Summary
This work is devoted to the analysis of a sketch from TikTok. Its author is Kris Collins, who is quite famous for her videos on social networks. The sketch in question is dedicated to such a type of person as an introvert who is not very socially active, taciturn, or focused. The author would use the ironic title “if introverts were honest” to emphasize the humorous subtext and not cause a negative reaction from both introverts themselves and opposite types of people.
The sketch is divided into several short episodes, more precisely, life situations in which an introvert manifests himself. It is impractical to consider a separate fragment because they are too small so that each episode will be produced in this work. It is essential to remember that this is entertaining but, at the same time, has a pronounced social problem because introverts often encounter misunderstandings from other people for their lifestyle (Nazneen 71). This sketch, in a comic form, shows the sincere feelings of introverts and the importance of understanding them.
The author approached the creation of the sketch quite creatively, considering different situations in life. A special style (using different intonations), processing, ordinary scenery, and quick transitions create a real effect that new characters are in front of the viewer every time, although this is one person. The author is a satirist, a fairly common style for such a platform as TikTok, but Chris stands out for her originality and sincerity when creating his sketches. The uniqueness of the author’s creative approach consists of a deep immersion in each character’s role in which she is reincarnated.
Scene 1
In the first scene, we have office employees in front of us, one of whom has returned to the office, according to his remarks. For example, in “look who has returned to the office,” viewers understand that this person is an introvert (Kallmekriss 0:05-0:20). Opposite him sits an introvert who shows a lack of interest in a colleague’s vacation story. The episode’s editing emphasizes that the extrovert turns to the introvert and tries to bring the interlocutor to a dialogue. According to the intonation of each participant in the episode, viewers can also notice the difference in character, the extrovert stands out with sincere and joyful speech, and the introvert is distinguished by neutrality and detachment in speech. The introvert responds extremely sarcastically: “I’d rather be tortured with hot wax than I’ll pretend admiration for the hundredth time,” demonstrating disinterest and awareness of a colleague’s vacation (Kallmekriss 0:10-0:18). Sometimes, speech can be perceived as rudeness, but this is an erroneous judgment due to the peculiarities of human character.
Scene 2
In the next episode, three people are already involved, from whose remarks it is clear that they are all friends, and two are socially active. The latter fact can be easily understood by the tone and pace of their speech; they are interested in the two of them, and they say something bright. An introvert gives out a disinterested look, and by his gestures, you can understand that he is bored here and wants to leave. It is noteworthy that thanks to the transitions and the staging of individual scenes in this episode, viewers can notice that the two friends are having a dialogue with each other. The introvert is depicted by the caustic phrase “socialization over the edge,” it may seem rude, but these are the true thoughts of an introvert (Kallmekriss 0:24-0:41). Their introverted friend drops out of the conversation; they do not pay attention to him until the friend decides to leave.
Scene 3
The next episode is small but informative enough; its purpose is to show how introverts behave on social networks and what live meetings mean to them. To the regretful message of the interlocutor that the meeting will not take place, the introvert replies, “sick” and “I didn’t want to go anywhere anyway” (Kallmekriss 0:45-1:10). In this episode, the audience has one person in the center, an introvert, tracked by human emotions by the interlocutor and gestures (the introvert answers and throws the phone). The author wanted to demonstrate the neutral attitude of introverts to the events that force them to go out into ordinary life.
Scene 4
The last episode is the longest and, at the same time, best characterizes the character of an introvert. In this scene, viewers can watch the conversation between former classmates who have not seen each other for several years. The key phrase in this episode is: “we will not pretend that we are interested in each other’s lives” (Kallmekriss 1:12-1:45). People with this type of character best personify this statement. They are not interested in people’s lives from their past; however, this does not prevent them from observing their lives through social networks (Merlo et al. 162). There is no hypocrisy in this; however, it shows that introverts are more comfortable maintaining a certain distance from distant people and watching them through gadgets.
This sketch has become popular and has gained several million views and “likes” marks. Additionally, the author received a lot of positive feedback, especially from introverts themselves, largely because the author was able to reflect their internal state accurately. This sketch has several parts to depict most of the habits of an introvert and convey their real character in detail. This type of person is not angry or rude; they just need less interaction with other people, and they feel good alone with themselves. Through the consideration of these episodes, the uniqueness of the author’s creative approach to his work and shooting her sketches are visible.
Works Cited
Merlo, Emanuele Maria, et al. “Personality Types and Dreaming in Future Health Professionals: Effect of Age and Gender.” International Journal of Dream Research, vol. 13 no. 2, 2020, pp. 160-172.
Nazneen, Shaikh Sara. “A comparative study on the level of addiction of social networking among introvert and extrovert personality type students.” International Journal of Reflective Research in Social Sciences, vol. 2 no. 1, pp. 71-73.
“If Introverts Were Honest.” YouTube, uploaded by Kallmekriss, Web.