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Skibidi Toilet

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Skibidi Toilet is a machinima web series created by Alexey Gerasimov and released through YouTube videos and shorts on his channel DaFuq!?Boom!. Produced using Source Filmmaker, the series follows a fictional war between human-headed toilets and humanoid characters with electronic devices for heads.

Skibidi Toilet
A computer render of a male human head with wide open eyes coming out of a toilet bowl, smiling
Thumbnail of the first episode depicting one of the titular Skibidi Toilets
GenreMachinima
Created byAlexey Gerasimov (DaFuq!?Boom!)
Country of originGeorgia
No. of seasons24
No. of episodes77
Original release
NetworkYouTube
ReleaseFebruary 7, 2023 (2023-02-07) –
present

Since the first short was posted in February 2023, Skibidi Toilet has become viral as an internet meme across various social media platforms, particularly among Generation Alpha. Many commentators saw their embrace of the series as Generation Alpha's first development of a unique internet culture. The show has a wide range of licensed products, and Gerasimov is "in talks" with Adam Goodman and Michael Bay for a movie and television series adaptation.

Plot

The series depicts a conflict between singing human-headed toilets—the titular "Skibidi Toilets"—and humanoids with CCTV cameras, speakers, and televisions in place of their heads. The Skibidi Toilets, led by "G-Toilet", overtake humanity. Warfare soon develops between the toilets and the alliance of Cameramen and Speakermen. Each kind of the alliance has a colossal version of themselves, termed "Titans". The Titan Speakerman is infected with a mind-control parasite developed by the toilets' second-in-command and chief strategist, "Scientist Toilet", causing the Titan Speakerman to turn on the alliance. The alliance is expanded to include a species of TV-headed humanoids, and, with their help, Titan Speakerman is eventually cured.

As the military of both sides continue to advance technologically, the Titans attempt to hunt down G-Toilet. Though their combined powers are occasionally a match for his abilities, intervention by his legions each time allow him to escape. After a strike mission on the toilets' secret underground laboratory, the Scientist Toilet is finally defeated, but only one member of the team survives, a Cameraman called Plungerman. Having met a mysterious human seemingly involved in the creation of the toilets, the Plungerman is assassinated as a loose end. Meanwhile, fractures between the Skibidi Toilets and the "Astro Toilets", a mysterious splinter faction of powerful extraterrestrial toilets, erupt into violence, and the alliance and Skibidi Toilets enter into a makeshift alliance against their common enemy.

Characteristics

The show contains references to video games, such as G-Toilet having the face of the G-Man, a character from the Half-Life video game series. The Speakermen's oft-performed dances are from the battle royale game Fortnite.[1] Business Insider described the series as "an endless arms race as both the toilets and their foes [produce] stronger fighters".[2] Technology website Wired credited the largely dialogue-free nature of the show for removing language barriers and aiding in the show's global popularity.[3]

History

Skibidi Toilet is produced by Alexey Gerasimov (Russian: Алексей Герасимов, born 1997 or 1998),[1] who is also known by his alias "Blugray", or the name of his YouTube channel, "DaFuq!?Boom!"[4][5] Since 2014, he has been learning animation on his own. He lives in the country of Georgia,[note 1] though according to IrishStar.com, he is originally from Russia and only moved to Georgia in 2019.[15] His channel has seen prior hits; his video I'M AT DIP accumulated over 45 million views by July 2023, for example.[4]

The first episode was released on 7 February 2023 (UTC), with an 11-second runtime.[16] The video, entitled "skibidi toilet", depicts a toilet with a man's head coming out of it singing a song which prominently features the word "skibidi".[17] Every episode is produced using Source Filmmaker, a free Valve-published 3D computer graphics software, often used to create and edit clips and movies online.[7] Some assets used in the series are taken from video games such as Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source.[6] The Skibidi Toilet in the first episode, for example, features the head model of a Civilian (Male_07) from Half-Life 2 (pictured above).[18]

An unlicensed[8] mashup of the songs "Give It to Me" by Timbaland[1] and "Dom Dom Yes Yes" by Bulgarian artist Biser King,[14] created by TikTok user @doombreaker03,[19] appears in early episodes as the theme of the Skibidi Toilets, and is later invoked as their battle cry.[1] In 2024, the two songs' label Universal Music Group has issued copyright takedowns on the full version of the mashup, resulting in some videos featuring the mashup to be taken down.[8] "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears is featured in some videos as the theme of the resistance forces.[2]

