Classism and Capitalism: The Allegories of Parkour Civilization

[@maniazack747]

"I swear I won't get all political" 3 drinks later:

[@ricefarmer-kr4yv]

not even a drink later edit: why do i feel like the reply on this comment bout to go all political

[@oashky]

One jump for beef later:

[@Wreniffer]

state capitalism (ie parkour civilisation, china, ussr, all the ‘communist’ countries is still somehow better than libertarian capitalist societies, so that says a lot doesn’t it

[@cumulus1869]

Well if a video aimed at children which has subtle anti capitalist undertones gets millions of views, I think that speaks volumes.

[@Wreniffer]

@ wdym?

[@jadedtester7462]

Parkour currency is meaningless and unstable, look at the inflation at the noob level! We need to get back on the emerald standard

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Make ParkCiv Great Again

[@HOI4notsoproplayer]

Earth standard better tbh

[@Mothxcat]

Get lost, noob.

[@joerionis5902]

​@@HOI4notsoproplayeryou mean dirt standard?

[@The_Copper_Element_Itself]

Prone to undervaluezation​@@HOI4notsoproplayer

[@hallakazam]

This man cooked, ate and left no crumbs.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@hallakazam Thank you!

[@Coolboi2009]

dude even did the dishes 🥶

[@Ukalnsk]

dude even ate the dishes

[@chocolatebar6785]

the invisible path on the pro course could represent how unknown the path to class ascension really is and that everyone who is middle class has to take the risk or die trying evbo fails but was lucky enough to have the economic support of the upper class(evbo’s master friend) and realised the path through trial and error the excessive waterbucket jumps, large skyscrapers and even the chain couch could also represent how the upperclass has to maintain a reputation by showing off their wealth(advanced parkour) this is clearer when evbo was confronted for using a wood plank instead of a water bucket to access his house

[@jacobc9221]

*Presses F3*

[@nullname0]

"all art is political" ahh video 💀💀💀

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@nullname0 Art can be anything you want if you think hard enough and jump through enough logical hoops

[@birdmann9529]

​@@GhostOfMessorem360°backwards logical hoop jump?

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@birdmann9529 EXACTLY see, you get it

[@CalvinNoire]

All art can be interpreted through politics. Not that all art must be political.

[@BlueTyphoon2017]

@@GhostOfMessoremidk, I wouldn’t say it’s jumping through logical hoops, more just that art can be interpreted in almost any way you want. Art is subjective after all. Also, while I do greatly enjoy the video, if this is supposed to be a parody, I do wonder if it was made to mock these certain types of videos or if it was more made in good fun? Because obviously satire can be interpreted as mockery because you actually genuinely don’t like X thing, or it’s being made to mock X thing not out of actual genuine dislike or hatred, but more a fun jab. For example, a lot of people who make fun of X thing usually are also fans and genuinely enjoy X thing. I thought I’d ask because idk if this video was probably just made in good fun, and I’m overthinking, or if this was made out of actual dislike of that thing. So, I thought I’d just ask, sorry for the long comment.😅

[@darkpandalord3844]

"From each according to his parkour skills, to each according to his jumps" - Marl Karx

[@Ukalnsk]

I like the point where you mentioned that state-ownership does not necessarily mean socialism or communism.

[@echidnanatsuki882]

Evbo probably had an Openheimer Moment after seeing people interpret his Parkour Civilization as some aligory for Classism instead of just another cool and enjoyable Minecraft Series

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

I'm pretty sure he saw it as such to some extent.

[@David280GG]

you cant convince me evbo didnt get inspired by classism or at least thought about how its resembled

[@hasanmuttaqin464]

​@@David280GGit's clearly inspired by 1984 by the looks of the season 1 ending

[@charlesm6819]

"My le series is le peak fiction?" "Your le series is le peak fiction." (a reference to that one Oppenheimer meme)

[@shua_the_great]

We write our biases into our creative works.

[@SorensLuv]

HOLD UP HIS WRITING... IS THIS FIRE?? ⁉️⁉️

[@TheletterR.]

the book was written in parkour

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@TheletterR. I need to rewrite this video essay in parkour

[@FilipinoNoob69420]

"Parkour civilization is about capitilism" *Aggressively does a 3 block jump, double neo, hit the griddy, does a 120 2 block jump then does a 2 block fence jump*

[@realah3001]

Up next why stampys lovely world is an allegory for facism in modern America

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@realah3001 Thanks for the video idea

[@karsgaming69]

facism hasn’t been a thing since falangist spain become a democracy

[@jackalenterprisesofohio]

So that means it techincally is "The People's Republic of Stampy's Lovely World" (i.e. North Korea) since "helpers" "disappear" (i.e. escape, "die" etc.) Which would mean what's his name the "bad guy" would be South Korea, or America......

[@BlueTyphoon2017]

Honestly? Since all art is or at least can be interpreted as political, That genuinely sounds like an interesting idea.

[@Rct3master44]

Least insane video essay be likke:

[@bodvalleylordk]

the craziest part is that this isn't even a clickbait

[@stockimagepopcornkernel]

Another detail is that ice blocks and chain blocks being very valuable is a metaphor to "ice" and "chain" as jewelry. Being blocks that parkour masters use to show off their wealth and skill.

[@Wilker_uwu]

the subtext being this, among other reasons like the protagonist willingly complying with the expectations of the classes like taking a worse commute to the entrance of the house in the Master level, were a reason why i was expecting a completely different story for Season 2. the protagonist was still someone believing that the idea of the meritocracy in Civilization was fair, and while the changes that were made _did_ ease the punishment for failing by removing the prison, the chances of starting out with resources have been abolished, food is still gated behind food requirements, the Noob Temple still contains the final 3-block jump (with footage showing sprint particles), and nothing was mentioned about the food upkeep, nor were there any implied changes to the food upkeep. the blocks are still gated to the Master level along with the more powerful food, and the Champion still gets to be fed indefinitely and the Civilization still restricts into having 1 Champion. so with the first scene establishing that Evbo now have the requirement to actively defend the title, i was more or less expecting the second story building on top of that to challenge the views on conformity after living through so many of these obstacles. there's so much to build on top of the first film's end and the introduction of the second.

