The Unrealized Potential Of Ready Player One

[@JustWrite]

What did you guys think of Ready Player One? Note: It's been pointed out to me that the Holy Hand Grenade is a Monty Python reference. My apologies for missing that.

[@christophermarroquin2496]

Just Write pathetic. How do you not know this? YOU call yourself a analyst pfft wade watts would do a better video and connect EVERY reference. YOU just dont know enough pop culture references like Wade and clearly are an IDIOT for not knowing. Sarcasm deactivated.

[@1796matrix]

I was giving you credit that it might be on purpose to prove a point

[@calebsanchez5651]

No worries about not getting a reference lol. I also didn't really enjoy this film, even though I got so many of the references. I also felt kinda empty at the end because it wasn't really a hero's journey like I thought it would be. The points you made were strong and I appreciated them.

[@foolfan83]

It's not an obscure reference. It just takes watching it once.

[@domotdow]

I really enjoyed the book but I haven't seen the movie. I acknowledge that story has some flaws but what dose get right I thinks dose amazingly. I can't speak for the movie but the book deal with meeting someone online I felt were good for the most part having been in somewhat similar experiences that did fall apart for very different reasons. In the book the reason the easter egg was set as it was that for a person with same loves as he did would take over his company he din't think that someone put in the time needed to fine his easter egg just for the money. Due where he hid the first egg being the place being where the school are.

[@MayorOfEarth79]

"Ready Player One is the fantasy of never being wrong." Holy shit, that's perfect.

[@ArgonTheAware]

In the book it went into a lot more detail about Wade's struggle find the answers and how long it took to put the clues together, but in the movie they didn't have time to go through all the situations when he went down the wrong paths as was mentioned that the movie condensed the quest down to only the three keys, so that analysis of the "fantasy" starts from a faulty premise that can be better explained by being "cut for time" instead

[@MayorOfEarth79]

Wade is so much more hateful in the book with his stalking of Artemis and his constant mental fellating over "I know this thing cause I spend months studying it and it was easy. I knew all the authors. I watched all the movies. I'm the uber nerd."

[@ArgonTheAware]

He did a lot more stalking in the book that Artemis shut him down for and put up more resistance to his advances because she thought she was so disfigured by that birthmark that no one could love her for how she looked like in person, so he had to prove to her that wasn't true, but what kind of relationship could it be if he had just given up before he could convince her? The movie should've waited until the end for them to meet in person to give that more impact.

[@ArgonTheAware]

If Wade hadn't been "the uber nerd" and not "spent months studying these things" he never would've found the answers to the clues at all to win the Hunt, so that was Halliday's whole purpose in creating the contest to make sure that someone who appreciated the same things he did would be the only people capable of winning.

[@MayorOfEarth79]

As Just Write points out, that puts a hollowness in the endings of both properties where they try to warn about the dangers of fandom and pop culture saying "Hey all this stuff is good, but reality is what matters" when Wade being an uber fanboy who was always right caused him to get the billions of dollars AND the girl. So them trying to wrap a message like that around this property is the biggest hypocrisy it can make where being right about his devotion for pop culture won him everything.

[@dmastersplinter]

Holy Hand Grenade is from Monty Python, and they totally missed a chance to count off "1, 2, 5!".

[@FL3TcH_A_SkETcH]

3 sir, 3!!!

[@darking30]

it could be from worm world party too XD

[@mageolight5258]

Worms referenced Monty Python too. The original is Monty Python.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

This is the perfect example how this film misses the point, a reference is meaningless without its full essence , message or true lesson. This is what this video says, it misses the true meaning them and of willy wonka and even culture as religion / knights quest for love etc... I was left Empty after this film too. Such a wasted opportunity .

[@stianhjrnevik9952]

holy handgranate is clearly from the game worms ;)

[@maxhydekyle2425]

Major theme of Iron Giant: What if a gun didn't want to be a gun? Ready Player One: Make him blow more people up than anyone else.

[@purplepoet6147]

The theme was more like "I am not a gun" in Iron Giant

[@stormcorrosion176]

What a shame. The Iron Giant is a great film.

[@MrMrRadarada]

Yea but he wanted to be a hero. So in a way he was trying to save the day, at least that's how I see it.

[@DumbIdeaPresentedStupidly]

I mean in context it makes sense. Thomas the tank engine is not a dragon but there are plenty of video games where thomas flys and that is not a theme from the source

[@youtuberextraordinaire8152]

10:22 the sign in the background of you look really closely has a key and then an arrow pointing backwards. It's pretty cool

[@afterdinnercreations936]

I watched an analysis of RP1, and this quote from it really hit me. "It's a movie about a bunch of people trying to keep their fantasy-world, because they know they can't fix their real one"

[@kalrandom7387]

Especially now, as it's really showing, or at least feeling like, votes don't matter.

[@afterdinnercreations936]

@@kalrandom7387 Vote. Go out and vote.

[@ButWhyMe...]

@@afterdinnercreations936 (Tell that to the majority of people who can't vote.) We need real political action and change, not just some showy and samey 'protests' or 'elections'. As time of typing I seriously do not wish to challenge your views and I did not mean (assuming I did) enrage you. Sorry if this came off as passive aggressive or somethng.

[@WanderfalkeAT]

That is also what Wade and most others in the book believe. In fact they don't save the world in the book or movie, just the virtual world - Their escape from the real world!

[@ilovebutterstuff]

You do know it's 100% fictional, right? I wish people like you would stop trying to break everything down into Nietzsche and Jung. Just sit back and enjoy without all of the analysis for once. Man, KZbin is getting REALLY boring. I pulled all this up because I wanted to see how unwilling society was when it came to enjoying something without their ego getting involved... Never been so disappointed.

[@benh9935]

So we're not going to talk about how ironic it is that the instead of being a celebration of "nerd culture" it ended up being a hollow attempt by a corporation who doesn't really care about the material as a whole but just as a way to make profit. Which is exactly what the film was trying to criticize and rebuke with its villain.

[@KookiesNolly]

yeah, I fully realized how insulting this movie was when they used the Iron Giant to fight the enemies. They could have made the bad guys use the Iron Giant to fight and the heroes would have tried to turn him back to "kind" because they know he hates fighting but NOPE. Those guys don't even know who the Iron Giant is, they just saw big robot and went "big robot gotta fight shit". They exploited like a tool the very simple of the kind heart who doesn't want to be exploited like a tool. When I realized this I actuallly laughed. How could a product made by a giant heartless corporation just for money with a complete​ disregard for the values held by the symbols they are exploiting accurately portray what it means to fight giant heartless corporations because values are more important than money? Wow, hollywood. That's so ironic that even Hipsters choke on their artisanal organic beers saying "this is too ironic even for us".

[@Dorian_sapiens]

This ties in with Philosophy Tube's new video about corporate takeovers of countercultural ideals.

[@sujaynair4666]

and exactly why the film failed to connect with audiences

[@ArgonTheAware]

Eli N.S doesn't that miss the whole point of restrictive Corporate Copyright Claims that prevented the movie getting the rights to Ultraman that was in the book? How did you miss the irony in that especially because it is a prime example of "a corporation who doesn't really care about the material as a whole but just as a way to make profit" The producers were forced to use something else and Warner Bros already had the rights to Iron Giant

[@TheShadowNetwork.]

Honestly, it felt like IOI (which I'm pretty sure was based on EA) made this film after they lost the contest. It feels like the source material was hollowed out and now some shitty corp is wearing its skin while saying "Hello, fellow children. It's me, Readyfriend. I think its hip to play Mine of Duty & HaloCraft". It's old men trying to appeal to a younger audience (rather than the original 80's-90's audience it originally aimed for) when they are hopelessly out of touch with modern pop-culture. E.g. they put fucking MINECRAFT in this movie. If they think that is a modern game that all generations relate too then you can almost see them googling "Most popular video games in 2018." Pathetic.

[@taylorscott1320]

Just Write: "So he recited the entirety of Monty Python and the Holy Grail" Also Just Write: "A... holy hand grenade?????"

[@andyjacobs7010]

What is this blasphemy?

[@flappy7373]

@@andyjacobs7010 nay, 'tis but a scratch

[@nrfolden]

@@panchociarer which is a reference too the holy hand grenade in monty python. that was op's point.

[@aronnemcsik]

i thought it was a reference to the granade from Worms Armamgeddon tbh

[@nrfolden]

@@aronnemcsik that grenade is also a ref to the Monty python grenade

[@stephentg1]

"The best romance writing since Attack of the Clones." LOL

[@eliaspeter7689]

I still have no idea why people keep repeating that. Some dude said it's shit so now everyone else thinks the same... Wtf... Why wouldn't Anakin like sand? He grew up on Tatooine while being a slave!

