RENT - Look Pretty and Do As Little as Possible: A Video Essay

RENT is terrible and I hate it.
Twitter: @thelindsayellis
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[@ManiaMac1613]

I can't wait for the Broadway musical romanticizing the coronavirus.

[@48917032]

It will probably be the first musical consisting entirely of solo numbers.

[@MortMe0430]

@@48917032 Or if there are group numbers, they're staged as if taking place over facetime / video conference.

[@saracoutinho3398]

Lmao 😂😂

[@Dargonhuman]

@@MortMe0430 Or the performers maintain 6 foot distances and it would be one of the first musicals where the staging marks are part of the narrative.

[@EntertainmentExpertz]

Dargonhuman that would honestly be fucking brilliant

[@turtle4llama]

Rich kids living in the city and refusing their allowance aren't poor, they're camping.

[@smaakjeks]

*gasp* Honey, look! It's a homeless person! Awww, he's so cute. Everyone shush, don't startle him. This is a really special moment, you guys. Look, he wants my sandwich, aww hehe no, silly. That's not for you. I got this special because I can't have wheat. My crystal healer said so.

[@useroffline9999]

Smaakjeks K Lmaoooo

[@smaakjeks]

@@useroffline9999 You know, the internet can disappoint you so often. But sometimes a person reaches across the void to voice their disarmed approval. It feels nice. Thanks!

[@sandrasnow-balvert7766]

and if they were minorities they would then be called squatters :D

[@sandrasnow-balvert7766]

@@UltimoDogLover not in that movie they wern't they were very upwardly mobile entitled kids but they would be called campers that's true but if they wern't rich they would be called squatters :D

[@louiseswanson8345]

"Are you mad at a system that failed to act on an epidemic before it became a pandemic?" That hits differently than it did 4 years ago.

[@abrahamhaskins]

No fucking kidding. I immediately scrolled down here to see if anyone had said anything about it. Ouch.

[@ally939]

The protesters shouting, “Healthcare is a right!” hits differently, too, now

[@slightlypeevedpossom8510]

@@sugarcakezz if you actively go against cdc guidelines because you feel like you shouldn't have to, fuck you man. covid got rapidly worst, the cdc didn't predict it right away. whatever. it's not that hard to just listen so people don't have to die. carelessness along the lines of "everyone dies anyway, why not" is stupid as hell.

[@rubycalyope4799]

hi!!

[@RITardNation]

I WAS JUST THINKING THIS!

[@KittyKat3038]

Also, RENT's "rage against the machine" isn't...the FDA, CDC, Pharmaceutical companies, The Reagan Administration but...their landlord.

[@tape-6]

Not just their landlord, their FRIEND who has let them live their rent free for over a year. I hate these assholes.

[@Amy3422]

@@tape-6 He shouldn't have let them live rent-free if he planned to retroactively demand back the money all at once. As their friend, he knows they can't pay it and he knows that Roger has AIDS, yet he turns off their heat in winter and threatens an eviction to make them stop a protest by a mutual friend who he could deal with himself. In the movie, Benny is played as kind and charismatic, so I get why his friends come off as jerks. But consider that they're cold and sick and they know that Benny is comfortable and only wants the rent money to drive up property value for his new business. It makes sense that they feel somewhat betrayed. On top of which, Benny probably didn't pay rent either when he lived with them.

[@Amy3422]

@@AliciaNyblade I confess, I am a Mark fan. No doubt that he is pretentious and flawed, but he is doing the emotional labour of helping Roger and has to watch his friends die. But thanks! Benny shouldn't get a free pass to act sleazy. The movie sanitized him when it changed his and Mimi's relationship.

[@Amy3422]

@@AliciaNyblade I think Mark's worst fear is loneliness. As such, he is always in others' business and ready to defend his tribe by any means. I really really enjoy Lindsey's videos! I think the "woke" style is a way of adding humour and keeping a strong thesis. I get where you're coming from though, since her biases show. I suspect that Lindsey, and a lot of Rent critics, are defending themselves - like, "I'm an artist who works hard and has to pay rent and I don't feel that entitled." Where I really disagree with her is the implied assumption that the play's job is to represent the whole AIDS crisis or have a clear moral. She makes a good point that La Boheme/Rent doesn't exist to tackle politics, but to make us feel for specific characters. Also, (I'm sorry for getting on a tangent), it bugs the heck out of me when audiences ignore context. I'm not an expert on NYC in the 90s, but what little research I've done explains a lot about the musical and why it's written the way it is.

[@Amy3422]

@@AliciaNyblade I think we're on the same page. Except that I am all for dissociating the work from the author when possible (hard to do in Rent's case!) Maybe death of the author can be a crutch for critics who want to push a single interpretation. My thinking is that, to get to know Rent, I have to really pay attention to the story and part of that story includes knowing about history, AIDS stigma and gentrification. And in my experience, the more I pay attention to a text, the more profound it is. In Rent, like you pointed out, I see characters who value friendship and creativity more because of how fragile those things are. And Benny, the alternative, compromises his friendship for wealth. I agree that the show wouldn't be what it is without Jonathan's need to honour his friends. His story is part of the show's mythology. However, I guess I think death of the author is just acknowledging that we can never know his motives for sure. We can only look at what's written. Btw, I really appreciate your comments. You've clearly thought all of this through!

[@MisterRlGHT]

Rent was filmed for whatever reason in San Francisco, where they dressed the seediest block of seedy 6th Street as a seedy block of NYC for a month. The crew sprayed fake snow everywhere on the location since it never ever snows there, then they paid all the winos & junkies to go away each day (I am not making this up) and brought in paid extras costumed as winos & junkies.

[@foodisscarce]

LMAOOO

[@bennyton2560]

yikes

[@BALTHAZAAR58]

That's kinda perfect, actually.

[@fildariusv7045]

"We are soooo anti selling out and pro poor people"! *Proceeds to yeet the f*ck out the poor people and replace them with well paid actors, thanks I hate it!*

[@MrChaoticreign]

That sounds completely withing the piss poor standard of Hollywood engineering. . .

[@AmieOkami]

Hearing the crowd shout that healthcare is a right while going through the coronavirus stuff hits different. We really will have to keep fighting forever, won’t we?

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Well the United States is also the the world major supplier of medical technology and medical research. Medical technology is one of our main exports. So it’s easy to argue for healthcare as a right when you don’t know that our current healthcare system has created untold good in the world. It’s a tough thing to say. I think we could find a good middle ground somewhere. I don’t want healthcare to be completely free. Rich people buying medicine and getting treated creates a lot of money for R&D.

[@MaxOakland]

No, we won’t have to fight for healthcare forever. But we have to fight until we get it

[@SuperJosser]

i feel bad for the US, i wish you guys were able to obtain free healthcare. We have free healthcare in my country and just knowing you never have to worry because the system supports you, is much more liberating than the american idea of freedom tbh

[@ianc4992]

@@andrewlitvinov7266 They're still getting paid, dude.

[@tovarischkrasnyjeshi]

a) An NHS wouldn't be completely free, it'd be paid for by tax dollars, like in every country it's been tried and works in. How does research happen? The same ways it happens in those countries; with medical research like what we have, with government research competing, with bounties, etc. b) Canada, the UK, Australia, Europe, Japan, and Korea are huge in healthcare technology and medical research and competitive despite having nationalized systems c) other countries, such as the developing countries and whatever China is, also manage proportionally to their economies. Hell there's a worldwide demand for Cuban doctors, and no one is advocating for the system that made Cuban medicine. This argument is not only unconvincing, it's honestly starting to become insulting

[@roondar6141]

Oh poor baby Mark, affording a pretty big studio apartment while having a good paying job in his field that leaves him time to work on his passion project and maintain a friend group with a family that loves him, I feel so bad for him

[@TheReddShinobi13]

I think you've missed the point. 1st off, they are poor. Secondly, they are squatters. Thirdly, its a show about the condition of struggling artists during the aids epidemic in New York. Some of the characters have Aids and struggle with it different. Roger is defeated and desperate to leave his mark on the world. Mimi: is going full YOLO, but is destroying herself in the process. Angel and Collins: Take life one day at a time. Enjoying the time they have and embrace the friends they have. They are scared. But they do not fear.

[@RobinTheBot]

@@TheReddShinobi13 lol. They are poor, he is not. They are dangling over an endless pit of misery, he's hanging over an indestructible safety net that he could fall into at any moment. He doesn't want to pay rent because he'd rather do nothing, not because he's in any way unable to.

[@GoddoDoggo]

@@TheReddShinobi13 1. "They are poor." Mark had a well-paying job that allowed him free time to work on his passions. Which he CHOSE to quit. 2. "They are squatters." See previous. 3. "Struggling artist." He decided to be a struggling artist. He literally had a decent job that would have subsidized his art _in his lap._ The other characters' struggles may or may not be legitimate, but Mark's are not. Mark is a douchebag.

[@johnmcswag5980]

@@GoddoDoggo Mark is textbook trustfund babies BEGGING to he opressed while ignoring how lucky and priviledged they are. He could have helped any of his friends with that job.

[@squamish4244]

How is he depicted in the play?

[@lilithwy]

You're right about Mark's character. Many artists would give their left leg to work in their field and be financially stable/successful while doing so.

[@PhoenixRising87]

Right? If someone offered me $3000 a story (I'm a writer), I'd say "Damn, I could purchase a new soul!"

[@ladyredl3210]

As a writer. Definitely fuck Mark and his bullshit.

[@p0ssumkingd0m]

I just got a GREAT writing job. It pays SO WELL and it’s helping me break into writing as a career. I can’t imagine giving this up bro, FUCK Mark

[@lily5291]

This is one of the million things that bother me so much about La La Land: Mia's whole, "it's not your dream" when Ryan Gosling lands a steady, well-paying gig doing something in his field; if he pursues it for awhile, he could then fund his passion project. But, nooooo, she's determined that he needs to stay true to his dream or whatever. What about being realistic and investing for the future?

[@Stettafire]

The weird thing is though, at that kind of money all he needs to do is save then he can do whatever he wants. Heck, he could rise up in the industry and get respected contracts to help him make his dream documentary. Learn from his peers etc. No one ever said you need to do everything all at once and no one ever said you need to do everything alone! So dumb.

[@jamesquinn8562]

Now that I've actually watched Rent (Mostly because I loved Netflix's Tick Tick....Boom) I think Rent would be a lot more interesting if it mostly focused on Angel and Collins since they're the actual homeless, gay, and aid-victims that the musical seems to want to fight for. You'd get more into whatever Collin's theory is, and Angel comes off a lot more sympathetic as she's made more 3 dimensional.

[@kristajohnson9173]

But that is the whole problem, the characters they chose to centralize instead are instead these self-involved entitled straight white boys who are really falsely sympathetic to people who are ACTUALLY oppressed, and act like they are somehow ALSO oppressed merely by association, and by their desire to ACTUALLY exploit them for "art".

[@anitralarae_mahjacat]

Columbus did her DIRTY 🤬

[@RoaringKetchup]

I just can’t get over the fact that angel murdered a dog

[@Haydawg06]

I feel like watching tick tick boom gives you the explanation of why the musical doesn't fully focus on that and it's because Larson didn't know how to create those characters without also having himself in the story because of his close relationships to people like that and that creates the characters of Mark and Roger and they also need focus to warrant being in the show.

