Hollywood Has a Postmodern Problem

[@gregowen2022]

Some of the arguments in this video need to be polished, so I'm going to tweak and refilm it at some point. One of them is about villainless movies and Encanto was a poor example. That one made the list of "Greg's Ls 2023", which you can find here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWLUlmOVfryGpac

[@michellestr8998]

BWP was not garbage.

[@michellestr8998]

Im wondering, what makes the writers so sure we WANT to learn anything about black culture though captain America or Ariel? What if thats the last thing we want, and we want to know more about the story of Ariel and captain marvel, neither of whom are black? Youre right, they dint have a statement, but even if they had, I doubt it would be a success, because people go to such movies to get away from learning about DEI history.

[@tomernst8595]

greg, this is a superb video, but you’re right, and sadly 2024 has given you some outstanding examples of villainless movies/shows.

[@KitsuneGB-hc9zb]

I have to disagree about your point regarding the transgender movement in regard to post-modernism. Before I go off the deep end, I don’t want to come off as implying that you’re transphobic or something for making that statement. I do see your argument about the “being the gender that you aren’t just reinforces the two gender roles they despise” point. However, I would argue the movement is just as much (if not more so) about transgender people feeling comfortable in their own bodies, and the right to make choices about their own bodies. Should the government restrict or outlaw, say, weight loss surgery because it’s “not natural”? I would argue the same can and probably should be said for adults who choose to undergo HRT or any other medical procedure they consent to. The stigma and prejudices against those who want to try and remedy this dysphoria is what the transgender community (and the LGBT movement in general) are trying to fight against. Again, I am not trying to call you transphobic for making this argument in your video. I absolutely see why you believe that way and why you mentioned it. I simply want to share my opinions and thoughts on this subject. Thank you.

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

Hyperreality is just art + conceptual inbreeding.

[@arc8216]

If postmodernists treat villains as sympathetic and morality as subjective, you'd think they'd be more sympathetic to different political ideologies. but no the one moral binary they'll accept is a political one.

[@grantstratton2239]

Yeah, part of the problem is that critical theory / the Hegelian dialectic takes the tack that you can't have progress without challenging the status quo. So whoever is perceived to be in power, or the majority, or whatever, that's automatically the evil that needs to be overcome. It's part of the reason that being a victim is viewed as empowering or morally superior. Essentially, if you rebel enough, eventually you'll hit on a better idea (in fairness one that incorporates the good parts of the status quo, in theory). The problem is accepting that tenant uncritically. Revolution isn't always good.

[@arc8216]

In other words, it's just contrarianism.

[@grantstratton2239]

@@arc8216 Yeah, but believing that contrarianism makes them morally superior. That part is because of the absence of meaning through the nihilist / existentialist writers, so the only remaining forms of "good" are power and hedonism (arguably those two are related). So when they "speak truth to power" they are leveling the power playing field, and that's the only kind of moral good they really recognize.

[@TempoLOOKING]

​@grantstratton2239 cough... cough...Satan and Beezlebub. Both loved by Hollywood

[@MirandaSinistra]

This would make sense if they didn't hypocritically refuse to rebel against leftist ideals that are mainstream. In fact, they pretend that the mainstream leftist ideals are being oppressed when it's clear they aren't.

[@irinas.6347]

Thanks for mentioning Kung Fu Panda. You can make villains three-dimensional and relatable without excusing their actions.

[@gingy30]

Love that movie

[@nmr7203]

Who filled my head with dreams?! Who drove me to train until my bones cracked?! Who denied me my DESTINY?!?

[@matityaloran9157]

There is no secret ingredient

[@Ben-rz9cf]

Purple man in Jessica Jones season 1 is another great example. Like, you get where he's coming from and understand why he ended up the way he did, and he's SO charismatic, but thats also what makes him so sickening because it doesn't excuse any of the things he does and instead the things that make him so likeable are also the most dangerous because they're what allow him to gaslight and manipulate people. Like it takes a lot of guts to write an actual rapist from a somewhat empathetic (not sympathetic, mind you) point of view and paint them as an actual human being and not just cartoonishly evil for the sake of being evil. It makes for one of the best villains marvel has ever had and societally it is important to UNDERSTAND people like him so we don't produce more of them.

[@matityaloran9157]

@SprocketList You should. It’s great

[@arc8216]

In a lot of ways postmodernism become the thing postmodernism was trying to criticize.

[@drewo.127]

There’s also the whole post-postmodernism thing, which I think would just circle back around to being modernism. At least I think so… I learned about Modernism, postmodernism and post-postmodernism from Game Theory’s video about the state of AAA gaming compared to the thriving indie game market, where games were getting more meta and self aware, and comparing the gaming trends to these exact art movements! But it’s been a while since I’ve last seen it, so I could be wrong on some things.

[@vde1846]

I think this is a misunderstanding. The post-modern critique of power and narrative was always offered cynically, and always just meant to weaken the free world so that they could infiltrate it and institute a new power and new narratives. It is not becoming what it criticized, it is just entering into a new predetermined stage as many of its' adherent feel that their grip is strong enough for a more open putsch. The mask is simply coming of.

[@Reciticus]

Metamodernism?

[@subterranean327]

Postmodernism lived long enough to see itself become the villain.

[@thekaiser3815]

​@@subterranean327which was as soon as it was conceived as a concept.

[@Michael_CDK]

I hear the point about power being everything to them, and the first thing that comes to mind is how villainous a mindset that really is. Lord Voldemort, stated in the series he stems from by himself and others as "going beyond the pale" in what makes a Dark wizard, sees everything in terms of power. "There is only power and those too weak to seek it." The point about all the diversity swaps certainly isn't a new one, but I like that you reaffirm how you see it each time you bring it up. Because you certainly could take the easy way out and just shit on it like so many others do, but you take the time and explain just why it's such a blight on our current entertainment, and even how it could be improved. Another great video, Greg.

[@gregowen2022]

I deeply appreciate the kind words. It's crazy that the pursuit of power was the hallmark of villainy just a short while ago, and now it's been 'normalized' like so much else.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

When someone is obsessed with something, it generally tells you what they CRAVE, as well.

[@alyssabaerne9508]

​@@gregowen2022seeing lately hollywood idealize and glorify villainy... i'm not surprised. Calling pennywise and several other horror monsters and legendary villains lgbt icons is disgusting. Would be akin calling saddam hussein (or however you write it) a christian saint which rhe sort of pedestal they try and give.

[@phosspatharios9680]

Yes! I think about this aspect so much, I even believe, in my theology, that desire for power is the true Original Sin, as it has driven Lucifer to be so dissatisfied with all the heavenly goods and even his already lofty position in the celestial hierarchy, he wanted nothing less than absolute All-Might, hence the rebellion. And this even bleeds into the fall of Adam and Eve, because if you read Genesis closely, you can see that Eve immediately started to consider eating the Forbidden Fruit as soon as the serpent affirmed that Eve would become like God if she knew Good and Evil. Eve desired for power (it is, she desired knowledge, and knowledge is power). Given the frequent satanic undertones of Hollywood, I don't think my hypothesis is too far off.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@phosspatharios9680 Being more specific, I think the original sin would be ENVY. Per the story, Lucifer fell because he was jealous of Adam's relationship with God. Envy is extremely toxic.

[@jorge23483]

"... spectacle without substance can only work once .." Basically the whole career of J. J. Abrams is built in this fallacy (the mystery box). Thank you for the video.

[@Touriquette]

People do eventually get tired of key jangling

[@kirbycooper9496]

Still pissed what he did to star trek

[@zephodb]

James Cameron got there as-of-late-too... With the Avatar films to say the least. c.c

[@Tyler_W]

I don't think the problem is the concept of the mystery box itself. The problem is that Abrams just presents a mystery box as though that's enough without any intention or effort to put anything of substance inside. That's why he's a bigger producer than he is a director. He comes up with grand ideas, mostly for established framchises, that he knows (or at least knew at one point in time) how to sell really well, and he leaves figuring out the details of what to actually do with them to other people. In hindsight, you can see that as far back as Lost. His only talent, perhaps even his only concern, is sparking initial intrigue to get you hooked so he can string you along. It's why he kinda sucks at endings and why studios used to come to him to relaunch their franchises until it became too obvious that he doesn't have an actual plan or the ability to follow through. His entire Hollywood career can be described in the image of someone giving you a wrapped empty box for Christmas because he thinks the act of unwrapping your present is what excites you rather than the anticipation of finding out what your present is inside. The gift was taking off the wrapping paper or opening the mystery box, and nothing more. There wouldn't be a problem if there was a present inside or satisfying, predetermined answers to the mystery.

[@theoddegg8462]

@@Tyler_W agreed. It's why I've always said that the mystery box was JJ Abrams' Achilles heel. He's hellbent on this idea without fully seeing it through

[@evilemperorzurg9615]

Postmodernism is like someone taking apart a clock to see how it works. Inside they find no physical time inside the clock making it work. They conclude that time is just a social construct, does not exist, and is therefore a bad thing. They then apply it by showing up late for work all the time.