[@luckyblockyoshi]

@@eliaspeter7689 not something you would randomly say on a date

[@flappy7373]

@@eliaspeter7689 because it's coarse and it gets everywhere

[@bombomos]

Atleast Anakin and panda bear had a few years to fall in love

[@aronnemcsik]

The Bar wasn't that high with that one...

[@JC-ph3ku]

I mainly watched to see if anyone else noticed the whole "iron giant, symbol of pacifism, used as an instrument of wanton destruction" thing. Talk about getting your themes crossed

[@paulcrandell2198]

I was wondering of my eyes were deceiving me or not at first when I saw the Iron Giant apparently just running amok blowing things up willy-nilly in the few clips of the video. Turns out it was just a sad reality that they just devolved the lovable alien robot to such a state in the movie.

[@Neo-rm3sy]

He works as vessel for Aech, like an ironman suit. So I don't know what the fuss is about. After all, all the stuff in oasis is like Fortnite crossovers.

[@locke103]

@@Neo-rm3sy Also, Aech was her own person. What she built was a tool, an emulation of something. How she chose to use it is at her discretion. If we TRULY want to be pedantic about all this. Hell, I'd bring up Peacemillion as a vague comparison, but you know goddamn well barely anyone these days gives a vernier-heated shit about Gundam Wing.

[@ThisGuy3456]

The last five minutes of the video are great. Fantastic point about how the villians should have focused on just the facts and the heroes focus on the themes of the work in order to win.

[@bascal133]

Alejandro Ruiz 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@nebularobo8148]

Exactly!!

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

I would really love to read/watch something like this instead of what we got!

[@herofromthedark]

I mean, doesn't it kind of do that anyway? They were playing all of those Atari games with the intent to win, instead of finding the Easter egg. I think Parzival says "you dont have to win, but just play the game." Or something to that effect.

[@Waffletigercat]

But also, Parzival is completely wrong about Adventure. The creator's intent was not to reward people who just played. His intent was to give his bosses a big middle finger. The programmers were forbidden from putting their name in the game, and he sneakily did it anyway.

[@flappy7373]

"Because I love you, Arty" ...What? Why? For what? Since WHEN? .... WHYYYYY? I really, actually cringed. For real.

[@airslug1]

i hated it! i was non stop critiquing it as I watched it..so disappointing..

[@travisramos5989]

It was cringe-worthy, but if you want to decide it fits the story just chalk it up to how bad many people are at relationships on account of being social shut-ins mostly interacting with people online only. Also, he was already a fanboy of her skills in the Oasis, they spend so much time there they are accustomed to judging each other by their avatars.

[@PillowStuffin]

It was the same i n the book, but made more sense. Wade followed Artemis as she was a big time gunter who streamed and blogged regularly. In the oasis world she was a little bit of a big deal ( I say a little bit because of course she gets real fame later when she gets the first key, and probably even more so when she was the first to get the second key and pass the second gate trial). Wade really liked her, he had a little E crush on her which developed more once they actually met. It was still totally cringy in the book, but I mean for a teen whose so invested in the online world it made sense. The movie....eh, it changed a lot of things needlessly. This was just something that seemed out of nowhere because they just ripped it from the book without the proper build up.

[@Brindlebrother]

I was watching it with my Dad and we both audibly cringed at the same time!

[@Sazuko]

I mean, I don't know if we all watched the same movie, or read the same book; but in *BOTH* they do mention that Parseval has been essentially online-stalking (for a worse term) all of her content. And I'm not saying its right, BUT people (especially younger pre-teen to teens) *DO* develop online crushes on people they may have NEVER MET. ALL THE TIME actually. It's different than when people say they 'love actor X or Y' whom they've never met in person. or 'love Music Entertainer X or Y' Parseval having a crush on Artemis, getting to meet her, and then trying to get with her make PERFECT SENSE if you don't apply your own personal bias because it's never happened to you. But I'd be willing to bet $$$ that majority of you (if single) would also try to appeal romantically to a *famous, single, popular person* (Artemis) you've met and gotten on good terms with, given the chance.... but you, let continue to rant on the romance aspect cause everyone else does...

[@Anna-tk7ui]

The only thing I really have a problem with is it taking three years to find the keys. Nah, 4Chan would've found that shizz in a week, tops.

[@jonathanbaker247]

I think the point is that you gotta build a relationship with the creator. There's no way to work it out on your own unless you understand how the game is designed and why it is designed in that way. It specifically punishes all who go with the flow and rewards the smart ones who think out of the box and seek clues at the right place. This could be a vivid illustration of Matthew 7:13-14 "the Narrow Way": "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many who go in it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

[@Anna-tk7ui]

@@jonathanbaker247 The Narrow Gate is no match for 4Chan's weaponized autism.

[@Andrew-on3vc]

Not when a secrets only unlockable via individuality.

[@theomegajuice8660]

I've always thought it would work way better if the story starts with the announcement of Halliday's death and the easter egg hunt. It would mean that Wade acquired his super-nerd knowledge purely because he wanted to and the Sixers would have to play catch-up because they never cared until it could get them something. This would be a much more organic way to have the theme of "true-fan vs. fake fan" that the book wanted to have.

[@Sumatchi]

@@theomegajuice8660 Yikes. This sounds like a way to hate on hipsters and gamergate all over again

Another problem with this movie: One of the main points of turning a book into a movie is to visualise what is described in the book. But the most visual moment in the book, the final battle, was extremely underused in the movie! There's just a bunch of big things punching each other! The movie has spaceships and all kinds of different combat. It could have been awesome in the movie, but instead it just was barely even in it.

[@PillowStuffin]

They only kept mecha godzilla, I was so disappointed. Although I did enjoy the iron giant being in it, but still wasn't the same.

[@nightmareTomek]

In space they couldn't have had all these iconic things. Mecha godzilla is supposed to float around there? Making it a strategical battle would have been super boring. It takes place in a video game and that's actually the first time an excuse to make the film pure dumb action actually works. And it's the perfect opportunity to include the cool things from every film you've liked. They made the right decision. Making it in space would have disappointed WAAAAAY more people, and wasted way more potential.

It wasn't in space in the book, either, they used spaceships that could also fly inside the atmosphere and fire their weapons onto the ground. Have you read that part of the book? It is definitely good in some ways that they included a lot of newer elements, but they didn't have to remove so many other ones. You could argue that it would have been too confusing, but for example Avengers Endgame managed to make a gigantic fight with spaceships and ground troops understandable, by always focusing on a few characters at a time and having most of the spectacle just be in the background or randomly interfering.

[@nightmareTomek]

@ No, I haven't read the book. Didn't know there was one. I also don't remember spaceships in Avengers, because Avengers simply hasn't been memorable. I know the masses ate it up because Hollywood fed them big disappointments before. So Endgame looked good in comparison, but in my opinion it was just mediocre. Because spaceships were forgettable in Avengers, there's a big chance it would have been in Ready Player One, too. How is it supposed to work with Mechagodzilla anyway? Was Mechagodzilla in the books?

[@agilemind6241]

@ See your the exact target audience of RPO, the geeks who just care about spectacle, meaningless spectacle, and cameos / references as if being able to "get" every reference in the movie is a valuable skill / knowledge to have and thus makes you a valuable / worthwhile human being. That's exactly the message in RPO that is being critiqued here. Endgame was utterly forgettable because the enemy army was utterly unthreatening an just a blank ocean of faceless goons. You could have replace them with an inanimate threat like a strong wind and it would make no difference to the story. I've never made it past half way through RPO the movie because all of it is just as bad, pretty flashing lights and a zillion pop culture references made by a soulless company to pacify the unwashed masses and separate them from their hard earned money.

[@mothersbasement]

"There's Something About Mary" isn't a chick flick, it's a 90s grossout comedy starring Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz, who at one point gels her hair with jizz. Other than that (and the other thing everyone already pointed out) great video!

[@maxcalder1010]

Yes this comment. It’s the same directors and writers who did dumb and dumber.

[@Kk-fj5tn]

Yeah, he completely missed that reference...

[@ACloudCat]

Mother's Basement?!?! Anime Pope has arrived 🙏🙏🙏

[@RabbitsInBlack]

I don't think the person reviewing this movie likes it when movies and books reference other movies in other ways than their original intent. He seems offended by the religious references. He Must be one of those religious people.

[@007megaoof]

what

[@MrDanielZie]

23:26 I love how you just nonchalantly proposed a way better story.

[@nbucwa6621]

Right? I would have loved to watch that version.

[@ClintLoweTube]

That was my favorite part of this video as well.

[@ConFusi0n]

Yeah as soon as I heard that I instantly wished that that was the actual story lol

[@tiagotiagot]

Imagine the shitstorm if they interpreted the messages of some cherished works incorrectly...

[@Kevin_Street]

I wonder if Ernest Cline could have written that story.

