The usual rube-baiting. Who were they pleasing, what were they addressing with films like these? The camera is completely static, of course, but the pretty complicated action going on within the frame is actually quite well blocked. The Edison films’ often have an undercurrent of crassness, even cruelty. That undercurrent is definitely pulling at the material here.
You don’t want to be a stuffed shirt. A little anarchy is a tremendous thing, and a measure of naughtiness can be most healthy. Jerkiness? Afraid not.