[@pottedplantplays]

this was very well written, I just wish it was longer LOL, cant wait to see more from this channel!

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@pottedplantplays Thank you!

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Is parkour is money then are parkour battles just going band for band

[@blackberry_x8308]

Naw it’s gambling. Like Evbo said when you parkour you risk everything.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@blackberry_x8308 Idk because when you gamble you typically get paid back somehow. I don’t think your opponent dying is you getting paid back

[@gbam1312]

@@GhostOfMessoremhere’s the thing, gambling is awesome. parkour battles are also awesome. therefore parkour battles are gambling. please ignore my fucked up logic that probably has a fallacy named after it

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@gbam1312 Can’t argue with your logic there

[@viniciusgoulart5077]

​@@gbam1312no no you did good

[@EthanChua-v3p]

The Lego movie in question:

[@mrepicairfryerenthusiast4982]

I think the video should have gone more in depth about how the prison industrial system exploits the labor of people in prison. The section felt short, and giving example such as how in the real world, prisoners are forced to make licence plate and farm to lower their sentence. Overall, i would have loved a longer section about the prison, but i understand how it was the end of you script and you just wanted to be done with the video

[@True-Neo-Chaos]

No wonder I liked parkour civilization so much. These ideologies are just fun to watch because I know it's gonna be long and hard to actually do that in real life

[@David280GG]

youtube needs to chillax with those automatic links

[@valentinfeusi63]

This is lowkey one of the best videos on this app

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@valentinfeusi63 Thank you so much!

[@the_pinkerton]

As a Marxist, parkour civilisation isn't communist, socialist or Marxist, rather it's a critique of feudal society

[@GhostOfMessorem]

I mostly agree (it's definitely not communist, socialist, or marxist at all), although I don't think it's a critique of feudalism specifically. A lot of the social order seems feudalist but all the critique is just about why class-based societies in general are bad.

[@nithingr4359]

Pre P.S. I've been trying (and failing) to kick caffeine, so this little haha-funny-joke got a bit out of hand. Apologies. Hello fellow Marxist; defiantly not communist - agreed. However, I think if you examine parkour as a means of exchange as an analogy within the labour theory of value, particularly of labour in the production of extraneous commodities; then parkour civilisation as a whole fits a model of neo-feudalism or late-stage Imperialism (i.e. the currently emergent stage of capitalism). Take a corporation like Walmart or Amazon. These private entities (as first fully articulated by Lenin) have long exceeded the bounds of national political control, and are only currently challenged by imperialist hegemons like the US and the EU. But, over the last decade or so we have seen this consolidation of political power reach a plateau, without the political mean to enforce countervailing tendency to continue to increase the rate of profit (real-terms minimum wage decreases, real-terms corporate tax decrease, super exploitation of the imperial periphery, etc.). The drivers of profit growth now pushed to the point of social instability, these largest of monopoly corporations are turning inwards, exhibiting ever greater control; and ever greater integration of both their consumer base, and their workforce. If we then extrapolate this trend to a mature presentation, we might find something analogizable by parkour civilisation. A society of full enclosure, where a corporation (or a consortium of corporations) operate a command economy, cementing political power by extraordinary violence at the point of an unmoving rate of profit, a capitalism on life support maintained only by brutal hierarchy. The totality of the working class atomised into a lumpen-proletariat and a predatory labour aristocracy, the lumpen-proletariat treated as assumed criminal underclass functionally unable to control any means of production (placing and breaking blocks), above them a entrenched aristocracy of labour. This intrenched labour class are still dominated by the same structures, but are flushed with extraneous commodities (consider that all of the houses are identical, but cost different amounts; the value is not in material cost, only perception). They have the logistical capability to cease the means of production (they make the food, they do the productive work, they reproduce society), but placated by extraneous commodities and the illusion of commonality with the ruling classes the very notion of revolt becomes an ideological lacuna (an unthought or unthinkable thing, a glaring omission that cannot be addressed without questioning the entire foundations of ones worldview). And now we come to what I believe is a more fitting analogy for blocks. Capital. As proletariat, lumpen or otherwise - we are can easily conceptualise wealth, we understand money. The rich kid at school, maybe one of their parents was a doctor or a lawyer. Maybe they ran a small business. They had money, they could afford nice things and go on nice holidays. What we struggle to fully understand is Capital. We struggle to understand it because the vast majority of us will never control it. Take a family home. In of itself it is worth money, but it is not capital. You might rent it, it might be mortgaged, you might even own it outright (which depending on national conditions might not even be true ownership - if you are unfamiliar try looking up leasehold). You might even own (or have mortgaged) two family homes. One of these home could become capital if you rented it out - it is now extracting value from your tenants. But do you control this capital? Not really - you can't shape the nature of your relationship with your tenants, you cant realistically build or buy a third home on the profits from your second. If you wish to expand, to become a capitalist, you are reliant on things like buy-to-let mortgages; you predate on your tenants, the bank predates on you. Here at the entrenched levels of the proletariat (and at the most precarious levels of the bourgeoise) we find the petty-bourgeoise. Again unable to realise the gapping obviousness of their commonality with the rest of the proletariat, yet ever further squeezed by the true bourgeoise. Under these conditions we see the projection of these stresses onto the ephemerous other, the dangerous underclass, the welfare-queen, the foreigner. Now these whole time I've been speaking of extraneous commodities, what commodities are truly extraneous, seemingly only for status or entertainment. The true analogy for parkour is Data, or more specifically digital content. Largely separated from the cycle of material production, and yet both a driver of contradiction (still reliant on hardware and workhours that are in turn reliant on the rest of material production) and a driver of the rate of profit (form the perspective of the true bourgeoise, the main driver of content as a means of profit is in the creation of algorithmic production this functions as both an alternative to labour production and as a downward pressure on the commodity value of that labour production. An AI may never produce work as valuable as that of a human worker, but it can produce something serviceable; this serviceable alternative can then either outright replace your work, or be hung above you as a sword of Damocles. You want better conditions? You threaten a strike? Crying shame, well it's not as good but we can use AI.). But now comes the fall. Based on this analysis, parkour civilisation though not a critique of communism, is not an exponent of it either. Parkour civilisation is an idealistic telling of a bourgeoise revolt against the upper echelons of a neo-feudal monopoly, whereby the sole action (aided by various Deus Ex Machina) of one meritorious and hardworking individual works to return the dangerous excesses of this logical end state of capitalism to an imagined ideal form. And as it pervades all American cultural production, it is full of the logic of Calvinism. Not only do we see the enforcement of the protestant work ethic, the moral superiority of the higher echelons, but most fundamental of all - predeterminism. Does it come at this from earnest ideological action? I doubt it, instead it (I would suggest) is best understood as a composite of multiple cultural artefacts. Most notably the Matrix, Hunger Games, and Squid Games. Each contains its specific critique of capitalism. And each of these critiques can be found shadowed in the works of comrades of the past, most particularly those of Marx, Engles, and Lenin. Even in terms of ideological understanding we are best served by collective action. So, remember comrade, to cease the means of production takes mass (collective) action, and may even require self proletarianization. There is no heroic alternative. Only once we have truly taken the means of production can we rebuild a society separate from the illusion of capitalist ideology. Do not become trapped in the notion that the parkour is currency; it is labour that creates the only structurally meaningful value in society. Labour produces the food, rears the child, makes the house, and furnishes the home. All else is extraction and alienation. No more do you paint, discus or experiment for yourself or your community. You are instead required by coercive means to produce for profit. Your motivation is unchanged, but the underlying logic wins out.

