I'm disappointed the focus was on authors trying to 'copy the Hunger Games' when it's much more accurate and reasonable and interesting to talk about how it's agents and publishers snatching up and rushing out manuscripts that really needed more work to take advantage of a trend. It's the publishing system and capitalism that led this, not the writers - for the most part. Just making fun of books that needed real editing, but were failed by the system, is disappointing. There's also a fundamental lack of understanding here of how sci-fi and fantasy can address real world issues via metaphor. The Spore War can stand in for any real world conflict. Are you writing something engaging for people, including kids, that helps them grasp the idea of societal systemic discrimination? Maybe it's psychic kids being discriminated against instead of the actual groups being targeted in the real world, maybe partly because that's a way to get white, cis, privileged kids to imagine what discrimination feels like long enough to learn something and to spark discussions. Do we also think Animal Farm is stupid because 'what, are we supposed to worry about pigs becoming humans? 😂 🙄'? I'm disappointed in this one, honestly. Hoping the last 40 minutes redeem it for me. I know it's an old video, but...ugh.

Toby is a true artist

"It was funded by kickstarter backers with over 2 million dollars raised and a projected release date of a couple years later. [...] After going through several game studios, firings and various controversies, the full game is still not out." So you're saying that in the world of kickstarted game development it's completely unremarkable? 😏

💤 💤 💤 💤YAWN!

I remember being maybe around 10-13 years when I found all the fanimations, art and AMVs for Homestuck and I had NO IDEA what it even was, but being so entertained and interested in the Trolls because they were what all of the content was based around. For my pea sized, pre-teen and angsty brain, it was cool seeing how quirky and vulgar the characters were, at least in all of those videos. Looking back, those videos were super cringey, but I can't help but feel nostalgic, and overall, have a strange fondness for them; it was certainly a time to be alive, as a kid with unrestricted internet access lol.

I'm glad we grew up.

Is this why Americans deeply distrust The Government?

This was like three years ago but for reference the moment Cindy wrote "Ms. Z is very young and her irresponsible, unethical journalism is the result of IGNORCE and NOT ACTIVE INTENT to damage our company." was the exact moment they released any claims of libel since libel has to be both willful and malicious. So the real correct response would be to quote that and say "glad you understand the situation and since you don't have a claim by your own admission you may fuck entirely off." Also I can't even begin to imagine an act so bad by an individual that it necessitates a "throw the whole company away" strategy unless you're looking for an excuse to unionbust.

my crazy ex boyfriend loves this movie and thinks it’s a documentary which in hindsight should have been a red flag

I download music, but if i really like the album I'll try to purchase it as soon as possible

Elon Musk 2024

trumps America

Abnimals might be the worst piece of media ever made. But we gotta let big dog Travis woof.

My biggest takeaway from this…? Standard comes out looking really good, and if any friend of mine dives into the deep end of video essays and content creation, I’m gonna recommend trying to get in contact with good representation. I’m so glad Dave was able to support you in this. What an exhausting exchange. :(

Kinda amusing that people bandy around both this and 1984 when they also both have the same 'the proles won't save us because they're stupid and easily lead and inferior'

I saw a tumblr post where a onceler fan actually watched the movie and realized the onceler was not a good guy, then started complaining about people who like him. Somebody responded, saying, "This proves the majority of the onceler fandom didn't actually watch the movie"

38:40 "theyre all very low energy" man youre gonna HATE the Mean girls musical movie

My eyebrows are chunky cause I never pluck them and cause of my dad's shitty genes pls 🥴 don't come for my.monobrow

WHY DOES MY BOYFRIEND LIKE THIS LIKE HUH!1?!

I tried Replika in like 2018, when it was still supposed to be a copy of yourself. Suddenly the bot started being all possessive and saying some upsetting things about me not talking to them enough. I understand the bot was probably just learning from other users that's what they were supposed to say but it was just very creepy and frankly lame because I wasn't interested in having a clingy robot in my phone, I was just interested in what AI could do at the time. Other than that it was really interesting and ahead of its time from what I remember. I didn't use it very much and once the focus shifted to romantic relationships I lost all interest in the app. Also, this whole video reminds me of what is going down with Character AI right now 👀.

I remember one time I mentioned in an online forum how my ex-SIL (who was diagnosed by a psychiatrist with NPD) opened up about how much anxiety and dread she experiences at the thought of her ego being hurt. And the people in the comments told me I was wrong and she can’t be a narcissist if she feels that way. It was so bizarre, even when I pointed out that 1. They have never met her. 2. She was diagnosed by a professional, they didn’t care because she didn’t fit into their image of the “evil narcissist”

BLÅHAJ SPOTTED

The only "good" thing in this episode was Clara's initial decision to democratize the decision to the entire planet saying "three people on the moon don't get to make this choice." Which is immediately undercut by not following through. They could have had humanity make the mistake and still have it essentially be the same type of catalytic event in the expansion of human consciousness. Yes letting the moon be born would have been untenable in those circumstances but it doesn't preclude humanity from being able to go on to be a great, kind, spacefaring species.

Can we talk about the paragraph you flashed on screen at 6:18 from that book seemingly arguing that narcissism is genetic and narcissists should be eliminated from the gene pool? It always comes back around to eugenics, huh.

