The “End of Ze World” Sequel Encapsulates 2018 Like the Original Did 2003

**One more NSFW warning, including animated nudity you can never unsee.**

Years ago, in the simpler time of 2003, a weird video took the internet by storm: “End of Ze World.” Living alongside the likes of Homestar Runner, All Your Base Are Belong to Us, Foamy the Squirrel, and other vintage internet phenomena, it was still a commentary on the state of the world, but it was less concerned with that than with its own silly sense of humor, and was noticeably different in tone from the sequel that debuted over the weekend.

The world, and the internet, has changed a lot in the 15 years since, and like many of the revivals of nostalgic properties that we’ve seen lately, the sequel gives the feeling that we can’t go home again. That’s a given, and one that presents two choices: try to recapture the magic of the original while ignoring how times have changed, or adjust to your new surroundings. Jason Windsor, the creator of the original in this case, went for the latter, and the result is a more explicit level of political and social commentary, and more focused barbs than random jokes.

(Here’s the original, in case you need a refresher.)

For some in the YouTube comments, that’s off-putting, since it seems the original was subtle enough (something I never imagined myself saying about that video, but here we are) that those viewers didn’t realize that their politics were at odds with those of the thing they were laughing at, or those of its creator. Maybe if we’d all been a bit more confrontational and overt in the first place, we wouldn’t have wound up in the situation we’re in now.

(featured image: Jason Windsor)

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