[@realah3001]

Read a book XD

[@the_pinkerton]

@@realah3001 I read Marxist books

[@the_pinkerton]

@@SkibidiToiletlsInherentlyAryan I'm Polish, not Jewish actually

[@norude]

Parkour civilization is just a critique of hierarchy

[@ronantheronin3521]

Hierarchy is inevitable. There will always be someone better than you.

[@Uwhwvwgwh]

​​@@ronantheronin3521sure but that's not the meaning hear you can't be better then any one if you where lucky to be born with a golden spoon

[@norude]

@@ronantheronin3521 Wow, You just found about Politics. Literally the most useful definition, straight from Wikipedia: Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy as a whole Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable Capitalism is a lesser hierarchy than feudalism, democracy is a lesser hierarchy than monarchy. It seemed natural that monarchs had a divine power, and feudalism seemed inevitable. Every hierarchy should be critiqued and changed in the best interest of humans. For example the Olympics create a cool hierarchy, but the races in America create a form of a bad hierarchy

[@ryanvenjoyer]

It's a critique of unfair hierarchies. Meritocracy is a fair hierarchy, as long as you can maintain it.

[@norude]

@ryanvenjoyer We have so few meritocracies and the most important hierarchy of wealth is so far from being meritocratic, so that every other hierarchy is influenced by it and isn't as fair as it could be

[@friesneverdies]

the editing is actually good

[@floatingblaze8405]

This is glorious, and scratches some of the itches I didn't even know I had, even if most of it doesn't make any sense. I need moar!

[@SomePerson-oz2xt]

marxist nerd here capitalism isn't just when a few individuals own the means of production (though that is a consequence of capitalism) the primary characteristic of capitalism that emerged before all the others is the commodity form. When i say before all the others i mean that the commodity form emerged during like the 13th century or possibly even earlier. Well before capitalism became a dominant system. A good has a "commodity form" when it can be described as having two values: an exchange value and a use value. The exchange value is it's value in relationship to other commodities in the context of exchange, and it's use value is the reason people would want to purchase it. These are contradictory, as you will either sell something or use it. You can't do both at once. The immediate consequence of this is the circulation of commodities, as people produce commodities to sell them and get other commodities. Under feudalism, this wasn't the predominant mode of production. Goods weren't produced to be sold and exchanged. Production was primarily based on the countryside, since industry had not yet developed, so most produced goods were food or other things that basically everyone needs like furniture or bed sheets etc. So, the serfs, who were the working class of feudalism, were allowed by the feudals to own a small amount of land and cultivate it. They recieved a portion of the food and the rest went to the feudals to use for themselves and exchange for other things to an extent. But it wasn't produced solely to be sold, so the commodity form didn't appear as predominant. When automation kicked in, this started to change, and a new social class emerged, the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie emerged from merchants when further automation allowed producing goods solely for their sale possible. As their economic power grew, so did their political power within the feudal government. But the feudal government existed to serve the feudals, not the bourgeoisie. So, when things hit the fan, it came down to a revolution of the bourgeoisie, a capitalist revolution. Such is the character of the french and american revolutions along with the napoleon's wars. Then capitalism became the dominant mode of production, and everything took the commodity form, including labor power. The private ownership and accumulation of the means of production into smaller and smaller hands is simply a consequence of the commodity form, since it allows for the purchase of labor power and heavily automated means of production, and allows you to extend your production further and further by reinvesting profits. Thus outcompeting any and all artisans.