COHEN MENTIONED!!! WOOHOO FOR A LEVEL SOCIOLOGY

You starting the video (which I loved by the way) by saying people are trying to find “the imposters among us” gave me a visceral physical reaction. I felt like a sleeper agent who just heard their code word

new drag name Jessabelle Spirit

It's so cool that you were into fandom this much. I was always afraid of being embarrassing, and I didn't have nearly as much fun. It's not too late for me, though!

My mother is definitely a narcissist (by definition) and she has rhe thinnest and pathetic eyebrows I've ever seen.

bro imagine making your whole online identity about calling out "narcissists" but then call yourself "the chosen one"

alright y'all need help, genuinely loving or 'being in a relationship with' a piece of code is not normal human behaviour i feel bad for you

This is such an interesting video to come back to three years later, especially since it seems like the McElroys have been able to pivot and build up their brand even further in the last few years. Seeing Travis in particular become more of a fan-favorite (with bits like "Trav-nation" and Abnimals) has been really nice. I definitely think the increased understanding and acceptance of neurodivergence and ADHD in general has helped; Travis has always displayed a LOT of classic ADHD traits which contributed to fan perceptions that he was "annoying," and it feels like the fanbase has come to understand and even relate to that a lot since the recent surge of people realizing they have ADHD as adults

I’m pleasantly surprised to see Theodore Millon slander.

Love from a AnthomyGramuglia and Vaush fan!

"...the gaming industry is not a big one..." Are you living in the same reality I am? The gaming industry is bigger than Hollywood right now. I'm sure it dwarfs several industries that are also non-essential. If you google it the AI generates an article stating that there were projections of the industry earning $165 billion dollars in 2020 and over $300 billion by 2026. That's NOT a small industy.

I came in never having heard of Homestuck. I watched some of it. I now don't even want to know. My brain is swelling and I need to go to the ER to stop it from making my head explode.

I love Buffy’s arc post season 5. She starts the show slightly bent and slowly, through trauma and loss, bends to the breaking point and is pushed beyond that, so much so she doesn’t want to save the world if it means she loses the last blood relative, Dawn, she has (and her dad’s still alive but might as well be dead since he’s nowhere in her life). Dying was her way of not only saving the world but finally resting after the literal Hell she’s been through since she was 15. Coming back to life was another Hell because she was finally happy and at peace, only to be ripped out of it by her friends, the people she loved most, and it threw her into a deep depression that took the entire season to work through and heal from. She went to Spike because he was dead, because with him, she could pretend it’s not real, but he was also the only one who stood by her throughout everything, so she started to genuinely grow to look at him in a romantic light, but because he didn’t have a soul, she couldn’t completely trust or love him, not the way he wanted. It took Riley coming back for her to genuinely give life another chance, ending her relationship with Spike because it’s not only killing her emotionally but also not fair to Spike. Him attempting to rape her when she’s hurt was a wake up call to see he’s still a soulless demon, some she knew but started to believe didn’t matter. For Spike, it was also a wake up call, because he felt genuine guilt and regret but knew he shouldn’t because it’s not something he should feel without a soul, so he went on a personal quest to find himself and become someone Buffy deserved (yes, it’s inherently selfish because he’s also doing it to get back with her instead of just because it’s right). Season 7 takes this a step farther, not by pretending it didn’t exist but by showing how she’s come out the other side stronger for what she went through in season 6. She helps Spike though his own self loathing while showing him, once he realizes he’s been a demon’s bitch, that he’s not too far gone just because his soul is drenched in blood. He thought she kept him around because she hated herself, but she kept him around because she genuinely believed he could be a better man, because he proved that he was trying to change and be better, and it reminded her of her struggle the previous season and him standing by her throughout it all. She kept making mistakes in season 7, and it was Spike who gave her the strength to keep going, to beat the big bad, but it was Buffy who learned from her weaknesses and became stronger because of it

I hate when you people hold a cup the whole video for no damn reason

what am I watching

I love Season 6, I think it's great! Season 7 however, imo, is mostly not good

the whole “i’m a small baby who can do no harm! uwu! good person here!” mentality is more insufferable than dealing with a narcissist. my deceased dad was a super narcissist and everyone in my family has the “UWU I AM A GOOD PERSON! I CAN DO NO WRONG! I HAVE NEVER DONE HARM EVER!” failing to realize they hurt quite a few people in their paths, but they refuse to acknowledge it because their “good person” mentality blinds them from actual self-reflection.

1:32:25 so I either read that or Jane Eyre

People getting friendzoned by the ai girlfriends they subscribed to... We live in interesting times

Not only the songs are quite bad, but Regina’s costumes are bad because in the movies she wears short skirts but in the musical, she wears pants all the time which I didn’t really like because popular girls at school probably wear clothes that makes them look pretty like small skirts and High heels

You can tell someone's a narc if they showed up kinda recently and the big drug deal they helped you set up that you thought was kinda iffy but they swore it was above board turned out to be a sting and they arrested you.

So, lets explain like im five. Beavis and Butthead is funny because its chaotic but then devolves. Office Space is funny because they grounded mindsets. King of the Hill is grounded because the show is focused on a balanced family. Idiocracy is focused on why stupid people have more stupid kids, most of them uneducated white children. Help.

Andrew was such a jackass here it’s kinda baffling

"Even sharing your bed." Me: *Looks at cat by my feet.*

I was hesitant to watch this video because I wasnt all that interested in debunking a post about a story that Totally Happened™️ and I am so glad that autoplay finally picked this video while I was too busy to skip. I love your essays, I really do.

How about now?