[@coatimundi69]

​@@RoaringKetchup its definitely not something I would do or support, but poverty really does make you do crazy shit for money. its why some SWers do (invertebrate, usually) crushing.

[@geniehossain3738]

Anyone else re-watching this in the midst of this Corona craziness? “Healthcare is a right!” “40 million infected is a fucking plague!” “Early aggressive action pays off.” Ooooof. The times really never change.

[@toshirodragon]

Sadly it doesn't!

[@Rebecca-oh5yh]

I am watching this on the day worldwide cases in 40 million.

[@margaretgibbs6673]

This...really hits different this year.

[@Stinkoman87]

Especially with conservatives in power. They love things staying the same.

[@TehNightfallen]

this is the Great America that they've Made Again; ignoring the suffering of millions to enrich themselves personally.

[@carloscaro9121]

One lesson from Rent's rise and fall: having no representation is not a good reason to accept bad representation.

[@appa609]

Don’t be silly. Rent rises and never falls.

[@Plisko1]

RENT is still selling out shows on all it's tours. The only place it is falling is in haters imaginations.

[@littlefieryone2825]

@@Plisko1 Doesn't mean everyone looks back on it with praise.

[@Plisko1]

​@@littlefieryone2825 No doubt. Hating things is a cottage industry these days. It's the latest business opportunity.

[@littlefieryone2825]

@@Plisko1 It's been critically panned quite a bit, especially the film. Plus, how many seats are available on these tours? Isn't it possible that it's continuing to appeal to that group of the wealthy that was mentioned in the video, not the population as a whole?

[@ThejollyFrenchman]

Yeah, no, poverty isn't romantic. Spend a couple of weeks sleeping on bus stop benches because you actually don't have any money to pay the rent rather than just choosing not to and anyone who thinks that it is will change their tune pretty damn quick. I'm writing this under the blankets of a king sized bed with the heater blazing, and remembering what it's like to be out in the cold with only a jacket to keep you warm, I choose the former every bloody time, "art" be damned. Fucking trust fund kids.

[@juliamavroidi8601]

ThejollyFrenchman Yes, poverty is romantic. The Romanticd in the 1800s did exactly what this musical is doing: Mock the establishment while idealizing the lower classes they actually had no connection with often truly absurd depictions of their life. All while never truly challenging the status quo (with the exception of France where Romantic Art was more political) They weren't the first to do so, just the ones who coined the term. So yes poverty is romantic in the purest sense of the word: It is approriated by the middle class in order ti fit into their idealized narratives.

[@kullerva5738]

Romantic does not equal romanticized. The image of poverty is romanticized. The state itself is not romantic in any sense.

[@juliamavroidi8601]

Kullerva I was getting at the point that Romance itself is an artficial construct and that this construct was created by the values of the 19th century upper and upper middle class. Roses and starry nights are only romantic because they were romanticized as well. As is monogamy.

[@kullerva5738]

Concur! However, you're mixing up Romantic and romantic. Romantic (capitalized) has a lot of different meanings; one of the first was as a descriptor for adventure tales like Don Quixote (no, seriously) and, later, grew in meaning to refer to the cult of exceptionalism of the artist and the fetishization of deep feeling as the ultimate goal of life (a la Goethe's Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers). "Rent" adopts the worst parts of Romanticism in spades, but romance (i.e. lovey-dovey bullcrap that men use to get women into bed) is something entirely different, even if it was--and continues to be--constructed in the same way. English is a weird language.

[@rikkirikki4892]

I haven't finsihed the video yet, but does she mention that Jonathan Larson did live in poverty? Or is that an idea in my head that is somehow untrue? I always thought he did and that he died the day before (or a few days before?) RENT opened on Broadway.

[@elenas3571]

I wonder how long it will be before we get a musical called “Quaran-Teens” or something romanticizing the Coronavirus.

[@BirdmanDeuce26]

Don’t give them ideas! Lol

[@username-mk4qv]

I hope they do something like that. I’m really tired of hearing about unemployed folks struggling to survive, and essential workers whining about their jobs being stressful and having to put their lives on the line. I think it would be eye-opening to have a story highlighting the struggles of those who don’t have to work, and especially those who have to work from home. People don’t understand how hard it is motivating myself to put on pants for zoom meetings and not procrastinate while I’m safe at home.

[@margaretgibbs6673]

Why would you say that. (Especially because we all know its true.)

[@Jordan-kq3qw]

That is an amazing title. "Becky, i cant hear you over the BLM protestors, can you move to another room in your Manhattan penthouse? I know the wifi isn't as good in the dining room but I can barely hear you over the screams as those poor people of color are teargassed."

[@juwebles4352]

@@username-mk4qv Bro bad take “ i’m tired of hearing about the people with problems what about the people doing literally nothing”

[@rachaelfitzpatrick8574]

Why did they call themselves “rent heads” and not “renters” or “tenants” 😔

[@ThePrimevalVoid]

because that would imply they pay rent

[@skylarjohnson7779]

@@ThePrimevalVoid so the fandom should be Squatters?

[@marswag666]

@@skylarjohnson7779 freeloaders😎

[@JeanMarceaux]

Rentoids

[@blakchristianbale]

Average rentoid

[@zarabee2880]

Did anyone else get chills ? “...dear old mum and daaaaad” “PLAGUE...forty million dead and you behave like THIS?!!” 😢

[@EGV88]

What was that speech exactly?

[@JohnnyAdroit]

@@EGV88 It's a scene from the documentary "How to Survive a Plague" (surviveaplague.com/). The speaker is Larry Kramer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Kramer). He is criticizing a 1991 gathering of ACT UP (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_UP) activists for falling prey to infighting, negating their ability to gather widespread support in demanding action on the epidemic.

[@Stettafire]

I laughed, but it was a nervous uncomfortable laugh. Because I'm familiar with that speech. It honestly represents what I see as the big problem with a lot of activism. It goes no where because the people arn't organised, they smash windows etc which allows the gov to change the message at will, so their VITAL issue gets ignored. It honestly hurts.

[@GenerationBright]

@@JohnnyAdroit god doesn't that sound familiar rn.

[@wolfdragonhorse]

@@Stettafire completely agree with you there. I see this a lot with the activist Left. Group A is so invested in their special interest they'll fight with Group B even though they agree on 99.9% of other issues. Then all of these groups ignore the big picture changes that need to happen in order for their special interests to receive any real attention, all while demonizing the larger organizations and the Democratic Party for daring to focus on the big picture. I'd have gone into activism if I had any patience or tolerance for such petty BS and foolishness.

[@cosmicdahlia]

that intro is one of the reasons I start fuming when people say "You can survive trump, you survived Reagan." no. we didnt.

[@ladyredl3210]

Can I steal this because it's true. Some of us already haven't.

[@MJubecki1984]

Thank you for that perspective. Things you don't think about when you aren't in the middle of it. Breaks the heart.

[@eirin481]

@@notmytruthTHEtruth stop being a doomer and advocate for bernie then, small child

[@eirin481]

@@notmytruthTHEtruth >tfw people call bernie anti-semetic for fighting the israeli government's blatant right wing nationalist tendencies stop being a doomer; tulsi literally supported a resolution to defend israel at all costs and spun it as free speech shit when in reality all it does is hurt palestinians and circlejerk the israeli government twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1155268020723310592

[@DekuOfPower]

@@notmytruthTHEtruth while I dont love Israel, that's far from the most important, possibly election-deciding decision to make right now. Even if you see that as a lost cause, there are other reasons to decide on a candidate to support.

[@HiddenDarkHM]

As a southern-baptist raised white gay in rural Colorado who didn't even hear about the AIDS crisis until his early twenties, it always horrifies me to learn more about it. Every single thing I learn about it is like a knife in the chest and... I just feel the system is still ACTIVELY erasing the many many people who fought and died during that time. The version I ultimately learned, when I learned about it in college was so incredibly watered down and that was the only exposure to it I got in my life until maybe 4 or 5 years ago. "There is a thing called AIDS, it's why you use protection. People thought it was the gay virus in the 80's so quite a few people died but we know that's not true anymore so it's all fine :) " Maybe that's a little harsh on what I was taught but I don't feel by much. A few years ago I came across a fucking TUMBLR post talking about it and I was just like, "Wait... what happened!?" And then I researched and learned so much about it and it just STAGGERED me. It still staggers me. And now with 'rona running around killing almost 400,000 people and everyone acting like it's a minor inconvenience, or even romanticizing it, I just feel like letting things like RENT, things that do everything they can to be like "AIDS bad :( But not... so bad, right?" are honestly a bit more insidious than we give them credit for. Even if it's not the actual intention things that soften and blur the faces of the people who fought and died for the right for US to live, the 90's kids, the 00s kids should not be given a free pass. Many of us wouldn't be here if it weren't for those people, and we need to make sure we give them the thanks they deserve by not forgetting them.

[@potatoesstarch2376]

If there's one thing Neo-liberal culture will do, it will frame all problems and atrocities that non-standard entities (minorities) have faced as both 'not so bad' and totally over and fixed. This is done for the sake of the standard entity. Take the civil rights movement, specifically Martin Luther King, and how... softened he has been. His edges have been rounded off. His Fight framed as a thing without fire and anger, of politeness and pure civility. Take the nature of Amerind - European 'relations' throughout american history. All fights are framed as "Really not so bad, just cause of some bad actors. And it's all over and gone now. Totally won.". Just look at the 'racism is over' folks. Like shit man I used to buy into that. Just cause I didn't exactly don a KKK hood myself and no one I knew did either. But it's fuckin not over. The fight hasn't been won, Martin Luther King didn't cure racism. He just dragged a ton of legal protections out of the governments bloated rotting mass against it. But whomever is behind the cultural propaganda would have us believe that it's over, the standard-entity is good to the nonstandard entity now. Except for the few bad eggs. (in this case, White people, to Black people. To be specific) There's no like, concerted powerful systems that act against the non-standard entity. Perhaps luckily, society has paid attention to the recent Police Murders of non-standard entities (and a bit of the police murder of the standard entities too) so it's become harder to push the soft and smooth view of the civil rights struggle. But I'm sure once the passion behind the current Police Murder thing dies down, they'll get back to smoothing it all down. same sorta thing is happening now to THE GAYS. Pretending that everything is fine now and if it ever wasn't fine it wasn't too bad, and it was fixed quick by the Good Standard-Entities when the Nice Non-Standard Entities asked. There totally isn't a powerful largely religiously motivated political force that actively opposes the gays actively. Has to be that way so corporations can profit off the Gays. They gotta be Shiny and Smooth. Watch. When Trans People get their foot more in the door as far as 'being accepted' goes, the EXACT same thing will happen to them. I'll give it 10-20ish years before it starts. People will look back now and pretend Terfs barely existed and were just a few bigots that the Good Standard Entities didn't like, and not an active powerful opposing force that is given equal respect and weight by the Standard Entities.

[@runefaustblack]

Link to that Tumblr post, please?

[@Janellabelle]

This is how I feel about the opioid epidemic and how romanticized addiction is in movies. 75,000 people died of a drug overdose last year alone, and 50,000 of them was specifically from an opioid overdose. The number has increased every single year since the early 2000s. Nothing ever happens...they'll talk about the problem but no one ever makes rehabs or medication more affordable and accessible. But the make prison hell of accessible and once they can get an addict in the system the know the chance of recidivism is sky high and they make a lot of money off prisoner slavery. But addicts and people with mental illness in general are also stigmatized and no one really cares about them. Not really but they do a lot of lip service. Thoughts and prayers thoughts and prayers.