[@benluk02]

The overall argument that Parkour Civilization isn't only a critique on clear cut social classes with no actual social mobility and instead about capitalism vs. socialism feels like a reach. There are just too many different elements of Parkour Civilization, that simply don't fit this narative 1. Let's first stop this idea of being an allegory for money. Parkour might be the de facto currency, but it simply doesn't behave like money and it also doesn't allow for the common marxist critique on capital. Nobody can save up Parkour, no matter their class. You may argue about how the aristocrat class can invest parkour in blocks and how those blocks can be benefitial to getting more more food, but blocks themselves don't make you better at parkour. At the end of the day it still all comes down to your parkour skills. 2. It would make much more sense, if parkour was an allegory for work and blocks were an allegory for physical wealth, because parkour behaves like work and blocks behave like physical wealth. Taking those interpretations in Parkour Civilization the lowest class has to do the easiest parkour i.e. the easiest work, while members of the bourgeoisie have to do much harder parkour i.e. the hardest work. This is literally the reverse of the marxist view on capitalist society. 3. Everything is controlled by the state and there is no such thing as competition. All work is given through centralized institutions. The economy is clearly structured like a command economy. 4. The hero of Parkour Civilization after becoming a champion introduces social mobility and makes quality of lifes improvements, but he still keeps Parkour as the main driving force of society and he also doesn't abolish social classes. This really doesn't fit communism or egalitarianism, but rather the ideological ideals of classical liberalism. The argument could be made, that the hero of Parkour Civilization is a product of the american dream, because through hard work he get's to the top, where he creates an ideal society following the spirit of the american dream, where everyone through hard work can work themselves up to the top of the social ladder, "just like the founding fathers intended". 5. BONUS: If there was an intention to make Parkour Civilization as an allegory to capitalism from an marxist pov, there would have been some obvious consoooom critique included, but consumerism isn't discussed or critiqued anywhere in Parkour Civilization.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@benluk02 Great arguments all around, but for your second point, I don’t think parkour fits as work and blocks as wealth. Because blocks are necessary for doing parkour. Do you have to spend money to do labor? Typically it’d be the other way around. People don’t do parkour to achieve blocks, they achieve blocks to do parkour. People don’t spend money to do work, they do work to gain and then spend money. I also do agree that my allegorical comparison does not work on multiple levels (such as not being able to save parkour, if it is money) as a natural consequence of the fact that the Parkour Civilization video was likely not intended to be a complex allegory.

[@cactusguy4363]

@@GhostOfMessorem I mean, you could argue that you do spend money to do labor. In order to get to work, you either need a car or some access to public transport, requiring either gas, loans, and maintenance or fares for cabs, ubers, busses, etc. In order to work, you need to maintain yourself via food and some amount of rest. Of course food requires money and rest comes from a proper home. Bedding, perhaps even any sleep aids or temperature regulation must be paid for. I feel it is, in fact, arguable that you do have to pay to work.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@cactusguy4363 Well yes but the point, the value, of money is not to do work. The point and value of doing work is to get money.

[@ppleberrynd]

Minor note: Money is not strictly capital under marxist theory.

[@RFBG-u8b]

Glad someone else noticed this like i did.

[@o7_violet]

Why is this so good 😭

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@o7_violet Thank you so much!

[@power2ix605]

6:13 far oversimplified to the point of being false. 7:15 or, more accurately, the private sector is controlled by one single monopoly: the top of the hierarchy.

[@AmphibiansAreCool]

Youre right. something like Company towns come to mind.

[@muha0644]

We got Marxist analysis of parkour civilization before GTA VI 😭

[@HELLO_KORO]

Greater Toronto Area 6?

[@Sparkhead-77]

This is PEAK journalism‼️

[@jadedtester7462]

Ok random yap, but I think the society of parkour civilization is a rare case of anarcho-monarchism(THIS USELESS PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE MIGHT BE USED). The parkour champion, is a figure head who's sole purpose is to mantain the anarchy of the civilization. The anarchy part is less certain, only some elements fit, but its more obvious in the upper levels of parkour civilization where theres less obligation to work and you can go around societal rules just by being good at parkour. Cause like the parkour champion really doesn't interfere that much in the first movie, the only knowledge of them for like the first hour is the enemies sent to stop EVBO(the monarchy attempting to stop the rise of a potential challenger and regime). This shifts when EVBO becomes the parkour champion and becomes a more traditional monarch, actually getting involved and implementing policies. I mean the parkour champion is somewhere stated to be viewed as a myth by the pros and even masters at times. This does kind of fall apart when you think about the 2nd movie and the end of the 1st, but at this point I've made this too long to quit and not comment it. Great work, it was super fun, especially blocks being the means of production.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Calling it anarchy is laughable. A system where the ruling classes enforce strict control and oppression upon the lower classes is not anarchy. It also wouldn't be a monarchy since there are no heirs or lines of ascendency. It's just a dictatorship. I used a king as a comparison, but monarchies necessarily have a royal family and such.

[@blackberry_x8308]

@@jadedtester7462 I would also like to note that in your analysis you say that people can get around working by doing parkour to get around it. However if parkour is like money in this society then technically the work that people are given are important government jobs which you are taxed on if you don’t complete by doing parkour. In this case you are taxed via parkour battle which has the potential to run you into kill you and move you down a level.

[@ignasignas9469]

@@GhostOfMessorem A monarhy is just when one man/woman rules and dictatorship is when a democratic leader assumes or is given absolute power for whatever the reason may be.

[@RepublicOfDixionconderoga]

​@GhostOfMessorem An absolute monarchy simply requires a leader with absolute power. An anarcho-monarchist system, according to the comment at least, requires the monarchy to not exert itself mostly.

