Nonintellectual =/= anti-intellectual
But I'd disagree that millennial humor is nonintellectual for the most part or certainly no more nonintellectual than other generations' humor. Pretty much all of the big Adult Swim shows heavily draw upon big ideas that may appear hidden at first glance. Eric Andre may look crazy, but his show is a reaction against and satire of the stale format of late night television. Rick and Morty constantly references existentialist philosophy and finds surprising humanity in absurd realities. Shorts like Too Many Cooks, which is hard not to view in light of postmodern hyperrealism, and This House Has People In It, whose unsettling tone is heavily influenced by pioneering video artists such as Bill Viola's early work, are other examples that could only be produced by minds familiar with such high concepts. I could discuss more, but I don't have the time right now
Perhaps the final products don't clearly reflect their background, but it is there behind the shocking or random elements. Millennial humor is nihilistic because it comes from the minds of people who are well read enough to recognize the validity of said absurdity in the face of an uncertain or insignificant world in which their actions might prove meaningless anyway.
I can appreciate existentialist satire, because it takes a position and has a point. It comes from a place of literacy. I don't appreciate random combinations of nonsense that don't even create an amusing effect.
"Meaning is a lie, blargh" is a childish and defeatist position. Like, read a fucking book and exercise your privilege to decide what it means for you. (I'm not addressing you specifically with that last bit, if that wasn't clear.)
The whole point of absurdism is to point out that nothing actually has any meaning and the idea that is does is a joke in itself. Or at the very least, the idea that we will never be able to know, that it's pointless to try to figure it out, and to ascribe any rule set is pointless as well.
If you really think it's anti intellectual, you're kind of missing the point.
No, that's exactly my point. Denying the validity of meaning, even subjective meaning, is a doorway into the abyss. If you truly believe nothing means anything, life is pointless. And that's bullshit.
P.S. Don't assume I believe the universe has any built-in meaning. I think that we as conscious being create meaning by ascribing value and interpreting the world we live in. To claim everything is meaningless is to reject one of the most valuable features of living as a conscious being. Your existence doesn't last long. Best use it wisely.