[@nealjroberts4050]

The error there is obvious. It's the equivocation of "social construct" with both "does not exist" and "bad/worthless" . Yes, gender is a social construct. The problem isn't the existence of gender it's how and where it is applied. It's the intolerance against _non traditional_ gender that's the very problem with transphobia.

[@alfalldoot6715]

​​@@nealjroberts4050Gender isn't a social construct You either have a Y chromosome or two X chromosomes.

[@nealjroberts4050]

@@alfalldoot6715 You've gotten gender confused with chromosomes, sorry.

[@marcusvale5783]

​@@nealjroberts4050ah an iNtElEcTuAl

[@thirdwordbird3011]

​@alfalldoot6715 that's sex, gender and sex are two different things

[@Lvestfold4143]

"Victims with power" sounds like my anthropology classes with my professors lacking the self awareness to admit it.

[@stackels97]

My issue with modern remakes: Bad faith deconstruction of old media, done without an adequate desire to understand or respect it, can only lead to the remakes being empty shells lacking heart and any real message. They take out the heart of what made those films great because they willfully misunderstand them. Universal truths are universal because they are real and everyone has experienced them. In the era of 'there is no truth, only MY truth' fewer and fewer people are able to connect and connect deeply.

[@9zamire]

Don't have time to watch this yet, but it feels like it would be 40 minutes of perfectly articulating why I would never ever watch another Rian Johnson movie

[@mallorycarpinski1160]

Very well done. You gotta come back to it

[@liamrobinson2084]

It is!

[@mikesmithz]

Just seeing Rian's name attached to a movie is a good enough reason to avoid that movie.

[@lorenzana9668]

I genuinely like Knives Out and Glass Onion. I think those are good movies.

[@em_the_bee]

​​@@lorenzana9668also, The Last Jedi was the one Disney SW movie I generally enjoyed (aside from a few infamous cringe scenes), too bad it dissonated too much with all the rest. I genuinely think the sequel trilogy would be pretty good if it was all made in the similar direction. Also also, didn't he also direct some of the Breaking Bad episodes?

[@simoniel_l1646]

I really like that instead of bashing “wokeness” in the same generic way I have heard from others before, you put effort into analysis. I actually learned a bit about postmodernism, both real and Hollywood version.

[@gregowen2022]

I appreciate the kind words, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[@nealjroberts4050]

Probably because most people are already aware of the difference between "woke" and woke.

[@forsociopoliticalstuff2629]

@@nealjroberts4050problem is that woke usually quickly becomes “woke”

[@nealjroberts4050]

@@forsociopoliticalstuff2629 Not really. That seems to be an excuse used to not be woke

[@yurikendal4868]

​@@gregowen2022I did not but hearing an intelligent disposition on what is going on might add to my insight, if even I disagree with your takes. I can see the objections to the current media being churned out. I can respect if not agree with your opinion

[@willverschneider1102]

Ironically, I don't imagine Postmodern Hollywood and Karl Marx would get along. Hollywood: "Check this out Karl! We have racial and gender diversity, and we criticize the establishment!" Marx: "Okay, but why are there writers and actors striking outside?" Hollywood: "Pay no attention to them!"

[@Mereologist]

Hollywood is, I think, just the parrot that sits on the postmodernists' shoulder. The parrot doesn't have any ideas or even know exactly what it's saying... it just repeats what it hears. Like an actor. Hollywood has long been a parrot... It's just a question of whose shoulder it is sitting on.

[@sirellyn]

They both use oppressed / oppressor dynamics, and the Hegelian dialectic. But of course Marx wouldn't agree. Nearly all factions of Marxism point at each other to shout "It's not true Marxism!" Plausible deniability is what they all live on.

[@mudageki]

Marx famously invested in stocks. He wouldn't care as long as the 'Revolution' was supported.

[@DannyDevitoOffical-TrustMeBro]

He also wouldn’t like their obsession with divisions, like with race, or their obsessions with sexual lifestyles that exist purely outside of the biological and true purpose for sex. His whole point was that human life should be ultimately devoted to the benefit of the party, community, or system. All worker ants mindlessly enslaved to the building of the system that enslaves us. He wouldn’t have put it that way, but that would be the end result. Sex that produces infections and diseases instead of children would be useless to the community, because children are the community’s future, while infections and diseases would wantonly cull its numbers and efficacy. The enjoyment of the individuals wouldnt at all matter in a Marxian society, because individuals don’t matter, only the Whole. This would also extend as I mentioned earlier to the race obsession Hollywood has, since anything meant to divide the Whole and mark the individuals in it as unique would disrupt the society’s structure. Hollywood has this very strange problem of both dividing the whole of western society into discordant factions divided by their individuality, and also removing all individuality from the individuals of the group whose identity its very existence is derived from. Black people must all act in accordance with the stereotype of black people, because black people aren’t individuals with personal agency; they’re part of the Whole. Any non-black who tries to mimic black people’s stereotypical habits is an abhorrent (example: saying the n-word is an unforgivable transgression, unless you’re black, in which case that word would be a harmless and meaningless part of your special Black™️ lexicon), and black people who don’t adhere to those stereotypes are traitors (being called an Oreo or cookie is an ultimate insult, meaning you’re only a black person on the exterior. A strange thing that, since race is really _just_ appearance, it does not factor into personality at all). Taking part in the cultures and traditions of peoples perceived to be separate races to your own is cultural appropriation; a pointedly negative and divisive bastardization of cultural _appreciation._ Hollywood can’t seem to make sense of their own agenda. Are they Marxists trying to construct an obedient, homogenized Whole, or a deviant, divisive movement of anarchists seeking to destroy all form of structured order that could possibly serve to constrain their behaviors? Karl Marx certainly wouldn’t enjoy that latter position. I’d say that Hollywood is Marxism-inspired, what with their oppressor-oppressed dynamic and revolutionary, Western-society-destroying goal. It’s Marxism without the responsibility to others. Marxism-lite, if you will.

[@HahaDamn]

@@sirellyncapitalists do this about capitalism all the time bro, how many times I’ve heard an caps scream society is corporatism not capitalism

[@JoelAdamson]

The "everyone's the hero of their own story" idea is the one I hate the most. No, villains are villains. Not only are such villains more interesting, they are more realistic. There are genuinely bad people out there who have no friggin' excuse. Quite often they are rewarded for this quality. Leonard Peltier is someone who's been held up as a victim for half a century, but he was a career criminal who roped people into schemes and killed people, just like Charles Manson. A lot of young people are going to get hoodwinked by monsters like that because they can't recognize genuine evil.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

Have you seen Lego Monkie Kid? One of the reasons fourth season was great because it taught how "Everyone is the hero of their own story", except it pointed out how flawed that was. The villain thought he was a hero, even though he only made things worse.

[@corbanbausch9049]

I think "everyone's the hero of their own story" is true, in the sense that everyone _thinks_ what they are doing is justified, even when it very clearly isn't. From their incorrect, perspective, they are the hero, even if in reality they are not. This is why people need to be taken out of themselves every now and then, to see that "oh, wait a minute, I'm the bad guy here".

[@JoelAdamson]

@@corbanbausch9049 Yes, I think a villain will think he's doing "the right thing" in the sense that it's what he wants to do, but he's not doing it from a moral perspective. To a psychopath "right and wrong" do exist, but not in a moral sense. My point is that "everyone's the hero of their own story" is moral relativism.

[@corbanbausch9049]

@@JoelAdamson and my point is that it’s not moral relativism, because people’s perception of reality and reality differ. Therefore, the statement and the concept of moral objectivity are not mutually exclusive.

[@JoelAdamson]

@@corbanbausch9049 Okay, I can see how a character might perceive things differently and therefore make different decisions, but that character wouldn't be a villain. At least not a very effective one. They could be an antagonist but not really a villain. A villain looks at the same situation, the same moral values, and says "I'm doing what serves me, not what serves moral good."

[@DVX_BELLORVM]

As an academic in the humanities, let me just say that you did a great job of explaining Hollywood postmodernism for a 'popular audience' (that's the polite term we use for the benighted plebs who don't have the JSTOR subscription necessary to read our stuff). I've likened deconstruction to dissection: Both of them are great tools to strip away the visible in order to see the underlying structures at work (social for one, biological for the other), but neither one is an end in itself. Too much deconstruction becomes indistinguishable from just wanton destruction, which is what we're seeing now. Ultimately, if our entertainment industry has thrown out even the idea of values to embrace raw nihilism (Nietzsche called it!), than there is no reason as an audience to put in the emotional investment required to suspend our disbelief in their fictional narratives. If nothing matters and everything is pointless other than the pursuit of power (to be utilized for hedonism, once obtained), what reason do we have to care about the characters and their motivations?

[@OtisMoto]

Yuck with your "as a" comments. Just share your thought.