[@nikkovalidor4890]

we really are in the era of entertainment where "ha, i get that reference" now counts as an alternative to actually having a story

[@Strogman25]

True. Or rather, screenwriters think it counts. Because they saw the success of media like Stranger Things. But Stranger Things was not beloved because it was full of references. It was just a good story. The references just added extra moments of delight to that story.

[@jeffreyonemu1426]

"3 years ago" 💀💀💀 Darling, you aint seen nothing yet.

[@SpottedHares]

“A lot of writers know the rules about writing, but they don’t know how to write.”

[@MacSmithVideo]

same goes for a lot of critics

[@thisisapictureofmydog.isnt9208]

I relate to this I wanna know how to write but sometimes I have no idea where to start

[@joringedamke5597]

@@thisisapictureofmydog.isnt9208 that's easy- with a blank sheet of paper. :P

[@lordodysseus]

*Looks at my dumpster fire writing.* *Looks at my vast understanding of writing.* *Cries.*

[@qty1315]

Personally, I think that the problem is essentially that critics want to write books like Dream Theater wants to write songs. Technically perfect songs that mimic the 'correct' things that most critics will agree are good. But, they don't connect with people on an emotional level because the songs are too focused on being perfect, on being technical, that they forget that the average person doesn't give a shit. That's why Twilight is so successful. It's a romance novel that is absolutely absurd and poorly written. A critic would never write a book like Twilight. However, Twilight connects with people on such a deep level that it was able to become the most popular book in the world and is still talked about a decade later. None of the books that critics praised at the time were able to resonate with readers anywhere even close to the level that Twilight did. Really, I think that's the lesson that critics need to learn if they want to write. It's okay to write a bad book that connects with an audience, it's not okay to write a good book that never connects with an audience.

[@flibber123]

Say what you will about the book, but at least the writer did a great job depicting how terrible the main character's life was. He had nothing except his escape into VR. In the movie his life seems sort of average. There's no sense of desperation in the movie. In the movie the hunt for the prize seems like a fun thing to do in your free time, in the book it's the only thing that gives his life meaning.

[@Kraigon42]

And those people whose days off from their soul-crushing jobs are Tuesdays and Thursdays now have nothing to live for.

[@soturivaina]

If only I actually gave a shit about the main character

[@acespectre5461]

@flibber123 Glad someone else noticed this. I didn't see Wade as something to aspire to. His life is consumed by this escapist fantasy, and the book ends with a slight glimmer hope that he might finally have a chance to really live

[@schaughtful]

Honestly he sounds like gamers before twitch

[@leverage3089]

flibber123 I don't care about all the mcguffins or the lack of tension I loved that book because it was too real.

[@qwertyuoip1234]

Wait, if Robert Zemekis exists in this universe, then so does Back to the Future, and if Back to the Future exists then doesn’t Stephen Spielberg exist too?

[@MajorJack92]

In the book Wade says Stephen Spielberg is his favorite director.

[@steelsaber54]

I think Aech and Wade were arguing and Aech said ‘I don’t care if Spielberg directed it’

[@myname8035]

What’s even funnier is that the audiobook was read by Wil Wheaton, and late in the book it mentions the fact that Wil Wheaton is the president of the Oasis

[@TheCSJones]

Of course, but he'll be dead by the time the story's set unless he lives to be 100. It's meta to think about, but that fits right in.

[@lonelysatoshi2482]

Yup, Spielberg by logic is part of the ready player one canon, both movie and book

[@leonardorossi998]

I think that there is also the potential for a theme that might be even deeper... and more unsettling. To me, more than an object of worship, pop culture in this movie becomes even worse: it becomes the only surviving meaning in the world. Which is terrifying, because all those products were supposed to be signifiers for something else, but they have become so all present that they have replaced their own meaning, and now everyone is lost in a life that is a maze of references to something doesn't exist anymore. And the result is that the characters act as if they remember what matters, but not WHY it matters. They know that real life matters, but they can't tell why, except a vague "Only real life is real". Which isn't even true, because as we are told in the beginning of the movie, the livelihood of a lot of people is linked to Oasis: people work and live there, the same way stories and ideas have become an integral part of our lives and have had real effects in our world. Imagination has been a powerful guide for humanity to live and thrive. The problem is that in the world of Ready Player One imagination has died. All you can do is imagine what is already there. And because of this, no matter whether you live in the Oasis or in reality, you are lost.

[@bobafettjr85]

Now that's a theme that would have been great to explore. If Wade had wanted to win so he could use the wealth to make the real world a better place, like Art3mis did.

[@SirThinkALot42]

Am I the only who thought the scene where Wade professed his love at the club was SUPPOSED to be cringe-inducting? I thought the film was showing how immature and silly he was being, to fall for Artemis so quickly.

[@uiraideszen3223]

Exactly

[@songbanana8]

It might have been in the film but the book is painfully clear that Wade and the author are unaware of how cringy he is. His first meeting with Artemis, he gives her a “true fan” test. She rejects him for no reason, he does no reflection and learns nothing. She accepts him in the end for no reason because he has learned nothing. He knew all the answers and meaningless trivia but there is no joy or love in him, just a smug sadness. Artemis is little but a collection of “not like the other girls” and “prize to be won” tropes. It’s very sad

[@toodsf1]

Yeah this is what I thought (I haven't read the book tho). Especially since shortly after he first says it, he says something like "did you hear what I said? I said I love you". And that's when Artemis gives him the whole "you don't live in the real world Zi" thing

[@JohnSmith-kf8mv]

"She accepts him in the end for no reason..." Erm, they spent months conversing multiple times a day, building up a bond. It didn't come out of nowhere.

[@JohnSmith-kf8mv]

I recommend the audio booj, read by Wil Weadon Weston (?) Wheaton ? Listened to it multiple times, the escape from servitude and the brining down of the barrier at the end being always a satisfying listeningTO experience.

[@Kmadden2004]

I don’t know if anything like this is covered in the book, but I kind of felt one way to add a little more discourse to the film would perhaps be to include a moment in H’s workshop where Art3mis notices a pile of stuff hidden under a tarp in the corner. Out of curiosity, she goes over to see what’s underneath it and H immediately gets embarrassed, stopping her and saying it’s rubbish that nobody cares about, people only want to see the pop culture stuff. Then when we finally do see what’s under the tarp, it’s all vehicles and items that, while clearly inspired by Star Wars, Galactica and what-have-you, is all original work from H’s imagination. That way you could have H rock up in the final act in her own mech instead of the Iron Giant, and perhaps provide some meta-commentary on how old pop culture can inspire the new, and how it’s healthy for the new to replace, or even just augment the old. I don’t know, that’s just something that’s been sitting on my mind since seeing the movie (which, while I totally agree with the criticisms of it, I still enjoyed). But, then again, this is coming from an artist who gets commissioned to do more fan art than original stuff, so maybe that’s where my thought process is coming from... Sorry for the wall of text, I guess watching your video just released the valve that’s been keeping all that in my head all this time.

[@Gyro_Scope360]

I'm not a fan of changing story elements in adaptations, bu that's a change I could get behind.

[@AstrobotJones]

Spot on. I'm also generally against changing too much of the core points and original essential themes from the reference material, but that would have been a change with solid message and substance that the viewers could understand and engage with.

[@getahobbydamnit]

That contract scene is the worst scene in the movie for me, because it showed me that Wade lacks a moral compass, and from that point on, i just stopped caring what happens to him. As someone who loves pop culture trivia, it kinda surprised me how much the movie treating pop culture trivia as Important Knowledge and serious business bothers me, I was rolling my eyes in the theatre. Maybe because the tone of the movie is too much on the serious side and not tongue-in-cheek enough. And also having the police save the day...this is set in a world where corporations can run debtor's prisons, and we are expected to believe that there's a functional criminal justice system that ppl can't buy their way out of?! what kind of kiddie dystopia are we running here?

[@chinchinabook]

Wait, didn't Wade choose not to sign the contract? Or are you referring to the end were he signs a contract with his friends?

[@Yoseqlo1]

Yeah, like in the book. Wade just rejected the contract because that's what he was supposed to do learning from Haliday's mistake. But portrayed in a way that that was the right answer, not because he felt that the way the contract was offered there was unfair.

[@ArkhitectProductions]

No words.... Do everyone a favor and just delete this comment.

[@automaticshelter130]

Loved your comment. I totally agree.

[@filmtoppings]

I think in a way the movie might be a cautionary warning about our obsession with pop culture

[@sotypme4813]

The various comments here by fans really prove why I still hate this movie: it's just a collection of references and very little engaging story.

[@crab7519]

ok

[@greenrockgirl5150]

That’s kind of the point, the whole purpose of the original story was to pay respects to 80s culture

[@sokari413]

@@mustapleko yep. because absolutely no one else ever picks one idea they really like, and ignore or hate on everything outside of it. Nope, absolutely no one ever does that. There's no reason to look at the Star Wars vs Star Trek nerds, or weebs, or white nationalists. Nope. Just the 80s fans. They're the literal worst.