[@Kfroguar]

AIDS traumatized our parents in ways they are still working through. I was taught how HIV/AIDS worked and was transmitted in school, but it was always shrouded in this layer of silence and discomfort with the subject. Teachers didn't want to talk about it, parents grew silent, even the videos and readings would make vague allusions to how HIV+ people shouldn't face discrimination, but no real explanation of why they would in the first place (this was especially confusing since they first introduced the topic in sex ed before we learned about actual sex, so it was just this a bunch of stuff about periods and one random video about an autoimmune disorder). It was much, much later that I learned my parents had lost friends to AIDS and that they had been deeply scarred by the hatred and negligence they had witnessed --even though they themselves were not the target. My mother still gets tense whenever there is an outbreak of ebola, bird flu, etc abroad, because she remembers what kind of atrocity a stigmatized disease led her government to commit.

[@nothing4mepls973]

Care to share with the class? I have no clue what you're talking about. "OMG nobody talks about the truth! And neither will I!" Okay?

[@xingcat]

As someone who was an active member of ACT UP in the 80s, RENT made me SO ANGRY. It whitewashed and prettified the terror and horror of the AIDS crisis to make it seem like a byproduct of whiny city-dwelling suburbanites who used trans people as props and....GAH! My most "counterculture" friend and I went to see RENT when it first toured to Boston. She was a woman who lived in a squat, made giant, unintelligible sculptures that she wouldn't sell because they were her "children," and regularly held dumpster-dive supper parties. Halfway through Act I, she turned to me and whispered, "Why don't these assholes get JOBS?" That's been my thought on RENT since the beginning.

[@RobHeathers]

xingcat As a gay male born in 1987 (like, I'm pushing 30; whoa), I would like to thank you for your participation in ACT-UP. My generation needs an activism injection; people became docile between 1992-2016. It seems the latter half of my generation is start to learn how to act up, but we still need leadership. If it weren't for your work, things might be significantly worse than they are these days.

[@Randomgen77]

xingcat +

[@eliseharrington6987]

people seem to think sharing something on facebook is enough to actually contribute something

[@xingcat]

It's not at all due to me, in particular. I was a kid back then, and we were all really, really scared, even the suburban kids like me. Everyone was dying, everything we knew about the disease (or "knew" about the disease) told us we had no chance at life, nobody was listening. We just made so much noise that people had to listen. It's something I fear we'll all have to learn how to do again in the coming years.

[@omondieu]

Yes! This damn hashtag generation is the reason America is in the mess it's in. So few people are willing to actually put forth the work to make a difference nowadays, and think they can get away with simply retweeting something. And while that may certainly spread awareness, it doesn't do anything by itself.

[@Svengali764]

I am bi woman and no woman in rubber has flirted with me 😒😒

[@crishealingvtuber8626]

same :(

[@soulsmindpalace]

Same. Seriously disappointing.

[@graceyl.195]

Same 🙄🙄🖐

[@ProbablyAkeelah]

Same

[@MrMarcJackson]

So damn what

[@KTSamurai1]

Talk about a sobering moment: "Plague! We are in the middle of a fucking plague!" Probably the most effectively edited video you've done yet. Excellent work.

[@twin_rabbit]

Agreed.

[@elvellarambles9151]

Coming back in 2021 be like

[@KTSamurai1]

@@elvellarambles9151 jesus christ lol

[@gothambatbrat]

When this aged.... Correctly?

[@currielee]

having never seen rent and only absorbing it through cultural osmosis, i was today years old when I found out that mark and roger are two different characters

[@TheScaredLittleScholar]

I have seen the musical and only learned this today

[@kristajohnson9173]

omg i died

[@liesbeneathoureyes]

Bro I’ve seen rent at least 5 times and it still took me till several minutes into this video to remember they are two separate characters 💀

[@overwhelmed_cactus6820]

10:43 “Amercinized the names a little” “I’m roger” Don’t know why but that always cracks me up

[@rogermwilcox]

Fun fact: The name "Roger" originally meant "one who wields a spear". In some English-speaking cultures, it became a euphemism for humping.

[@TheEliseRodgers]

Actually, it’s pre “English” and means “Famed spear” - as in a very good warrior, not just a passable hunter

[@kingofcrawdads5958]

I’m watching this while on break at rehearsal for this show and it’s the pettiest thing I’ve ever done. There are people rehearsing Seasons of Love ten feet from me.

[@thisisawsome34253212]

What did you think of the show's music?

[@kingofcrawdads5958]

Video Game Drummer Productions Honestly the production we did ended up super well. Somehow they even managed to make ‘Your Eyes’ sound good. Still a terrible story though, all of us were far more invested in the homeless subplots.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

King of Crawdads Honestly, you’re valid as hell.

[@beastofbussycreek]

Wow this is a mood right here

[@CowMaster9001]

Are you playing it loud enough for them to hear it?

[@jdprettynails]

I like to think of Rent as that person who says "I'm not voting because all politicians are corrupt." They think they're rising above it all and are so superior, but they accomplish nothing.

[@erinhaury5773]

If anything, they make the situation worse.

[@Sarah_H]

These people think they're better and more intelligent than the rest of the masses because they're "woke" and can "see through the government's lies", so they think that not voting is some profound statement of dissent. When in reality, by not voting, they are effectively silencing themselves and rolling over to let the rest of the masses trample all over them. Their opinion then does not matter because, by not voting, they are choosing to never let their opinion be heard, and are letting the vocal, voting majority speak for them. Not to say that people who don't vote can't complain, but...they really CAN'T complain, because, in this way, they never spoke up against what they're complaining about in the first place, when it would've ACTUALLY made a difference.

[@brentparker7359]

1) "Rent" does not have an anti-political-involvement message. In fact, quite the opposite: "Revolution, justice, screaming for solutions, forcing changes, risk and danger. Making noise and making pleas!" 2) Does the relentless scapegoating of non-voters on the internet do anything to convince more people to get involved in politics?

[@swanscream5152]

+jdprettynails I don't think I'm superior, I just don't think the system offers change. If I can vote for brutal capitalism #1 or brutal capitalism #2, I care for neither. The system is designed to ensure the process of reaching the top transforms you into a bastard, unless you are already a bastard; witness Obama's early idealism turn to bombing children & deporting families. I don't think that system holds liberation. If voting on its own was effective resistance, politicians wouldn't frame nonvoting as a problem or try to get people to vote; they do these things because making people think voting is the sole form of resistance is an effective way to bind them to the system & divert their efforts. By all means, vote! Just please don't stake all your hopes solely on that; please don't do only that. I don't think I'm superior to you or want to be superior to you; if you want this world to be better, you are my comrade.

[@thevampirefrog06]

​@@swanscream5152 I assure you that John fucking McCain and Mitt Romney would have been worse for the country and the world at large than Barack Obama. Voting is triage. It doesn't mean you stop other activism, it doesn't mean you can't protest the person you voted for, but it does mean you keep the worst of two (or more) options out of office. That is not nothing.

[@crabman732]

One of my *MANY* favorite critiques here is that the show builds up this song that Roger is writing as this earth-shakingly poetic, life-altering song - a song that sums up his life of heartbreak & tragedy - and when we *finally* get to hear it...it’s easily the most forgettable song in the entire show. Every other song in Rent is an absolute BANGER, but the ONE SONG that the show actually builds anticipation for...is a total dud. It’s almost like the perfect metaphor for Rent in general.

[@stefannydvorak7919]

Absolutely! It’s so ironic that the song he sings ( One Song, Glory)ABOUT the masterpiece he wants to write is so much more memorable and emotionally impactful than said masterpiece.

[@PaddyPunk199]

I was under the impression that he was lying, saying he worked on it all year to make her feel loved in her dying moments. Then he just pulls a very meh song out his arse in an attempt to be sweet. But yeah, that song was pap!

[@introusas]

I always assumed that was kind of the point. Same with how Mark's movie wasn't great either. It's not about the quality of the end product, it's about the love behind it.

[@crabman732]

@@introusas I get what you’re saying, but Mark is a bad example of that. He doesn’t actually love anything - he just wants to be subversive for the sake of being subversive. Literally all he does for the entirety of the show is complain about his life, despite the fact that his life is objectively awesome. He has parents that love him (who he completely rejects cuz sOcIeTy), he has a GREAT job **in his chosen field** but he quits it cuz it’s too cOrPoRaTe ew!! And he quits to make his own film, which is absolute horseshit. Mark is easily the worst character in the whole show. He has almost no redeeming qualities and he’s a complete selfish prick.

[@introusas]

@@crabman732 Okay, I understand and agree with that, but that literally has nothing to do with what I'm saying. I was simply comparing it to my point about Roger's song. It's very simple, derivative, and the lyrics are boring and basic. But believe it or not that song is the one of the few that moves me MOST because of the emotion in his voice. And I'm talking about OBC because the movie is garbage that similarly has no love behind it. And I can personally relate to that song from Mimi's perspective because I have had someone in my life who has pushed me away out of fear, but whom I knew to have loved me. Anyway - I'm not here for an internet fight because I hate those. I'm just stating my own perspective and that even though the song is pretty underwhelming, that it still holds meaning to me personally and if art means anything to even one person, that makes it valuable. And I'm not saying you're arguing against that either, I'm sure you agree. I just wanted to add that perspective to the conversation.

[@TreJowy]

Came here to see Rent torn apart, ended up being educated. Props, Ms. Ellis.

[@TreJowy]

​@Midgeon Mac **nod**

[@makakowsky7042]

That's how she does :D

[@alexanderthealright]

that's what we call a twofer.

[@julieandrewsfanclub566]

"manic pixie dream gays going quietly into that good night" is possibly the best sentence ever

[@Manas-co8wl]

Oh those 80s just really wanted us to be manic pixies and really really wanted us to go quietly into that good night

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Manas If by “that good night” you mean “the very dregs of the corrupt society they have wrought” or “the indescribable flames of hell”, then yeah. That’s about accurate.

[@James--Parker]

The ending of this video is powerful.

[@fitz33]

+James Parker I found it mesmerizing. I am trying to learn more about this topic. Can you (or anyone) tell me who the man is who is speaking?

[@definitelycatherine7296]

I don't know who that man is but he's a damn hero.

[@selenite1]

Larry Kramer. There's other footage of him on YT speaking about AIDS very early in the epidemic. He also wrote the Normal Heart.

[@lancemannly]

Definitely Catherine Larry Kramer was the man who called Reagan's indifference to AIDS exactly what it was, an attempted holocaust. And he did it while Reagan was still in office he's a fucking badass

[@Hedvigu]

Holy shit I just made the 1000th like. That was intense.

[@39ocean]

30:35 I had always interpreted the Who Do You Think You Are scene between Roger and Mimi being Mimi wanting to *sleep* with Roger, along with doing drugs, so Roger was simultaneously denying Mimi because a) he’s trying to stay sober and b) he has HIV (and doesn’t know that she does) and obviously doesn’t want to infect her. Two *very good reasons* for rejecting Mimi. And then I remembered getting super confused because I thought about this scene after it was done, and I was like “…wait… why is this movie treating Mimi like the good-person idealist and Roger the repressed stick in the mud? He has the moral high ground?” Like we find out later that she *also* has HIV, and it’s treated like “Oh my gosh, we *can* be together!” But I was like, wait, Mimi didn’t know that Roger had HIV prior to soliciting him… so she was going to willingly risk infecting someone else (and do drugs and whatnot) just to “Live in the Moment”? Like what the heck?!