[@beleata74]

Okay I seriously disagree with the general discourse in regards to parkour civilization. Here is a fun killing rant on the topic. First off I would say that the series is way more closely modeled to your typical heroes journey kind of plotline with extremely heavy influence from modern dystopian storylines such as the Hunger Games. Any sort of societal critique does not seem to be intentional, but was created as result of osmosis and the attempt to emulate that kind of story, which has a flabby, but mostly intentional critique of classism and more broadly capitalism. The actual way the economy is structured is way closer to feudalism than capitalism, but even then its not actually perfectly accurate as poverty is entirely artificial, because parkour civilization exists in a post resource scarcity world where society can function with only minimum amounts of actual human labor. The lowest levels of parkour civilization are not really comparable to subsistence farmers or serfs, because they do not actually produce anything. Parkour its an entirely arbitrary thing that could generously be accepted as "art" or "performance" which whilst valuable and labor is not actually a commodity, nor can it be a currency, because in practice it would mean that everyone is essentially a merit based walking money printer. The upper levels do not really matter all that much, but whilst on the topic of the different castes the actual role of the parkour champion/god throws a wrench into any sort of analysis one might try to conduct, because most of philosophy god does not exist or that if he does he does not actively interfere in the world to a large degree. The moment we accept that an active theistic figure exists any sort of morality originates from them definitively and basically most questions become entirely redundant. Anyway all of this is not really all that important in the face of how the actual narrative doesn't even critically examine the premise. The narrative is a simple heroes journey storyline which whilst exist in a sort of classist setting, does not seek to uproot the de facto status quo, but to reform it so its less bad instead of actually dismantling the caste system. In its decision to stick to the heroes journey it employs many cliches which if anything reinforce how unaware the creators were of the premise they've created such as the protagonist being abnormally gifted compared to your average layman, the current champion being shown as corrupt and the actual system not being portrayed as inherently critique feudalism itself, but more so the idea of nepotistic feudalism as opposed to the idea of meritocratic feudalism or more broadly it just advocates for the idea of meritocracy. I find all of this sort of disappointing, because the actual premise is really cool and has potential to be critique of capitalism set in minecraft, but it totally flops at being that from a narrative perspective.

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

Bro the teacher only told us to write a 300 word essay not a 30000 word essay

[@ianyoder2537]

I didn't mind the propaganda, it's easy to see thrugh and ignore. What annoys me is the second parkour civiliation doesn't have the same strong narrative and message behind it. I'm still working on PVP civilization, but the main character is so much more annoying and the story feels too derivative. He only has one story to tell and only one way to tell it.

[@Kofhiliphus]

Parkour civilization, a society where meritocracy reigns, and the coolness of parkour deems the rule.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

That’s what they want you to think…

[@Fire_Axus]

i was subconsciously waiting for this video

[@sandy2-nr4tu]

As a communist i can confirm i made parkour civilization

[@sandy2-nr4tu]

also i would love to talk about marxist theory as a marxist-Lenninist

[@DigitalAbrums]

You are scum

[@Kaanu-vm7vc]

@@sandy2-nr4tu Relatable

[@Mr.scooter-le8yo]

​@@DigitalAbrums wow, you must be fun at parties

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Thank you for your contribution comrade

[@relo999]

This is peak satire of the average youtube essayist

[@TheRodentsNest]

Hold on, this shit is fire?

[@catgod3061]

HOLD UP, HIS WRITING IS THIS FIRE🙌

[@kamek200]

Another element that adds to the validity of a Marxist reading is that in Marxist theory societies are defined, in their organisation, by their modes of production. In Parkour Civilization, where the production of value is defined by parkour, society from the ground level reflects this in turn. I think this is where we can understand why it diverges from a recognisably capitalist structure, it isn't capitalist (though it shares flaws with it, and for the sake of analogy can be used to represent it), as you mentioned there are no free markets to define the society by, it is a unique economic and societal structure created by the focus on parkour as currency. As you mentioned in another comment thread it's a criticism of rigid class based societies as a whole.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@kamek200 Great comment! You worded a lot of things here better than I did in the video essay tbh lol

[@Ukalnsk]

I have a little issue with your pyramid chart. If I remember right, arent it the pros who are responsible for the production of most goods? The Noobs seem to have no purpose at all, except beeing bullied.

[@AmphibiansAreCool]

“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.” ― Lyndon B. Johnson The Noobs are quite litterally below the pros. The same way that the lower class in America is currently looking down on minority groups and homeless individuals

[@Ukalnsk]

@@AmphibiansAreCool Yeah, I didnt say that. Oh wait, just noticed I forgot about homeless individuals. Ok, that makes sense now. Thank u for the elaboration.

[@buolindo8795]

I think the system of parkour civilization is more like feudalism than capitalism

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@buolindo8795 Though I agree that the social structure resembles feudalism, the economic system doesn’t seem to-feudalism involves the distribution of lands and protection by some higher ranked person to lower ranked people, and Parkour Civilization doesn’t seem to have any land ownership or military protection per se. Rather, parkour (money) is used to purchase property like housing, instead of such housing being earned in exchange for constant labor

[@milesmcallister8542]

​@@GhostOfMessorem Feudal capitalism

[@ripfrickingben]

im subbed for the next upload my guy

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@ripfrickingben That means a lot! Thank you!

[@abarette_]

bruh I thought the video would be like 80 minutes long when I clicked it 💀

[@sos9red]

i believe the story is about being dealt a bad hand in life, being cheated, but still coming out on top in the end through hard work. if anything it's about human kindness, of the guys who saw potential in him and helped him through the impossible parts. class division is human nature, it's everywhere, stories about fictional societies without it would be weird, and just because it exists here doesn't mean it's an allegory to our own comically corrupt system, just theirs.

[@power2ix605]

MaxMunich when someone tells him they like LEGO.

[@katjamm]

I really don't get how people can watch this series and come away from it thinking "nah its not political at all, wdym"

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@katjamm A man born onto the lowest tier of society overthrows his class-based authoritarian government, but no, it’s not political at all bc it’s Minecraft

[@narutoxley]

I mean, a chinese person can say the same but with communism, all you describe as "capitalism" is just human competition and humans doing what they can to keeo ahold of what they value. You're just describing human nature from an capitalism centered lense. Now, this is not critism of the arguments themselves, it's just that you stop at "capitalism" and refuse to look deeper to the reason this things happend in this parkur video.

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

No say how it can be taken as communism in china also saying capitalism is human nature is laughable

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

Competition is not human nature human nature is working together that's what got us so far that and other factors too humans work together like ants or bees or in tribes like a lion pride competition is only a part of evolution when looking between different species but when look at members of a single species we will find that working together is more common than fighting alone

[@narutoxley]

@@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft Dude, competition is life itself. The strongers members of one species are the ones that get resources and procreate. Competition is in our dna. The fact you responded to my comment is a first hand experience of you compeating with my ideas. Comunism punishes the succesfull, Capitalism rewards the succesfull, it's that simple. Capitalism is the life blood of the world, it was created to get us to this point and has became the standard. The problem is not Capitalism, it's crony polititians pushing down the fairness scale towards big companies.

