Jon Brownlee and Adam Berk, both third-year humanities students at Carleton, started a Facebook page last year called “Mortals of Carleton” as a parody of the popular page “Humans of New York” (HoNY). Today, their page has almost 1000 likes and their popularity at Carleton is growing.
Berk got the idea after he saw there was a Humans of Carleton page, so he got together with Brownlee, who he had met in residence in first year, to create Mortals of Carleton.
“Every single post on HoNY is so momentous, everything so dramatic in every way. It’s kind of funny someone giving their most personal life story to someone they met a minute ago. I don’t know how that kind of interaction would even come about,” Berk said.
“It’s perfect grounds for comedy,” Brownlee agreed.
Mortals of Carleton consists of photos of Brownlee and Berk, alone, usually taken at or near Carleton. The captions are sporadic and ridiculous, made to poke fun at the dramatic nature of HoNY captions.
Berk and Brownlee were roommates last year, and would just “hang out for like half an hour writing random lines until we found something that stuck,” Berk said. “Sometimes we’re influenced by what we’re reading at the time.”
The process for writing the captions is always collaborative. “Adam usually comes up with something, a kernel of an idea, some kind of character, and then I will hone it into something concise,” Brownlee said.
“We basically just make each other laugh, and that’s how we judge what goes onto the page and what doesn’t,” Berk said.
“Our typical formula is the character of a guy being depressed about something bizarre. They’re usually always sad, pathetic characters,” Berk said.
They said they are surprised that other people find them funny. “Most of the time, people find Jon and I annoying because our sense of humour is strange,” Berk said.
But it looks like Carleton students appreciate their dry sense of humour. They’ve both been recognized at school, and occasionally get strange messages on their Facebook page. “There were some very profane things, and one girl said she wanted to marry us,” Brownlee said. One of their friends from Sock ’n’ Buskin even told them that if they wrote a play, Sock ’n’ Buskin would put it on.
One of their most popular posts was in January, when they poked fun at the CUSA elections with a fake candidacy bid. “Struggling with student debt? Well we’re going to get money, and it’s all for you! That’s right, cold hard cash!” their campaign promised. Another promise was the demolition of Dunton Tower.
They joked that they’re going to run again in 2017, promising to eliminate the bachelor of science, and turn Carleton into an arts university.
They said they’re going to keep the page going, probably until they graduate.
“It could continue I think until we die,” Berk said, “That would really fulfill the aim of the page. That’s what’s gonna define us to our ancestors.”
“Our dream is to become the big boys on campus,” Brownlee said.