[@louisachalarca6494]

I was pretty young when I’d watch this and I had no idea that was why

[@DbBujo]

Yo. I never thought of it that way. I just thought roger was rejecting her because she was basically a baby-19 yrs old- and he was probably going to die from that disease and he didn’t want to ruin her life with a relationship with him.

[@blueraspberrycat1283]

Yeah I always found that weird too. Like Roger's anger wasn't irrational. He said no, but Mimi kept insisting (plus she kinda entered uninvited)

[@Tamales21]

Maybe she wasn't making great decisions because of drugs.

[@Alix-with-an-I]

Yeah, I found that odd too. I was backstage for my high school's production of RENT, and I remember always being so confused at why the song is written as if Mimi is right: Roger has perfectly good reasons to reject her, even when he realizes that she has HIV. Yet, the song is staged and written as if it's Roger that's being overly angry. Mimi gets the entire female ensemble backing her in the script, while Roger sings alone, making it seem as if her opinion holds more weight, even though Roger has denied her multiple times, which he completely has the right to do. I don't really have much experience with the movie, as I have only watched it once, but from my time helping out with my school's production, those are just my thoughts on the scene.

[@LordofFullmetal]

This is almost completely unrelated, but PSA: DO NOT move the tables in a restaurant without asking. Sometimes the reason the tables are the way they are is so that staff can actually move between them, so if you move them we're going to have to keep asking you to move so we can get through. Which will annoy you, and then you'll blame US because you were stupid and didn't think about the consequences of your actions. Also, the staff then have to waste time moving the table back hundreds of times a night. Also if you hurt yourself moving a table, we could theoretically get sued. Also it could damage the floors. So as Chez rightly says in this video, doing shit like that (moving tables without permission) makes you an ASSHOLE, not a cute rebel.

[@LadyPhoenix7777]

Yup. Restaurant staff will try to accomadate large parties. It might take time, but they will make it so that no one numps into you and the table will come with silverware already placed instead of waiting for some poor staff to grab you it because you didn’t tell them how many people will be seated.

[@Devy717]

I work at a casino, I understand the chair moving. God damn I am in one section, One seat gets moved and now I am on the hunt for where did they pull that chair? My section or my co-workers section have a randomly missing chair. Grown ass adults acting like children is what annoys me, not on clock cuz I'm too busy helping others but after work I'm like... "Wait, a minute... Why didn't I report this person again?". Frustrating but I love my job honestly, I have worked many industries I wouldn't trade this one, It's just perfect for me.

[@anonymous-dirigible]

Also, MFing fire codes sometimes legally require tables to be a certain distance from X, Y, or Z, which the restaurant has no control over. So if you move tables, or pull up chairs to the ends of the table because "Oh, we didn't know our party of five was actually going to be six!" without permission from the staff, the restaurant could get hit with a serious fine if the fire marshal should walk in.

[@anonymous-dirigible]

Also, MFing fire codes sometimes legally require tables to be a certain distance from X, Y, or Z, which the restaurant has no control over. So if you move tables, or pull up chairs to the ends of the table because "Oh, we didn't know our party of five was actually going to be six!" without permission from the staff, the restaurant could get hit with a serious fine if the fire marshal should walk in.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

LordofFullmetal Yeah. The fact that they openly ignored the pleas of an amiable small business owner, (no doubt ELATED for an opportunity to get some damn cash for once in the face of gentrification and big-franchise restaurants) means that they don’t actually care about the plight of anybody who’s actually trying to make their way in the world today.

[@Kristiekins2]

Larry Kramer's speech about the plague never stops shocking the hell out of me how desperate he was to get people on his side.

[@renoloverxoxo]

The sad part is he is speaking to other AIDS activists who saw ACT UP as placating the people in charge.

[@nefelitsakiridi]

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I do to you? Are you Rent fans?"

[@ThePuppyTurtle]

Christ, when you look at it that way, Reagan is one of the great monsters of history.

[@HipsterShiningArmor]

Yeah, he was pretty fucking awful. Anyone who tries to argue that Reagan was one of the great American presidents either doesn't know what they're talking about or doesn't give a shit about LGBT people's lives. Or both.

[@Matrim42]

And that's not even taking into account all the other horrible stuff he did.

[@whiplashfilms]

ThePuppyTurtle I think theres an argument to be made that the Reagan ascendancy - how he started to strip away unions, deregulation, "trickle-down" economics - has also led to a monster like Trump.

[@Gukkor]

Reagan had his good points, and he actually did some real good for gay rights before his presidency, but yeah, he failed HARD when the epidemic hit. There are conflicting reports as to what exactly his real attitude toward it was, whether he truly didn't care/thought gays deserved it (which, given his past actions, doesn't seem likely to me) or just underestimated how truly terrible it would get. He DID allocate five billion dollars to AIDS research, but he could and should have done more, earlier. Personally (and I freely admit that I'm not as read up on this particular point as I could be), I tend to think that Reagan did care to an extent, but chose to focus his real efforts on his economic and foreign policy goals and leave AIDS to his cabinet/advisors to decide how to deal with... and many of them were, in fact, rabidly homophobic. Buchanan is a prime example. It wouldn't surprise me if the people around him worked to insulate him from the real extent of the disease's spread. Or maybe Nancy's astrologer advised him not to do anything, who the hell knows.

[@Number9Robotic]

I wonder how much of Trump's fanbase is made up of people who liked Reagan in proportion to other candidates' fanbases like Clinton's.

[@bogosbinted5734]

As a bi woman, I wish there were always women in rubber flirting with me.......

[@Banana_Zach]

me too -straight man

[@wishywashyjuan]

Hi. Lol

[@wishywashyjuan]

*hates rent tho

[@whateverworksmate.721]

Me too

[@Kai555100]

Me too Gay man

[@rosemarygrabowska9949]

The "Dear ol' Mom and Dad" line, for me, really encapsulates the vapid façade of rebellion portrayed in Rent: A person wouldn't exist to rebel *without* Dear Ole' Mom and Dad. Yes, shitty parents exist and it's a heady experience to grow up and come to the realisation that they weren't right about everything, and develop your own values, morals, beliefs, and convictions separate from them, or are even directly at odds with the ones you grew up with. But in this story the worst thing the parents have done is... love them? Imagine if this was a conversation between Marc and, say, Angel who I think we can safely assume *cannot* turn to her parents for assistance and she's relating the abusive childhood experience only for Marc to chime in and say "OMG, I know my mom is so annoying! She won't stop CaLlInG!" But also, these characters only have a sense of exceptionalism *because* their peers and communities are carrying on with mundane capitalism and doing the laundry and shit. If the restaurant they terrorize decided "you know, in the spirit of La Vie Bohéme, this is now a food co-op with the model of everyone cooking their own entreé" they would be PISSED; where're they supposed to get their fries now????

[@vsGoliath96]

"Ugh, how am I supposed to keep up my vapid facade as a struggling artist when my worried mother keeps calling and offering complete financial support?! On a side note, no, gay Black homeless friend whose trans partner is dying of AIDS, I will not be using any of my potential privilege and resources to help you out. I'm living bohemian!"

[@nikmarshall2989]

I mean, given that the restaurant barely let the main cast in to eat because they don’t order expensive enough menu items, I can’t imagine them turning the thing into a food co-op any time soon.

[@JulianneHannes]

The thing with Rent is the writer suddenly died and because he was young and seemed gay people automatically assumed he died of AIDS and rushed to see the musical thinking this guy died to create this musical and the press ate it up and it blew up into this big thing, the story and characters were weak but the music was very very catchy and gets stuck in your head, people like Rent for the music more than they like it for the meaning, the music is just so damn good that you overlook the words.

[@santaana4493]

exactly!! i remember when i was watching the movie that i was very confused by A LOT of the choices the movie makers chose to made and some stuff didnt make sense but the songs are the only thing good about it

[@JulianneHannes]

Neato Burrito Yeah I saw Rent when I was 11 and LOVED it despite not knowing what AIDs was and totally oblivious to the adult themes and that Mimi and Roger were recovering ex junkies singing about heroin and addiction, I fucking loved the songs and didn't pay attention to the plot or the message haha it flew over my naive head.

[@JThom529]

Definitely though I still can't stand that "Jump over the moon" segment

[@jonahfalcon1970]

You forget that Larson also PLAGIARIZED the entire story from Sarah Schulman. How do you know? Much evidence, including the way they administer AZT is from 1991 and not 1995 when the play was published.

[@Matrim42]

Jonah Falcon Uh...from what I understand, a few elements of the story (particularly the bisexual love triangle) were probably plagerized to some degree, not the whole story. Plus, how would AZT administration prove anything, given that both stories came out in the 90s and were about the 80s?

[@margaretgibbs6673]

"The spread of this was not inevitable, and had the powers that be acted sooner, millions of lives could have been saved. This is what happens when governments fail the people they are sworn to protect." ...y'all. Need to excuse me for a second...I need to lie down.

[@NobodyC13]

"Start at. . . $3000?" Holy crap! That would be nearly $6000 today! Mark would be making 6k a month, but no, selling out, work on art projects instead of the thing that actually makes a decent living and could fund my art projects.

[@bridgetmadden5716]

I feel this, I make a small amount of money writing custom erotic and romance, but my day job helps pay the bills, I feel like quitting to purely write my "art" would be a quick way to starvation and the unemployment line, if that makes me a sell out then I honestly don't care, I'd rather be stable in a job like a normal person and leave my "art" as a hobby I happen to make money on, on the side

[@valerianaranjocruz25]

Right? What a piece of narcicist shit he is. He does not want to pay rent cuz he is too artistic, he doesn't want to work cuz he is selling himself?? (for that money, with that job!? bitch were do I sign), then all he do is moan because he is poor, but 'tokenise' homeless people cuz his art is too high and important. Fuck him fuck him fuck him. He is the kind of person (I swear to god) I would punch in the nuts at the first opportunity.

[@jonathanjoestarwithpluck4930]

In fairness, there are many different ways artists go about creating their work. Some take years building themselves up in the industry until they have a strong enough reputation to try their crazier ideas. Some have to work side jobs for many years to finance their more niche catalogue, which will hopefully one day be enough to support them full time. Other times creators like Adam feel their art is the only work that can make them feel fulfilled, and so their quit their jobs to pursue their art full time. The problem isn’t this choice, it’s how smug he is about quitting and how bitchy he is about having a decent paying job that utilizes some of his skills as an artist. Plenty of aspiring artists, including myself would kill for a position like that to help finance their passion projects, and the fact he throws that away in such an ungrateful way is so annoying.

[@edr3158]

3000? That's better than a fast food job!

[@nickrowley5579]

Exactly, the worthless shit is apparently too lazy to work on his art in time he has to himself, which really makes me wonder how committed he is to it. I mean Christ I’d love to be making 3000 a month now let alone what it equates to with inflation.

[@StarSnowGhost]

Who else feels so bad for that one restaurant owner in the movie? He sounds so distraught and horrified and just lemme save him from these hipsters!!! What did this guy ever do to them? There's not even an excuse they give other than I guess he's kicking them out of the cafe? YOU ALMOST COST THIS MAN HIS JOB!