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

@narutoxley no wtf capitalism does not reward being the best 😂it rewards being the richest in capitalism money makes money so if you started rich you get to be rich capitalism rewards privilege before it rewards merit In socialism you get how much you work for if you make 200$ in socialism you get the 200$ In capitalism if you make 200$ you get only 50$ and the other 150 go to the individual who owns the means of production And in communism if you make 100$ and someone else makes 50$ you both get 75$ Socialism is the one which values hardwork

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

@narutoxley you didn't read what I said did you the members work together it's different species who compete with eachother competition is not life itself Another thing I'd like to mention capitalism only rewards greed not being a good human being

[@Blockxolotl]

the last video i was expecting to come across in my recommendation feed was one talking about how a minecraft series was communist propaganda

[@GhostOfMessorem]

The last video idea I expected to be imbedded in my brain against my will, tbh

[@spy_for_you14.-inquisition]

You should watch stoneworks. Communist works there

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

Who knew Parkour Civilization is this deep lol.

[@PtichkaPiromant]

Peak content right here.

[@blueguns15000]

This guy is the English Teacher of Evbo

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@blueguns15000 High praise

[@Edgar-rd2jv]

this is insane

[@SupremeGarlicBread]

ONE PIECE MENTIONED!!!!!

[@wownice1771]

Parkour Civilization merely analogizes the external appearance of hierarchy of class societies. But anything from the means to which the exploiting class (of a particular social organization which is based on classes) steals from the workers (whether it be the slaves, the serfs, to the modern wage-labourers/proletariat), to the relations of the exploiting class and the working classes to the tools and machinery with which to produce the goods needed by society, is not analogized at all! It also speaks of transferring over to the ruling class and reforming society based on the oppression of the majority to the few out of society based on the oppression of the majority to the few, and into a new society. It must be said that this is impossible, the ruling class is vested on the continuation of exploitation of the majority by the few. Any attempt therefore to put this into a practice will always be met with violent resistance from the ruling class themselves, there has never in history been an exception to this. The most recent and most characteristic of this is the Chilean counter-revolution of 1973 that deposed the Communists who have continually in words and deeds advocated for a peaceful transformation to Socialism. What followed after was the mass killing, mass shooting, mass torture of all peoples who even advocated for a better life in Chile.

[@NickAndriadze]

Heck yeah! It's the best communist propaganda film since the Lego Movie! Genuinely though, very interesting analysis. While I really don't consider this silly Minecraft project to be ANYTHING close to ''peak fiction,'' and I decided against fully watching it because of how repetitive and dull it can get at times, but the socio-economic commentary is definitely very interesting. I agree, it shares both the elements of a radicalized feudal society and a radicalized planned economy society (Something akin to North Korea and very unlike milder forms of Communism, such as the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia).

[@Catmeowfs]

Yes

[@EmileAnimation]

Well I have a quastion for you, what does the 360 jump means in this movie? The main character is the only one to do it

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

Ip intelectual property

[@56jasa]

MEDS. NOW.

[@ImdaRatManbaby]

I was going to watch this video but I noticed it wasn't 8 hours long :/

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@ImdaRatManbaby Mb I’ll make my next one 60x longer

[@secondarycolors2947]

tho you got a new fan of me

[@Inolikestatusquo]

This boi deserves more subscribers

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Thank you! I am quite grateful for the massive influx of subscribers I've had just from this video so far!

[@kv4648]

I'd say the whole structure is closer to nzis or something on the Auth right side of the political graph

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Well it's certainly auth right, there's no debating that. But in no way is it fascist or Nazist. There is no sense of national identity at all.

[@jackalenterprisesofohio]

@@GhostOfMessorem what about whats it called Relgius Fasicmsnismism, like the Vatacin, but instead of Catholickismitism its Park Coreismistism. I mean there are park cores all over Minecraft, just like how there are Catholic churches all over the world and as such all "report" back to the Vatacin....?

[@flamingspinach]

bro misspelled "propaganda" in the video thumbnail lmao

[@Edgar-rd2jv]

i was exited until i saw the disclaimer that says this is a joke,

[@GhostOfMessorem]

It's a joke but I treated it way too seriously. You should enjoy it nonetheless

[@saltysalt844]

7:30 what the hell are you saying here? The bgm is loud and there's no subtitle not even the autogenerated ine by youtube because it's dissbled for some reason

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

But is there even more to it than that

[@Automobile7777]

Why tf are people gooning all over this stupid staged Minecraft video

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@Automobile7777 “Staged” is a crazy way to refer to fiction That’s like if I called a fictional movie “staged” It’s… it’s scripted

[@WildLukah]

It's just a movie dawg 😭🙏

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@WildLukah Movies are art. Art can be analyzed and interpreted.

[@Grayson-tk5hn]

im still not even sure what a parkour civilization is

[@Serizon_]

I actually walked Parkour civilization (ok watched it 75 percent) and this video is so good , the editing is insanely good. Other than the fact that this video is little political youtube might've hindered its growth but I do believe we need political unbiased videos as well . I think you made me really enjoy your video while at the same time , i think I learned something. Please keep on making these videos , you just earned a subscriber, I would like to be your friend , do you have a email / matrix i can contact you?

[@joerionis5902]

Peak fiction according to MAL is Frieren. And they're right. It's unrelated to the video though lol

[@nicoyosh8159]

I hate to tell you this but... I-I think you've spent too much time on the internet

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@nicoyosh8159 What gave it away?

[@C.RJ.L]

In relation to your comments about communism, perhaps these masters and gods are considered the bourgeoisie in this universe by the proletariat, I predict an uprising or revolution is the most likely event in the future.