[@da0club0sol]

"Hollywood postmodernism for a 'popular audience' (that's the polite term we use for the benighted plebs who don't have the JSTOR subscription necessary to read our stuff)." Are you being sarcastic here? Because with just that sentence, you sound like you'd get along with those Hollywood twitter writers. You academics are just as bad as them, universities blindly foster all those pro-pedo leftist literary academics that Greg just listed in his video.

[@Mereologist]

There is a style of writing that I personally refer to as 'rusty spoon' stories. I invented the term from a novel where there is no afterlife and all of the millions of gods are 'debunked' (which is to say uninterested, powerless, or pointless) and even if you die you are just reincarnated on one of thousands of alternate worlds. In spite of all this there are factions, one of which seeks not death, but annihilation. The ultimate nihilism. But since nobody can die and nothing is morally wrong, the way they have of forwarding their agenda is just to torture each other. Literally dig eyes out with rusty spoons. After finishing the story, I wondered what was even the point of any of it. Nobody in it wants to live a better life, many of the people want to simply not be, and all of it was about eternal, pointless suffering. Was that supposed to 'entertain' people? Was it supposed to 'speak to them' about the emptiness of their own lives? Even we we accept that life is suffering, I don't think anyone advocates simply wallowing in suffering as a result, unless your goal was to try and convince everyone that nonexistence really was better than existence. Even your average atheist comes to the opposite conclusion.

[@DVX_BELLORVM]

@@Mereologist That entire story is extremely Nietzschean. The characters are essentially living through eternal recurrence and embraced nihilism after realizing that their systems of morality had no transcendent foundation. In plain English, the fundamental problem with these "rusty spoon stories" is that if nothing matters, why should the audience care about your narrative? That's why all of these postmodern productions feel so hollow. They're just sound and fury signifying you-know-what.

[@IamEscBoy]

@@Mereologist that type of story can at least potentially be an interesting examination of a hypothetical scenario, even if it makes for a shit story

[@nataliedepriest9113]

Greg, this is one of the best videos you have ever done. My 17 year old son is a senior in high school and taking a film as literature class. He is not a fan of reading or movies, it’s only a required English credit to him. But I had him watch the first few minutes…and this helped him tremendously when it came to understanding the material. Thanks Professor Greg!

[@rookie_odst2560]

I'm also 17 and Greg puts it perfectly "Film and art were trying to find the best film and art to express reality and that process involved tearing down old things and creating new ones"

[@FrenchyMcToast]

The whole sympathetic villains thing is especially funny because when they try to make one they fail, but when they try to make an actually evil villain they end up being totally reasonable or even heroic. I'm told King Magnifico from Wish and John Walker from Falcon and the Winter Soldier are good examples.

[@gregowen2022]

Both are very good examples. They each have a small flaw, but certainly wouldn't be considered to be villains if the audience hadn't been explicitly told to dislike them. Those two should have had a person in the background with a sign saying "booooo" like an old play

[@josephgraham3006]

You nailed it. I teach my screenwriting students about this too, in an attempt to get them to reject “old” postmodern tropes and identitarian ideals and embrace new ways of telling stories by first reconnecting to the modern and traditional ways. To embrace Metemodern concepts, and bring us to the future by reconnecting to the past. I tell them it’s not their job to be activists and make propaganda to raise awareness and change the world. It’s their job to reflect the world and discover themselves in the process, and to connect with their audiences through beautifully flawed characters who experience change and philosophical dilemma. Anyway, just discovered your videos and enjoying them immensely! Keep it up!

[@ukchanak]

What they don't understand is that propaganda will never change the world or make anyone's life better, but connecting to the characters you make and showing how they grow and become better people will

[@tomernst8595]

@@ukchanakexactly. no one wants to be “talked at”. the only one enjoying that is the talker.

[@lindasmith320]

I love the Ken movie how Ken found that he didn’t have to take Barbie’s rudeness and uncaring attitude towards him and grab the power for himself

[@MrThisucks]

The way the barbies “overcome” and “defeat” ken really bothered me in the film. Whether unknowingly or not the movie basically pushes the idea of covertly starting conflicts instead of dealing with things democratically. It’s basically what everyone hates about the us and their foreign policies except its played up as girl power defeating weak men. Its a terrible message

[@schoolofdank5736]

Arguably made a society more content and progressive as the barbies clearly enjoyed their new roles 😂

[@jessem3149]

Movie was actually interesting, you can see perspectives from both sides in my opinion

[@schoolofdank5736]

@@jessem3149 Nothing inherently interesting about a movie that is a giant subversion with nothing to really say. Barbie land is a society run by women but it’s also making the main character depressed so she looks elsewhere, she finds the regular current day society hates women in power which is clearly seen with none of them in political positions or in charge of companies(sarcasm). Meanwhile idiot Ken finally discovers his “privilege” and creates a male ruled society. Making Barbie upset and forced to remove the brainwashing of the new happier Barbies because they’re not being manipulated by the patriarchy or something. Movie is a joke and nobody should watch it.

[@jessem3149]

@@schoolofdank5736 and that is one way to see it for sure. Totally support that view

[@DarthBobCat]

Encanto shows how people can sympathize with a character, identify with them, and not realize they're useless. That strong woman everyone was obsessed with last year? I was so let down when I realized she just had the song and no arc.

[@gregowen2022]

Encanto was sad in that way. It had potential, but after you stop singing to the amazing songs, it's just average

[@TempoLOOKING]

What so you mean? That has been most of Disney's crap for the last 3 years. TV has sucked for over 10. Uh dog with a blog...yuck, good luck Charlie , ant farm...whhmm

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

If everyone Is special, no one Is. - Syndrome, The Incredibles Which is essentially the problem of Encanto. Everyone is special and everyone has a problem with them being special. While the movie told it's story, the the stories of the individual characters got left behind. In the end none of the characters in Encanto were special. Too bad, because the setup was rather interesting.

[@DarthBobCat]

@@gregowen2022 Musicals are the one genre where you can sort of get away with that. Then again, when there's more plot progression in Gilbert and Sullivan than your movie, there's issues.

[@GLJosh]

@@Dreamfox-df6bg I had often thought that Mirabel was the "most" special in her family as she didn't have a power. The most "special" by virtue of being the least "special".

[@DarthBobCat]

My criticism of saying that something is invalid because it's a construct or arbitrary is that if I take the premise as valid, then my opinions are just as valid or invalid as theirs. Therefore, I have no reason to accept their criticisms, and if they try to argue me into their position, they're abandoning their base premise and conceding the argument.

[@gregowen2022]

The "it's just a construct" argument can be a fun one over some beers in the backyard, but as you said, it can't ever be taken seriously. I can argue that money is a construct, but I still have to spend US issued dollars if I want groceries.

[@GrayskullPrime]

My philosophical thoughts are "This sucks. I miss the 80s."

[@jaredpeterson2028]

Critical theory deserves a lion's share of the blame for how younger writers approach older material. They've been programmed to see everything through that lens, so anything they spew back out goes through the same with elements shoehorned in to check those boxes that they feel makes "real writing".

[@ARStudios2000]

its funny because for "critical" theory, they make the worst damn criticisms and points known to mankind.

[@planetdisco4821]

They should teach critical thinking instead…

[@trollsmyth]

I totally agree with the simulacrum-of-a-simulacrum thing. I'm a bit confused how the doesn't-say-anything thing matches up with the power-must-be-seized thing. That seem contradictory, so I'm assuming I'm missing something. I think Hollywood's problem is that they are completely out-of-touch, like the big rich white guys in their movies. Since they no longer have their fingers on the pulse of the viewing audience, retain only a greatly weakened (and weakening) ability to push popularity, and yet still must make a profit to continue production, it's natural that they would see the culprit in capitalism, the one big piece of the chain they have the least ability to change. I can't help but think this grows from a sense that they didn't earn their success, but rather it was bestowed upon them by a fickle Kismet, and thus self-reflection can only result in horror and despair. But I'[m probably overthinking things.

[@gregowen2022]

Not overthinking at all, I like that take! I do think there is a fair bit of luck in making it in tinseltown and I imagine that's an internal truth they don't like to look at. I can see how the two points you mentioned seem unconnected, but I think they use the not-saying-anything as a tool to gain that popular power. It doesn't matter if they say something of importance, only that people are listening to them say something, it gives them some power over opinions.

[@johnernest5843]

I think a good symptom of simulacrum-of-a-simulacrum is the modern trend of reference humor that relies on "Hey guys, remember x thing?" If you're someone whose entire reality revolves around that orobourous of media that keeps referring to itself, you'll enjoy it. But if you're just some average human that's not versed in western society, it's gonna be difficult to connect with it. I think another good example of this is the different world of Chronically Online people vs. People that live in the Real World. You have memes referencing memes referencing memes. Take away something in that line, and something stops being entertaining or funny. Meanwhile some things are universally enjoyable, even if you have no Discord degree in sweaty memeology

[@dante340]

Syndrome from the Incredibles was another great example of a sympathetic yet effective villain. His motivations made sense and the audience could sympathize with why he was resentful towards Mr. Incredible and superheroes in general, but he was still evil nonetheless and needed to be stopped at all cost. There comes a certain point where an antagonist becomes irredeemable, despite them being sympathetic or not.

