I should have included this in my best, etc. of 2022.
“Death!”
“Yes, my mortal companion?”
That interlocution always—always, without exception—makes me smile.
I suppose it’s almost Pavlovian at this point, but I’ve never been disappointed. When I hear those words, I know that I’m in for a great ride. I’m likely to watch the loop three, four, maybe five times before scrolling on. I might laugh out loud, which is surprisingly rare, especially in short-form video. I’m sure to return to it later. I may even share it with a sister.
I’ve had to bow out of TikTok. My brain is too vulnerable to the mix of comedy lip syncs, Bible-textual history, and thirst traps. But, fortunately, they’ve got web-accessible sites for individual creators, so I’ll be able to follow the videos without getting sucked into the TikTok vortex.
And FlickerSpark’s collection of… well, I guess I’ll call them “Death” videos… are so good.
One thing I really enjoy: they consistently improve over time. The earliest videos are a bit rough in the delivery; the filming, the sound, the editing are all fairly choppy. But (a) their wit—their cleverness, sophistication, and humor—are already top notch, even when their filmography wasn’t quite there; and (b) they’ve grown a lot—both technically (filming, sound, editing) and wittily (they’re even more clever, sophisticated, and funny).
There’s probably some kind of lesson there: you can’t revise a blank page, blah, blah. But really, I just admire them for how they started, and how they’ve developed.
And I’m grateful for how much joy they have brought to my life.
Top image: Screenshot from FlickerSpark’s TikTok page
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