[@AmphibiansAreCool]

That probably isnt possible if people dont sacrifice themselves to jump for the beef

[@GhostOfMessorem]

That's what I thought Evbo taking over would be! Some kind of class revolution for the second movie. But... he sorta maintained the same system. Maybe there's commentary there!

[@9r9r66]

I faled from pro level!! The noobs are so stinky down here, I hope Evbo can save me

[@SupremeGarlicBread]

delete this

[@DevDogra-w9p]

I think its an extreme Autarky

[@kristapskrumins5676]

What no Minecraft 2 does to a community. ... Wait

[@doonguss]

Can I please have the script for this?

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Yeah sure why not Just don't share it without crediting please :) [Disclaimer: I am not an expert on any of the real-world subjects discussed in this video. I pretty much made this as a joke, don’t take it too seriously.] Define “peak fiction”-the best fictional story there is. One Piece? No. Dune? I do love Dune, but… not quite. Jujutsu Kaisen? Definitely not. What’s really, truly peak fiction is, of course, Minecraft Parkour Civilization. Because it’s not just a basic Minecraft civilization video. Not only is it a story of failure, perseverance, and triumph, but what makes it truly great is that it’s seemingly filled with allegories to real-world class divides and economic systems. So, to what extent is Parkour Civilization an allegory for real-life classism and capitalistic social hierarchy and class mobility? In this video essay, I’m going to break down the deep allegory and symbolism within Evbo’s Parkour Civilization (where no one jumps for the beef) and by the end, you’ll want to overthrow the upper class. Firstly, it seems clear that the levels of Parkour Civilization are representative of different classes in a socioeconomic hierarchy. The noob level seems to be some kind of untouchable impoverished class, the pro level is the working class that is assigned labor by the master class, which is a kind of nobility. At the top, there is the Champion, an oppressive kinglike figure with power over even the master class, though the master class seems to have the option to battle the Champion to achieve becoming the Champion themselves, similar to how members an aristocratic class could try to overthrow a king in order to gain power for themselves. In this way, the structure of Parkour Civilization society seems to be akin to a medieval feudal structure, with a peasantry (with a significant difference being that they are more of an untouchable class than a laboring farmworkers class), working class, aristocracy, and king. But it goes a layer deeper and begins to differ from a basic feudal structure in one important aspect: the social mobility of Parkour Civilization. At the beginning of Parkour Civilization, it is immediately established that “every parkour noob has the same goal, and that’s to make it to the top layer, where all the parkour pros live, except most parkour pros are born on the top layer. If you’re a parkour noob, there’s only one way up: and that is through the Temple of Parkour.” Clearly, there seems to be some element of meritocratic social mobility here. Perhaps those who are skilled and who work hard can rise to the upper class? But no, it’s not that simple or ideal, even if that’s what the upper classes would have you believe. First of all, it is incredibly difficult to even enter the Temple of Parkour. It requires completing grueling tasks just to get a ticket, and it’s impossible to do without an adequate food source, forcing the noobs (who are only fed once per day) to risk their lives and jump for the beef (and no one chooses to jump for the beef) just to have the ability to gain entry. Already, the lower class’s upwards mobility is stunted severely, not even mentioning the fact that if they fail or take a wrong step at any point, they’re sent to parkour prison, where they’re forced to serve out a fifty year sentence or else lose their opportunity to level up altogether (more on that later). This is clearly a ploy to keep the peasantry under control, incentivizing their continued obedience and survival for the chance that they may ascend to a respectable class. But it’s a lie. In Parkour Civilization, Evbo discovers that it’s impossible to complete the parkour course in the Temple of Parkour. He has to use an illegal and invisible barrier block to do it-essentially, the only way to actually achieve class ascendancy is to do something unethical and illegal. The same is true for the course to level up from the pro to master level. Class ascendency is a lie. The class system in Parkour Civilization is extremely rigid. This bears some resemblance to the American Dream. The capitalistic, unequal system is kept in place by the promise to the lower classes that with enough hard work and dedication, they too can rise the ranks. But it’s incredibly difficult to do so, and the poor and homeless often barely have enough to get by surviving, much less profiting and saving to invest in their futures. Education is difficult to obtain, food is difficult to obtain, everything needs money that the lower classes simply do not have. Just as how everything in Parkour Civilization needs parkour, and how the false hope of the lower classes is kept alive by an impossible dream of ascendency. That leads us into the economy. Just like everything else in Parkour Civilization, the economy revolves around parkour, with more difficult parkour jumps being worth more. So here we have this core aspect of society, class divide, and economy that is essential and visible everywhere. Is this a metaphor for something in capitalism? Absolutely. Evbo implied it himself. Parkour is money. Think about it. To get food, you have to do parkour. To buy housing, you have to do parkour. The upper classes have the ability to do more (have higher spending power) and thus are wealthier. I’ve seen arguments that blocks are a better allegory for money. On the surface level, this seems to make sense, as they are a physical resource that’s controlled, distributed, and needed to buy things for the Pros. But after some thinking, I’ve concluded that this isn’t the case. After all, blocks don’t buy things, parkour does. Parkour that is done on and via blocks. That’s right. I think that blocks represent the means of production. Think about this. Assume that parkour is money, as previously established. The relationship between blocks and parkour is thus: blocks are obtained in order to perform parkour (whereas performing parkour is analogous to spending money). In the same way, the means of production are obtained in order to obtain and spend wealth and other resources. In Marxist Theory [note: I am no expert], basically, socialism is where the general population controls the means of production, as opposed to capitalism, where the means of production are concentrated mostly in the wealthy. Thus, Parkour Civilization clearly falls into the latter category, as the working class has to do labor just to obtain it temporarily, and the peasantry is absolutely prohibited from utilizing or obtaining it. This is no Dictatorship of the Proletariat. So, in that sense, it seems that Parkour Civilization is a general metaphor for capitalism and rigid socioeconomic class systems. But even if it is a metaphor for capitalism, is it? Well… not quite. There are no privately owned corporations per se in Parkour Civilization. All commerce is controlled by the government to some capacity. This may make some think of it as a communist economy. This is debatable-there is no attempt at a redistribution of wealth, so if it is communist, it is a failed communist state that fell short of its ideological goal. More accurately, it’s a pure command (or “planned”) economy, with the central government reigning absolute supreme over the entire Parkour Civilization, and no private sector. Still, though, most of the commentary seems to be on anti-egalitarian economies with class divides in general, rather than any one system specifically, regardless of what system it technically is. But is there even more to it than that? Yes. Because when parkour is failed, one falls into Parkour Prison. In prison, parkour must constantly be done to no reward, besides the fact that extra parkour can be done to slightly lessen the absolutely massive prison sentence. This seems to be a metaphor for the prison industrial complex [I am going insane]-prisoners, whose only crime was being poor and slipping up one time-are constantly exploited for labor under terrible conditions, often dying along the way. But even then, Evbo once says that even in prison, at least he has better access to food. This is a clear case of the lower classes being constantly exploited, even in prison. So this is an even more complex metaphor, with many negative aspects of modern America being reflected alongside the negative aspects of a planned Command Economy even among a starkly classist feudal-like society. But that’s it for this video essay. If you think there’s any more to OveranalyzeTM, leave it in the comments below. And if enough of you want me to, I might cover Season Two, or even Evbo’s PvP Civilization, both of which have some pretty interesting commentary to them. If you’d like to see that, subscribe so that you do!