[@robonator2945]

The complicated thing is that, to some extent, the underlying post-modern elevator pitches are often quite good, across the board really. The issue with modernism is that it can often lose itself in search of the "ideal", a painter who just tries to make the "best" painting will never make a good painting because they just aren't trying to; it's not about making something, it's about making what you percieve as the best of that thing. You don't have something to say, you just want to have made something. But, in order to actually make something good, you *_need_* something to say, so the search for idealism can deny even basic adequecy. Plenty of politics have this issue, plenty of people have this issue with their purchasing decisions, hell even plenty of scientific fields ( even including the hard sciences ) similarly have this sort of issue where they desperately chase down answers that they either start reading into data way more than they reasonably can, often ignoring far more obvious and far more accurate answers. (my best analogy here is; imagine if physists, despite knowing entropy rising is a basic rule of the universe, spent years and years arguing in scientific papers about what legislation could be passed in order to reduce it. If anyone involved just said "wait, entropy is a constant fact of reality, we can't stop it, why are we arguing about the best way to stop it?" the entire conversation stops because the entire argument is built on a fundamentally broken premise.) I've seen examples of this everywhere from computer science - the halting problem proves nothing except an infinitely complex problem could take upto an infinite amount of time to compute on an infinitely complex computer - to math - if 0.9999999 repeating is directly equivilent to 1 and isn't just a flaw in our decimal numeral system the entire concept of limits underlying all of calculus are broken as the entire point of a limit is that infinite approach does not imply equality - to economics - I once saw a lecture of a professor rehearsing for their paper which looked into whether or not government scholarships/grants lead to an overall increase in amount paid or not (i.e. "will colleges raise their prices more than the grants?") by correlating the price of colleges with, exclusively, the availability of grants... yeah they just forgot student loans existed. They assumed in their premise that only grants existed, and found that the cost of college went down as more grants were offered, because *_obviously that's what happens, you're completely ignoring subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, which is what the majority of students are actually getting and the majority of what's being offered_* . Post modernism, as a vague concept, makes sense, it's a rejection of this unending search that often leaves people just treading water in mediocrity rather than actually getting much of anywhere at all. However, it's gone well beyond "take a step back, actually think about this, are you reading into things that aren't there?" and gone all the way to "nope everything is fake, your fake, the world is fake, it's all fake!". The issue with modernism is that it thinks it can perfectly define everything, often leading to it failing to adequetly describe much of anything. The issue with post modernism on the other hand is that it thinks nothing can be defined, so it just makes shit up and screeches at you for not agreeing the flubendorfs are zenajors. There is a difference between awknowledging the difficulties of defining things, and keeping that in mind while searching for the truth so that you're zeal in searching doesn't prevent you from finding anything at all, and saying "we can't define anything at all ever to any extent; feels *_are_* reals"

[@timbomb374]

At this point, when a movie doesn't try to subvert things, it actually subverts my expectations

[@dr.medieval1131]

We have no more heroes, because everything is written by villains.

[@littlejimmy7402]

I'll disagree about "Encanto", I love the message. It's a societal taboo, "Grandma is always right!", nobody is always right. I became a family hero when I successfully explained why adding cheese cost a dollar to my MiL. It has nothing to do with the cost of cheese. She stopped complaining when We went to restaurants and just enjoyed the time with her family. Sometimes old people are the problem, and sometimes you need to stand up to them. We don't live in the Great Depression, We don't need to live like it forever.

[@gregowen2022]

That's a very interesting take. Honestly, I wish they would have leaned into that harder

[@littlejimmy7402]

@@gregowen2022 Disrespecting Nana will get you slapped, they can't hit it too hard, yet.

[@darkjelly944]

I feel like the way the world of Encanto is structured, it could work MUCH better as an episodic cartoon without any overarching story. I personally enjoyed the movie, but I think the way the cast is set up leds itself much better to a TV show where they're put into various different situations and having their personalities play off each other. Plus, we get much more time to flesh out each character, as opposed to the characters being more one-note due to a lack of focus and time. They did the best they could with what they had, but a TV show could really bring out a lot of interesting character moments where the movie couldn't.

[@littlejimmy7402]

@@darkjelly944 I agree. I think the varied personalities of the family could be used to teach lessons. Many people have seemed to forgotten that there is usually more than one way to get the job done, and humans are so much more capable than we are given credit for. Currently, We seem to be building people with much bigger egos than their results deserve.

[@davidbacon9244]

I actually see Encanto as Lost opportunity. It ended up a nothing burger wrapped in good and catchy songs. In fact, for me the protagonist is Abuela, since the rift that breaks the family and casita stems from her and her position against Mirabel and is her coming together and realising the errors of her way the abridged the problems in the end. Mirabel and Bruno were in the end a plot device. I reckon it could be more interesting if Mirabel was talented in a non magical way and it was that talent that helped save the family and the arc was the family recognising that they have agency in the way they are special instead of being something that happened to them.

[@frustratedsquirrel]

I dunno, I watched Encanto blind and I thought it was interesting? As someone who grew up in a large family with a lot of familial expectations placed on me, I found the conflict to be very easy to follow and the movie to be quite powerful and touching. You don't always need a villain to have a conflict. The main issue with Encanto was the pacing and the fact that it felt rushed through its ideas. Also, can't agree with your idea that spectacle without substance only works once. If that were the case, then videogames and anime wouldn't be a bigger art form than cinema and comics in the current day and age. Not saying that these mediums can't have substance, because they do, but both absolutely thrive on making spectacle the substance in a lot of instances. You cannot seriously tell me that FLCL has a lot of substance beyond some very vague ideal of 'adulthood is confusing!' as its core message and yet the spectacle alone made it well worth watching several times through because it was just so visually striking at times. Similarly, Demon Slayer resonates with a lot of people because of the flashy animation, even though the story is basic af.

[@zeroth88]

I never noticed this before, as I only have a surface level knowledge concerning most philosophical schools, but I have a serious clash internally between the post-modernism values that society raised me with and traditional Christian values that my family raised me with and that I myself try to seek. It makes sense given the world I grew up and live in, but this video really helped bring those into the light. It's nice actually being able to see and understand (to a degree at least) the internal dissonance, so thanks for shining a light on that! It also answered and addressed a lot of the questions and themes I've been working with as I've been constructing a world and writing within it. I was struggling with a lot of creative dissonance, and it makes sense now that I can more easily recognize the post-modern themes clashing with my other traditional and Christian ones.

[@TempoLOOKING]

Same it has made me HATE humanity and want to see them suffer. Eves sister is sexy for a jinn. These Hollywood types will be tossed into the fire like garbage

[@alexandria1663]

Also Christian, and can totally relate. Growing up all my friends were secular, and I could never relate to their postmodern tastes. The things I found interesting (brave heroes, romance, ideals, chivalry, femininity, etc.) they always seemed to scoff at, like it was “kid’s stuff”. They preferred whatever subverted those things. I didn’t have the language to describe what I was noticing back then, but videos like these capture it so perfectly. It’s really given me a taste for philosophy. But most significant for me is seeing how postmodernism almost invariably coincides with moral degradation. You can call it confirmation bias, but seeing how postmodernists behave is just further evidence to me that what is taught in Christianity is absolutely true.

[@johnernest5843]

@@alexandria1663 I think that's why a lot of Christians can find enjoyment in the Lord of the Rings books While Tolkien had a lot of Christianity flavor mixed into his writing, the story of Middle Earth has an ultimate truth, an ultimate goal, and ultimate good which aligns with the lessons and values taught in Christian lessons. In contrast, Post Modernism and Nihilism breaks things down until nothing really matters

[@no.1spidey-fan182]

31:50 People are obviously joking when they say that Thanos and Ultron were right...but the fact that there were people who HONESTLY believed that Killmonger was right disturbs me to this day. It just reveals all the pain thats hidden amongst African Americans when they are constantly told they can't beat what's supposedly holding them down Killmonger slaughtered and threatened his own so called "people" to get them to be his attack dogs for his own selfish agenda. Not to mention BURNT an ancient signficant part of his so called "culture" to the ground. The fact people wanted him to replace Tchalla after Chadwick's unfortunate passing is telling. There was NO redeeming that man. As bland and nonsensical as Shuri was as a replacement for Tchalla, given her MCU characterization being nothing like the og comics...I still take her ANY day over Killmonger

[@jasonglebe3235]

This video is a good explanation of why so much of modern entertainment seems to have nothing to say other than, "I'm writing the stories now, Daaaaaaad!"

