Is Oba Trekking reliving Charlie Chaplin’s comic style?
I don’t think there are average households in Nigeria that’ll fail to boast of the dominance of beans in their cooking menus.
At least, just beans.
But the combination of both– as some say– is a lifesaver to an average Nigerian.
Some even call him the “Bread Winner” in the content space, a well-put moniker, if asked.
Looking at that, can we say this is why Oba Trekking’s content style resonates quickly with audiences of different age brackets, because the young and old seem to understand him?
Silent humor is one of the few things that works in all languages and countries. Charlie Chaplin’s “Tramp” persona made this style of movie popular in the early 1900s. Nigeria’s (current!) sensation Oba Trekking is reviving this art style for contemporary audiences in a fresh method and platform.
His Instagram and TikTok videos, which have many views, remind us of Chaplin’s ability to make people laugh and weep without words.
Modern Silent Comedy
Due to his massive TikTok following, Oba Trekking’s quick, hilarious skits on daily peculiarities are famous in Nigeria and worldwide.
Excelling in physical humor, his enthusiastic motions and over-the-top appearance reflect his ability to find comedy in regular circumstances. His humorous character gets to know his audience by revealing how cultural conventions, societal tensions, and daily concerns influence them, particularly an average Nigerian’s reaction to Beans and Bread.
For 75 years, Charlie Chaplin was the funniest man alive. Chaplin employed physical humor, comedic fun, and touching tales to address poverty, inequality, and human courage as the “Tramp” persona. Funny films like “Modern Times” and “The Gold Rush” are memorable and may make viewers think and feel.
Chaplin was really accurate, achieving the dramatic and hilarious impact desired, with every position, gesture, and movement carefully planned. The iconic “City Lights” scene when the Tramp attempts to disguise his poverty from a blind flower girl reveals how strong body language is. Despite his silence, the observer senses his agony, guilt, and love.
Key themes in their work
Chaplin and Oba Trekking are founded on global concepts. Chaplin cited working class problems, contemporary technology’s ignorance, and relational instability. Misunderstandings, choosing bread and beans over full focus on tasks before him, make Oba Trekking amusing.
Not just being hilarious, Oba Trekking reflects how much hunger we have in society today, how it can also be a distraction to many. Like they say, “He whose belly holds nothing, finds his brain holding nothing.” (Okay, that’s not a quote from anywhere, I made that up.)
To make people laugh, neither employs comic words. They let their body speak. Along with his well-planned quips, Chaplin’s bow-legged stride, little mustache, and tilted hat give drama to his storytelling.
His hands hanging in the air while taking off at the sight of beans and bread, his tongue stuck out, signaling an empty bowel needing a fill up; his facial responses to conversations, and over-the-top physical behaviors, influence Oba Trekking’s comics.
Chaplin regularly criticized society and society’s institutions via humor. In the midst of conflict, the Great Dictator mocked Hitler and Nazism. Even if society is little, Oba Trekking is enjoyable and illustrates how intricate it can be. His humorous portrayals criticize societal conventions by mocking metropolitan Nigerian life, poverty, lack, and political power interactions over its citizens.
A fascinating approach to compare Chaplin with Oba Trekking is via their pages. Since Chaplin’s films were supposed to be watched with others, every scene had to be appealing to many. He had to edit accurately, build intricate setups, and perform classical music.
Oba Trekking is set in the digital era, when individuals have shorter attention spans and watch TV and films on their phones alone. His quips and one-minute skits must be short and catchy, giving out a concept in the pithiest way. Long storytelling, on the other end, have given way to quicker entertainment, just as comedy has evolved with technology.
Because multilingual individuals may enjoy silent laughing, it will always be popular. All across the globe, Chaplin’s movies were appreciated. Still, Oba Trekking’s Nigerian humor remains popular. He does ridiculous things that everyone can relate to (in adverts, not forgetting to add) his skits are entertaining for everyone, acknowledging those unfamiliar with Nigerian culture.
Effect of Memory
Whether he wanted to or not, Oba Trekking’s drawings are Chaplin-inspired. Both comedians prove that actions can also make others laugh and think. Instead of Chaplin’s legacy on cinema, Oba Trekking is gaining popularity online, using the fast-paced world of social media to introduce this style.
Cellphones and social media are simple to access, so producers may test different forms and designs, inspiring genre innovation.
Technology changes expectations. Creators are advised to employ brief, hilarious jokes on fast-paced digital platforms that seek immediate responses. For Chaplin–and the age he did comedy in–deliberately slowing down time is important.
In this age, Virtual reality and AI-driven content are revolutionizing silent comedy, making sure that current content styles combine historical features but with current trends.
My thoughts now
If your style is unique, trending never is an issue, just as it is for Oba Trekking. Compare Charlie Chaplin with Oba Trekking to see how prevalent wordless comedy is now.
Both performers employ physical tomfoolery to connect with their audiences, but at different times and in different ways. As Chaplin’s painstakingly constructed films and Oba Trekking’s legendary skits demonstrate, silent comedy (with a slightly, fast-pace video speed) is tasty enough to becoming content creators’ mainstay strategy in this day and age.
The world is continuously changing. Silent humor, thriving. Content about how we see the world, changing. Everyone can chuckle at a well-timed pratfall, humorous grin, or honest face, and you just might become a celebrity doing these things because the audience enjoy it. Who knows?