[@doonguss]

@@GhostOfMessorem Thank you so much, I'm doing a project on Parkour Civilization for school and I wanted to quote you on bits.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@doonguss That’s awesome!!! Good luck!

[@TheEpikalREKT]

if that's the case, what is the legend level?

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@TheEpikalREKT Maybe I should do another video about the sequel video. I honestly have no idea

[@TheEpikalREKT]

@@GhostOfMessorem and if parkour is money, does that mean in parkour battles, they pay to hurt others?

[@Historically-Innacurate]

Bro what is politics at this point😭🙏

[@alexis_electronic]

oh shit this is actually good. hey you should read marx 🐇

[@GhostOfMessorem]

I totally should! I've been meaning to for a while. Thanks for the compliment, every positive comment means so much!

[@alexis_electronic]

@@GhostOfMessorem focus on art, craft, spreading messages of action, and community 🐇💜 stay safe, and mask up!!

[@Hinoytic]

Fire

[@Omegaess]

This is a really cool vid but maybe you are overthinking things.

[@Omegaess]

But you still get a like and soub

[@epicjava]

I bet if got recommended this you probably seen "The Lego Movie: Communist Propaganda"

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@epicjava I need to watch that video lol

[@EchtelionofGondor]

I hope this is satire

[@NatRejUnion]

That one mf who get political in everything

[@GhostOfMessorem]

Average Twitter user (me)

[@tright6]

Parkour Civilization has got to be the worst piece of media I've seen since Velma. Like the first one was okay and then it just stopped being a parody of YA dystopia and started to actually take itself seriously and turn super complicated

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@tright6 If you find Parkour Civilization too complicated to understand I have bad news for you

[@HALP1234]

Just wanted to correct something that got wrong but overall pretty Gud video under communism their is no such thing as a state a market or money when u said all commerce is controlled by the government that would be more closely aligned with socialism or feudalism however their is one key difference between socialism and feudalism and that is under socialism all forms of commerce and production are democratized through the government where as under feudalism all forms of commerce are directly controlled by individuals through governance

[@MAN-MILK]

Its a metaphor for communism in practice

[@AmphibiansAreCool]

Its quite litterally the furthest from "communism in practice" The civilisation is never having their leader overthrown by the CIA. The class structure is too prevalent and reflects the US way too much in terms of oppression

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

​@@AmphibiansAreCoolLMAO

[@Weekbuuk]

its literally just a heros journey story but with minecraft parkour dystopia ur overthinking this

[@AmphibiansAreCool]

No piece of fiction is created outside of the culture of its author. If your "Heros journey" in a dystopia reflects late stage capitalism, then that might say something that even the original creator didnt intend

[@ok-sq5rg]

creator and the comments overanalysing a movie about minecraft parkouring with the basic trope of hero rising to power as a critique of capitalism

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

But that's the thing only the hero rose to power the other noobs couldn't because meritocracy wasn't real so everyone was stuck at the noob level thinking meritocracy is real and they can achive what masters could just like how everyone thinks they can become the next Elon Musk only to find out meritocracy is just another lie by capitalists

[@ondururagittandeska2004]

Wow this might be a hot take but calling something a "critique on capatalism and classism" is surface level analysis. Its not hard to pretend you are a smart writer by critiquing 0:01 tou really want to critque capatalism you should have companies die from people refusing to buy from them. Instead of focusing on the civilisation hkw about instead focus on the protagonist journey. I rarely ever hear anyone talk about the protagonist in YA dystopian fiction. Its just about the world and how "its a reflection of our home yada yada" instead how the protagonist deals with the situation. How they strive to achieve more, how far they are willing to go for their desire.

[@GhostOfMessorem]

You must be fun at parties

[@ondururagittandeska2004]

@GhostOfMessorem I don't party with those under the hammer and sickel

[@The_Gobicus]

based !!!!

[@GoAway3729]

bang er

[@asddasasdda]

na it was more about monarchy's

[@Lakshya_Plays_Minecraft]

If U mean feudalism then let me tell you feudalism is like a proto capitalist economic system monarchism isn't a economic system

[@Jurgenzoon81207]

is this a parody or genuine

[@GhostOfMessorem]

@@Jurgenzoon81207 I have no idea at this point tbh

[@Operator_Krystof]

POV: meth.

[@espinita.]

Fuck capitalism

[@thefernofrommarsgaming4204]

"propoganda" 💀