[@blaisetelfer8499]

Wait til you find out about the new Space Jam movie

[@chaosjoey123]

I really wish they played into it better. The book explains that its in the future so the early 90s and before have gone into public domain, combine with a economic problem, all that media turning into common ground among everyone... Though it still did get largely over shadowed by nostalgia baiting even in the book.

[@NE-BO]

Holy Hand Grenade is a Monty Python reference

[@themasstermwahahahah]

Seriously, how does he not know this

[@JustWrite]

My bad.

[@lardyman2]

People treating pop culture as a religion comes to mind. :) :P

[@KnuteWargin]

I feel bad for being annoyed about the holy hand grenade

[@TheLPRnetwork]

i thought it was a worms video game reference....

[@TimeandMonotony]

"At least it gave us the best romance writing since Attack of the Clones?" Sickest burn I've ever heard. I haven't seen this movie or read the book, so... is it basically just a random series of references with a plot tacked on for good measure? 'Cause that's what it seems to be. Yay, Blue Monday! One of my favorite songs! If they used that in the movie, it does give it some slight amount of cred in my eyes. That song automatically makes everything better.

[@fattony3736]

My experience of the movie was like "Oh look thats a reference to that" and "oh i remember what that is". Walking out of the movie I forgot what the point of the film is. It's basically just a where's wally, spot all the Easter eggs you can film without those references actually meaning anything. The characters are all one note and the plot is really simple. Eh.

[@orpheusandtherecluse6123]

The Book is good trust me

[@nbucwa6621]

TimeandMonotony the book/movie probably made so much because they were betting on the fact that as long as one of their 6 million references made at least one fan feel that way, they'd still break even.

[@ElliotBriarch]

No, it wasn't like the Emoji Movie. Sure it was full of references, but it still had some sort of substance.

[@klausillo]

Lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it, said the Lord.

[@thetumans1394]

DID THIS DUDE ACTUALLY NOT GET THE HOLY HAND GRENADE?????!!!

[@690H1]

Ohhhh. The irony. The central theme of the video is about people placing trivia over substance and then you...

[@briancastaneda2907]

wait i didn't get it either, what is it?

[@sterhax]

LongfingerKirk it's a reference like every other thing in the movie. The fact that the author of this video couldn't deduce that it was a pop culture reference is mystifying. It's from python's grail

[@coremagnumplays4684]

ultra cringed when he didn't get HHG - i don't know if he's trolling or something.

[@7hiris]

I really can't believe it either

[@teravega]

I knew from a deep level, I felt after watching this movie that everything on screen that everyone saying "oh wow look", felt empty by the end of it. It was junk food for messages because there wasn't any one. I feel culture is at a time right now where we want to pervert our old memories of childhood from movies and video games. Remakes and reboots all which are surrogate experiences to the real thing. Stripping everything about the old films and references from their true meanings . This movie is a reflection of the times.

[@stephenh.8336]

But really though, who does like sand?

[@frankhope1830]

People stranded on the sea, I quess?

[@stephenh.8336]

stockart whiteman if you see someone covered in snow you assume it's snowing outside. If they're soaking wet, you assume it's raining. If you come across someone who's covered in sand though, you'll be like: "Did you just fall into a Sarlac pit? Are there Sarlac pits around that I need to be looking out for, what's happening?"

[@Lady_in_Yearning]

I do! You can make sand castles with it!

[@Lollovovisossa7]

It feels nice between your toes at least. And it looks pleasant

[@TimeandMonotony]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at least managed to have an anti-sand line that was actually *good*: "Sand is overrated. Just tiny little rocks."

[@Snowshowslow]

Haha there is a lovely irony here in that I was also annoyed that you missed the Holy Hand Grenade and Mary references, but at the same time really happy with your theme of what the movie could have been if it had focussed on the 'wrong kind of fandom' (focussed on details) versus the 'right kind' (focussed on themes). Anyway, I would watch your version of Ready Player One in a heartbeat, but maybe ask one of these other types of fans in the comments to look over the references ;-)

[@Sam-wt8kh]

This gatekeeping caused by the thoughtless but mandatory memorization of all pop culture references was exactly what he critiqued. The fact that you were annoyed by his oversight is proof that this is a problem.

[@JockoJonson17]

@@Sam-wt8kh I dunno if criticizing *being 100% wrong* is "gatekeeping".

[@Sam-wt8kh]

@@JockoJonson17 Criticism in itself is not gate-keeping. Gate-keeping is when you marginalize someone because they don't follow a particular convention in a culture. In this case, people are not only pointing out his mistake and providing the truth, but also expressing annoyance or directly attacking him. That "but," that extra mile they go to is the problem. It's the way we socially push someone away from activities and cliches. That's gate-keeping.

[@HarlieSparrow]

@@Sam-wt8kh I believe that it is bc he used it as a reference for his argument about the characters but did not actually understand the film he was referring to. His point is invalidated bc he got the genre (I don't think anyone would classify it as a "chick flick" after watching it.) and the meaning of the reference (his hair being similar to Mary's hair with the "special hair gel") incorrect.

[@Sam-wt8kh]

@@HarlieSparrow The fact that he didn't have the unrealistic repetoire of all pop-culture references does not undermine his point; it reinforces his point, albeit accidentally. Remember, arguments are only invalidated when the premise they are based on are flawed. His argument-for the fifth time-is that Ready Player One wasted its potential by surrendering itself to the audience's memorization and recall of pop-culture references and doing nothing more than that. Therefore, the fact that he misidentified one movie as a chick flick-for example-does not undermine his point at all. The movie's still all vapid memorization and recall; the movie adds nothing new to the audience's experience. Instead, it only recycles and reuses older material and exploits the audience's nostalgia.

[@DJ_CULLEN]

All the comments raging about the Holy Hand-grenade. Oh, the terrible irony.

[@JPGotrokkits]

Because this commentator didn't get what it was, showing his lack of knowledge on the topic of which he speaks. This calls into question his qualifications to speak on the matter at hand.

[@JPGotrokkits]

@Ebiegberi Adonkie Why don't you grow some brains, you zombie. You're an idiot if you think that I'm wrong.

[@Minam0]

Jp Gotrokkits 🙄

[@shimblywimbles158]

@@JPGotrokkits Watch the last 5 minutes again. To obsess over the one *fact* that the essayist slipped up on is to make the same mistake as Ready Player One: condensing enjoyment of something down to memorising facts, rather than examining any deeper themes. In this case, you aren't thinking about the broader point that the essay is making because the essayist overlooked an item of trivia. There's the irony.

[@Decrystallizing]

Lol I see the author is dead in this thread.

[@thedonk6062]

The most unrealistic part of ready player one is that there isn't anyone running around as a nasty little goblin man.

[@buteverybodycallsmegiorgio]

*OH LORD! BLESS THIS THY HAND GRENADE. THAT WITH IT THOU MAYEST BLOW THY ENEMIES INTO TINY BITS.* *IN THY MERCY*

[@seanadler918]

I always thought he should have to count to 3, (as 3 is the number of the counting and the counting should be 3). He should not say 4, nor 2 unless he then proceed to 3. As 5 is right out, it should disable the hand grenade completely.

[@flappy7373]

@@seanadler918 brilliant!

[@romonabrown7330]

...being naughty in thy sight, shall snuff it....

[@josephjanisch6143]

The “something about Mary haircut” was a reference on how the main characters hair was stiff in movement, similar to when Mary accidentally puts jizz in her hair and it becomes stiff. It had nothing to do with gender. It was just toilet humor.

[@nobalkain624]

Its like the guy who made this video just knows the facts about Geek Culture and doesnt understand the underlying meaning...

[@user-qj9en1kp1m]

Why didn't Aech say that Perzival looks like Dante from Devil May Cry? Perhaps the rights couldn't be bought...?

[@graham1034]

@@user-qj9en1kp1m Because a much larger audience would understand the Something About Mary reference and the film was made for mass market appeal. They really tried to avoid niche references and focus on imagery that most viewer would immediately recognize.

[@michaelnewman6936]

It was racial. H is black. It was a dig on having white girl hair. This wasn't in the book, it's intersectional wokeness rearing its head

[@UnknownSquid]

I mean besides everything, what kind of gender meaning would it have anyway? H is a girl sure, but she's one that prefers to play a hulking guy character with a deep voice changer, actively pretending to be male, and spends all her time playing the more violent and action oriented spectrum of gaming. That's a rarer but perfectly realistic personality. Would anyone really expect her to be pro Something about Mary, purely because "I'm secretly a girl and thus must secretly love girls movies"? Or alternatively if the shock is supposed to be that she knows the reference, then oh noes, she's not a 100% tomboy stereotype and has still seen some other stuff. (Either way, it's a lot more realistic that Parzival having somehow comprehensively played and flawlessly memorized 50 years worth of gaming history to a religiously completionist level in his own short lifespan, despite spending half of it in the Oasis.)

