Funny, yes, but not funny "haha"

The sound originally appeared on the show Backyardigans.

In a fascinating trend, children's shows have been the source of multiple memes on TikTok over the last few years. Three particularly prevalent culprits are *Bluey* (of "Can we get the bill" fame), *Wonder Pets* (of "It's a baby penguin" fame), and *The Backyardigans*. While *Bluey* is still releasing new episodes, *The Backyardigans* and *Wonder Pets* have not aired new episodes since 2013. Nonetheless, this has not stopped *The Backyardigans* from having a significant cultural impact--perhaps from a residual sense of nostalgia in current internet users. The show features musical numbers from the main characters: Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin. A particular song, "Castaways," went viral on TikTok in 2021, even leading the song to top the US Spotify Viral 50 chart. Many TikTok users (such as @blondebrunetteredhead) started imitating the dance, and the rest was history. Other songs from *The Backyardigans* have gone viral on TikTok, such as "Into the Thick of It" (an example here from @avelaurenreid) and "International Super Spy" (an example here from @xx\_pinkbunny\_xx).

However, for the "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha'" trend, it was not a song that went viral, but a line of dialogue. This quote, perhaps not coincidentally, comes from the same episode as the "Castaways" song--the episode that aired on September 19, 2005, aptly titled "Castaways." In the episode, one of the off-screen characters rolls a coconut toward three other characters, but they can't tell where the coconut came from, leading them to exchange the iconic lines:

> Tyrone: Funny...
>
>
> Pablo: Yes, but not funny "haha"--
>
>
>
> Uniqua: Funny weird.
>
>

This exchange is repeated again in the episode (this time between Tyrone and Uniqua), and that clip made it to TikTok on May 29, 2022, when @szasgrandchildren posted a meme with the sound. In the original TikTok, the text "when he says she's like a sister to me" is overlaid on top of a clip from the show itself. This video quickly took off, with over 94,000 views after only 2 weeks. Comments quickly appeared asking @szasgrandchildren to crop the text out of the video, and she responded as requested with a cropped video and original sound (also on May 29, 2022), which has acquired 3.6 million views as of November 2022.

## Recognizable Features

Because this meme spread as a TikTok sound, there are very few recognizable features, other than the following dialogue: "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha.'" Although the original line ended with "funny weird," the meme has been remixed multiple times to address different emotions, experiences, and groups of people. In fact, TikTok users quickly started recording their own versions of the sound (see "Circulation" for more information on the various remixes). This means that the voices of the Backyardigans themselves are no longer even an essential recognizable feature for this meme. Nonetheless, the meme is immediately identifiable as soon as you hear "Funny, yes" with a dramatic pause. Visually, the videos typically include the user lipsyncing to the sound, but there is room for variation there as well.

Richard Dawkins, who first coined the idea of a "meme," also identified three standards for the success of a meme: longevity, fecundity, and copying fidelity. The "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha'" meme fits the standards of both fecundity and copying fidelity (but perhaps not longevity--that determination is still to come, especially as this meme's popularity seems to be fading). Copying fidelity requires the meme to maintain some type of recognizable form as it spreads. For the "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha'" meme, the form is simple but recognizable. As already discussed, the meme is immediately identifiable as soon as you hear the short piece of dialogue, no matter what follows. Fecundity involves the ability of the meme to propagate easily--which the platform of TikTok assists with, by making it extremely easy to apply someone else's sound to your video. The inherent simplicity of this meme format also increases its fecundity. By only requiring the verbal phrase "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha,'" it is extremely easy for participants to develop new variants. Further, by having no set visual format to this meme, it becomes even easier for someone to create their own version.

## Cultural Context

Because this meme almost exclusively lives on TikTok (other than, of course, when the videos are downloaded and reposted to Instagram or Twitter), it is important to consider the cultural context of TikTok's rise. Although TikTok has been available in the US since 2018, its popularity rose drastically at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020 (when many states in the US were entering lockdowns), the TikTok app reached 2 billion global downloads. In December 2021, TikTok was crowned "most popular website of the year," replacing Google as the top website. It is perhaps no surprise that TikTok rose to such prominence as we entered a global pandemic, as it allowed people to escape reality and feel a sense of community when they were isolated from friends and loved ones in real life. TikTok was able to offer comfort--and often humor--amidst the uncertainty of reality.

Culturally, we can see this desire for comfort in a similar rise of nostalgia. The beginning of the pandemic saw a rise in many examples of "older" media, such as *The Twilight Saga,* which led to a so-called Twilight Renaissance. Many people, like CJ Connor, attribute this rise in popularity to nostalgia amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic. This can perhaps also explain the revival of a show like *The Backyardigans*, which aired from 2004 to 2012. Ironically, *The Twilight Saga* films were released between 2008 and 2012, aligning closely with the time period of *The Backyardigans.* Therefore, in terms of generational appeal, both of these pieces of media may be attracting similarly aged audiences. For example, Koh Ewe writes that the songs in *The Backyardigans "*have unlocked a precious hidden memory for many Gen Z, who also happen to dominate TikTok."

