To Find Humor Where There Is None
Aside from watching CaptainSparklez parodies of pop songs in the early 2010s, I’ve never really been into the game Minecraft. While all of my friends played it and attempted to explain to me the complicated process of creating weapons using a precise ratio of minerals in the block game, I never felt an urge to try playing it (nor would I ever be able to convince my parents to let me). After its “golden age”, Minecraft seemed to always occupy a special niche in the gaming world with its own dedicated following. However, following PewDiePie’s extremely popular Minecraft series in 2019 and the unprecedented rise of figures such as Dream, GeorgeNotFound, and TommyInnit in 2020, Minecraft seemed to experience a meteoric rebirth, thrust again into the mainstream spotlight.
One personality who gained popularity during this time period went by the alias Technoblade. Techno (real name Alexander), gained massive popularity in 2019 for his multiple victories in Minecraft tournaments and his participation in the Dream SMP server.
However, this marks the end of my Minecraft knowledge. Like the normie bandwagon fan I am, I only discovered Technoblade after his unfortunate death last Thursday. Upon rewatching his old videos, I came across one titled “where I’ve been”, which revealed in August 2021 that he was diagnosed with sarcoma in his right arm. Four months later in December, he stated in a video named “I Almost Became An Amputee” that he had successfully undergone a limb salvage operation that left his arm intact.
Tragically though, a video would be uploaded to Technoblade’s Youtube channel on June 30th, 2022 by his family. In it, his father announced that he had died as a result of metastasized cancer, and read a message written by him only hours before. The emotional video has garnered more than 44 million views at the time of writing, and it seems as though the entire Minecraft community and more have come out to pay their respects. With the video, his father also revealed a line of merchandise that he created and pledged to donate a portion of the proceeds to an organization called curesarcoma.org. Although I never interfaced with his content while he was alive. Technoblade was clearly a greatly influential creator who made a positive impact on the world around him.
Something I found quite interesting, however, was the attitude with which he approached what he knew would be the end of his life. Instead of the traditional dramatic, sad piano ballad Youtuber-style used by many, his two update videos took a lighthearted tone, cracking jokes about what would otherwise be very serious developments. Even his final video, emotional as it may be, was titled “so long nerds”. For crying out loud, the man even made death merchandise, sold on a website adorned with a massive, red, GG EZ.
Was this all just some sick joke?
Technoblade was a rare occurrence. He was a man driven by a passion so strong that not even a terminal illness could stop him. It is quite hard to fathom a man who knows he has cancer or might have his arm amputated, still succeed to make people laugh while watching his videos – and that was his goal. Between his first announcement and final video, he also managed to upload 4 Minecraft videos averaging 10 million views apiece, each with his trademark dry humor. No matter how hard times got, he still wanted to make people laugh, to give his audience the content he knew they loved. There are a few others that I could say the same for: Beloved Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, who was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in 2019 but still continued to host the show for another year. One of my personal idols, author and journalist Christopher Hitchens, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010. In the 17 months that he had left, decided to increase his number of public appearances, write more, and speak on his illness despite displaying his head that had baldened due to chemotherapy. These men approached their work with so much resolve that they didn’t let their illnesses stop them from carving out a legacy. Technoblade was no different.
After the announcement of his passing, every internet celebrity took to Twitter to pay their respects, a lot of them expressing discontent for the lives that cancer had claimed so early.
This user’s tweet really stuck with me though – instead of paying his respects traditionally, he simply made a joke:
Now, we (especially Twitter users) live in a culture where we’re discouraged from joking about topics that may be sensitive. If we ever ask why that’s the case, the response is “that’s just the way it is”. Now, I get it – when families are mourning and want a time to be left alone, the public should be respectful of that. But clearly, that isn’t what Technoblade wanted. In classic Techno fashion, he even joked about his own decaying health and potential death, not seeing it as anything that serious to him. His fans understood it too, as they understood that all he wanted was for them to be happy and laugh.
It was a mission that he, quite literally, took to the grave. (sorry Techno, but I hope you would have liked that.)
It was truly heartwarming to see his community come together in such a way. It even reminded me of the comedian Gilbert Gottfried who passed away this year, but still wanted people to have a laugh in his honor.
They say that the best comedy comes from pain, but I would suggest that the opposite is also true: Pain is made better with good comedy. Whether it be soldiers who had their last laugh with their comrades before being deployed on a battlefield, or a creator that tried to make his fans laugh even hours before his passing, the value of humor in these circumstances should never be overlooked. In my humble opinion, that’s the way that it should be done. Taking ourselves too seriously can prevent us from enjoying the true pleasures of life, and perhaps that’s something that they had to come close to death to realize. Our time on this spinning rock is limited, so let’s at least have some fun while we’re still here.
Technoblade displayed something truly special: the ability to look at something as daunting as death in the face, and just have a laugh. It’s something that we can all learn from.
Rest in Peace, Technoblade. You will be missed.