[@christimacc]

Postmodernists want villains to be treated sympathetically because so many of them are villains.

[@Themanwhoponders]

one of the most underrated channel on KZbin. Excellent breakdown from a cinematic perspective! We hear a lot of complain about the wokism but its really interesting to hear different reason why movie sucks now. I heard once that movie director back then had a life, in the sense that they had different life experience before being diector. Its probably whats missing today with this generation. Most of us, simply consume lots of content online instead of having genuine life experience. The only thing I didnt fully comprehend is the difference between Tai lung's kung fu panda and Killmonger. As far as I am concerned they were both vilain that the audience both understood the motivation at the end without justifying their action IMO. That being said how could have Killmonger been rewritten in a way that his actions arent justify(as you are arguing)

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you so much for the kind words! It's true that the more we are all online, the more we are all kind of having the same life, and where's the interest in that? I didn't mind Killmonger as a straight villain, I thought his villainy was quite evident and Michael B Jordan did a great job. What I found odd were the people I saw saying that he was partly right or made good points and he was very deep. He was super racist and power hungry! Tai Lung was interesting because at first he was at least partially working toward being the dragon warrior because he would protect the valley, but as time went on, it became more selfish. Not even he knew of his own villainy until the title was taken away and he went crazy.

[@johnernest5843]

>I heard once that movie director back then had a life, in the sense that they had different life experience before being diector. I believe it's also what makes great authors/great artists. When you have a wealth of life experiences to pull from, it's no longer impossible to make beautiful and resonant art that touches the human soul. In contrast, those who live sheltered or live in their bubbles can only create so much within the limits of their small universe

[@Reciticus]

The arrogance of many of these writers also doesn’t do their art any favors. Just as psychology shows one of the reasons children play pretend is a form of coping and being able to wrestle with problems by literally stepping outside themselves, so too has art and literature been a way for artists to explore ideas and deal with their struggles and share them with others in a unique way beyond directly telling the viewer, a way of learning about someone without actually learning literal facts about a person. In this way, art becomes a dialogue between two people as both the artist and the viewer are challenged by the art. The garbage currently being peddled by Hollywood is a one-way conversation from artist to viewer, hence the countless complaints about Hollywood preaching to them. In the minds of these “victim artists”, they already know everything and are already the heroes of their story. Great artists make art that poses questions. Hack artists make art that spoils answers. Great video. Just discovered you today. Subbed.

[@darkdudironaji]

They addressed the expensive apartment thing in Friends. It's Monica's grandmother's rent controlled apartment that they're illegally subletting.

[@devilonyourshoulder8845]

Great video, however I don’t think it’s always that deep with films/showrunners. The producer wants to make a movie or show that will make money by banking on “ideas” that are trending in the media that will draw a profitable audience. However, by the time the movie/show has finished production, marketing, and released into theaters or on (insert streaming service here), said messaging or trend is out of style or focused on such a niche audience it flops. Velma, Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, Cuties, Cruella, Witcher: Blood Origin, etc, are just a filmmaker shooting for a massive cash grab hiding behind the idea of philosophical messaging

[@vlo4829]

Saying they are "banking on ideaes that ar trending in the media" is really just saying that the agenda comes from the media. I think they play off of each other. Even if we call race and gender-swaps "cashgrabs", it still doesnt explain why the content within these always feature the same themes in the same predictable way, and almost none of them are good, even when they have source materials that they could copy for optimal laziness. They are clearly following an agenda beyond just "swapping".

[@MRita404]

Gold star for referencing Tiny Toons' "Citizen Max" episode. For most kids watching at the time the reference to Citizen Kane would have went over their heads but for a few kids, getting the reference felt GREAT. And for people who later grew up and then realized what Tiny Toons was doing, they had even more respect for the show.

[@jameslegrange9963]

Your intellectual perspective on the movie industry is refreshing. It’s not done out of anger, but clarity. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

[@DespotofAntrim]

I was going to leave a comment but decided that would be too predictable, then rethought my position, concluding that doing the opposite of what you expect me to do is pastiche, and in any case expectation is a largely fictitious concept.

[@DespotofAntrim]

What even is a comment?

[@gregowen2022]

I would respond, but how can I be sure you are even seeing the same letters as I am and interpreting them the same? We have different unknowable internal dialog and I am The Other to you as you are The Other to me. Our meanings are merely constructs of the moment, I forgot where I was going.

[@skaidonC]

Oh there are sooo many problems with current Hollywood. Here are a few: 1: Complex villain =/='Sympathetic villain' (see the video by 'The Closer Look'), or this trope done WELL - read the 'Licanius' trilogy. 2: Chasing trends without understanding WHY they are popular - see superhero fatigue, extended universes etc. But none more obvious than The Hollywood Fantasy Obsession (how many times did you see the phrase 'the next game of thrones' attached to different productions?) 3: Lack of mid-budget movies / no creative risk taking. The only productions that get greenlit are things the businesspeople executives think will make money - so you end up with runaway costs and creatives forced to work on productions they aren't inspired by (obviously not helped by hiring people who disdain the source material / genre etc) Also r.e. 'stories' I really like the conclusion Robert Charles Wilson draws in 'Owning the Unknown' which is essentially 'stories allow us to explore ideas we would not otherwise have the words for'. R.E. 'good' representation see 'Blue Remembered Earth', or 'Temeraire', or 'The no.1 ladies detective agency'. These are all stories that DID SOMETHING with their non-western settings.

[@forsociopoliticalstuff2629]

I’d like to add in creatives that are actually activists to the list as well. Such people are very talented at convincing the executives that were mentioned, but tend to not be very good at making stories that connect with people that aren’t already on board (enough) with the ideas/concepts/idiologies that those creatives want to put out. It’s one of the reasons for the often talked about “getting beaten over the head with a message” thing.

[@skaidonC]

@@forsociopoliticalstuff2629 oh true. I think it was....Critical Drinker? who pointed out for Witcher: Blood Origin it was a fantasy show where the creatives were given full creative freedom....and it was awful. Also as Greg Owen, pointed out his recent video on themes - these writers are open about ignoring the writing advice they should be following. etc etc all about current-year politics and therefore not about being creative at all. Honestly so many examples that KZbinrs have pointed out of missed creative potential.

[@justthinkingoutloud2538]

I love your thesis and most of your points, but one thing I will push back against is the idea that every story needs an evil villain. Tolkien, the man whose epic so many people call the epitome of boring, black and white, archetypal storytelling, said that he does not deal in absolute evil. He believed there is objective good and evil in the world, but that no people are objectively good or evil at their core. And in the real world, while some people havesunk so far into narcicism, sadism, and depravity that it seems fair to judge them as completely bad people, I firmly believe all people have potential for good and evil and no one is wholly, unforgivably evil. I know you're a Christian, so I'm sure you won't argue with me there, but my point is that love stories, and as an aspiring writer, I try to write stories that do establish principles of good and evil, that don't succumb to nihilism or relativism, yet rather than embodying those principles with clear heroes and villains, show different characters who all want to do the right thing, but due to different perspectives and circumstances, wind up dramatically opposing eachother. I find these kinds of stories can be very compelling in asking what it looks like to do the right thing in messy, realistic circumstances, because as much as we need our heroic archetypes, often in life it's easier said than done to emulate them when we may not know what the right thing is.

[@Bahr-im7pn]

If you have to be a victim to have power, does that mean all villains in modern media have sympathetic backgrounds that we're turning a blind eye to? Because the most destructive villains are the ones in power, and by that logic, they'd all have to be victims in some way. Woah, I'm getting Big Jack Horner flashbacks.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

Jack Horner worked because he had no motivation. He was just presented as a pure evil jerk that was raised by loving parents and had stability, but just wanted power.

[@Bahr-im7pn]

@@bowserbreaker2515 Exactly. He was already a successful businessman, but it just wasn't enough for him. He pitied himself despite everything he had at his disposal.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

@@Bahr-im7pn Greg has mentioned The Last Wish multiple times and how great it was.

[@Bahr-im7pn]

@@bowserbreaker2515 And rightfully so.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

@@Bahr-im7pn This was still a great video in my opinion. What did you think?

[@gavinmitchell5853]

"...men are in charge and saving everyone, but they just cast a woman to read the lines." Brilliant quote! Subscribed.

[@invidatauro8922]

The great paradox of Post Modernism is that it's a philosophy about how nothing has any true meaning, but REQUIRES the things that it is making funny of to have a determined, true meaning.

[@johnernest5843]

Stayed for the first 7 minutes, didn't realize it was already 40 mins in. Very well done and respectful video that allows the viewer to mull over their own ideas. Excellent work!

[@personapokemaster8844]

If these people in Hollywood had any ounce of creativity then they’d use original stories to get across the ideas they wished to convey but instead they show how lazy and intellectually bankrupt they are when they need to coast on already famous IPs to do the heavy lifting for them.