[@yourstrulyjohnnydollar8775]

There's Something About Marry is a chick flick? That's a Farelly brothers movie (i.e. Dumb and Dumber). That orc thing was implying that it looked like protagonist guy has semen in his hair.

[@seano333]

He also says its a 40 year old movie, sounds like he got the movie confused with another.

[@happychaosofthenorth]

I think he means that from the perspective of the characters who live in the not-too-distant future, TSAM is a 40 year old movie. But yes, I think he might've missed the joke/reference Aech was making.

[@alexwright4930]

Also the protagonist - indeed nearly every man in the film who meets Mary - seems to range from a bit of a to full-on stalker. Oh wait, chick flicks are full of stalkers too, never mind.

[@grahamkristensen9301]

The movie/book is set in the future, so it would be 40+ years old by then.

[@netizen_m3919]

THIS! Hahaha

[@davidbrasher3595]

I was disappointed because I thought Ready Player One was going to be about a situation where poverty, lack of opportunity, inequality, boredom, lack of meaning, and despair drives most people in society to withdraw into a fantasy world of video games and the sociological implications of this.

[@RagamuffinGunner13]

"reads Harry Potter 100 times, but doesn't understand what fascism looks like." So, a large percentage of Harry Potter fans, then?

[@Gray963]

Sadly, but most fans only read it when they were young and didn't know what fascism was, and definitely not what it looked like in other forms such as Voldemort and the Ministry. They just come off as nebulously bad or evil without understanding the actual definition of fascism. Fans who have read it 100 are hopefully old enough or enthusiastic enough about HP's and JK's deeper meanings to have noticed if not researched it.

[@bmagada]

At least the majority that tries to use it as an allegory for current politics and not a work of pure fiction

[@JoniWan77]

@@Gray963 I was personally more concerned with the extremely racist treatment of muggles, with the only person actually saying anything in favor of muggles being Mr. Weasley, who acts like a European orientalist of the 19th century romanticizing the lesser people. I am very aware that this interpretation is definitely not JK's intention and more a necessary evil to not overcomplicate the plot. Hermione as a muggle born wizard is essentially a character showing how stupid racist behaviour is. It doesn't change the fact that muggles are treated by the wizard world and the protagonists alike as lesser beings. And it doesn't help that wizardry intrinsically makes wizards more powerful. (Maybe I just want to see Voldemort using a nuclear hex tech bomb to bomb Hogwarts into oblivion instead of using precious men to attack it.)

[@drogane9608]

JoniWan77 I think that addressing the made up society’s underlying racism and issues of inequality wasn’t the point of the story, it was merely set up for the motivations of the villain. There are definite issues with how muggles and muggle-born wizards are treated but focusing on changing that aspect of the world would’ve drawn focus away from the story J.K Rowling wanted to tell

[@JoniWan77]

@@drogane9608 I agree with you. She had to strictly segregate the wizard from the muggle world, which leads to the muggle world being fair game for wizards and ultimately creates a reception of untouched underlying racism in her work, although it is unintentional. I do believe it could have potentially been slightly better, though, if there were hints to a secret collaboration between the two governments of both worlds showing us that ultimately both worlds are inhabitated by humans having the same rights without going to deep into politics.

[@cassidyleonards2411]

Member-Berries: The Movie.

[@tipsyviewer1495]

The Incredibles and Who Framed Roger Rabbit are better member movie, then Ready Player One.

[@manbirdcat5246]

Member the cold war

[@cassidyleonards2411]

Tipsy Viewer Most movies are. Member-Berries: The Movie is no way said positively. The ONLY thing this film had going for it - and what it rested on, frankly - was references and nostalgia. It's pretty freaking awful.

[@impalabeeper]

Member when the xenomorph burst out of my chest!? Member when I had made out with corpse lady from The Shining!?

[@theMPrints]

Yeah the book, Ernesct Cline is the jar-jar binks of the yellow literature.

[@lebott]

What I loved about the book is the emotional climax being the first time Wade and Sam set eyes on each other, on the very very last page after they have been through everything together. There’s so much suspense for such a tender moment, and that’s the moment when Wade decides, for the first time in his life, that he’d rather be in the real world than the Oasis. It was so lovely. In the movie he declares his love for her on their first date and i just didnt care.

[@frostsoul4199]

one of the greatest artistic issues with this movie is that it could've represented our unhealthy fascinations and obsession with pop culture references and memes by basically showing us how they can leave negative effects, but it instead becomes that very same issue by injecting hundreds of references as fanservice without servicing the story itself.

[@anon123214]

Oh god, I thematically blinded myself for most of the scenes, all I wanted to do was comb over every pixel for easter eggs. I'm disappointed at myself for forgetting the Iron Giant wasn't supposed to be a fighter, but the nostalgia hit so good...

[@headphonic8]

Evil King What? Nostalgia? How could you get “nostalgia” from watching him act like a killing machine? If you wanted a feeling of nostalgia at just seeing the shell of the character behave in ways the character wouldn’t, just go stare at a drawing.

[@PillowStuffin]

I feel you, I loved that the iron giant was in it. But much prefer the book version of the battle. Would have been badass though if they had iron giant go into that battle mode like when he rampages in the movie. I was waiting for it but it never came 😔

[@LBAW]

You make a lot of good points, but I think you may be a little off about the movie portraying "girly" pop culture as the wrong culture. Aech's comment isn't hating on the movie, it's just referencing it. Like, if I make fun of someone's hair by saying they look like Goku, that's not necessarily me hating on Dragonball Z, it's just a reference that is applicable.

[@keenancourtis6267]

Also the something about Mary hair could be refrancing the scene where she puts semen in her hair thinking its hair gel. "Your hair looks like her jizz hair"

[@CinematicGalaxy]

@@keenancourtis6267 That's how I always took that joke too, bc of Parzival's hair being white lol.

[@juanmanuelpenaloza9264]

Or if I say that Parzival may as well be Kirito...I'm just making a comparison. I'm not saying either Ready Player One or Sword Art Online is terrible.

[@Michael_ORourke]

The reference didn't really make sense to me. How does his hair look like There's Something About Mary? It's like it was in the script, then they changed Parzival's look in pre-production, then didn't bother taking out that line in post-production because it no longer makes sense.

[@sparksbet]

That could be an explanation for Aech's comment, but it doesn't really work to explain the Nancy Drew reference later, which is pretty clearly making fun of the idea of someone being into that "girly" property. It's not so much that comment in isolation but it in combination with the rest of the text.

[@lyl14ghost]

"Hahaha I know all these references look how good I am..." Elitism in subculture. Here in my country it's like "uh you don't even know this and that you can't call yourself a fan." What?

[@Eamonshort1]

Your pitch at the end about the theme being understanding theme > memorizong text would have legit made the film something I could tolerate, really neat idea my dude

[@KingOfMadCows]

What? You didn't enjoy Pop Culture References: The Movie? Not even the part where the movie referenced something from pop culture and then pointed out to you how that was a reference from pop culture?

[@wingracer1614]

Obviously not since he missed most of the pop culture references.

[@riley8385]

"most" = 2

[@luisa.belmares5716]

In my case I didn't enjoy all that puked pop culture references because they look more like product placement trying to fill the holes of a mediocre story than a real tribute.

[@Despair505]

It's like TBBT in movie version

[@charmandyorton006]

KingOfMadCows I hate pop culture referencing. All of it. It is one of the cheapest, most backhanded and intellectually insulting ways of adding to a runtime without adding to the art in any way whatsoever. It shows that some people still don't have the talent nor the effort to create a piece of fiction that means anything or matters to our real world in any way. "Themes? Moral messages? Character development? Narrative tension? Story structure? Tight plotting? Clever comedy? Visual presentation? Tone? *FUCKING GOALS?!?!?!* Nah, that shit's just too hard for our overpaid little minds even though our project costs upwards of $175 million God-forsaken USD. Just write in nothing but filler about something else that audiences may or may not have seen but was made by someone who actually cared. We don't care how disrespectful or unenjoyable it is to anyone, we just want some lines to put in our trailer so that people will go, 'Hey, I recognize that' and give us the money that we don't deserve." The word "cynical" doesn't even begin to describe this practice in film.

[@aaronbolay3001]

A world where you can create anything imaginable and they stuffed it with everyone else's creations...sums up the vapid pulp that is Ready Player One the book and movie. They are nothing but references to pop culture while adding nothing of substance. Social issues and trends are mentioned but never explored. Ready Player One is all imitation with no original thought or inspiration of its own. What could have been an exploration of geek obsession for nostalgia simply revels in the non-critical exploitation of said nostalgia.

[@alexisflores6678]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@kristen21023]

You’re good with words.