When it comes to the comfort and nostalgia of the show, Koh Ewe interviewed both TikTokers and actors from the original show about its draw now. Merlysha Pierre (@swagsurfff) shares, “I remembered how amazing the music, and show overall, was, and it completely uplifted my mood. I felt like I should remind others too." She also suggests that the strength of the "Castaways" episode specifically may come from the fact that people can "relate to being ‘stuck where they are’ because of COVID." This cultural context, which ties closely to the themes of isolation and a need for positivity, could explain why this episode--and the associated dialogue and songs--rose to such popularity so quickly. Devan McGuinness shares a similar thought, writing that "[t]he crew finds themselves on a deserted island. Now castaways, they talk about being stuck on their own, which, to be honest, sounds a lot like quarantine."

## Audience

Although the audience of these memes is technically anyone on TikTok, the audience for specific iterations of this meme is narrowed by the way that the platform creates micro-communities. As a social media platform, TikTok is expertly catered to its audience. TikTok’s #foryou page hand delivers content carefully catered to your likes, dislikes, and identities, allowing videos to find their perfect audience. Finding the perfect audience is essential for memes, as part of their power comes down to their ability to connect people who have shared identities. Identification, which has been discussed as a component of rhetorical theory by Kenneth Burke and Lynn Lewis, is key to the formation of these memetic communities. TikTok's algorithm and its hashtag system assist with keeping users in their desired bubble on the platform. Therefore, the "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha,' funny 'queer'" iteration of the meme is most likely to end up on the #fyp of a member of the queer community. The "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha,' funny 'autistic'" is most likely to end up on the #fyp of a member of the autistic community. The audience is typically aligned with the content of the meme itself.

However, more generally, the audience may predominately be TikTok users who belong to Gen Z--not only because Gen Zers dominate TikTok, but also because of the association of this trend with *The Backyardigans*. Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka, an assistant professor at Washington State University who specializes in social media, speculates that "we are seeing certain songs trending on TikTok because Gen Z is feeling nostalgic for their childhoods, especially with the current hardships that we are facing globally." However, the meme itself has become distanced from the show, taking on a life of its own and allowing this meme to appeal even to those who may be unfamiliar with the show itself.

## Circulation

Although the meme began with the original sound ("Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha,' funny 'weird'"), it very quickly evolved into new iterations. There are numerous sounds that replace the "weird" with something else. In general, there seem to be two trajectories for these variations. The first involves a type of identifier or community, like "autistic" or "queer." The second involves mental health or vulnerability, like "I'm about to lose my fucking shit," "I'm gonna have a breakdown," "that traumatized the fuck out of me," and "child abuse" (see "Corpus Examples" for specific examples that use these sounds, as well as the TikTokers who created the respective sounds). Both of these paths align with the original intention or stance of the TikTok sound, which involves something that toes the line between "funny" and "weird," especially when it comes to perception. The first branch of remixes, which involves an identifier or community, often engages with marginalized or vulnerable groups, who may be perceived by normative society as "weird." The second branch of remixes, which involves mental health, also often deals with a) a stigmatized vulnerability that is perceived as flawed by normative society or b) a situation that represents the precarity of mental health, and how fine the line is between "funny" and "a breakdown" or "trauma." This also aligns with the way people often minimalize their trauma as a survival mechanism, how it's sometimes easier to think of something as "funny" instead of the truth, as well as how hindsight may alter the way you view something that you used to see as "funny" or "quirky."

Both of these trajectories engage with the TikTok sound in a way that acknowledges an in-joke or insider experience, which assists with its circulation throughout TikTok. Because TikTok heavily relies on its algorithm and hashtag feature, the videos are able to find users who identify with the experiences represented in the TikTok. These videos have continued to circulate around TikTok, but they are also sometimes reposted to other platforms, like Instagram or Twitter, expanding the circulation beyond the original platform. However, TikTok is the platform that is most conducive to this type of auditory meme, while Twitter is more textual and Instagram is more visual.

## Ethical Issues

As discussed in "Circulation," many versions of the "Funny, yes, but not funny 'haha'" meme engage with vulnerability. One of the ethical issues involved with this vulnerability is that it unfortunately opens the user up to trolling or digital aggression, depending on who finds the videos. TikTok's algorithm does generally provide users with videos "inside" their community, which also therefore limits their exposure to videos "outside" their community. However, the reliance of users on their #fyp to find content does mean that they are very often exposed to videos from people they do not follow, because they do not always have an overt hand in curating their feed. This means that a user can sometimes see videos "outside" their community, and people "outside" their community can also see their videos.

