If Toxic Authors Made Video Essays

Oh boy, I love stock footage. Who else can relate?
#writer

[@thewizard-edits]

Geniuses are never respected in their time. I am not respected in my time. Therefore, I am a genius.

[@ExterminatorElite]

Heh, nice syllogism. Unfortunately for you, I have made a meme where you are the low IQ guy, and I am the high IQ guy who says the exact same thing. Checkmate.

[@genericallyentertaining]

This is why I go out of my way to make sure people don't respect me. (I don't want to risk not being a genius.)

[@IHateAmer1ca]

That may be why my girlfriend broke up with me! It’s because she doesn’t thinks she’s good enough for me! I knew it!

[@caspermadlener4191]

Interestingly, this only applies to artists. All of the scientists you know were also really famous in their time!

[@cherrytv3]

@@caspermadlener4191 That's interesting, that could be because Art is subjective and Science is objective, that can be empirically proved. But, what do you think of Nikola Tesla, the poster child of unrecognised genius scientist of his time??

[@jaspervanheycop9722]

Suspiciously Specific Entertainment

[@genericallyentertaining]

fwiw I voted in favor of the 1832 Reform Act. I don't know who posted this.

[@Calebgoblin]

Suspific

[@jic1]

@@genericallyentertaining So you're not a secret monarchist, just at least 213 years old?

[@kingo_clubs9097]

I love how subtle this video is. Instead of starting off with an obvious joke it makes a decent argument and then just when you think hes actually cooking he gets you.

[@sylph8005]

But early signs it’s ridiculous. Like the pronunciation of Van Gogh

[@Prototype-357]

@@sylph8005 I didn't even catch that, I underestimated the video I think, I thought when the other shoe dropped it would be more obvious and sudden.

[@lenaalt2387]

i knew it from that start, i could feel that sinking feeling, that pit at the bottom of my stomach

[@bjartskular0]

​​@@sylph8005 I might be a fucking idiot but isn't that the correct pronunciation

[@bestaround3323]

​@@bjartskular0no

[@RelativelyBest]

Am I so out of touch? ...No. It's the publishers and agents who are wrong.

[@nacicomi]

Considering their ideas, they've been out of touch for about 100 to 200 years

[@ExpertContrarian]

Nah, you’re kind of cooking

[@negative6442]

True...

[@6601]

i love when generic entertainment makes videos about non generic entertainment

[@genericallyentertaining]

It's getting hard for me to tell the difference.

[@SirBoggins]

As the saying goes: "Life is short. Don’t waste it with people who don’t appreciate your pinnacle intellectually. Keep them in your heart for when you're gaslighting them, but keep them out of your head when they give you constructive criticism." -Unknown

[@genericallyentertaining]

Oh, I think it was actually our dear author who said that!

[@815TypeSirius]

Mom?

[@flaredesel3425]

@@815TypeSiriusAre… you okay?

[@Purpose_Porpoise]

​@@815TypeSiriusDefinitely sounds like a toxic family member post. lol

[@815TypeSirius]

@Purpose_Porpoise the best part is toxic people spawn toxic people. Like a virus. You know how antibiotics were an accident and people say "what would world be if not invented?" Well you live in a world that hasnt invented antimemes so information virus just spread.

[@Verxinn]

i too have a friend who tried to publish his genious works on many difrent publishing houses but was denied for "speling mistakes" and "monarchist propaganda". im sure in the good old days, preferentially before the fall of monarchs, my friend's books would be very popular among the literate.

[@genericallyentertaining]

Exactly, those aristocrats knew good art when they saw it! (Or so I'm told, I don't know, I was born in Kentucky.)

[@BazukinBelyugovich]

@@genericallyentertaining I'm sure the Crown Governor of the Colony of Virginia would smile on your treatise

[@fergus92727]

Did he self publish it? If so, I will buy it

[@stilltoomanyhats]

I hate when that happnes (the French revolution was a miskate)

[@benjamindover4337]

You nailed that aesthetic of those milk-toast video essays that talk in circles without ever saying anything. Low effort KZbinrs are the norm now. It is actually identical to panhandling, but from the comfort of home.

[@BazukinBelyugovich]

Weirdly enough, I think there was more said in this parody than in most actual essays.

[@bibliophilecb]

Seriously! Also, at risk of being exactly the type of person this video is mocking, fun fact it’s technically spelled milquetoast! I promise I don’t mean to correct you I just think it’s a neat word and like sharing lol, it derives from the name of a comics character.