[@dcamaraman939]

Only Halliday creates in the Oasis. Another thing the movie got wrong.

[@mildsoup8978]

We don't get to see everything, but ask yourself what are the most popular minecraft or lego builds you've seen original works or ppl who took the time to recreate other's work in that medium, it stands to reason that if given the chance most ppl would go for the hylian fields as opposed to the elysian.

[@DoctorZisIN]

Oh, you mean like in reality where the popular singers like Katy Parry, Kanye and Bieber get BILLIONS of views? Now you write, perform and post as song better than "Baby" (anyone should be able to do that) and see how many views you get. Maybe it's a commentary on where the Internet is headed.

[@Xartab]

Dude, the _There's something about Mary_ hairdo was a reference to the sperm-induced hairstyle of the aforementioned Mary. You read waaaaaaaaay too much into that.

[@ffnightranger]

I was checking to see if someone had said this already; thank you.

[@MacSmithVideo]

yeah his ideology often clouds his judgment.

[@Dauphb50]

Thumbs up for saying what I was gonna write a comment on.

[@DKGifford19608]

Yeah. It’s not a 30 year old rom com either. It’s a gross out stupid comedy from the makers of Dumb and Dumber. This is the point where I stopped watching. If you don’t know the origins of the Holy Hand Grenade and even the genre of Something About Mary, how can you claim to have a theory on cultural commentary of a movie about cultural commentary.

[@Roykirk]

@@DKGifford19608 Yeah, any credibility is gone when those kinds of mistakes are made.

[@nemo5819]

I feel like you could also apply this to school, like how many classes/teachers and sometimes students focus more on the facts and memorization (things like proper spelling and grammar as well as things that are seen as useless to everyday life like the structure of the cell or many math principles) than what is the most important part of an education (being able to communicate ideas, learning how to learn, and discovering your passion). I could give many examples, but mostly, it's a hard truth I've had to learn for myself. I just graduated high school and even though I excelled at recalling details, memorization, and taking tests, which led to higher grades, I haven't learned about time management, work ethic, or finding what makes me feel content with myself.

[@newsiesforever208]

The Iron Giant fighting Mecha-godzilla sounds like something my friends and I would use in a what-if scenario.

[@wingracer1614]

I would expect nothing less from Chewbacca, who I suspect would get along great with Aich.

[@matuharvey3691]

This channel should be more popular.

[@flavioptferreira]

I second that!

[@extremepsykosis]

"Something about mary haircut" revolves around the semen scene, where the one tuft was in the air.... fyi

[@danielleasaurus]

And I wouldn't consider Something About Mary a chick flick, either. The main character is a dude, and it's not exactly every girl's dream romance to be creepily stocked by legitimately dangerous people

[@Ellie_deMayo]

@@danielleasaurus Yeah but ... have you seen Twilight?

[@rars0n]

@@danielleasaurus Yeah, it's absolutely in no way a chick flick.

[@JockoJonson17]

IKR? Figure this guy could google or even watch a scene before commenting...

[@InternetTAB]

This dude is insane with his analysis, just ignoring obvious things about scenes and going of in his pretentious thoughts about what it's SUPPOSED to mean. While ignoring what is clearly spelled out.

[@JulioNicoletti]

Wait I'm confused - you say that the one moment where it seems like he screwed up [by revealing his name] he is rewarded by the fact that Artemis isn't unattractive. I feel like you missed the point where him revealing his name results in his mom or aunt (I forget) dying. Not only that, but they are able to track him to the rebel base. So there were severe consequences for him saying his real name.

[@PauloJrchannel]

So he just took it out of context to make the movie seem worse? Damn, that sucks.

[@ArcaneAvian19]

I feel like the fact that you don't even remember which family member it was proves that it's not a real consequence. The story gives no real weight to the death of his family. It's just a bump in the road. They got fridged, I don't think they're even mentioned after a couple scenes.

[@popuri48]

@@ArcaneAvian19 Yes, because Wade doesn't get along with his aunt. She steals his food vouchers from him and her boyfriend beats Wade (this is stuff from the book, I don't remember the movie all that much). But his aunt's death isn't the only consequence. Sorrento attacks the Stacks, killing plenty of people, including Mrs. Gilmore, who was, like the video said, Wade's only friend besides Aech. That also results in him having to leave his home. So yes, I do agree with the commenter. There are, imo, plenty of consequences for Wade throughout the book that the video doesn't explore or ignore. He isn't a flawless protagonist, far from it. He messes up. There's also way more set-up and pay off than this video would lead you to believe, it's just that this story is setting up the characters' interpersonal and inner conflicts as well as the final conflict of the story, not every little task that Wade has to accomplish in order to find the easter egg. Can you imagine how boring of a book this would be if we had to see him studying all these videogames and movies all the time?

[@McPhisto]

The irony of making a video about a creatively sterile avalanche of references and getting tons of comments by salty nerds about how you missed a reference. Solid video, btw!

[@flappy7373]

it's just that.. when you're making a derisive video mocking the use of references, you need to understand them to mock them properly. it's like.. you need to understand what youre talking about when you're trying to take it apart. otherwise, you just look like a pretentious asshat. at least, i think that's where the salt comes from.

[@siangchengpang772]

@@flappy7373 No you don't, he is criticizing how pop culture was used in the movie, not the individual pieces of pop culture itself. It's like when someone criticizing the idea of alchemy being pseudo science because it has no real standing, and the alchemists goes "well you don't know what the "base metals" are how dare you talk shit about alchemy", I don't need to know every single details of alchemy to tell you its horseshit, just like he doesn't need to know every pop culture references to know that the way they referencing them are bad

[@djosearth3618]

Hah ! *;]*

[@TheRedHaze3]

Most of the ones I've seen aren't actually salty, just pointing out that the 'Holy Hand Grenade' is a reference to Monty Python, not some commentary on religion. That statement is actually worth making since one of his criticisms was the supposed hamfisted religion commentary in the movie.

[@dmute520]

@@TheRedHaze3 I cant tell if he meant that as a joke or not because he uses clips from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

[@TheCinemaMonologues]

Taking the Iron Giant (a figure of peace) and turning him into a tool of destruction fits perfectly within the Starship Troopers-esque satire idea. It shows how all these characters revere the iconography of pop culture without ever diving into its deeper meaning. Chances are she's never seen the film but is building an Iron Giant because it looks cool and is recognizable. I thought this through-line of the death of a certain form of cinephilia in favor of just recognizing shit and being able to recite wikipedia like entries about popular culture was very present in the movie itself. I just think that Spielberg lacks the cynicism that a Verheoven or a Dante would possess in order to really transform the source material into something more interesting. And certainly keeping Ernest Cline on board to write the screenplay was a mistake and contributes to the muddled mess the film ultimately became.

[@TheKeyser94]

Seeing how Spielberg loves to pat the establishment in the back, and call the government honest and moral even with all the horrible things that they had done since their inception, and call corporate media good and ethic, totally disregarding how it had come to be this way, I not think that Spielberg is being "optimistic", he is just turning the blind eyes and continue live nicely in his bubble.

[@technosaurusarcanex3247]

Aech quite literally says the Iron Giant she's building is a commission, meaning it's for someone else.

[@SgtSupaman]

The worst part is that the Iron Giant (initially intended as a weapon in the Iron Giant movie) had a totally different look in attack mode. Basically, she built the peaceful version for fighting... I mean, what??

[@jakobhjorthvonstemann1009]

But isn't the destructive Iron Giant presented as cool and awesome? Thats what the vid refers to about the Text muddling the supposed message. The pop culture smörgasbord is presented as amazing, and indeed the only reason to go see the movie.

[@TheCinemaMonologues]

Well maybe this says more about me wanting to give Spielberg the benefit of the doubt, but I could sense a detached irony throughout the entirety of the film except whenever Halliday was onscreen. I don't disagree the film's completely muddled in what it's trying to say and that it's a giant mess though.

[@fluffywolfo3663]

0:31 To explain that, he grew up in Nazi-occupied Holland and the book's protagonists and society felt _so much_ like what he remembered from his youth that he couldn't get through it.

[@talithaleah6563]

I interpreted Wade’s already acquired skills differently. I think the gimmick works for the readers because it suggests that all the time we’ve spent mastering video games and memorizing movies just because we liked them will have some real world payoff. It gives a sense of self satisfaction, see? We weren’t just aimlessly wasting time and being bums, there could be a day when we really did need to know every word of Ferris Bueller! It works because so many of us who were drawn to the book have spent our time just the way Wade has, but without any quest needed:-)

[@car-keys]

The holy hand grenade is a reference to Monty python and the holy grail. You might know this already but it wasn't clear in the video so just thought id mention it

[@Apethantos]

It is a weapon in the Worms game, WHICH in turn is a reference from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We have reached a time where we reference a reference of a reference.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

12:39 Holy hand granade is monty python! C'mon Count to 3! Not 4, not 2 unless going to the 3. 5 is out of question at all!