[@archer1949]

Ghostietoastie I remember when I first saw that bit, i got so angry, I fantasized some psycho vigilante type like Punisher or Rorschach barging in and beating the shit out of all of these assholes.

[@edisonmichael6345]

Yeah. It reminds me of my Uni, where some rich kids used to write huge socialist/feminist manifestos with lipstick on the mirrors. That, of course, becomes a hell for the poor clean up lady. To see a working class elderly woman kneeling on the ground, puffing and sweating while trying to clean up the word "sorority" from a wall while rich students go by unflinching is something hard to forget.

[@lelandunruh7896]

Edison Michael After I graduated from college my parents became fairly wealthy by building their janitor business. Even after passing the bar I would ocassionally sub-in for my folks or for janitors who were out. The utter lack of awareness from folks (including in neighborhoods where Priuses with Kasich and Obama bumper stickers predominated) was staggering and hilarious. And I'll admit it--I greatly enjoyed ocassionally correcting attorneys who I heard giving bad legal advice, which invariably came from haughty shallow soi-disant liberals with less impressive resumes and salaries than my own.

[@alexwright4930]

I believe the Life Café closed down years ago. I blame those bohemians dancing on the tables and not buying anything ;)

[@Soymaid]

And then he's like "you sit all night, you never buy" and Roger's like, "no I bought tea the other day!" and the waiter is like "yeah but you couldn't pay for it." Worst customers ever.

[@caitlinbelforti870]

One question I would like to pose for discussion: Did Jonathan Larson intend to write a social justice musical that was intended to inspire activism? Or was it simply a love letter to his friends...warts and all? (Side note: In the NYTW 1994 version of Rent, he plays up the fact that these are flawed people alot more: Maureen is selfish, Mark is obsessive over her, Collins and Angel break the law and steal property shamelessly. The opening song is them describing in detail various methods of killing themselves. I find it interesting how Disneyfied the characters are in the 1996 version.) From the few interviews of Larson that exist the only thing I gleaned from his words is that his biggest intent was to bring younger people to the theatre and to inspire a more rock influenced sound in the genre. To me I always thought that his focus was on the interpersonal struggles of the characters and how they coped with the shitty hand that has been dealt to them rather than making any public service announcements for the FDA. But I guess when you deal with a topic like AIDs the personal inevitably becomes the political whether you intend for that to happen or not. I think the hype and fanfare surrounding Rent turned it into the "stick it to the man" musical when perhaps that was not the creators intention. I honestly don't think he framed it that way...but he's not here to confirm or deny that. And at the end of the day a case could be made for both arguments. I do agree that it's a shame that this overshadows Kramer and Kushner's work when it comes to discussion on art that addresses the AIDs epidemic.

[@bryangutierrez5]

I feel the problem is that people view RENT as a musical about the AIDs epidemic and its impact, where in my opinion it was actually just a geniune modernization of La bohème, which is not a play about TB but one that features TB as a major element, its about bohemians. Johnathan simply chose the AIDs crisis as the closest parallel. Looking back at his life and his work, to me it frames RENT more as just a celebration/romanticizing of this lifestyle that he chose, the people that inhabited it, and art as a pursuit. Its no wonder RENT also seems to be about sticking it to the man, as that was a big part of the young bohemian identity when it was made.

[@1993digifan]

If tick...tick...BOOM is any indication after Superbia (a musical that was about something) failed to get off the ground and Rosa says to write what he knows he focused more on telling a story and less on The Statement, but people just love attaching a Statement onto everything they forget to just look at a musical a story that just so happens to have people with AIDS and HIV living in the late 80s to early 90s.

[@vonriel1822]

Unfortunately, as the video points out, setting it against AIDS automatically changes the message. There was no defense against TB at the time Boheme, there was defense against AIDS at the time of Rent. And it's that alone that makes it hard to reconcile their cavalier attitude about it all, spending their time getting upset over concerns like paying rent and selling out, with the reality that AIDS didn't have to be a death sentence. It wasn't an unstoppable force. It just required the government to _do_ something, anything, and instead it chose to sit idly by and watch. It'd be like setting it in the modern day and using COVID as the backdrop. You would be utterly unable to separate the purpose of the disease in the work from the reality of the situation surrounding it, the political issues would by necessity be drawn in as a result of the viewer's own experience.

[@1993digifan]

@@vonriel1822 I don't know people are able to enjoy Come From Away without going spiraling into the War on Terror and everything even remotely related to it, the same with Titanic: The Musical and able to separate it from the topics of travel safety and dozens of social issues.

[@gjbro92]

There's also an unanswered follow-up, which would be, If Larson didn't die before the first preview off-Broadway, would there have been more changes that would have happened during the time it was in the NYTW in 1996 for the transition onto Broadway? There could have been some more of those questions answered, or just more fine-tuning since a lot of shows use that time period and previews on Broadway to make more edits based on how the story would be playing from a critical or audience perspective. Famously, Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George went from off-Broadway to Broadway with basically just the first act, and the second act didn't even come together until near the end of the previews (considering Jonathan Larson's mentor-mentee relationship with Sondheim and the tribute to him in Tick-Tick-Boom.) So I think there could have been more of an opportunity to address more of the musical itself, but without a bigger creative driving force, things mostly went to Broadway as-is, and kind of left things for Rent in the state they are now.

[@Wickedleme]

The only character who is not an Asshat is Joanne, All She wants is love, she is a lawyer and a good daughter. She just wants a loyal partner.

[@PhoenixRising87]

I feel for Joanne. And side note, I'll take a million "boring" bisexual representations than one more Maureen Johnson-esque attention-whoring sex addict.

[@tonycampbell1424]

ElectricMayhem87 (Ashleigh) God, right? It's such an obnoxious stereotype.

[@erinjones8642]

Speaking as a bisexual person, I agree, Maureen is the worst.

[@mortiferamorphasmus]

ElectricMayhem87 (Ashleigh) You know, I've had a lot of bisexual partners over the years, and I think the reason I like Maureen so much is she is more like me then any of them heh. I wish we had a lot more shows that had Maureen types finding OTHER Maureen types to date. Being yourself isn't wrong. Its only when who you are takes precedence over who your partner is that its a problem.

[@mistersympa15]

Is it too much to ask for a wider, more balanced representation of bisexuals, though? The stereotype is literally that we are sluts.

[@emmyferrendelli4988]

you deserve a netflix funded docu series

[@benschach108]

Yes!!!!!!!!!

[@neveroddoreven6597]

Emmy Ferrendelli I fucking agree.

[@habibbi77]

Pleeeeasssse yes

[@lillie7450]

Roger's song about not being able to write a song is better than the song he eventually writes.

[@LindsayEllisVids]

it's MUCH better. that last song is one of the few for the life of me I can never remember how it goes

[@lillie7450]

Chez Lindsay I always forget the song is even in the play

[@johnmccarron7066]

The song Roger sings about needing to write a song is better than the song he writes. This in and of itself is a crime.

[@TeaDrinker3000]

The closing 2 minutes of this gave me chills. I'm left wondering about how much of the media I've consumed over the last two decades have been complete misfires/misrepresentations of issues I thought I knew about. If you ever read this Lindsay, I want you to know that you are one of the best content creators on KZbin, and I admire your hard work dearly.

[@grimmandtonics]

True growth is realizing that EVERYONE is effected by his multiple times in their lifetime. Especially in representation in media. It's hard but you sometimes gotta sit yourself down and admit a lot of things you feel nostalgic for is bad...and then you gotta educate yourself. And you'll never be done doing that either.

[@DrEisenhower]

It took me half an hour of this video to realise the kazoo parts were playing 525600 minutes.

[@Hammerhead4]

AvernumInvictus And it took me reading this comment XD

[@francoisrd]

AvernumInvictus if you turn on the English subtitles, it says the renditions are of different songs... but I agree many sound like 525600 minutes.

[@elhardo5862]

Contents! i - we have been left behind by the system [the musical] : 9:28 ii - so about that movie adaption... : 16:26 iii - everyone in Rent is a terrible person : 19:46 iv - poverty vs bohemian idealism or something : 23:51 v - no day but today : 28:43 vi - what machine are we raging against again? : 38:37

[@kailaelissa9926]

both of my moms lived in nyc through the HIV AIDS crisis, and were around this age. they were also activist/artists. one of them devoted her college life to trying to bring attention to it and watching her friends die around her. she did sit-ins, die-ins, and got arrested multiple times. she watched this musical with me and when they mentioned act-up (which is the organization she was apart of) she was like what that’s us! and i was like are you offended? and she was like to be honest a little😂 we both don’t like the story at all but absolutely adore the music though. and for people who will die on their rent hill, just think about that this story has happened to real people, and the musical was written in the 90s. it wasn’t that long ago, it was just tone-deaf. anyway, that’s all i have to say. great video.

[@theonlyjer]

"He finally writes it and sings it and it's like the worst one." That cracked me up.

[@Theray0evan]

That conference where Larry Kramer loses his shit is haunting, to say the least

[@oliverc.karstark1950]

so that's this absolute legend's name! thanks lol, i genuinely didnt know who he was

[@margaretgibbs6673]

Yeah, the first time I ever rewatched this post 2020 that moment just hit me so hard in the gut, and I could barely see by the end. I've felt that same rage of his, that frustration, to my core, all the time in the last more-than-a-year now.

[@jamesmyers4691]

Go watch his Angels in America.

[@simplystreeptacular]

@@jamesmyers4691 'Angels' was written by Tony Kushner, not Larry Kramer. You're probably thinking of 'The Normal Heart', which Kramer *did* write and which is also a landmark work of queer theatre, and equally worth a watch! I hate to praise Ryan Murphy for..... well, anything, but his film version of TNH is absolutely phenomenal. Kramer is an ICON. ETA: Not to say that you shouldn't watch AIA - you *absolutely* should, it stands alongside TNH as one of the greatest works of queer American theatre ever written. Just wanted to clarify who wrote what!

[@jamesmyers4691]

@@simplystreeptacular good catch! Reading Angels now.

[@ecoRfan]

4:26 that “beyond criticism” line hits hard. I find it real annoying when people find things, almost always dealing with death, to be beyond criticism. U2 Super Bowl halftime because 9/11, Nirvana because Kurt Cobain, and Rent because Jonathan Larson. It all gets under my skin when people try and act like I’m insensitive to criticize anything shrouded in death.

[@shoopmahboop1374]

It's so odd to me as well, literally every single person dies so why does that mean you're not allowed to critique their work??

[@ecoRfan]

@@shoopmahboop1374 and the thing is, most these losses hurt me too. But nothing is immune from criticism, as sometimes criticism can be constructive and good advice.

[@sandrols7]

you know... up until this video I never realized how relevant 'I threw it on the ground' was.

[@peateargryfin844]

The most depressing thing about all this is knowing that the current COVID-19 pandemic is totally gonna be exploited in 10 years to make this same exact shit again.

[@hillarywoo4977]

Some rich, white, upper- to middle-class male is going to write about the global society (read: Western countries) banding together in this time of crisis and how creativity flourished in these dark, desperate times and how humanity once again shone bright after so many years of drudgery. I simultaneously love and hate the idea.