[@thekiss2083]

Can't break the 5-minute mark unless you spend the first 80 seconds reciting extremely commonly-known facts!

[@minerman60101]

Isn't it "milquetoast"?

[@Sneaker3719]

Low effort KZbinrs have always been the norm. Be it text-to-speech programs reading off r/AskReddit posts or guys talking into their 240p webcams poorly ripping off the AVGN.

[@peaceofcrap]

I can't help but feel like this author had some kind of ulterior motive for this video.

[@LadyBits2023]

The whole video is literally just an ad to sell a book🤣

[@Zack-bl2gg]

@@LadyBits2023not even, it’s satire for that type of dime a dozen authors/video essayists

[@seanjug]

I wonder how expensive it was to purchase the licenses for the stock footage

[@crediblesalamander8056]

purchase? nay, he claimed them by the divine right of the crown!

[@ri-ch-es]

Or by the devine right of the black flag ​@@crediblesalamander8056

[@Bubblegob]

The fact he's a monarchist feels so right for this archetype. TBF it is quite daunting to publish your work and rejection is a common thing for a lot of artist who go through the trouble of trying to make their work known through traditional means.

[@katethegoat7507]

A monarchist? You mean like Tolkien?

[@alphachicken9596]

It is funny how the people who recognize that they don't fit into society tend to have very strong, top-down opinions on how society should be.

[@youthoughtaboutit6946]

Tbf, it would have fit just as well if he were a communist. These types love gravitating to extreme ends.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

Yea, but I think the key is to recognize your own flaws and try to improve, rather than consider yourself a genius and push on. I had a history teacher who kept on talking about how he wrote this book, yata yata about the book, acting like it’s the next Lord of the Rings and how hard it was to publish and sell it. Fast forward a few weeks, and I picked it up… he spent the first two pages describing the main character entering a room. Like, heavy paragraphs. Which didn’t even matter. It was all solved at the end by the President giving the school money or whatever. The entire book didn’t matter.

[@Bubblegob]

@@Zack-bl2gg The tricky thing is... you can face rejection because you're not good enough or for other reasons like "the market already provide for this niche" "no one is editing this kind of genre these days" etc etc and those will not be always explicit, one day someone can say you'll never make it and someone else will hype you up. It requires a lot of confidence to push through, trying to get better and so on. There's not much difference in the behavior of an unsufferable successful artist and an unsufferable wannabe artist except what they have to show for it but being successful isn't a reason to act like this either.

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

You forgot about people not being able to understand the plot because of an obnoxious amount of obscure symbolism and way to much lore that gets dumped upon the reader.

[@owenbrandon8370]

Get the good name of Evangelion out of your mouth

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

​@@owenbrandon8370 evangelion is good because of its characters, unique ideas, complex themes and exploration of human condition. I love complex symbolism and lore(I can't name a character if there is no meaning to it), but symbolism should enhance the depth of a good story and not replace it. If evangelion didn't had amazing story, themes and characters, no one would care for its lore.

[@SeanCrosser]

​@@ScadrianGhostblood psh, Evangelion is good because it has giants in cool monsters and cruciform explosions, as exemplified by how Ramiel is the best thing in Eva. Everything will be good if it has Ramiel in it.

[@owenbrandon8370]

@@ScadrianGhostblood I just hear lots of people complaining about eva being "too hard to understand" because of the symbolism and stuff and your comment just made me think of it lol

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

@@owenbrandon8370 I actually think that eva is balanced pretty well(mostly) when it comes to the story and symbolism. Problem is that people think that they HAVE TO understand every piece of symbolism and lore when in reality it's not needed that much. They only have be keen on following the story, characters and themes. If they want to understand more on how that world functions and what it means they can, but it's their choice if they want to fall deeper into the rabbit hole.

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

I like the sudden shift from “videos of one guy” to “videos of stock people”.

[@Mightyjordy]

As a flatulent mass, this really spoke to me

[@TrulyAtrocious]

This is the exact video Bill Cypher would use to get you to free him

[@ariannatorres3799]

I cannot escape him

[@tanelschwoll3861]

How does this unironically feel like a really relaxing video essay?

[@Scrooge.1]

He has the background music and the cadence of the narration down perfectly

[@sylph8005]

I ate dinner during it and everything

[@poopie-boorger]

It's the lofi magic.