[@erubin100]

Funny enough, this makes me think of an interesting arc in the later chapters of One Piece. SPOILERS BELOW.... So the straw hats go to the land of the fishmen where they come into conflict with an anarchist group that view arlong as a hero of sorts and despise humans with a venomous passion. HOWEVER, none of these fishmen have ever even encountered humans before, so their only point of reference is the stories arlong and other fishmen told them of how humans oppressed them and are evil. What we're left with is a generation of fishmen that actively hate and want to kill all humans only based on things that OTHERS HAVE TOLD THEM, and not because they actually experienced it themselves! It's actually kind of scary how much this reflects different facets of reality today!

[@ugib8377]

I wasn't sure I'd watch all the way through, but this really caught me. You did a great job with this. I really don't know enough or care enough about the subject to try to offer an opinion. I just wanted to give you a "Job well done". Rivaled some of the more interesting documentaries I've watched in terms of holding my interest. Your videos are getting better. Welcome back from vacation by the way. And you are right, I do need an ibuprofen for my lower back... Witchcraft.

[@johnrichmond.4783]

' I really don't know enough or care enough about the subject to try to offer an opinion.' Then you explain how engrossed you were. Erm...errrrr....I'm confused. Is that a post modern post, or is it an ironic nod to a self aware refusal to offer any sort of offering...at all? In which case; 'This!'

[@gregowen2022]

I'm very glad you enjoyed it! It feels good to be back!

[@matthewturco156]

This essay was sublime...thoughtful, entertaining, and actually added something of value to the topic...nicely done!

[@gregowen2022]

What do you think explains the current state of the entertainment industry? Is it adapted postmodernism or something else?

[@steffenpanning2776]

All I know is that big corporations are not on the same side as Marxists. If hedge funds and big corporations support Marxist ideas, I'd be very suspicious as a Marxist ;)

[@TempoLOOKING]

Satanic. Litteral, spiritual, and cultural. JRR Tolkien warned you of this. They clearly want to kill the logos and replace it with there dialectic gnosticisum propenganda.

[@imallwin]

In both Hindu and eastern philosophy there is concept of relativism driving things but it's handled quite differently and frankly better.. Relative truth is explained more like there is layers of separation between the truth and our observation and interpretation of it.. one of these layers is ego and how you should quiet the ego to observe and interpret truth clearly.. I don't think that's what the post modernist think when they talk about relative truth since 'the truth' doesn't exist in their version.. Also there is concept of gender fluidity.. since masculinity and feminity are considered the extremes of certain traits and inorder to function better as human being you should incorporate and balance between these extremes and be flexible.. it's not and never about labels and putting people into boxes.. it honestly baffles me how these people can always find the worst possible interpretation and try to apply it to the society with no regard for consequences..

[@argentaegis]

You've got the philosophical core of what's driving things, but I'd narrow the creative problems down to two main thrusts, deconstruction and messaging. Deconstruction is a problem because it's produces nothing new and is easy. So you can manufacture product that deconstructs the prior product, and that's not all that hard to do. The problem is that it doesn't make anything new on its own. Paired with the postmodern/nihilistic "nothing is good", all it can do is take something apart and declare its atoms flawed. Messaging, "current year message", is a problem because it's enormously short sighted and tends to replace the constructive elements. You see this when a property is torn down, and the ideas are replaced with whatever message was current at the time of filming. I'd bet this has a bit of a feedback loop with rapid releasing of media. These ideas are rarely well presented and frequently poorly compatible with the imagery of the original media. I refer to this two step process(1: deconstruct to hollow out, 2: fill with current year message) as "Edgar Suit". Taking apart a piece of media to it's atoms and complaining about them is the critique side of this. It's probably better to engage in a "how would you have made this better" exercise if possible. If one doesn't have a good answer...

[@goatsuckervonsasquatch644]

Corporate exploitation of liberal ideals along with young naive peoples arrogance and ignorance and the initial indifference from gen-X made this a perfect shit storm

[@mokkaveli]

0:39 damn bro your channel just keeps getting better. Didnt know you were a tea afficionado too. Thats the best tea in England, good choice.

[@forsociopoliticalstuff2629]

You know what’s a great movie featuring the stories of black women: hidden figures. It talks about great things a group of them did, and highlights racial issues (for example here, segregation), without villainizing others while also lifting up the main characters and featuring their accomplishments.

[@SJ-co6nk]

I just sat here watching like 10 of your videos, and then you pointed out that St. Anger is an objectively disappointing album and I'm glad I've already subbed because that's an objective fact and I don't care what the postmodernists say.

[@dpoolx]

I came for the thumbnail, I stayed for the smartness.

[@travisdhall77]

I came across a criticism of Forrest Gump, saying it hadn’t aged well. It’s complaint was that it made Jenny look like a bad person when she was in fact just a victim. Part of what I loved about Forrest Gump was how it showed that trauma can lead to self-destructive behavior, and that behavior can hurt people around you And it can destroy you if you don’t get it under control. But it’s not OK to say that when there are no wrong decisions anymore.

[@caedrewan]

This video essay was incredible - I remember when my professor talked about modernism and post-modernism, and, nothing against my professor, you succinctly got to the heart of the issue (the only thing I believe my literature professor would add is the idea that for the people experiencing the period crossing over from the modern to the post-modern, there was a belief that the modern had already reached that apotheosis of purpose, and in so doing, had to be torn down for the sake of creating anything new) Anyway, again, incredible essay, I'll be saving the youtube address in my notes, I feel like I'll have cause to re-watch it again in the future. And as a side note, thanks for the Psych "I've heard it both ways" shout out, I love Psych

[@dontyodelsohard2456]

I once criticized Netflix for allowing Cuties to be put up on their site and was told "How do you know it is bad without watching it?" and my responce was simple "If the premise alone of young girls dancing suggestively isn't enough to turn you off to it, perhaps you have a deeper problem." And with the retort of "Actually, it was critcizing it! They didn't want to dress all skimpy and dance suggestively, but they had to because they were poor!" And I said "But they made children dress all skimpy and dance suggestively to illustrate that point?" To which I was blocked. Now, okay... This was on Reddit. I'm sorry, I have since prayed to be absolved of such a sin. No, but really, Reddit is a great place for niche interests... It is just also prone to creating toxic as hell echoe chambers that thrive on strawmanning and yesmanning. I have quit but the loss of the only community that talked about my favorite TTRPG has been felt. But at a certain point it just wasn't worth the hassle of wading through whatever garbage it rocemmended I see just to see what I wanted... And also I kind of realized living in a virtual space which just steeped what I wanted to see isn't that healthy either. I could have let this pass and maybe you thought I was on Twitter or something... But honestly the guilt is just too much to omit. This is last paragraph is mostly a joke and not a cry for help, lol.

[@ashbirk4681]

The irony of the simulacra is the Matrix was made as a way to demonstrate the simulation/simulacra/hyperreality/matrix concept (the Wachowskis actually made the cast read the book before seeing the script). When Baudrillard saw the movie he said “The matrix is the type of movie the matrix would make about itself”

[@ashbirk4681]

@@GregJamesMusic it’s a pretty long shot, the metaphor of the pedantic and insipid gender bending they now claim diminish the movie’s original amorphous message. Hyperreality and late stage capitalism, the holographic nature of reality, the dream/reality paradox (especially considering the character Morpheus) or even understanding the grand scheme of ecological cooperation stretched across the trilogy (the way the people need machines and machines need people). But nah… gender stuff 🤦🏻‍♂️ I’ve heard that’s why the character Switch has such an androgynous look and ultimately said “Not like this” before her death (as to say she didn’t want to die in the matrix where her gender ideology was unrealised or something? 🤷🏻‍♂️) but that was such a tiny part of the movie it could easily have been forgotten. This idea is boring, myopic and derivative, and I agree, I don’t think the Wachowskis would have made the cast read about Evolutionary Psychology (a thing gender ideologists despise and classify as “right wing propaganda”) and Kevin Kelly’s “Out of Control” if gender was the main theme. Seems like a post hoc association to me 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@alexandria1663]

And if you zoom out EVEN FURTHER, you realize everything about postmodernism, the people behind it, and its effects on society all make sense if Christianity is true.