[@AliceTheSpider]

Also in worms and many video games, I was like wtf

[@Numbnuts007]

TJ Miller's character was actually in the book, they just changed 80% of the character.

[@Stinkoman87]

They took a minor character that only showed up in one scene, kept the name, and discarded everything else.

[@derekdunbar4694]

A story wherein the hero wins by being the only one who truly understands the underlying themes and messages of my favorite pop culture properties would WRECK me in the best way. It was also be an incredible piece of apologetics for liking those kinds of stories.

[@RecklessFables]

It's Something about Mary is about when Cameron Diaz gets stuff in her hair and it is spiked up and crusty. He had nothing to do with it being a woman.

[@Chronos341]

So about section 3. I totally agree with the analysis at the beginning of this part. RPO is a power fantasy for nerds just like Twilight is a fantasy for teenage girls. RPO is Twilight for Nerds.

[@peterDcontact]

Sixblazer yes, Lindsay Ellis made a video about that, pointing out that twilight got hate for it but Ready player one didn't

[@Salantor]

And she is wrong since both of them got a lot of hate for their problematic themes, bad story structure, weak writing and many other things. We have much more on Twilight because it came earlier and mainstream started to really hate RPO around 2017. We will get a lot more criticism of the movie in the next few years.

[@Alias_Anybody]

Where did she make a video about it? I'm curious.

[@duskflower8825]

This makes me appreciate how Stranger Things is chock-full of references that manage to have thematic significance and are willing to be subtle (some of them are very on-the-nose, but others are much less). It’s more about passion than money-making.

[@lechicklet]

Girl nerd here - for the longest time I wondered why a movie that was poised and gift wrapped so perfectly for someone who could appreciate the references and how meaningful they are…. Didn’t resonate. I’ve only seen this once. I couldn’t pin down why this didn’t have the “epic” effect on me that I wanted so badly to have. But this explained it perfectly. Thank you. Spielberg used to make movies about heart, and then there were amazing characters and locations and plot climax, but heart was always first. The Crystal Skull and Ready Player One seemed like odd teenage boy fantasies, and came across as very self-serving to Spielberg. And maybe that’s what they are, a love letter to his younger self. It’s fine if an artist wants to do that, but to sacrifice beloved characters into fantasy fodder for the sake of it is a put off to the people that made these things so special. It’s just… well, sad.

[@iliveameme4930]

There's something about Mary's joke is a joke where the character used jizz as Hair Gel. It wasnt a callout to rom-coms. It was a dirty inside joke

[@denishillier4889]

I just watched RPO and agree with you about the film in general but I just have to break down the 'There's Something about Mary' comment: Aytch says to Parzival: "You're gonna need to save up for that TSAM hairdo!" At this point Parzival does not have a TSAM hairdo Later, at Aytch's workshop, Art3mis zaps Parzival and gives him a TSAM hairdo, which he keeps for the rest of the movie and it's not mentioned again. If anything, the take away is "The TSAM hairdo is cool!"

[@boiledelephant]

I completely missed that. Thank you

[@djelibaebi]

Bringing up missing the Holy Hand Grenade as a reference in a negative light in these comments is a bit, you know, missing the forest for the trees.

[@starlingwatch3921]

At 13:30 it's not a "throne room" it is St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. While it may look like a throne, the four pillared structure with the dragon heads is actually the 'Baldachin', it's a large Baroque sculpted bronze canopy, technically called a ciborium or baldachin, over the high altar. It's the amazing work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

[@gb7512]

I love that everyone is dissecting the facts and specific details of this video instead of the message when the point of the video is that you should focus more on the message and meaning than the little facts and details

[@mookiethevampire]

I really don't think "There's Something About Mary" is a chick flick. I was considered a "gross out" comedy when it came out. Its more likely she's/he's making fun because its a 40 year old, women's haircut. I get your point, but...yeah, it's a stretch.

[@tiagotiagot]

Depicting the appearance of a character, stripped of all the original context and personality, is actually something pretty common in fan culture. While there are a lot of people that prize fanfictions that could've happened in cannon and show accurate drawings, there are also a lot of people that enjoy alternate reality fanfictions, My Little Pony in a nuclear wasteland, Harry Potter but he grew up with good foster parents, Star Trek but it is just gay porn, Twilight but it's all about BDSM and there are no vampires, and so on. And when it involves virtual worlds with user created content, it goes even further, all sorts of remixed scenaries, objects and so on, people walking around wearing characters as their skin, but being themselves, or having fun contradicting what would be expected of the character and so, and sometimes even with custom versions of the appearance of the characters, including elements of various different characters, universes, art styles etc. I haven't watched the movie yet, but that particular aspect, at least as presented in this video, is actually pretty accurate of one side of fandoms.

[@Yoseqlo1]

"Twilight but it's all about BDSM and there are no vampires..." Did you just described Fifty shades of gray?

[@Yoseqlo1]

While it was an accurate portrayal of many sides of different fandoms in that eccletic sense, it ultimately did nothing with it.

[@tiagotiagot]

@@Yoseqlo1 Yep; with the exception of the Star Trek one, of which I've only seen the occasional drawing in documentaries and stuff, all the specific examples I mentioned there are relatively well known fanfics (maybe there's Star Trek fanfics like that, but I haven't been exposed to those the way I have with the others I mentioned).

[@tiagotiagot]

@@Yoseqlo1 Though, I should note, that 50 Shades version of BSDM is extremely fictionalized, and is more of a caricature of real BSDM, or to be more accurate, it's an abusive relationship mislabeled as BDSM.

[@andyghkfilm2287]

5:25 Transfiguration wouldn’t be what makes a werewolf go to sleep. Transfiguration is, like, changing things into other things. Teacups into birds. You’re thinking of either charms or curses.

[@oninoyakamo]

Spielberg argued with George Lucas about making the 3rd Indiana Jones a quest for the Holy Grail, so the removal of most references to it in Ready Player One is consistent.

[@i0rpheus]

Wait... There's Something About Mary is a chick flick? Based off the clip I think they're referencing how his hair sticks up like the "hair gel" gag in the movie. It's like the character is saying that he has a bad cowlick. I feel that the Nancy Drew is a generational reference where the main character worships mainly the 80's while the antagonist has a sort of older fandom. You could put the Hardy Boys, the Lone Ranger, or etc. to get the same reaction. Edit: or he's trying to make a point to the commenters by making bad nitpicks at pop culture reference about how we shouldn't over zealous about media. I really don't know at this point.

[@sarahhirsch8919]

Had to check the comments to make sure this was addressed. Calling There's Something About Mary a chick flick ironically comes off as more gendered than H's comment when you know the reference. 😆

[@KostikaD]

Your points are all valid, but I can mostly look past them. The one thing though that's in the book, but not the movie is Wade and Artemis' relationship. Where she rejected him and he goes and mopes then "finds" himself and pulls his head out of his ass. It makes their coming back together later have more of an impact. In the film it's just boy likes girl and boy gets girl.There's no relationship there so it feels hollow in the film. Even the relationships with the other character is seriously flawed. As you mentioned, they had plenty of time to flesh those people and relationships out.

[@JohnSmith-kf8mv]

imho the movie made her gorgeous (with slight birth mark) so the audience would buy Wade's immediate attraction to her, cos who wouldn't luuurrve a sexy gal. Had she been rubineque with a 1/2 faced birthmark, methinks with so little time spent showing them together, the audience would be more inclined to think "hmmm, maybe he should look elsewhere for someone else, now that he's rich 'n all

[@KostikaD]

@@JohnSmith-kf8mv yea she was too pretty in the film, but I think you're right since they barely showed their relationship in the film. The book has its problems, but I do prefer it.

[@JohnSmith-kf8mv]

Have you tried the Wil Weaton read audiobook version ? I've listened to it 3 times already and that number will soon increase, so I guess I must like is very much. :D The book's "escape from the work centre place thingie" (it's unofficial name!!) beats the film's version hands down and a particular fav of mine.

[@KostikaD]

@@JohnSmith-kf8mv unfortunately I can't stand to listen to him for even 2 minutes, much less for a whole book. Of others like it though that's great.

[@JohnSmith-kf8mv]

Fair enough, if I can't stand the narrator I avoid the audiobook too.

[@hassoon7687]

6:09 Not 'some' chap; he is the cameraman who gave his life to document the events of cloverfield in 2009

[@TOMNICE]

I am glad this is actually a thoughtful video and not another mindless rant calling the creators SJWs and "everything you like sucks" type of videos

[@uiraideszen3223]

Yup.Same.People criticize SJWs but themselves behave like them when they start name calling on a simple existing factor that doesn't matter

[@steamboatwill3.367]

@@uiraideszen3223 ) presicley!

