"Anyone who spends untold hours surfing the Web for humorous content will eventually find the work of one Vladimir Shmondenko, a prankster who goes by the name Anatoly. He's developed a faithful following, and, as far as I can tell, makes a comfortable living entirely from his TikTok and YouTube videos."
"When someone else's shortcoming is highlighted in a way that lowers their status, sympathetically affirming that we share similar vulnerabilities can lift their spirits. This 'lifting laughter' is common among friends and family, and even with strangers."
"Feigning ignorance or weakness, Anatoly seems incapable of lifting the same weights as others in his videos. Anatoly's victims often laugh at his pranks out of embarrassment, and we fans may laugh in sympathy."
Vladimir Shmondenko, known as Anatoly, is a successful TikTok and YouTube prankster who builds his content around contrasting his unassuming physical appearance with extraordinary strength. His pranks involve feigning weakness or ignorance while performing impressive feats of strength, catching victims off guard. The humor generated operates through the mutual vulnerability theory of laughter, which identifies four types based on how status and vulnerability are communicated. Anatoly's work demonstrates how laughter functions when shortcomings are highlighted, status is challenged, or expectations are subverted. His victims' embarrassed laughter reflects both their own vulnerability and the audience's sympathetic response to the prank's social dynamics.
Read at Psychology Today
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