[@ninjafoxgamesgeekery]

I still think having Bucky be the new Captain America would have been more interesting with the dynamics set up in the MCU. Although Bucky has healed from the Winter Soldier programming while in Wakanda, that doesn't necessarily mean he's fully forgiven himself. You've got a character with a chance to redeem himself by living up to Steve's example as Captain America, but with all the training of an assassin. Opposite him you've got Sam Wilson, who is definitely more aligned with Steve's example in terms of conscious and always doing the right thing no matter the consequences. THEN you've also got the antagonistic friendship that's been established between Bucky and Sam since Civil War. Having Sam as the conscious to guide Bucky's Cap makes a more compelling story than just..... "they'll never let a black man carry the shield." Going a step further, they really should have gone straight into a new Cap film after Endwalker with a "Disassembled Saga" around Sam & Bucky looking at rebuilding the Avengers in a post-Endgame world where most of your roster is now out of the picture and looking for new members plus struggling with a lack of the funding Tony provided (we don't even know the state of Stark Industries as of Endgame. Is Potts still CEO? Did the company continue to be successful through the blip? Or did Stark & Potts mostly retire during that time?) and still dealing with governments wanting something akin to the Sokovia Accords to keep a handle on super hero teams. No need to direct appearances or major story connections, but a post-credits thread that yes, the new Captain America and Falcon are looking to rebuild the Avengers. Even She-Hulk could better connect just on the notion of them approaching her to be the Avengers' legal council (despite my opinion that even a good She-Hulk series shouldn't have been all action and fits better as a legal coutroom sit-com). Bonus fun: After No Way Home, you'd be able to slip a post-credits scene in of them considering Spider-Man, but having no idea how to get a hold of him since they don't know who he is AND the two concluding they don't really like him anyway, still holding a grudge from Germany. VILLAINS: I've always thought the film "Enemy of the State" has a single line that is 100% what a writer should aim for with a villain. Gene Hackman's character is talking to the antagonists of the film through a chain link fence and he's essentially laying out everything they've done. There's a point where he says something along this simple line: "So you kill the girl. I wouldn't have, but I understand the argument." That's it. That's the revelation for writing a compelling villain. They don't need to be sympathetic and been presented as having a truly valid point or actually being right. You just need the audience to say "I wouldn't have done that, but I understand the reasoning." You need enough for the audience to see themselves in the villain, to say they understand his reason for doing something despite utterly disagreeing with the methods he took (people saying Killmonger's right when he outright says his plan includes killing children just because of who they're born to blows my mind). That or you just throw all reason out the window and go for truly evil for the "audiences loves to hate 'em" style villain.

[@marcakins3373]

As for the Marvel MCU, the fact that Chris Evans doesn’t want to do the role anymore is probably the main reason he wanted out…if MCU replaced the actor with a new actor , that could save the longevity of the character…but Disney unfortunately believes actors are the reason for asses in seats( recent example RDJ as Dr. Doom)…when it is a telling story with believable characters

[@wolfofthewest8019]

5:25 "...while not ever wanting to hear any Nirvana song ever." We are no longer friends, Greg. You're dead to me.

[@nickstrogo]

I love Nirvana, but the analogy definitely did work😭

[@asolvey]

“Everything is subjective” is an objective statement. Not a fan of postmodernism myself.

[@personapokemaster8844]

This was a really good and insightful video on this topic and I think you nailed down the concept of what I was trying to understand about why modern Hollywood is so terrible. It’s all flashy style with no substance or meaning essentially. As an aspiring writer myself I hope I can surpass these outdated beliefs and make something fun and interesting.

[@gregowen2022]

I'm certain that you can! Now is the time, too. With entertainment falling down everywhere, people are thirsty for good stories. I wish you the very best luck

[@MB-lz5eb]

I'm an aspiring writer too, but I think I'm stuck too much on "all the 'big stuff' in my story has to fit to the overarching theme I'm going for"

[@SirThinkALot42]

To be fair: 'A film with a soundtrack so amazing, you dont care if the story is any good' is ALSO a perfect description of Rocky Horror. And I love that movie

[@Billy-ro5ws]

I guess we'll just casually ignore Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. I always knew you were racist. Somehow, this confirms it. So, jokes aside, this was a great video. I think you do a great job of going into depth enough to understand the point(s) you're making and, more specifically, the supporting ideas, philosophies, etc. rather than assuming your audience knows and understands everything you're referencing as well as you do. Great stuff. Also, was that DC Talk?

[@gregowen2022]

If not for Soundgarden, we wouldn't have Audioslave, so points to Grunge there, haha. I appreciate the kind words. I was glad it struck a balance between educational and patronizing. Ha, it was DC talk! That was an addition from Mrs. Owen.

[@turtleboy1188]

He is racist, he hates black Captain America. Not lynch mob racist though, more like he will subconsciously see different cultures as inferior.

[@MrKingkz]

​@@gregowen2022what I can not have that soundgarden are well better the audioslave now that av got my rant out of the way good job with the video😊

[@JamesFrizell]

Man lots of what you say are things that I have always kind of thought, but never really had the vocabulary to really express. It makes so much more sense now, because when it came to media I always knew *something* was wrong, and what Hollywood and the like felt totally disingenuous, but this whole explanation of modernism, post-modernism, and how it all works makes things seem so much clearer. It's still a complex situation, but being able to put names to what is going on is going to make it much easier to express why I don't really like so much of what is being made (even though I know my objections will likely be ignored anyways, but at least I'll feel like I have something to say now).

[@sunso1991]

The only thing i disagree is anout nihilism. I am a nihilist, i believe there is no grand purpose, no afterlife, no original sin, no final judgement, most morality are societal construct, and soon the universe wouldnt even remember humanity ever existed. There is no purpose besides enjoying our one life on this planet. My dream is to be a recluse living in a small town in the middle of nowhere, play with my chickens and dogs, drink beer and watch the sunrise and sunset. To a true nihilist there is no point to, actively seeking to redefine morality, correct historical grievance, or reshape society. Because thats a waste of time and totally pointless.

[@MrS-pe6sd]

It’s kinda like the way Mexico and South American countries protest for open boarders in the US, but don’t have open boarders themselves

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

This was interesting. And here’s me thinking Hollywood writers were just talentless hacks. Sounds like they’re even worse.

[@RJStheFourthAge]

You should incorporate meta-modernism into your thought as well. It might change your praise of Across the Spiderverse. I did a video on this topic called - Why You Hate Multiverse Stories, and Why You Will See More & More of Them.

[@llamasarus1]

It reminds me of the recent movie Asteroid City, which I disliked. I'd criticize it by saying "This film was completely meaningless and nothing consequential happens", but the filmmakers would use this judo by saying in response, "Then it succeeded because of a commentary on meaninglessness."

[@Upintheairideas]

Blair witch wasn't the first found footage film to be thought real, the McPherson tape and cannibal holocaust both were believed real by many audience members. Blair witch just brought it to the masses. I still believe however that Blair witch is scary because the line between what is performance by the actors and what is a true fearful reaction is hard to find. So many times, in the film they were actually afraid making the footage still feel scary, at least to me. It's a bit like when Chris Pratt dropped the orb holding the power stone, it was a real goof but it worked with the tone and character.

[@fruitpunchsamuraid2484]

Dang, you brought me back to my seminary days. Good stuff!

[@bryanwigmore7224]

Great video, Greg: you have a real knack for putting quite complex ideas clearly and with showmanship. Not saying I agree with everything, but if we were down the pub, it would be a basis for a good discussion.

[@JustayoungBBCliving]

“Water that’s lying about being milk” 😂😂 I can’t have milk without my stomach having problems, Does that mean I’m less of a man?

[@gregowen2022]

*Swanson voice* Son, that feeling is weakness attempting to leave your body. Embrace it, and then go hunt an animal. Or something, I'm not sure what Ron would say here

[@benjaminhill6171]