[@SebastiansSebastian-fc4pj]

@@Scrooge.1 wisespade7 really is wise and genious then.. he gets you with the relaxing yoga music.. then its "hello, BLACK people now wtf is this indian level food".

[@stilltoomanyhats]

Editors worry way too much about petty stuff like "spelling" and "grammar" and "twelve or more pages of lowercase e because sometimes the key gets stuck like that", even if it doesn't really detract from the story, and only happens at most twice per chapter.

[@theblinkingbrownie4654]

Yeah, editors said that my novel was "completely blank" and "an unfunny joke" so taking these as legitimat critique I proceeded to add several pages of each letter of the English alphabt along with punctuation so that the reader may move them to wherever they find lacking and yet i still failed to get it published. Eeeee Sssss ,,,,,,,

[@secondbeamship]

When you read Plato and realize Monarchy is actually the ideal form of government.

[@jimmyjohnjohnson9803]

When you read plato and realize that the womb travels around the body, causing madness

[@KittRidgeway]

Who else actually checked the description for a link?

[@paulm.8660]

And in truth, there was a nonzero chance that had there been a book to buy, I would have bought it.

[@newpaperyes]

Hahaha! Me I suppose.

[@amilisom]

Honestly, I wonder if this guy already has a few books out there but he just doesn't want us to know who he is

[@mineton1293]

Oh I did. I was kicked out of my trance when I couldn't oblige by his pleading.

[@jamesjasso6002]

I was indeed expecting to find some 'monarquist' novel.

[@fabricreative1930]

The way there are some good points mixed in with the toxicity and there's nothing really over the top until the ending makes this seem like a video essay that very well could've been made

[@thekiss2083]

Your cadence, as an, established KZbin VIDEO Essayist in his, mid to, late thirties, is.................exquisite. *calming music cue* I, instinctively wanted to, turn up the speed, to, 1.25x just....listening

[@camelopardalis84]

I have decided that I will play your' 91 entries long "Steamed Hams" playlist to fall asleep to later.

[@bendybruce]

Genius is in the eye of the beholder. Some may consider a filthy urinal located in a modern art gallery rather than in the men's toilet where it belongs as genius.

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

You are pretty much right about that, as sad it is to know.

[@bendybruce]

@@ibrahimihsan2090 Just to add. Some people think Terence Howard is a genius.

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

@@bendybruce I mean, if a person believes in the dude's nonsense, of course they would.

[@Coffy-chan]

I love that this is actually half-right lol.

[@raw1175]

Reminds me of the time when I was watching someone talk about booktok and then they brought up the idea of consent manufacturing and the book that Noam Chomsky wrote where he defended denying the Cambodian genocide.

[@tyrongkojy]

I mean, there ARE issues with the publishing industry. But....

[@thekiss2083]

At least, there were until I personally got published! Allow me to semi-quit KZbin and only upload to shill my new book once every 6-28 months

[@tangentfox4677]

I see you were finishing off a stock footage subscription.

[@Dragonseer666]

Absolute monarchy and feudalism, amirite?

[@alvedonaren]

Aren't those two literally opposed concepts? Powerful sovereign vs powerful vassals.

[@artofthepossible7329]

Technically, yes, but as France in the 18th century (after Louis XIV supposedly made the King of France an absolute monarch) rather handily demonstrates, you can have legally powerful vassals, even if their economic and military powers are no threat to the monarch/crown. Feudalism in general is a lot more of a social contract thing than a strict form of government, so the actual state of affairs can vary wildly based on various factors and situations.

[@rimut230]

also, both are oppressive regimes regardless

[@hawkbirdtree3660]

If it makes you feel any better, there are people like this in every artistic medium. They need to be validated and putting you down; at the same time.

[@cbpd89]

You get bonus points for the obviously public domain background music and the pronunciation of "Van Gawkkkh" 🤣

[@TamásSzalia-Galambos]

4:49 I know I'm nitpicking but that's not Apollo, I think. He's supposed to represent youth and thus he doesn't have a beard.

[@genericallyentertaining]

I think it's Poseidon, lol.

[@dhararry7929]

That's even better.

[@I5g58]

Poseidon and Apollo are rivals, so it is both stupid and genius that Poseidon is used were Apollo should be

[@juanperret7044]

As a fellow genius I feel for this author, I created a story where the ending was very clever where it makes you question what was real and what was fake by having the main character wake up in an entirely different location. And I do mean entirely. The critics who read this were not advanced enough to understand the deep meaning

[@Shintenpu]

OMG the vaguely related stock footage. So spot on.

