The Billionaires are producing TV shows based on their favorite childhood books…

Joke Poo: Tech Support Nightmare

The senior developers are mandating specific coding languages for new projects based on their personal quirks…

Linus Torvalds loves C, so everything is written in C.

Guido van Rossum loves Python, so everything is written in Python.

Brendan Eich loves Javascript, so everything is somehow duct-taped together with Javascript.

Mark Zuckerberg loves PHP, so everything is a massive, buggy security vulnerability.

Alright, let’s break down this joke and see what comedic gold we can mine.

Dissection of the Original Joke:

• Premise: Billionaires are using their wealth to produce TV shows based on their favorite childhood books.
• Structure: A recurring pattern of "Billionaire X loved Book Y, so he made it happen," building a sense of predictability.
• Punchline: The subversion of expectations with Elon Musk’s choice of "Mein Kampf." This is funny for a few reasons:
  • Incongruity: It’s wildly inappropriate and clashes violently with the relatively benign choices of the other billionaires.
  • Satire/Social Commentary: It satirizes potential unchecked power and the idea that money can buy anything, even the legitimization of abhorrent ideologies.
  • Shock Value: It’s unexpected and deliberately offensive, catching the reader off guard.
• Target: This joke satirizes billionaires, their immense wealth, and potentially their lack of taste/ethical considerations.

Key Elements:

1. Billionaires: The archetype of immense wealth and power.
2. Childhood Books: Nostalgia, personal connection, and a perceived innocence.
3. "Making it Happen": The ability to realize any ambition due to financial resources.
4. "Mein Kampf": A symbol of hate, intolerance, and Nazi ideology.

Comedic Enrichment – New Joke Attempt:

Option 1: Playing on the "Making it Happen" aspect

Heard Bill Gates is producing a documentary series on his favorite bedtime story, "Goodnight Moon." Said he always wanted to see the red balloon get its own character arc. "I have the resources," he reportedly chuckled, "to CGI the hell out of that cow jumping over the moon."

Analysis:

• Building on the original: Still focusing on a billionaire and childhood books.
• Irony: "Goodnight Moon" is extremely simple, but Gates’s intervention is over-the-top.
• Exaggeration: The phrase "CGI the hell out of" emphasizes the absurdity of applying billionaire-level resources to such a simple story.
• New Target: Satirizes the tendency of large-scale adaptations to over-complicate source material and the ego of billionaires.

Option 2: Focusing on another potentially "problematic" book choice, with a historical twist:

Rupert Murdoch is developing a series based on The Turner Diaries. When questioned about the controversial subject matter, Murdoch replied, "It’s a classic rags-to-riches story. The main character builds a successful militia from the ground up. Now that’s what I call aspirational content."

Analysis:

• Extends the original premise: Billionaire+problematic book.
• Satire: The Turner Diaries is a racist and violent novel, which would fit with his Fox News legacy.
• Wordplay: The "rags-to-riches" line is ironic, given the book’s themes. The "from the ground up" punchline is about Murdoch’s media empire.
• Target: Satirizes Murdoch’s media legacy, potentially controversial views, and the normalization of extremist ideologies.

Option 3: Amusing ‘Did You Know’ Fact

Did you know: Ironically, Mein Kampf actually has a surprisingly strong copyright defense due to its complex legal history and numerous translations. It’s harder to freely adapt it than, say, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which you’d think would be ripe for a gritty, post-apocalyptic remake where the caterpillar devours entire cities. Maybe that’s why Bezos hasn’t touched that one yet…

Analysis:

• Builds on the joke’s themes: Touches on "Mein Kampf" and the idea of book adaptations.
• Humorous juxtaposition: The contrast between the seriousness of Mein Kampf‘s copyright and the ridiculousness of a "gritty" Very Hungry Caterpillar is funny.
• Implied commentary: Subtly suggests that financial obstacles might be the only thing preventing billionaires from making even more questionable adaptations.