[@Arcaryon]

@@hillarywoo4977 I don't want to get into this but can you not make this about skin colour? Why do so many people think that everyone gets to be nuanced but what you describe is exclusive to this number of attributes? Rich, upper class and if you really need it male would surfice. And still be insulting to millions of people - because men like any other group aren't a hivemind. There are already idiots writing this stuff. We all know that. But their opinions are not just formed by their gender or their skin colour but their entire social status and wealth - in other words their whole character and what this translates to is that as a white, male upper middle class guy, the character you describe? That's a clichée but by giving into the clichée you misunderstand the problematic of class divide. If wealthier, black south Africans write the same things when talking about the poorer lower classes in their own nation, we can take away that being naive isn't about skin colour. And as a frequent news reader, more than enough women write the same emotional crap as their male counterparts. Of course, making this about attributes always brings the risk to oversimplify things but to get back to my original point; I don't care about political correctness. But as a German, I know where this kinda talk can end. It's the most dominant aspect about German culture people don't know about but it is everywhere - our ancestors went down this road, the rest is history and Germany is therefore the most cautious nation on the planet when it comes to talking about groups as you did in your comment. I liked what you had to say. I really did. But do me the favor and put it in a better way next time. Thanks in advance.

[@grimble4564]

@@Arcaryon Als ein Deutscher der jetzt im Ausland lebt, ich würde nicht so sicher reden über die kulturelle Situation von anderen Länder wie Amerika. Es ist sehr oft schwer zu unterscheiden swischen Besserwisser und die angeblich 'gut-informierte' Ethik-Polizei Deutschlands.

[@Arcaryon]

@@grimble4564 Ich studiere Politik (vor allem internationale), Ökonomie und Sozialwissenschaft, mein halbes Leben besteht daraus, Geschichte zu analysieren, über momentane, vergangene und zukünftige Ereignisse zu lesen und über Gesellschaften und Individuen zu urteilen um nur ein paar Aspekte zu nennen. Ich bin in der Hinsicht kein "Besserwisser" - ich WEIß es schlicht und ergreifend besser als die meisten weil ich mich damit wortwörtlich stundenlang jeden einzelnen Tag beschäftige - ich bin nicht der klügste oder der einzige mit Durchblick. Aber ohne mich aus dem Fenster zu lehnen, die meisten Menschen auf diesem Planeten wären zwar theoretisch nicht mehr oder weniger in der Lage dazu als ich ABER sie tuen es nicht und sind aus genau diesem Grund unqualifiziert um tatsächlich am demokratischen Prozess teilzunehmen. Ich spreche (bzw. lese, sprechen nur 3) genug Sprachen um mir mein Bild aus den unterschiedlichsten Perspektiven zu machen. Die Hälfte der Dinge die ich hier anspreche, habe ich z.B. aus amerikanischen Medien oder meinem Studium, welches zu großen Teilen auf amerikanischer Arbeit basiert, die nicht nur die Grundsteine der Forschung legten sondern bis heute enorm viele der Aspekte prägen. Ich lese täglich nicht bloß ein paar Nachrichten oder Blogs, ich recherchiere die Themen wochenlang, ich urteile NIEMALS weil ich glaube es besser zu wissen als andere sondern weil ich empirisch beweisen kann, dass meine Theorien vollkommen ausreichend sind um meine Darstellungen zu unterstützen - vor allem weil ich hier ja nichts neues verkünde - es ist fast unmöglich einen originellen Gedanken zu haben aber das heißt leider nicht das was für mich und mit mir zusammen Tausenden oder sogar Millionen von Menschen alltäglich und verständlich ist, auch wirklich von den meisten begriffen wird. Politik ist genauso "schwer" zu begreifen wie zum Beispiel Biologie aber genauso wie die meisten nicht über ihr Schulwissen bei letzterem kommen, verhält es sich mit Politik. Menschen sind nicht so kompliziert wie sie denken. Komplex ja aber nicht kompliziert. Aber dafür muss man Zeit aufwenden. Den Luxus oder den Willen dafür, haben nicht viele, was nicht verwunderlich ist. Demokratie war nie ein Massenprojekt, auch wenn viele das heute anderes sehen wollen. Kennst du den Ausdruck "Ich kann das nicht nachvollziehen?" In einem politischen oder ähnlichem Kontext ist das für mich ein Fremdwort. Das mag' arrogant klingen aber es ist ein Fakt das die meisten Menschen der Auffassung sind, ein paar Minuten politische Bildung in der Woche seien genug um eine Meinung zu haben die man öffentlich teilen darf. Nun - ich widerspreche dieser Ansicht und lehne sie ab. Ich glaube, dass ich nicht in der Lage wäre über Molkekularbiologie zu urteilen und ich bin der Auffassung, dass das gleiche für die meisten Menschen im Umgang mit Politik gilt. Weißt du was ich in meinem Leben zu dem Thema gelernt habe? Viele Leute verwechseln Arroganz mit Selbstsicherheit. Ich habe verdammt viele Fehler. Aber in diesem Feld und bei meinem Training bin ich außergewöhnlich gut und gut heißt in beiden Fällen nicht genetisch überlegen oder in sonst einer überheblichen Art und Weise anders aber genauso wie die meisten Menschen nicht 6 Tage die Woche für 2 Stunden in ein Fitnesstudio gehen, verbringen die meisten Menschen ihre Freizeit nicht damit Gesetzestexte und Statistiken zu wälzen und zu versuchen, sich selbst und die eigene Meinung nicht bloß zu hinterfragen sondern so abzusichern, dass sie den strengen Ansprüchen der Wissenschaft genügen. Ich studiere nicht in Harvard und ich würde mir nie herausnehmen zu behaupten das ich in meiner besagten Profession etwas besonderes wäre. Aber hier auf KZbin? Bei dem durchschnittlichen Wissenstandard meiner Mitmenschen oder Bürger bei diesen Themen? Die Argumentation gewinne ich fast jedes mal und wenn nicht - tja, wenn ich nichts mehr zu lernen hätte wäre das in meinem Alter schon recht traurig. Aber alleine wie selten es vorkommt bestätigt was ich gerade angesprochen habe. Und egal welche Sprache(n) man spricht oder wo man lebt, am Ende sind wir alle Menschen. Ich habe Leute wie mich überall getroffen. Russen, Amerikaner, Chinesen, Franzosen, Spanier - such' es dir aus. Ich bin wie jeder Mensch einzigartig aber nicht so einzigartig. Warum ich diesen letzten Punkt anspreche? Weil sogut wie ALLE diese Leute egal welche Meinungsverschiedenheiten es da auch gegeben hätte, in dieser einen Hinsicht einig waren. Das hat dann nichts mehr mit einer "Bubbel" zu tuen. Und nebenbei; ich kann jedes Land auf der Weltkarte auseinandernehmen, auch das eigene. WENN ich genug Zeit habe um mir meine Meinung zu bilden. Niemand ist allwissend. Aber wenn die meisten beinahe nichts wissen, ist Überlegenheit nichts womit man angeben müsste. In a world without sight, the one eyed dwarf is king. Ist so viel Selbstvertrauen arrogant? Nun - das kannst du selbst entscheiden. Aber bevor du dein endgültiges Urteil fällst, frag' dich einfach ob meine Weltanschauung wirklich so falsch ist. Ich behaupte, die Welt zu begreifen ist das leicht wenn man weiß welche Fragen man stellen muss und woher man die Antworten bekommt. Lass' uns ein kleines Spiel spielen. Ich nenne mal ein paar berühmte Demokratien und ein oder zwei Revolutionen. Die römische Republik, die französische Revolutionen, um bei meinen Leisten zu bleiben den Mauerfall sowie die griechischen Demokratien, allen voran Athen. Was haben all diese Ereignisse gemeinsam? Nun, man könnte viele Beispiele nennen. Worauf ich hinaus will ist etwas viel simpler es und zwar die Teilnehmerzahlen. Man stellt nämlich leider schnell fest, dass hier in der Regel, nicht immer aber meistens urbane Eliten gegen ihre Oberleherren rebelierten, dass es häufig deutlich weniger Teilnehmer an selbst den nobelsten Unterfangen gab' als man meine würde und dass Demokratien und Revolutionen nur dann erfolgreich (siehe Bauernkriege z.B. im Mittelalter) entstehen und vor allem erhalten werden können, wenn die Bevölkerung nicht nur gebildet und der Staat relativ stabil ist, sondern vor allem Dinge auch wenn wenn sie aktiv und konstant an besagter Demokratie teilnehmen, über aktuelle Vorgänge reflektieren und somit insgesamt die Institutionen die sie errichten wollen oder deren Fortbestehen angestrebt wird, wahrnehmen, verstehen und am politischen Prozess teilnehmen sowie diese Traditionen weitergeben und im Zweifel dafür eintreten. Eine große Tragik unseres Zeitalters ist der Fakt, dass die meisten Leute vergessen haben, dass Demokratien und ihre dadurch alltäglichenen Freiheiten nicht einfach vom Himmel gefallen sind. Ich "kämpfe" jeden Tag dafür, dass sich dieses Problem ändert. Darin habe ich unter anderem meinen Lebenssinn gefunden. So, ich hoffe das erklärt mich und mein Denken in ausreichender Form. Wünsche noch einen schönen Tag oder eine gute Nacht.

[@Arcaryon]

@@grimble4564 PS: Beim nochmaligen lesen von deinem Kommentar bin ich mir nicht mehr sicher ob ich tatsächlich eine Kritik vorgefunden habe oder mich da verstan habe, leider kann man Buchstaben nicht sprechen hören. Sollte dies der Fall gewesen sein, bitte ich um Verzeihung und Verständnis wobei mein kleiner Paragraph trotzdem nicht allzu schlecht gelungen ist. Wie auch immer - auf "Wiedersehen".

[@thecomeric9148]

This video helped me understand Threw It On The Ground better

[@tymandude1510]

When a comedy song by The Lonely Island is better social commentary than a movie designed to be social commentary.

[@vero-kd8vg]

THATS NOT MY DAD, THAT'S A CELLPHONE

[@sailormoon262]

Happy birthday to the ground! I threw the rest of the cake, too! Welcome to the real world, jackass!

[@juanjuri6127]

S omething Y ou S houldn't T rust E ver, M aaan!

[@pandora6867]

The strong focus you put on what the 1980s really was like for LGBT+ people is commendable and moving. In current gay culture, this era seems to be all but forgotten at times, and I had to do a lot of my own research to understand the global scope of the AIDS crisis and the intertwining politics that allowed it to get so terrible, along with the brave protesters literally fighting for their lives. I nearly cried watching the end, with the man calling it a "fucking plague", while the hip '80s white people were singing their bops. Nearly an entire generation of gay people was lost. Reagan's gravesite is a gender neutral bathroom!

[@djjones2602]

The "fucking plague" guy was Larry Kramer, co founder of ACT UP.

[@Outcast115]

It's because the second a moderate level of acceptance and equality was established many LG people dropped out of real activism, leaving the rest of us. Now being LG is A Brave New Market, and why would they care about people who aren't just like them.

[@TEO.187]

Its such a painful learning process too, because its basically never brought up in school except for MAYBE as a sex ed scare tactic against premarital sex And its not something we learn about naturally from our predecessors because, well, so many of them were wiped out by the disease that its hard to find elders unless you're really looking So you have to go on a self propelled journey of learning about this awful painful history pretty much totally alone in a library or online And that's overwhelmingly sad and horrible to sift through

[@KariIzumi1]

I wish I could give this post 10000000 likes for the last sentence 😭👍😂😝😜😌

[@aenjgeal]

8:05 I literally don't understand why they didn't make Mark's mom passive aggressively dismissive of Mark's dreams. Something along the lines of "Are you still trying to get those screenplays published? Call us when you're done slumming it or we're turning your room into a lounge." or something along those lines. It would have been cartoonishly villainous but at least it's better than making Mark look like a complete ass hole

[@MmMm-sf7pe]

Yeah, or make the parents downright abusive. Then it would be like "Oh, I understand why poverty is preferable to contacting them." Instead it's like "Can you BELIEVE the NERVE of my loving parents, caring about me and checking in on me??" Fuck you, Mark.

