Nickelodeon Picks Up The Tiny Chef Show : Another Sign of the Pendulum Swinging Back to Center

As I drink my morning coffee, scrolling through TikTok, I see a new video from The Tiny Chef Show titled, AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They just got picked up by Nickelodeon and I was crying happy tears at 6 AM for this rag-tag team of animators that I’ve been following for months.

One can say that the meta story of Tiny Chef, who’s a character, pitching a cooking show to networks, is an example of brilliant storytelling and wit.

Aside from the fact that they use stop motion to tell a story — The Tiny Chef Show embeds so much heart and playfulness into each episode. And as a 36-year-old, I never realised how much I’ve missed silliness, thoughtful, and artfully-made forms of entertainment like this.

What Comes After Postmodernism?

The mainstreaming of NFTs like the Bored Ape Yacht Club in 2021, for me, was a necessary phenomenon that initiated this much-needed cultural shift.

I am neutral about the mass production of AI-assisted art. I believe it’s a fascinating experiment to see how much we can stretch the computing power of AI to create concepts that, to our standards, are subjective. One can also perceive NFTs as an inevitable result of humankind’s greed — although I’m more inclined to rationalize this as a self-correcting event to redistribute wealth to the 99%. The pendulum was over a 45-degree angle to the left when NFTs came into the picture. I think post-modernism peaked at this point.

The Tiny Chef Show is the pendulum at 80 degrees.

They said hypermodernism is the successor of the post-modernist movement. I can roughly define hypermodernism as the irrelevance of “the box” (in reference to being out-of-the-box).

Unlike modernism and postmodernism which debated about creating art that’s within or outside of the said box, hypermodernism ditches the whole container. By the given qualifiers of hypermodernism, one can say that it’s not indicative of the pendulum at the center.

Side note: Hypermodernism has bled into society at large given the hot debate on gender identity and other culture wars. This brings up the question, does this mean society will soon over-correct itself and swing far to the right? Things are looking that way from my lens, and that’s a scary thing. Anyway…

I can’t categorize The Tiny Chef Show as hypermodernist because it’s under the spectrum of traditional motion animation. This further reinforces my theory that we’re making our way (hopefully) back to the center.

Other supporting evidence to my theory:

• Mike Judge came back with Beavis & Butthead Do the Universe to show this generation (and remind my generation), that we need to get out of the idiocracy state.
• South Park remains uncancellable because it’s an animated show that makes fun of the hyperbolic versions of both sides— meaning, the middle is the balance.

Art Made by Hand

There’s a hunger for human-made art, I believe. Specifically, art that’s literally been touched by human hands.

Rick Beato even discussed it in one of his videos where he said that one of the reasons why music today sounds so boring is because it’s perfectly played by kits and software; unlike the unique, slightly off sound of an instrument being played by a musician.

I agree.

The human element of crafting, conceptualizing, and breathing life into different forms of art like illustrations, animation, and music is extremely lacking today because we’re so anxious about doing everything NOW and IN BULK.

It’s probably why content on platforms like Instagram has become so stale and repetitive too. The chase for virality has trumped authentic storytelling. There’s been very little value for letting an idea marinate. Self-editing and self-awareness are just in the backdrop.

It’s all gloss, minimal substance.

Cautious Hopefulness for The Tiny Chef Show

The Tiny Chef Show being picked up by a big network has some uneasiness in it because, Nick is, after all, the man.

We have to remember that what brought about the postmodernist movement is that artists needed to counter the ruling powers in the art world at that time.

But, in reality, and as the natural progression of power transfer goes, the postmodernism movement still found itself riddled with gatekeepers who determined which things were art or otherwise.

My cautious hopefulness comes from the current state of not having enough curators. While decentralization of wealth, information, and culture is a positive (for now), I believe having a Sorting Hat is needed to have some level of order while we work through this new free-for-all era.

Again, there’s a reason why balance is found at the center.

Good luck, The Tiny Chef Show!