"Dom Dom Yes Yes" gained popularity in 2022 through the viral videos of Turkish TikToker @yasincengiz38 dancing to the song with platters of food.[12][7] TikTok user Paryss Bryanne parodied this meme, complementing it with her style of jerky acting with rapid cuts. Gerasimov cites her adaptation as one of the inspirations for Skibidi Toilet.[6] Gerasimov shared in a Forbes interview he was also inspired by his recurring nightmares involving toilets.[3][20] Ultimately, Gerasimov said that Skibidi Toilet's backbone is the other machinima videos created using sandbox game Garry's Mod, which were popular in the late 2000s and number in thousands.[3]

In the show's early days, Gerasimov uploaded at least two videos weekly, and at times, even daily,[3] though the spacing between episodes has since been extended to improve quality,[10] with as well as increase in video lengths. Since YouTube's recommendation algorithm tend to prefer frequent uploaders, the initial upload schedule may have helped the show go viral.[16] As of January 2024, the series is reportedly being investigated by the Russian police for its alleged harm to children, following a report made by a Moscow resident.[10][21] In April 2024, the videos were presented to the legislative assembly of Saint Petersburg as a demonstration in an annual children's safety report.[3]

Reception and influence

Popularity

Skibidi Toilet's audience is predominantly among Generation Alpha, those born after the early 2010s. While the series does not appear on YouTube Kids, an app designed for children under the age of 13, it still enjoys popularity among elementary school students.[1] One high profile example is Kim Kardashian's 11-year-old daughter, who gifted her mother with a necklace reading "Skibidi Toilet".[22] Some members of older generations have labelled the show "brain rot",[23] while other internet users argued Generation Z had their share of bizarre memes.[24]

Skibidi Toilet has sparked its audience to create fanworks, such as games, fan fiction, and art,[1] as well as the Generation Alpha slang "skibidi", which has no established definition.[25] The series has found its way into internet memes and Instagram videos.[1] For example, one TikTok meme nonsensically swaps some words in song lyrics with Generation Alpha slang, including skibidi, for a humorous effect.[26] Viral videos have surfaced where children sit inside containers and mimic the toilets.[1]

 
Skibidi Toilet cosplayers during the Corso de Corsos [es] celebration of Cochabamba

Fans have expanded on the show's lore by making analysis videos and commenting their fan theories in YouTube's comment section.[3] There are Skibidi Toilet games on Roblox, a game platform, with the two largest games attracting millions of players each month.[5]

 
Monthly viewcount comparison with other popular YouTubers[note 2] from the Variety magazine[16]

In 2021, DaFuq!?Boom! had around one million subscribers.[16] By November 2023, YouTube videos associated with Skibidi Toilet had accumulated over 65 billion views, while on the social media platform TikTok, the #skibiditoilet hashtag garnered over 15.3 billion views,[1] later growing to 23 billion views by July 2024.[16] In December 2023, the channel DaFuq!?Boom! had amassed 37 million subscribers, experiencing rapid growth that, on occasion, had surpassed growth of MrBeast, the most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Washington Post called it "the biggest online phenomenon of the year".[1]

According to Tubefilter rankings, by the end of April 2023, DaFuq!?Boom! entered the fifty most viewed YouTube channels in the US, at 33rd place. By June, the channel had gained five billion views, making it the most viewed YouTube channel in US during that month.[27] In July 24, 2024, the channel had 17 billion total views, with 16.3 billion coming during February 2023 to June 2024. However, the channel's viewcount has since declined, with it achieving 374.1 million views in May 2024, compared to billions in 2023 months.[16]

Tubefilter's editor Sam Gutelle noted that previously, the channel existed largely under the radar, except for a few "animation diehards in the meme community".[27] The Daily Dot's offshoot publication Passionfruit suspected the popularity of the series was due to how the "designs combined a simple, cute style with more uncanny elements", citing other popular characters like Sans and Siren Head.[19]

Skibidi Toilet was referenced on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with a short parody animation depicting US President Joe Biden as a Skibidi Toilet, dubbed "Skibidi Biden". Kotaku called the joke "the worst thing Stephen Colbert's ever done".[28]

Critical reception

The lifestyle magazine Dazed characterized Skibidi Toilet as "frenetic, unpredictable, funny and at times genuinely unsettling."[7] Yahoo!'s In The Know compared the animation style to that of a mobile game, describing it as having "choppy movements and exaggerated facial expressions".[29] Cartoon Brew, an animation-focused website, stated that while Skibidi Toilet "may look rough around the edges compared to major studio fare [...] there is no question that Gerasimov is a filmmaker who understands pacing, camerawork, sound design, and how to tell a story."[4]