[@nicholasweil3937]

And how exactly is Jonathan Larson supposed to take your note? Come back to life and get in his time-machine?

[@aenjgeal]

@@nicholasweil3937 Well I wouldnt want to impose on him too much, time travel is a lot of work after all

[@KO-vb4tg]

@@nicholasweil3937 I actually kind of wonder if Rent could have matured a bit more as a piece of theater if Larson hadn’t died. It was kind of frozen in amber after that. But this also would have been an easy change for the film, because Mark’s mom’s dialogue is spoken and not sung. They could have just had her say something different.

[@Chemistchannel22444]

@@aenjgeal it is 2 at night, 12 good months into a pandemic, and this comment honest to god caught me by surprise and made me laugh

[@LeChatdeSchrodinger]

"Hating convention, hating pretension" is easily one of the most conventional, pretentious lyrics I've ever heard in a song. The entirety of "La Vie Boheme" the song is literally just them saying words and not meaning a damn thing. And yeah, the irony of discovering this video in the middle of our own pandemic has not been lost on me. When that man says "I say to you in year 10 what I said in 1981 when there were 40 cases," I can't help but be horrified

[@arianrhodhyde7482]

It's literally just a list of stuff with no real connection except that somebody somewhere didn't like it once. maybe yoga was more subversive in 1990? But it feels like it's confusing the trappings of counterculture (food, clothes, dieting and exercise fads) with the substance of counterculture - ideas or art that is dangerous to the mainstream. It's like they're saying that counterculture is just about superficial rebellion but they don't have any real philosophy or ideas - bht that's great! It literally presents an argument against bohemianism and the counter culture as if it's an argument for it.

[@Silvercentipede]

Lol I know this always made me laugh, when they are the most pretentious people ever

[@RafaelaMartinelli]

Once I saw a staging of The Magic Flute that managed to criticize it's racism and misogyny only by changing a few details on clothing, scenary, body language and interaction of the characters. They framed Sarastro as a pedophile and a slave owner by making him always touch Pamina in an unapropriate way and putting Monostatos in chains and physicaly punishing him, for example. It did not change a single line of the original text. I wonder if this could be possible with Rent. But broadway shows, unlike opera, are always staged the same way, so I see no possibility of that happening.

[@levtokol8649]

@@RafaelaMartinelli I'd say re-depictions do happen with broadway musicals, it just happens after a while, and starts in smaller theatres. Presumably, that's why we have so many Shakespeare and operatic reimaginations, the originals are way older than the musicals we now think of as some kind of sacred. For example, Oklahoma only recently got a Broadway revival that really critiques the cruel characters. There are ballets like Petrushka (1911!) where the professional productions still seem bound to the original choreo, even. No one would dare think of doing alt takes on Hamilton for decades at least.

[@RafaelaMartinelli]

@@levtokol8649 true! Same with that JC Superstar with Tim Minchin and Mel C...

[@kevin-jd5rj]

The most frustrating thing about RENT is how catchy and singable the songs are

[@RenegadePaladin]

"In rejecting the system, you are not only failing to tear it down, you are forfeiting any voice within it." This is wisdom.

[@drungarious]

I just gotta say, holy shit that montage you did at the end is arresting. Well done.

[@ikeekieeki]

i want a clip of just that tbh

[@oYinYano]

I remember being the only POC in my theater department and when I mentioned how I never watched RENT so many of them forced me to watch it. And once I did watch it, I told them “yeah I didn’t like it, it sucked ass” I was essentially shunned from the entire department because a bunch of privileged white kids thought I was homophobic for disliking RENT 🙃 Needless to say my college experience sucked ass

[@rainmanslim4611]

College kids are like that, especially from privileged backgrounds. I grew up rural and poor, I went to a comparatively cheap college after going to trade school and working 5 years as a plumber and saved up every penny i could (I was also working while at college) I was pressured to go see a performance art piece where some black girl shrieked into a microphone fot 15 minutes (literally, all she did was scream) and I said it was shit and I hated it. Well guess what? Because I'm a rural white boy (from a poor family who was working myself to death just to be there) and she's a black girl (who's a rich kid who's father is on the college board of directors and she's there on a free ride) I was branded as a racist, ostracised and tormented daily. When they learned I was hired by the university to be an in-house plumber while I was studying there they petitioned to have me fired. College kids fucking suck. All of them.

[@Wrynwynn]

Mood

[@tamarbeker1701]

I want to give your comment a like, but I don't want to ruin the number, so this is instead

[@hollyro4665]

My issue with rent the movie: that apartment is huge. I’m a student. I live in a town with millionaires down the road and I essentially live in a box of squalor. If i was paying for an apartment that big I wouldn’t be able to afford food or heat either. It doesn’t make any sense. They have this like rustic cute roof apartment with loads of room and dress like those rich hipster people. I’m lucky to find a carpet without stains and a sofa without holes. Who lives in poverty and is like oh I have this fancy camera and my friend here has a real leather coat? It’s glamorising poverty and I’m not a fan of people doing that. I’m not poor and those people live better than me if it wasn’t for the drugs and aids. And even then the drugs and aids affect a minority of those characters. And they aren’t even the main, main characters. People talked about crying at some of the scenes and songs and I was just like I’m not even sure what their names are. Mark and Maureen are 100% those teenagers that wear stupidly expensive ‘retro’ clothes and go on about the injustices of the world having never had to lift a finger in their life and think sharing vegan Facebook posts is the same as charity.

[@Stettafire]

Ye, when I was a student I lived in shared housing. I shut my window during the coldest spring I've ever known, and kept it darn shut, cus no point in opening it. Even closed the snow got in anyway. I'd come home from lectures to find my desk soaking wet. I rented one room, with a en-suit (not complaining about that), that could fit basically me standing, the bed and the desk. Boom, that was my home. When I moved into my current flat (I'm doing a lot better now) I had some basic kitchen supplies and me and my parents got furniture etc from either inheriting it or buying from FB marketplace. I was worrying about getting through the month on my first paycheck of my new job. I had to pay the deposit, first month's rent plus an "estate agent fee" or nearly 2k and also pay another month's rent all from my meager savings. I had nearly 3k saved up from my university days and within a month it was all gone. That was fucking scary. My flat had mold growing up one of the walls and after a while it looked like the wall was about to falldown. I paid my landlord then left as soon as I was able. FYI my current place is still terrible, but less terrible. Point being, I had to work to get here. These "I should just make all my dreams come true overnight without working my way up to it" types anger me. Like, I knew an artist, who was living with his parents unemployed. Oh, wow, their work is really good. "Oh, yeah I turned down this offer to work for ONLY 30k a year cus I think I want to work at Disney". I think I nearly had a heart attack. (Average pay in my country is closer to 18k) Or, those people who thought uni would just lead them to having jobs thrown at them. No, you still need to work for it. But, there are ways to make uni work to your advantage. My boss knew my lecturer. I was also active on social media, was applying for jobs everyday etc, etc. You don't get a job by going "Fuck the system" you get a job by working for it. But some people who graduated with me just sat on their arses living of the banks of their parents going "Oh, I' applied at microsoft, so I'm not going to bother applying anywhere else". Like dude... You want it, you need to fight for it!

[@damgedroses]

Deadass, my family of three live in a smaller apartment; my friend and her mother live in a one room apartment, we sometimes get real about how much can help and we in Europe at least have health care help, but what about the gas?electricity?food?basic hygene products?transportation? Not only this movie but many others have that big flaw.

[@hollyro4665]

a Aint that the truth. since I wrote this I’ve moved into a two room apartment. One room being a bathroom. The other being everything else. I have two hob rings and a microwave. The rent is murder on my bank account. It’s about half the size of those people’s living room if that.

[@hollyro4665]

Justin Brooks weird question but are you some kind of writer cause that was really well written.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

I’ve never watched it. I assume it doesn’t show the horror of poverty. Does anyone eat garbage after 3 days of trying to find food? It does seem to be straight socialist propaganda tbh. Either that or glorifying horrible people.

[@chaingang90]

I think it becomes easier to understand creative decisions in Rent's creation in light of tick tick boom. Remember, this was written by Larson in his 30s, after so much rejection and failure. While it maybe be a fictional scene, I imagine the conversation with his agent about what tourists will fork out money for. He wanted to break new ground and tell the stories of his friends and community around him, saying something about the world he saw around him. look at lyrics in songs on the jonathan larson project like "white male world" and "truth is a lie". At the same time he wanted to be successful and be on broadway. My guess is, (of course we'll never truly know) was that to do both. he had to sugarcoat and water down the subject matter. bits like the homeless woman criticising Mark for using her for image his content and the phrase "silence = death" in the original lyrics of la vie boheme seem like little sprinkles of self-awareness. I can only speculate was that he was trying to play the long game and create more serious projects after having established a following. But we'll never know.

[@Pineappolis]

That's essentially what Lindsay was saying, just in the micro (Jonathan Larson having to water it down to sell it at all) vs. the macro (expensive versions of media _always_ have to be watered down enough to the point where an either wealthy - in the case of Broadway musicals or broad - in the case of Hollywood movies - can comfortably engage with them). The sad thing is, building up a following, no matter how massive and devoted, and even over dozens of successful projects, would never have worked. Look at Martin Scorsese - he gets a lot of creative freedom, sure, because he makes excellent movies and is therefore (and this is sadly the critical word that even he seems to struggle to acknowledge) safe in the eyes of Hollywood. His films are _about_ organised crime but, even now, however morally abhorrent the actions of organised criminals might be in his films, the framing _still_ always romanticises the subject matter at least a little. His films have never accurately depicted the sheer depths, not to which the real versions of the people he depicts will sink, but in which they spend every moment of their lives. Whether or not Scorsese is even interested in creating a truly warts-and-all depiction of organised crime, we'll likely never know, but he keeps getting funded because he's never tried (or, worse, he _has_ tried and, even with his following, has been rebuffed). I don't think even 'Tick Tick Boom!' would have been distributed by a major Hollywood studio - NetFlix and streaming allow for degrees of separation between what's invested and what's made that allow them to try things Hollywood never would because, even if 'Tick Tick Boom!' didn't draw in enough subscribers to justify its expense, no-one can really prove that and show that it lost money. ...and this is at a time where a _vastly_ larger number of people are equipped to deal with the subject matter. Now, we can never know if Rent helped, even a little, to create a society where that's the case (and it would certainly be nice to think that it did - I don't think many people would doubt Larson's sincerity of intent) but, ultimately, the lion's share of the credit for that ultimately must go to the people Lindsay talks about at the end (and many other like them) - the people who did it the impossibly hard way, working tirelessly to change the system in the real world, often when it probably _did_ seem impossible. EDIT: Oh, and don't be fooled by Dallas Buyer's Club's impressive cast - it was an indie film that cost $5m to make.

[@Lishadra]

As an artist who is constantly on the borderline of poverty, this film is COMPLETELY foreign to me. What part of paying rent is selling out?? You’re just... paying bills, to the landlord- I don’t understand!