Another ethical issue involved in this trend is the sharing of triggering content. For example, the "child abuse" version of this meme sometimes involves sharing specific acts of child abuse that the user experienced, without any warning for the viewer. Seeing this content--without a content or trigger warning--may be harmful for those who are not mentally prepared or equipped to engage with it, especially those who may have their own experiences with child abuse.

Finally, some of these trends or iterations of this meme also engage with more X-rated or adult content. For example, the "I'm about to lose my fucking shit" iteration has evolved for some users to be a sound used for references to turn ons that make people "lose their shit." This content is not inherently problematic, but the fact that it is associated with a TikTok sound derived from a children's show may be perceived as problematic by certain groups.

## Impact

   More abstractly, one of the impacts of this meme is that it has allowed TikTok users to share their experiences and find a community online--a community that may understand their experiences in a way that normative society may not. This has allowed users to feel like they're not alone, to feel validated for things that may be deemed "weird" by others. This so-called "weirdness" can span a wide range of topics and groups, from queerness to trauma. However, no matter the topic, it can lead to empowerment and bonding on the internet.

More concretely, the impact of this meme has been a revival in *The Backyardigans*. To the right, you can see a diagram of the interest in *The Backyardigans* over time, which shows the increased popularity of the show in June 2021, shortly after "Castaways" first went viral on TikTok. McGuinness shares anecdotal evidence for this as well: "So, while we’re not totally sure why *The Backyardigans* are a hit thing again (and they are, my 14- and 12-year-olds are all over this show out of nowhere), the songs are catchy, the show is all feel-good adventures, and well, we could all do for more of that these days." Perhaps the "why" is the role that the show has played in meme-making, but nonetheless McGuinness reveals that his own children have jumped onboard with *The Backyardigans* hype, despite being too young to have any of their own memories of watching the show live.

## Corpus Examples

* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "weird" (sound originally from @szasgrandchildren)**
	+ @rosie\_rgm
	+ @starbuckskingswaymills
	+ @ijustreallylikecatshuh
	+ @lilireinhart
	+ @gabiluterman
* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "autistic" (sound originally from @eat\_that\_sand\_boo)**
	+ @eat\_that\_sand\_boo
	+ @actually.izzy
* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "I'm about to lose my fucking shit" (sound originally from @a\_breezy\_)**
	+ @a\_breezy\_
	+ @zoranne\_
* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "I'm gonna have a breakdown" (sound originally from @notdankfrankdrury)**
	+ @intothefolklorianwoods
	+ @leahbosnic
* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "that traumatized the fuck out of me" (sound originally from @LITFRANK)**
	+ @meissa.com.au
	+ @spideremmaf
* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "queer" (sound originally from @griffinmaxwellbrooks)**
	+ @angietheace
	+ @jamie\_bensxn
* **Funny, yes, but not funny "haha," funny "child abuse" (sound originally from @mrs.frazzled)**
	+ @korahgora
	+ @knothead9620

## References

1. ↑ "*Bluey* (TV Series 2018-)." *IMDb*, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7678620/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
2. ↑ "*Wonder Pets!* (TV Series 2006-2013)." *IMDb*,

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0775407/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
3. ↑ "*The Backyardigans* (TV Series 2004-2013)." *IMDb,*
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439349/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Backyardigans." *Know Your Meme*, https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/the-backyardigans. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
5. ↑ "Into the Thick of It." *Know Your Meme*,

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/into-the-thick-of-it. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
6. ↑ "International Super Spy." *Know Your Meme*,

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/international-super-spy. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
7. ↑ Carman, Ashley. "TikTok reaches 2 billion downloads." *The Verge*, 29 Apr. 2022,https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241788/tiktok-app-download-numbers-update-2-billion-users.
8. ↑ Rosenblatt, Kalhan. "TikTok surpasses Google as most popular website of the year, new data suggests." *NBC*, 22 Dec. 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tiktok-surpasses-google-popular-website-year-new-data-suggests-rcna9648.
9. ↑ Connor, CJ. “It’s the Twilight Renaissance, and We’re Just Living in It.” *Book Riot*, 14. Sept 2021, www.bookriot.com/its-the-twilight-renaissance-and-were-just-living-in-it/.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ewe, Koh. "Why Are ‘The Backyardigans’ Suddenly So Popular on TikTok?" *Vice*, 25 June 2021, https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzdmq/why-backyardigans-songs-viral-tiktok.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 McGuinness, Devan. "Gen Z Is Listening To… ‘The Backyardigans.’ Here’s Why." *Fatherly*, 14 Dec. 2021,https://www.fatherly.com/news/gen-z-backyardigans-viral.