[@futurestoryteller]

I don't know why you expect me to believe this isn't the subtext of any and all video essays written by writers who want to tell you "what's wrong with the industry today"... which is virtually all of them.

[@GentleReader01]

This is glorious. The rhetorical escalation is just perfect. Far too good for the masses. 👍🏼

[@End-phoenix]

Even though this is a comedic parody, I believe there is something to learn here. There is a question: where do we draw the line between what makes something good? Should we believe that editors and publishers know the whole truth? Or maybe we must believe that what modern public believes as good, should be considered so? Perharps the ideas and patterns of great writers is what guides our conceptions about about what's good and what's not. Many famous and well acclaimed works are, in other perspectives, rejected as being horrible. Booktoks novels, for example, are loved by young women, but are despised by other groups, specially by adult fiction readers. What should we consider, then? How do we define what is genius?

[@j.t.heywood1680]

Not going to lie, I actually looked for a book link at the end.

[@fabricreative1930]

Same

[@spandanroy8380]

Man, the slow and painful edscent into madness by the author. Now I am actually curious to read his book to see the author's gradual descent into insanity. Great marketing by one of my fellow geniuses who's books are rejected becuse they are unfit for their time. /s

[@SnowOfAllTrades]

Imagine my disappointment at the lack of a book link in the description

[@iamdigory]

1:59 Hard left turn approaching

[@MorgottofLeyendell]

I was thinking, has he finally fallen off, then I reached the end and every hope and expectation was met. You sir, are a genius.

[@RobTFilms]

Nailed it with the weird pauses at random places to emphasise certain words

[@bross92]

Damn you really got some hard use out of that stock footage service on this

[@815TypeSirius]

I unironicaly agree with this and I invented pokemon and google and the death of the great barrier reef and trump.

[@jjju3]

it is amazing how in the first half you nailed the exact thing video essays do where they say So Much. and fucking nothing.

[@yeetman4268]

This is definitely one of the videos of all time

[@samueleastman9904]

Glad to see such genius use of stock footage

[@justinhowe3878]

When your bedside reading is Nietzsche and a thesaurus.

[@sirwobble265]

As neetcher once said, you would be happier if you hit the gym.

[@SirBoggins]

Been binging your stuff so this is perfectly timed!

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

the 'look how profound what I'm saying is' intonation is on point

[@thestupidnintendokid]

I can't find the link to your book in the description. Did you forget to add it? I need my 20% off!

[@BecomingBoundless]

This is hilarious. I can't wait to see people take it seriously.

[@aussiemerican750]

Lily Orchard. You’d get Lily Orchard.

[@lemonlordminecraft]

Guess this is how I find out “coruscant” is an English word and not just the name of a Star Wars planet

[@cabbage2329]

Man, it sucks that such a thing would happen to our dear hypothetical author. In an ideal world, illiteracy rates would be high enough such that only those of noble standing (good taste) would be able to properly engage with it!

[@JordanAbey]

This video is a masterclass in comedy form. One could even say... Genius.

[@lioneljohnsononvacation2635]

Genuinly suprised there wasnt a link to buy his book in the description.

[@thecornerkid402]

The editing…. It’s so good.

[@thecheesen]

Generic entertainment, I must say that your parody on egoistical video essayers truly show how much of a genius you are. We thank you, o great lord.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

I got kind of frustrated by this video halfway through, and all it’s blatant assumptions of genius and the supposed “right way” things should happen, then I remembered this video was satire 😂 you really got me, my guy

[@mrink8822]

This video is genius

[@jannetteberends8730]

I never thought of an artist as a genius, it just never occurred to me. Sometimes I think a work of art is genial. But that’s it.

[@YoutheMasterofUnlocking]

This has been the longest 5 minutes in my life

[@UnderTheRated]

okay but that actually sounds like something I'd like to read

[@KnjazNazrath]

>Link in the description >No link in the description Follow-up vid where the "hypothetical genius" complains that no-one bought his book incoming. This satire was a fun 5m.

[@cambabamba4159]

I’ll wholeheartedly buy into any video essay that has lofi background music and random stock footage visuals

[@Narthanael]

Where is the link? As a fellow genius, I can immediately see the merit of saving one fifth of a fraction of my inherited wealth

[@dahkdm8787]

I got WhatIfAltHist vibes

[@maris_molotov]

unfortunately this actually did trigger my publishing anxiety

[@ptolemyhenson6838]

Had me in the first half, NGL.