Regarding the Snow White remake, Rachel constantly bringing up how old the original movie is constitutes a logical fallacy called chronological snobbery, which is the assumption that old values and philosophies are inherently inferior just because they're old. It's not a valid point to make.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I really think 2D animation & practical effects did wonder's for creative storytelling. We used to have such well made stories & animation. We had creative ways to show expressions, emotions, give the audience feelings without overly explaining it. I really miss it all. So much now is just bland green screen CGI disconnected hollow movie's/TV shows. *(If you would have told kid me back in the early 90s that most animation in media would basically disappear. I wouldn't have believed you and gone back to watching X-Men the animated series. That was just 1 of many animated shows that was so well crafted. The story of mutants was so universally relatable. Media abstractly taught me life lessons, touched on difficult situations, found intelligent ways to tell stories. So much so that when I've gone back & rewatched them as a adult. I realized how well they told & crafted stories that anyone can enjoy & appreciate them no matter what age they are. Great examples are (Pretty much anything created by Don Bluth or Written by Roald Dahl) The Brave little toaster, James and the giant peach, The never ending story, Rocko's modern life, Jumanji, Hook, The secret of the Nimh, Sword and the stone, black cauldron, Little Nemo and the adventures of Slumberland, beetle juice, Alice in wonderland, Rock-a-doodle, Captain Planet, Thundercats, He-man, Spawn, Batman, Batman beyond, toxic crusaders, Matilda, The BFG, Ren and stimpy, courage the cowardly dog, magic school bus, Dexter's laboratory, pinky and the brain, I am weasel, IR Baboon, Ah! Real monster's, goosebumps, are you afraid of the dark, pee wee's playhouse, she-ra warrior princess, cow & chicken, gargoyle's, power rangers, TMNT, the Indian in the cupboard, Addams family, toy soldier's, honey I shrunk the kid's, wild thornberries, hey Arnold, angry beaver's, Flintstones, the Jetsons, Kablam, So many more I won't list them all but they had such creative range. So many ways of telling stories. So many types of creatures, unique worlds, weird things, macabre things. I loved how we used to embrace those things. Nowadays everything is so bland or Shallow live action version's filed with nonsense & hollowness because it wants to be "realistic" I miss the Era of creativity, of animated series, of things that made us utilize our intelligence. Artistic depictions of the Human condition that connects us on a deeper level. No matter what kind of character, creature, specie's they are. I seriously don't understand who can enjoy these modern live action movies. Filled with so much disconnected CGI. Cheap cop out writing, acting, storytelling that is treating our entire audience like they are 2 yr olds that just need a pair of shiney keys waved in front of them for entertainment... it's a very bland & soulless way to entertain... Seeing how things are nowadays, i feel so lucky that i got to grow up in the 90's. Back then I never could have guessed that things would have changed the ways they did. It was such a great time to be a kid. The world seemed to have so many creative ways kids, teens and adults could all enjoy themselves. Entertaining movies with practical effects. Animated movies/shows galore. If they used CGI it was used intelligently. I really miss the Vibe of that Era. The creativity that came from that era. I really hope we find a way to reconnect with it because the world seems like it really needs it right now. I mean just look at the aesthetics compared to now? Things have somehow become so bland, bleek, and minimalism that it doesn't even make since. Most Old house's/building's/uúnique shop's are gone. Interesting oddities like drive in movies, indoor fun zones, arcade's, magazines that came with a demo disc to try out game's, blockbuster/Hollywood video, McDonald's had N64's, you could preview music before buying it, they had great kid's toy's, Roller Rink's, Garbage pale kid's card's. You get the point. I want to reignite that feel sort of like Retro-Futurism or that Y2K Vibe compared to this current Dystopian pessimism that seems solely focused purely on capitalistic agendas. Our Quality of Life should be better than this.

[@drewo.127]

While I can’t say whether it will change anything or not, I can say that that era of entertainment, from the 90s, to 2000s, along with films and shows from the 80s, 70s, 60s, and 50s and earlier, are exactly the type of stuff I grew up with, and I’ll be doing my best to implement those magical vibes and lessons into everything I make! But I also am not gonna just do that, as I also plan on implementing my own personal experiences, not just from tv and media, but my life in general, as well as other things, to try and not rely just on nostalgia or meta humor, or postmodernism!

[@bfranciscop]

I wish this was only about our fictional media writers. One of the worst problems we face in this age is that our journalists are afflicted with the same hyperreality problem, their ability to report on factual reality being completely disabled, because they need to fit everything through the fictional reality lens they were brought up with.

[@skyfire_swe8520]

This video is pure education. Hope it gets the audience it deserves.

[@LaitoChen]

This is the best video on postmodernism ive ever watched. Easy to digest for those of us who took STEM and lack the vocabulary to express our feelings on the whole debacle. Thabks

[@Desi_Midget]

I wish you kept the jump cuts to a minimum. I love some of them but it takes me out of the experience. Maybe you can overlay some of them with half opacity. Keep them as short as possible. I hope you don't see it as a critique of your actual script which is great.

[@gregowen2022]

I do appreciate the feedback. This is my first longer one, usually I keep it to around 12 minutes, which I suppose needs a different feel from a more essay style

[@Brotherofthe4thCompany]

To quote the band Slipknot, “Old does mean dead, new does not mean best.”

[@VirtualHolocaust]

Honestly its pretty wild. The "fearless girl" really shows the hubris of modern women. They have been so sheltered from the possibility of danger the idea of danger itself seems to be a fantasy.

[@kathleenhensley5951]

Rachel Z... I'm 73, I am very grateful I am not her grandmother. I wonder when she is going to be throwing her grandma off the bridge because she is old. There are eternal stories, stories everyone can understand and identify with, stories of profound wisdom. Myths frequently show us the depths of our fears and the origins of our first questions. Fairy tales are remembered because they teach us something about the human condition and how to react to maturely as a human being. I grew up with my mother telling me Italian fairy tales and legends. You did such a great job covering this topic that I must leave now and do some work, but I will have more comments when I can take some time off.

[@Userfriendly1977]

I think you'll find very few Hollywood people and people from the creative class as actual communists. That's where the chain fell off for me.

[@GLJosh]

People liked Killmonger because we had quite a few very poor MCU villains and he at least had some depth (a kiddie pool is still deeper than puddle). Thanos will always be an incredible villain as he was given an actual character background. Now I must weep for the next "re-invention" of live action Dr. Doom.

[@edwardg8912]

Just had this discussion in my grad class last night. Not in terms of Hollywood but in the context of Irish literature

[@gregowen2022]

I'm not familiar with Irish literature. What was the discussion about? Did it take a similar turn as current day hollywood?

[@edwardg8912]

@@gregowen2022 About the evolution of modernism into postmodernism in Irish literature. To oversimplify to a single comment, with the modernists, they were generally defined by a reclamation or reexamination of the Irish past (both the pagan and the Catholic). A lot to do with trying to situate what modern people are, especially with Ireland having residuals of that old world still very present. The postmodernists are heavily ironic and satirical. They were presented as having no belief in anything higher, and hyper examination of form (At-Swim-Two-Birds by Flan O’Brien is the best example of this). I haven’t arrived at the contemporary writers, so I don’t know how they as “postpostmodernists” think. I know contemporary poets usually divorce themselves from form and begin contemplating art and the structures of art, as well. It’s similar to what you discussed with the simulacra, but not derived off of social media. Basically you have the moderns who do things and push the forms to the bounds. Then you have the postmoderns who make you acutely aware of the bounds. Then the contemporary people see that there is nothing formal remaining, so abandon it altogether.

[@jeffreyhansen350]

Thanks!

[@gregowen2022]

No, thank YOU!

[@s3.14dervision]

The greatest trick the Devil ever played was to convince mankind that he didn't exist.

[@samwellcheck562]

Post-modernism is a lesson in how defining your beliefs as AGAINST something instead of FOR something goes nowhere no matter how much you thought about it or how technically correct your analysis is.

[@aw3someinc175]

So where do you land on “Watchmen”? It is pretty much an archetype of postmodernism, it is the ultimate subversion and deconstruction of superheroes. It also takes pains to as Alan Moore says, show everyone has something going for them and everyone has a flaw. Comic books that followed just saw gritty reboot and called it a day perhaps, but “Watchmen” itself is a tight story that makes sense and wasn’t trying to be anything other then what it was

[@aw3someinc175]

A song of Ice and Fire is another one that I think is worth thinking about. Clearly it is a subversion of Classic fairy tales and LOTR in particular, but it also talks about politics in a way that does not neatly map into democrats vs republicans. Meaning we can talk about what ruling actually looks like instead of advocating for preferred policies.

[@bryanwigmore7224]

Watchmen is very impressive, but I think it has the quality Greg mentioned, that it critiques without providing any suggestions: it doesn't believe in anything itself. I was blown away by its cleverness when it came out, but don't now find it emotionally involving. Same with Moore's Providence, which I've just read. (Same with Moore's anything, possibly.)

[@gregowen2022]

Watchmen would make for a great rewatch, but I recall liking it years ago, but that may have been because it the first time I saw "what if superheroes but morally grey", so I don't know. A similar idea is The Boys, I guess, which I liked for the first two seasons. I don't have the stomach to pick up the third, it was getting to be a lot, visually.

[@jk802]

The Falcon made a name for himself as a Super Hero. I don't think he would want to take over another man's identity at the expense of his own.

[@SirMikeB]

I feel I just took a graduate course in post-modernism. Very impressive analysis but a lot of it over my head. 🙂

[@brunocarranzaaragon921]

J J Mccollough's video that Greg praised for the thumbnail is also a great watch, and he defines himself as conservative as well

[@rontimm297]

Dig it. Only sour note was throwing shade at Nirvana. Preference noted.

[@gregowen2022]

Haha, I know I'm in the minority on this one

[@KathyH684]

I really enjoy your videos! I've yet to see a video from you I don't enjoy! Thanks for another great video!

[@gregowen2022]

I appreciate the kind words so much, thank you!

[@KathyH684]

@@gregowen2022 You're welcome! I really like your videos! You have a very balanced opinion when it comes to reviewing that I find refreshing!

[@scottpankonin1068]

"It's good to be the king..." best movie reference ever. From back when movies were good.

[@gregowen2022]

Brooks is the champion of comedy. Hopefully we find our way back there

[@danielmacmaster5822]

"All art is propaganda." George Orwell.

[@markcollins1516]

Absolutely fantastic essay Greg! Loved it. Especially your edits as they are varied and so on point (my favourite for this vid was Mel Brooks "It's good to be the King"). I don't always agree with everything you say, but I do thoroughly enjoy your content and you certainly deserve more subscribers. Keep up the awesome work, and I'll see you next time!