[@thinhvo3893]

It get to the point where I actually rather have some sjw criticism. I actually look back at Anit sarkeesian and my god at least she was more calm and level headed.

[@TheRedHaze3]

Probably because this guy is actually an SJW. As evidenced by him interpreting the "There's Something About Mary" reference is being sexist or something, despite having nothing to do with gender.

[@DoubleO88]

Most of the critique I've seen for ready player one has been from SJW's

[@Sun_Downer]

No, you are absolutely right, this movie could have been something special and certainly not have and ending where they reject the virtual world. "Reality's the only thing that's real" my ass.

[@aguilefo]

Besides Monty Python, the Holy Hand Grenade was referenced to the next generation in the popular multiplayer game Worms, holy shit that game was nuts, they should make him an e-sport now

[@Predatorian234]

Or the Something About Mary hair joke was because it looked just like Cameron Diaz’s hair in something about Mary. And if you think of her hair in that movie, you think of a particular scene. I do not think it has anything to do with the hair being girly

[@SapphWolf]

Just a round about reference to... hair gel...

[@UnknownSquid]

I mean to be honest, even if it did, does H really seem like the kind of girl to give a crap about calling someone girly? She's living a long term fantasy of actively pretending to be a guy. The biggest baldest most shootiest guy in the game. The one who spends most of her time in the anarchic combat zones. Of course she's going to make casual guy style banter about someone's hair being girly even without needing a reference. To be honest it seems kind of diminishing to her character, for this video to be overly focusing on her being a girl meaning she must therefore be thinking like a girl and with year 2020 female aligned concerns.

[@natezoid]

@@UnknownSquid I think she just meant his bangs looked like they were crispy with dried jizz

[@PeterPing]

"Creator who hates his own creation." Westworld in a nutshell.

[@TheMeanMongoose]

Weeeeell, more like "hates how his creation is coldly abused by others" in Ford's case. He does note hate the Hosts themselves.

[@PS-dm1dq]

And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[@eoghanclark165]

And Frankenstein.

[@IndeedVancho]

Seems whenever we talk about Films lately it's always about what could've been.

[@1796matrix]

I can't tell if he messed up that Monty Python reference on purpose or not

[@zanicnight]

Also... I think the Wily Wonka thing about winning when you stop trying to win would have been great. Cline could have also made it a point that the only way to win is not to play and bring it back to the War Games movie from the first gate.

[@Decrystallizing]

There's Something about Mary is an absurdist deconstruction of the chick flick. Like I see what ur saying but that's a huge reach and I hope you did that by mistake. Also in that scene his haircut literally looks like Mary's.

[@bushyb7067]

He didn't make it by mistake, he mistakenly thinks he knows more than he does.

[@dmmhtm]

I totally agree, that part was a huge reach. The rest was well explained.

[@Damin-Danger-Ledford]

"I don't like (bad writing), it's course and rough, and it gets everywhere" is what every editor should have said... Everytime.

[@nicomadox]

In the Book Parzival do almost everthing by inself, but in the movie the other characters have the chance to contribute to the main plot like Art3mis infiltrate into IOI instead of Wade and I think those are good changes to make the move more "team friendly" oriented.

[@jaja7455]

12:27 i think thats not a commentary. Its just a reference to the Worms video game series (or whatever worms referenced)

[@rcbmmines4579]

12:55 The Holy Hand Grenade is from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

[@julianfadullon8130]

Two nitpicks: The Something About Mary reference I always thought just had to do with the famous jizz as hair gel scene??? And the Holy Hand Grenade reference was just a reference to Monty Python, maybe tributing the books heavy usage of it in a meta way as well??? Both references, but I think just with way less underlying meaning than what the video gave them!

[@customizablemilk353]

the holy handgrenade was a reference to worms i believe

[@darkocelot7342]

The holy handgrenade in worms is a reference to Monty Python, so you're both right! :)

[@MsVersalia]

yeah the Something About Mary reference was pretty obvious... it means he looks like he got jizz in his hair lol

[@KaiserXionTV]

I thought the "Something About Mary" reference was about the jizz gel scene too until he mentions it but now I see it is the jizz gel scene lol.

[@RjWolf3000]

Yeah, clearly a masturbation joke. you gotta think like a 17 year old that remember movies from 25 years ago..... Which is a weird element of this movie.

[@jasartstudios]

The "Holy Handgrenade" is another "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" reference.

[@thatlycantomboy]

This movie for me is like eating chips, or cheese puffs. Like, holy crap, I really enjoyed watching it in the moment, because it involves some of my favorite things/obsessions, but later, I definitely don’t remember ever doing it.

[@SoranMBane]

I haven't read the book or watched the movie (because they both look pretty bad), but I actually don't have a problem with how the Iron Giant was used in the movie. It's realistic to how gamers use modded-in pop culture content in real life. Sort of like how in GMod I could play a Friendship Is Magic pony gunning things down with an AK47, or how in Skyrim I could mod in the Sword of Martin from the Redwall books (which is supposed to be a sword for pure, righteous heroes) and use it to murder innocent people; using those pop culture icons in those ways goes against the themes of the stories they're from, but sometimes gamers just want to do crazy shit with things they recognize. It might have been nice if Ready Player One had acknowledged the contradiction in using the Iron Giant as a weapon (because I'm guessing they didn't), or taken the opportunity to say something with that, but I'm not gonna fault them too much for realistically depicting how a bunch of gamers would actually use an Iron Giant avatar in a video game.

[@littlenarwhal3914]

The book is absolutely amazing, but the movie is garbage

[@apseudonym]

There's Something About Mary isn't a chick flick. It's a comedy...

[@dulcimerrafi]

I don't think she meant it to be mutually exclusive, only that the film is simply a mainstream comedy that wasn't targeted specifically at women.

[@apseudonym]

@ULGROTHA hahaha shut the fuck up dude. take a chill pill. it's not a chick flick because there's only two main female characters in it. it was never intended to be marketed to a solely female audience. it's like a judd apatow movie.

[@apseudonym]

@@dulcimerrafi do i look like a dude to you?

[@apseudonym]

I'm pretty sure the scene of Ben Stiller getting his dick shredded in his fly is not a chick flick trope by any means

[@apseudonym]

Also the guy doesn't get the girl in the end. She rejects him hilariously. Another trope subverted. But go on about how I'm wrong.

[@Dom-ns7pq]

If you think Heinlein’s Starship Troopers promotes fascism, you missed the point of the novel.

[@Gray963]

To be fair a lot of people miss it. Hainlein has so much fun mocking fascist organizations and their enthusiastic nationalism that the positive attitude of the characters can overshadow the acknowledgement of the greater context.

[@TrojComedy]

eerst laatst he says the movie satirises it. Which somehow people also missed when it was released. The issue is the book is also a satirisation of fascism. Not an endorsement of it.

[@deschain1910]

I'm surprised how far I had to scroll down to find a comment clarifying this. I don't want to knock this guy too much, but this misstep hit me hard considering that the video is an analysis of a movie and throughout he makes many references to what he perceived to be the themes in 'this book' or 'that movie;' opinions which I would now have to assume are highly suspect.

[@Dom-ns7pq]

@@deschain1910 I agree, I love this channel, generally great content, but this mistake was disconcerting.

[@elplebeuchiha1996]

Unfortunately, I feel this is a case of researching other people's opinions rather than reading the book and making your own opinion. I ain't mad at him. He probably never read the book. His point still stands for me which is people should read the material and understand the deeper lesson of the story. (+)

[@MuuToo]

12:39 I find it funny that he put more thought than the movie of why the HHG is here instead of what it actual is: just another movie reference.

[@oscarmoxon]

I love the brief music video interludes! It makes this such an entertaining video. I love the topic of conversation and your approach. Perfect take on this great movie.

[@DriesduPreez]

17:40 The Something about Mary hairdo wasn't a reference to it being a 'girly/gay' thing to have, it's a very dude-like banter because it looks like his hair is propped up by jizz, as in the movie

[@Dylanepw]

The 'Something About Mary' reference is alluding to the fact that Cameron Diaz' character accidentally uses jizz as hair gel... I don't think it's intended as a comment on gender. Especially considering H is female irl.

[@-._.-KRiS-._.-]

Crazy that men aren't supposed to like or enjoy any rom coms.

[@Dylanepw]

@@-._.-KRiS-._.- The person who made this video made that statement because they misunderstood the joke. It's a cum joke. the lady puts cum in her hair, so H is saying that the guy looks like he has cum in his hair. It's not making fun of anyone for liking rom coms. In fact, it's making an inside joke from a rom com.

[@smjaiteh]

Yeah, I’m pretty certain that the Something about Mary reference isn’t a comment on gender, but the Nancy Drew thing is very likely one.

[@martinedelius]

"Are you just using anything?" Yes. Yes, they are. And I hated the movie because of it.