2013-02-10
Explanation
This comic depicts "Existentialist Hokey Pokey." It shows a group of people standing in a circle as if playing the Hokey Pokey, but instead of the usual cheerful instructions, the leader declares: "There is no intrinsic value in the prescribed motion. But this needn'''t necessarily make us weep." The caption below reads: "In existentialist Hokey Pokey, you must determine for yourself what it'''s all about."
The humor comes from applying existentialist philosophy to the children'''s song "The Hokey Pokey," which famously ends with the line "That'''s what it'''s all about!" Existentialism holds that life has no predetermined meaning and that individuals must create their own purpose. By applying this to the Hokey Pokey, the comic transforms a simple, joyful children'''s game into a philosophical crisis. The prescribed motions (putting your right hand in, putting your right hand out) have no inherent meaning, and participants must find their own reason for doing them.
The votey panel shows a man doing the Hokey Pokey motions while earnestly declaring "This matters," which is funny because it shows someone who has successfully completed the existentialist exercise -- he has determined for himself that the Hokey Pokey does matter, even though there is no objective reason it should. It'''s a small act of existential courage applied to the most trivial possible activity.