In their writing ‘The Absurd’ and ‘On Humor’ Thomas Nagel and Sigmund Freud explore ideas of humour, dark comedy and absurdity. In 2012, Metro Trains located in Melbourne, Australia created an animated campaign video to promote railway safety. Dumb Ways to Die acts as a humorous public service video that has gained over 330 million views online. The video became so successful that the campaign extended to a mobile game application. The viral video depicts little animated characters dying in silly and absurd scenarios. The animation is paired with a narrative jingle performed by Tangerine Kitty. The campaigns virality and success came as a result of its’ catchy, dark and funny lyrics.
‘Important situation of humour, in which a person adopts a humorous attitude towards himself in order to ward off possible suffering’ The video deals with the topic of death in a lighthearted way, poking fun at avoidable ways to die whilst also serving as a warning to stop suffering: ‘poke a stick at a grizzly bear. Eat medicine that’s out of date. Use your private parts as piranha bait.’ Animated colorful bean shaped characters, these anthropomorphic blobs only further the absurdity. They are designed in such a way which keeps the lighthearted tone and allows the creators to show gore in a non-explicit way. The video takes a ‘childlike’ humour approach. The video is also successful in balancing important public messaging and entertainment. They educate whilst also keeping viewers of all ages engaged. The song warns people of possible danger but does not traumatize viewers due to its effective balance of dark themes and humour. The classic horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, USA, 1976) is comedically referenced but without the horror as a green bean is dressed up and waving as the killer as the line ‘invite a psycho killer inside’ is sang with an upbeat inflection. After each verse the dead characters gather to sing the catchy chorus ‘so many dumb ways to die.’ We humorously see their injured and deformed bodies dance and sway, building up in numbers as the song progresses. The audience are able to laugh at this horror due to the absurdity of the theatricality. The video then concludes in a serious tone reminding viewers of the campaign’s purpose. The ‘be safe around trains’ slogan reinforces the message that just like in the case of all these dumb deaths, railway accidents are also preventable.
https://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw?si=FmFm7OhdM71fVsC_
Thomas Nagel, “The Absurd,” The Journal of Philosophy 68:20 (1971), 716-727.
Sigmund Freud, “On Humor,” The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (London: Hogarth, 1955), 160-166.