Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital • Hacker News Board

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#21

Post by citizenkeen » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:24 PM UTC

xrd wrote: post #3

I went into Target yesterday with my daughters. There was a half wall of skibidi toilet merch. Right underneath the Mr. Beast merch. I've seen a video or two of skibidi toilet, and it looks like something a 14 year old boy would make at his first pass with blender. Is this the modern day "Adventures of Tom Sawyer", a masterpiece that no one over 19 is able to recognize? I feel like we have ai slop and then we have 14…

I’m 43. About six months ago I sat down and watched an hour of skibidi toilet.

I get why it’s popular. I didn’t enjoy myself but I completely get why kids soaked in memes might love it.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#22

Post by rufius » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:25 PM UTC

Well my trip to Costco make infinitely more sense. I saw these 3 foot tall dolls for sale of the camera head characters. They were titled “skibidi toilet titans” but I was only familiar with the song mashups, not the web series.

Kids are always gonna love stuff that pisses off their parents. It’s just part of parenting and being a kid. My parents hated my love for the weird shows on Adult Swim like metalocalypse and squidbillies.

Big shrug - no one should be surprised this portrays a non-narrative future. The future feels pretty chaotic and undirected to me as an adult. I can’t imagine how it feels to a 12 year old.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#23

Post by karel-3d » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:26 PM UTC

Maybe I'm too old, but... I thought Skibidi Toilet was kind-of funny 2 years ago, when it spiraled from a fun memey Gary's Mod shitpost into a full-on story, but then... it's kind of stuck there for 2 years?

It's kind of same-y, when I look into the latest episode. (Yes I am not at all caught up to the lore, and I don't want to.)

But hey it kind of fits Michael Bay storytelling style.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#24

Post by walkabout » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:27 PM UTC

xrd wrote: post #3

I went into Target yesterday with my daughters. There was a half wall of skibidi toilet merch. Right underneath the Mr. Beast merch. I've seen a video or two of skibidi toilet, and it looks like something a 14 year old boy would make at his first pass with blender. Is this the modern day "Adventures of Tom Sawyer", a masterpiece that no one over 19 is able to recognize? I feel like we have ai slop and then we have 14…

I watched the first video a long time ago to see what the deal was, and reckoned it was just one of those silly, absurd videos that become well-known for whatever reason. The tradition of very stupid, absurd stuff taking off on the internet goes back to at least “Mr T Ate My Balls” and hell, I love the long-running, weird YouTube channel “How To Basic”, so, I didn’t mind it but thought that’s all there was to it.

But no. I eventually learned it was an hours-long series and gave it another try.

It’s a long, serialized silent film sci fi war epic told without intertitles. And damn, I was invested in it before long!

[edit] I am not joking that I cared more about and paid more attention to the long battle and infiltration mission near the end (at the time—I understand there’s more now?) than I care about or pay attention to at least half of the 30-45 minute final battles in Marvel movies. I would defend the series as outright better than, certainly, something like Quantumania.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#25

Post by InspGadget4343 » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:28 PM UTC

Devasta wrote: post #20

Its completely destroying the minds of the youth. Back when I was a kid, we had proper narrative videos online like badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger MUSHROOM MUSHROOM...

ASDF movie, look at my horse, llamas with hats.. it truly was the peak time of brainrot

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#26

Post by gjsman-1000 » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:34 PM UTC

Older generations: “Skibidi Toilet? You like this trash?”

Newer generations: “Modern art? Brutalism? You like this trash?”

Nothing new under the sun.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#27

Post by jrm4 » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:34 PM UTC

I'm most reminded of not the movies as much but -- Monty Python's Flying Circus? Same kind of ... "uh what?" vibe.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#28

Post by jrm4 » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:36 PM UTC

replete wrote: post #12

Is this a joke? Kids made this in the G-Mod sandbox for Half-Life 2. If it feels dystopian, it's because HL2 is set in a dystopian world. Honestly, it might literally be the toilet aspect that made this viral with 7 year olds

I don't think you're wrong, but also don't think that the article's wildly wrong either.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#29

Post by iamleppert » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:38 PM UTC

How is it slop? If you look closely and get over yourself for a moment, it has a powerful political message.

The conflict between the Skibidi Toilets (with human heads sticking out of toilets) and the Camera/TV/Speaker-headed humans can be seen as a metaphor for how people consume and spread media. The toilets constantly repeat a hypnotic song ("Skibidi dop dop yes yes"), representing mindless media repetition and viral trends. The Camera Men symbolize those who "watch" or document reality —- observers trying to preserve truth amid absurdity.

It has themes of media control, surveillance, and propaganda, a battle over who shapes what people see and believe.

Re: Nightmare Fuel: Skibidi Toilet and the Monstrous Digital

#30

Post by vintermann » Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 1:45 PM UTC

lunias wrote: post #19

xrd wrote: post #3

I went into Target yesterday with my daughters. There was a half wall of skibidi toilet merch. Right underneath the Mr. Beast merch. I've seen a video or two of skibidi toilet, and it looks like something a 14 year old boy would make at his first pass with blender. Is this the modern day "Adventures of Tom Sawyer", a masterpiece that no one over 19 is able to recognize? I feel like we have ai slop and then we have 14…

> There was a half wall of skibidi toilet merch Pretty crazy... My hypothesis is that it's popular because it feels more authentic and grassroots than most things being foisted upon them. It has surreal comedy and doesn't take itself seriously; both traits that are in extremely low supply in the recent / current zeitgeist. It was not designed by a committee pre-conception to appeal to the most-profitable possible aud…

There was some scandal about rights. As I understand it, the guy who started this used Garry's mod assets (actually of characters belonging to Valve), then turned around and threatened the Garry's mod author for those same assets. So, I can think of more authentic and grassroots things. Maybe that's also why, as far as I can tell, this meme show has had its 5 minutes of fame already.