Many publications highlighted a viral tweet in which Twitter user @AnimeSerbia called the series Generation Alpha's Slender Man.[7][6] Insider claimed the series exemplified the start of a new generation gaining prominence, using the relationship between millennials and Gen Z as an example,[30] a stance that Indy100 repeated, who commented that "[Gen Z] will be facing the same mocking and ridicule they dished out to Millennials".[9] News.com.au opined "[the series] is a timely reminder that Gen Alpha are on the horizon".[31]

The Washington Post noted the series' uniqueness in creating a narrative entirely out of short-form videos and on YouTube's ability to stay relevant while competing with TikTok.[1] Adam Bumas, in a guest piece for Ryan Broderick's newsletter, Garbage Day, remarked the series leans into "weird internet aesthetics", creating a nostalgic element.[32] Business Insider echoed this stance, remarking on the series' use of old video game assets.[2] An article by theatre firm The Civilians argued the series reflects Generation Alpha's fear of surveillance and dehumanization.[33]

Several parental websites[1] and Indonesian newspapers[34][35][36] claimed that Skibidi Toilet's violence and bizarre visuals may have a harmful effect for young children, dubbing it "Skibidi toilet syndrome" (Indonesian: sindrom Skibidi toilet). The Guardian dismissed such claims, labeling it a "moral panic".[10] British newspaper The Daily Telegraph called on regulators to mandate age restrictions on online videos similar to the film industry, citing Skibidi Toilet's perceived violence.[37] Wired however, said while violence is constant, it is limited to "cartoonish explosions and punches".[3] Common Sense Media rated the series as being suitable for age 14 and above. [38]

Adaptations and licensing

 
Michael Bay is planned to direct the film adaptation of Skibidi Toilet.

On 24 July 2024, it was announced that filmmakers Adam Goodman and Michael Bay were "in talks" with Gerasimov for a movie and television series adaptation of Skibidi Toilet.[13] Goodman revealed that the adaptation may be a live-action/animation hybrid film, and that it may be stylistically similar to the John Wick and District 9 franchises.[18] The reception to the announcement was skeptical: The A. V. Club said it would be difficult to "translate [...] Internet subculture into traditional formats",[39] and Gizmodo believed the movie would have to be "unfathomably expensive to present an experience that's somehow "deluxe" to its inspiration".[40] The magazine Complex has commented that Michael Bay would be a perfect filmmaker for the adaptation, citing his work in the Transformers film series.[41]

 
Company logo of Invisible Narratives

The media company Invisible Narratives is run by the aforementioned Bay (chief creative advisor) and Goodman (CEO and founder). It has agreed to act as a brand licensing agency for Gerasimov. The company has made a licensing deal with Bonkers Toys, who is known for creating merchandise from YouTube content, to produce Skibidi Toilet toys.[5] In 2024, mystery boxes and action figures created by Bonkers Toys were released in stores, including Walmart.[42] The National Electrical Contractors Association has been contracted to manufacture branded remote-controlled devices, such as drones.[5] American retailer Spirit Halloween has obtained a license to sell Skibidi Toilet costumes.[43] The company said it encourages fan-run YouTube channels to create Skibidi Toilet content, as long as attribution is present.[16][5]

In late 2023,[44] a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim was filed against sandbox game Garry's Mod, allegedly by Invisible Narratives, which claimed to be on behalf of Gerasimov.[45] Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod, shared in chat platform Discord the alleged notice on 29 July 2024, which claimed Garry's Mod was using copyrighted Skibidi Toilet characters including "Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV man, and Skibidi Toilet" as well as that "There is absolutely no licensed Steam, Valve, Garry's Mod content related to Skibidi Toilet."[46] Gerasimov later posted that he did not send the claim, and that he was trying to contact Newman, who later confirmed to IGN that Gerasimov had been in touch and the matter has since been resolved.[47][44] The United States Copyright Office shows the character "Titan Cameraman" as being claimed by Invisible Narratives on 21 August 2023.[48][44]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c Dodgson, Lindsay (14 October 2023). "'Skibidi Toilet' isn't mindless — it's a 'cultural touchstone' that captures the anarchic spirit of the internet". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
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  48. ^ "United States Copyright Office". 30 July 2024. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.

Notes

  1. ^ Sources differ on whether Gerasimov merely resides in Georgia[4][6][7][8][9] or is actually of Georgian nationality.[10][11] Some sources used the wording "from Georgia".[12][13][14]
  2. ^ Wikipedia articles for the YouTubers in the graph: LankyBox, Like Nastya, Mark Rober, Markiplier, MrBeast, and Stokes Twins
 
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