[@veilnebula2411]

Well color me surprised there was less toxicity than i would have thought and more enlightenment instead.

[@James-ud3ns]

I so badly want to copy all the script and send it to my writing buddy without context.

[@AurinneA]

This video style feels familar...has anyone done a plagiarism check...😏

[@Clash_In_Saff]

ok masterful tone shift nice work

[@Dinkster69]

I watched Strat-Edgy's Fallout London video and it sounded like this to me. I'm feeling so old.

[@justincampbell3891]

The use of Herbert as an example troubles me. Publishers LOVED "Dune." Their problem with it was practical. Production costs. Nobody wanted to change anything about it, but the trade off there was it was too big for nearly anyone to physically manufacture. The work around was weird but kind of brilliant. Herbert and his agent found a publisher not only willing to produce a book that big, producing books that big was their entire MO.: Car repair manual publisher Chilton.

[@Comkill117]

In the words of Homer Simpson: “I am so smart! S-M-R-T! …I mean S-M-A-R-T.”

[@mrpink8951]

It is hard to take this as a joke when genres like “Romantasy” exists 🤣

[@monoplush1257]

This video made me want to burst out laughing in the library

[@TheJanitorIsIn]

Scrolled for days to find a Curtis Yarvin comment but alas the only people that know of him, like him.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Award-winning (yet "socially invisible") author here. Depends on a multitude of factors. Some "tells" of exemplary work are very much measurable. Others are slightly subject to "opinion", but people's opinions are common, flawed, and often uneducated. Yet... the FACTS which revolve around design, art, sound, color, lighting, mood, techniques, and so forth are pretty obvious: they're either present or they aren't. And believe me, once you've studied enough of any given craft, you CAN see what's going on. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge; hope's strength, resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again." 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ --Diamond Dragons (series)

[@rigulur]

>he doesn't have a book

[@ziloe]

Genuinely disappointed to find no book link in the description 😤

[@midas.mp4]

Saved a couple minutes of watchtime by recognizing the dude's voice and immediately knowing it was gonna be good, so i didn't really need to watch i, did i?

[@unaccompaniedMjolnir]

Gotta give that stock footage subscription a work out sometimes.

[@LadyBits2023]

boy that's a whole Lotta words to say I'm angry that no one would publish my work🤣

[@excessivelivestock7678]

Let’s say, hypothetically…

[@justinhowe3878]

How does one go about publishing a revolutionary tract? Asking for a friend.

[@StephenRansom47]

😊 and this is why I love Cloud Atlas … book & film. - smoking on the balcony of a tower in Edinburgh. “What a beautiful tragedy we all are.” 🌅 🚬 “It’s bloody difficult to be remembered. Sometimes I don’t think about my own self for weeks.” 💥🛀

[@aviendhaandreoli4078]

Ha see! Proof that I’m a creative genius and not a sad loser!

[@JinKee]

… and this is my Masterclass.

[@cleyvour]

Literally Leviathanteen Eightyfour

[@custos3249]

Simple. Genius is a myth of the idiot.

[@sethreyes8988]

A worthy purchase 😊

[@JaydOfAllTrades]

Many find a video recently posted, with little to no comments. Now they may go on to post some clever or witty comment, but none truly compare to the works of those who take the time, put in the effort, and give it a little thought. First and foremost among those being myself, of course.

[@aviendhaandreoli4078]

So funny watching it start off so intelligent and full of good points then absolutely anarchy

[@AlkisGD]

I confess: I did look in the description for a link to a book 🙊

[@JackSparrow-re4ql]

Comedy is becoming reality,or rather absurdity is becoming reality. Thats the disturbing nature of our current era. Eventually things will go too far,and something important will break...

[@Cappuccino_Rabbit]

I know this is a parody, but like, Monarchism is kinda cool.

[@negative6442]

I dont know what the joke or the reference here is, 10/10 i laughed

[@BarokaiRein]

If Brandon Sanderson made a 'learn how to write' course. "Dude, just invent three new nagic systems and write 50 000 words about each of them every week to get your creative juices going. Then, you can start sketching outlines for stories,roughly 100 000 words is a good start for a prologue."

[@OOobstkuchenOO]

He literally has a playlist on his channel of a creative writing class he taught at BYU, it’s quite interesting