“Memes From A Future Reality”: 40 Funny And Confusing Pics From This Online Group

One of the moderators running r/surrealmemes, u/horrorkitten96, opened up to Bored Panda that they've always had an unusual sense of humor that was different from that of their friends'. "I’ve always loved memes that are unexpected, a bit random (without going overboard), and completely unique. I was very excited to find this subreddit and finally put a name to the type of memes that I love and that my friends don’t understand: surreal memes," they told us.

"This community showcases everything I love about surrealism and humor combined, and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it," the moderator said that humor is often found in the unexpected.

"When you think you’re going to see or read something normal and then suddenly it’s something completely unexpected, it can take you by surprise and leave you laughing. I also think surreal memes can sometimes give you a dreamlike experience. The meme can be weird, unexplainable, and maybe even not make sense (in a funny way), just like our dreams sometimes can."

Moderator u/horrorkitten96 highlighted the fact that the memes shared on the subreddit definitely have to be more than just random images. "Of course, there can be (and usually is) an element of randomness to these memes overall, but it can’t be the only thing going for them. Surreal memes need to be outside the realm of normal memes, but not quite inside the realm of anti-memes either," they explained.

They added that dreamlike memes are welcome on the sub, however, something like Artificial Intelligence-generated images are not.

Meanwhile, another moderator, redditor u/spacemanaut, also shared their thoughts. They said that the community builds upon the proud tradition of surrealism.

"Subverting established tropes through a distorted but revealing lens has a long history, from David Lynch with cinema through Salvador Dalí with painting and probably for as long as people have been making art, telling stories, and having dreams," they told Bored Panda.

"/r/surrealmemes is the natural extension of that into the internet age, along with other strains like /r/coaxedintoasnafu."

In the meantime, we were curious to get the moderator's thoughts on why surreal memes resonate with so many internet users. They said that people often find what's unexpected to be humorous.

According to the moderator, even if it might not sometimes seem like it, the memes shared on the sub do have context, "which is the 'real' memes they echo, with a twist."