the frame”, and thus “separate areas are needed for tricksters and victims” (92). This is obviously difficult for a Vine to achieve, filmed as it is using a phone camera and presented vertically rather than horizontally, as gag films were. This particular video circumvents the comic-strip effect which Gunning argues these films’ compositions create by placing a wall between the trickster and the victim, a move which both allows for the gag to function the way it should and which heightens not only the suspense of the gag setup, but the viewer’s sense of being “in on” the prank as well. In following the POV of the rascal, we are aligned with his viewpoint, and are thus invited to share in his joy when the gag goes off perfectly.

I just wrote 400 words analyzing a Vine. I love my degree.