[@palladiamorsdeus]

You are literally paying for a service. You give them money, you get a roof over your head. Where...is the evil here? Ohhh no! They decided to change the rules! How terrible! They wanted to do something different with something THEY OWN.

[@michaelortiz1561]

@@palladiamorsdeus well of course its evil you cant expect them to PAY for things their ARTIST!!!!

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Justin Brooks that doesn’t make them more sympathetic.

[@theGhostSteward]

Even if you put it in an anarchist lens the plot still don't hold ground...

[@tiskihuora]

@@UltimoDogLover but they're still white kids from rich families

[@nicholasmartin9090]

Props on you for mentioning Hemophiliacs affected by HIV/AIDS. Its something that often gets overlooked on this topic

[@ThatGreyGentleman]

Friendly plug that the play “A Normal Heart” is a brutal, honest, boots-on-the-ground take on the struggles the LGBTQ community had to go through during the AIDS crisis. I haven’t watched the TV show adaptation, but reading the play in HS validated everything I hated about RENT.

[@kmckeown7107]

"mark. sweet mark. you may be the worst thing to have ever happened." im dying

[@WrathOfHanha]

Excellent use of "Threw It On The Ground".

[@RoonMian]

"In other words they frame themselves as revolutionary but continue to push the voice, world view and values of the status quo." Did somebody say Fight Club?

[@paperbackwriter1111]

The movie or the club in the story?

[@RoonMian]

paperbackwriter1111 The club in the story and thus everyone in the audience who thinks "Tyler Durden is awesome!" The movie itself vaguely subverts it, I guess. It leaves a lot of intellectual legwork to the audience which in general isn't that good an idea to me. I'm not actually that smart.

[@maximeteppe7627]

Yeah, that's so funny seeing a movie about crazy persons rationalizing their acts as a revolution being this mainstream. Even funnier seeing people embracing a parody of hypermasculinity as a legitimate criticism of an "androgynous society".

[@duanedevils]

I pretty much turned against Durden when I heard that "First rule of Operation Mayhem is we don't ask questions." nonsense. How can anybody's red flags not go off on something like that?

[@paperbackwriter1111]

RoonMian I thought it was fairly obvious. That's why people who act like Tyler is some inspiring figure for them always baffled me.

[@brisebastiano4974]

"manic pixie dream-gays going quietly into that goodnight" "fighting and scratching and clawing and quilting..." Dude, I cannot with your brilliant word play😂🙌 I've considered myself a Rent fan for years now, but can honestly say that your perspective has me looking at it in a whole new light. Well done👌👌👌

[@Noelle-h6f]

no people were literally making quilts

[@belegl.7721]

America reaallyy is not very fond of the whole "learn from past mistakes"-thing, isn't ist?

[@SarahAbramova]

No one is fond of it.

[@mrcliff3709]

They learn but have the memory of a goldfish

[@michaelortiz1561]

Well it's hard when our past is either glossed over or torn down cause it hurts ppls feelings

[@mrcliff3709]

@@michaelortiz1561 yeah that too.

[@michaelortiz1561]

@@mrcliff3709 the past should never be sugarcoated tell us the whole story damnit and let us make our own decisions I say

[@sailorplanetmars6103]

The thing that made Rent (more so the show than the movie) work for me was that ultimately... all the art they made with all this “suffering” was just bad. Roger’s song was flaccid, Mark’s documentary was boring and Maureen’s performance art was... whatever it was. So it kind of felt like a bit of an unreliable narrator setup, because even the reward for the main characters for their self-inflicted suffering was nothing (well, Roger got Mimi but aside from that). So it’s a bit like a story played on the wrong stage. All the actual story happens elsewhere, and they throw glimpses of that at you, like with the homeless woman and debatably even Angel, but we’re stuck looking at these disgustingly palatable middle-class self-inserts that even the story doesn’t seem to like. I know this likely wasn’t the intention (but also - this is Broadway. Butts in seats above all else), but Rent as a self-parody, almost Brechtian in nature, actually becomes quite an excoriating look at cis, straight, white entitlement against a backdrop of abject horror that is substantially ignored. Again I know this isn’t really what they were after in all likelihood - they just sanitised the AIDS crisis so they could repackage it to Reagan voters (but the economy!) without actually making them uncomfortable. But the sanitisation is so shallow and poorly done that it actually shoots the moon for me and comes down on the other side as biting self-parody.

[@Marrisaplays2712]

right?? also the two (or three, idr) songs that are intertwined with the main cast about the actual homeless who actually don't have a shelter? like, it really did feel like a comparison, where it was just like, "look at these poor artists who are poor by choice because art but then then right next to them you see actual poor people who can barely afford food because they really don't have a choice." that combined with the parents calling frequently. but i highly doubt that it was intentional tbh.

[@bifurioussiren]

I like this take. I've always loved Rent because I saw it when I was young both the movie and the show. So I like to headcannon that it's making fun of these characters, except for Angel. And we also see Angel as a little shallow, meaning not well rounded character, because the entitled white boys don't get to know her that well maybe? Or it's shallow because that's how they see her, the same way Mark might see homeless people, a tragedy to gawk at and make bad art about. It works much better if you see it through that lense, intentionally making fun of liberals who don't take any action and thus aren't leftists. They're intentionally poor, rich white kids LARPing as poor people for fun because they know they can try it on for a while and just stop whenever they want, like cultural appropriation, it's only fun until it's not, you want the fun bits but not the scary stuff. Like how rich white liberal art students are. You wanna talk about how you care but only do slacktivism. It's an identity that you're a poor struggling artist, it makes you feel cool, when really, taking the money and using it for good is actual useful praxis. There's a song that was recorded for the movie but the scene was cut, it's after the funeral. I love the song. It's Roger and Mark arguing before Roger leaves and they call out each other's bullshit. Mark says, "maybe I'm the one to survive" and Roger says, "poor baby". Give the song a listen again and tell me that whole thing isn't just pointing out how hypocritical they both are.

[@calebwheeler8143]

I've remembered on the TV Tropes page for "Stylistic Suck" (elements of the story that are deliberately bad) that some people propose that the true message of RENT is not "Don't sell out" but "All art, even bad art, is worth fighting for". it would explain why all the art is bad- Mark's meandering, pointless documentary, Maureen's absurdly pretentious performance art, Collins' "activism" that mostly consists of robbing ATMs, etc.

[@RowanWiccae]

for the record... we are not taught about this stuff in public schools, even today. and that's just disappointing. :

[@trueloveis4u]

Ya until I saw this review i never heard of the aids thing (i was born in 92) no school ever told us anything on it

[@searchingfororion]

That's because nearly all texbooks come from Texas and are blatant propaganda. Don't believe me? There was a recent debacle over a "history" textbook that (among other things) said that Hispanic people were lazy.

[@queenemma5823]

Born in 91 and the only mention we had of HIV/AIDS was in 8th grade health class, and that was more of a "this is what it is, this is how it IS transferrable, how it's NOT" and that was it. We really didn't delve very deep into the history behind it, what Reagan did (or in this case DIDN'T do), the deep-seated homophobia behind it, and how fucked up it was that an administration was indirectly responsible for the the death of thousands of people but didn't do a damn thing about it until it effected One Of Their Own (i.e. a Hollywood elite).

[@gracen3286]

I’m going into my junior year and I actually did a project on HIV/AIDS in 8th grade, the topic was chosen by the teacher, so things are improving!

[@magicmaria5632]

I learned it but only in passing in 8th grade of course it was public school and not my Catholic school i had gone to for 9 years

"Is he about to sell me a really manly truck?" My first guess was jeans. Manly jeans, naturally.

[@fearofravens1898]

The opening to this is exceptionally unnerving right now.

[@margaretgibbs6673]

Same. I first saw this like a year or two ago and I thought it was great, very moving but in like. An abstract somber sorta way. The beginning and ending gave me chills, but that's about it. This time around, I nearly started crying in the beginning, had to skip past it. Then the ending straight destroyed me. Just...god. This year.

[@fearofravens1898]

@@margaretgibbs6673 I know right

[@CazTheGamerGuy]

We're not gonna pay last year's ren-wait WHAT?! You haven't been paying rent for a year? Why...what is the incentive for being on your side, exactly?

[@williamwritepony9322]

Benny pulling the rug out from under them on Christmas Eve, not only breaking a promise, but blackmailing them as well?

[@sweeney60]

In the show Benny had agreed to let them live Rent free in his building and then went back on his word. They are still entitled little pricks for thinking that they could live Rent free forever, but thats what they are pissed about.

[@Painocus]

How is being pissed that something someone gave you is taken away from you "entitled"? If say someone gave you their old car and said that you could keep it for free and then came back a year later and demanded that you pay full price for that car right away (witch you in this case couldn't possibly have the money for) or he'd sue you for stealing it you'd have the right to be a bit pissed too.

[@caitlinrobinson6812]

I don't get why Benny was letting them live rent free? How did he get his boss to be ok with that?

[@Senfree]

Or because when he went back on the agreement they weren't told to "start" paying rent, more they had an entire years worth of rent to pay. Don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of cash, and I'm not as broke as they are. Not to mention, their friend kind of turned his back on them. It's not that they have to pay rent in itself, but the fact that Benny pretty much lied to their faces. Maybe if he had been honest from the start, they wouldn't have minded, but they were in no way prepared. Benny didn't even tell them about it, they just received a paper saying "Hey, you know that years worth of money I told you not to worry about? Yeah... I'd like you to give me all of it." Messed up.

[@SpoopySquid]

Theatre kids at 15: The characters in _Rent_ shouldn't have to pay rent 20: Of course the characters in _Rent_ should have to pay rent 25: No one should have to pay rent 30: The characters in _Rent_ are the only people who should have to pay rent

[@biosonic100]

So, if the system isn’t working for you, instead of rejecting the system, one must force that system to do its damn job.

[@ablex7]

How's that been going?

[@armorsmith43]

Ashmay Comics ACT UP pushed people like NIH director Dr. Anthony Fauci to act and to distrust their boss.

[@MyChevySonic]

This channel is nothing like CinemaSins. Thank you internet god.

[@saraha180]

It's almost the exact opposite. CinemaSins does pandering, aimless, bad faith rants about nitpicky bullshit. Ms Ellis is doing intelligent criticism that engages thoughtfully with complex themes and issues.

[@chadtalbot8917]

@@saraha180 "Ms Ellis is doing intelligent criticism that engages thoughtfully with complex themes and issues." and then Lindsay is like "FUUUUCK YOOOU" and I'm like "Lindsay would be good at CinemaSins"

[@MiracleWinchester]

@@chadtalbot8917 "Lindsay would be good at CinemaSins" I agree! But CinemaSins will not be good for Lindsay Ellis.

[@KingBobXVI]

@@MiracleWinchester - I'd even say Lindsay would be far better at CinemaSins than CinemaSins is, but then again that's not a high bar to pass, and she has an actual background in film.

[@Ian_sothejokeworks]

There's a spectrum of movie analysis, spanning from Lindsay Ellis to CinemaSins. It's almost a pure "quality vs. quantity" issue.

[@lcpoole1703]

i think another problem with the popularity of rent is that it automatically appeals to the lgbtq community (of which im part of) because we have so little representation in media that we're willing to take any that doesn't paint us outright as the villains. so holding hands down the street before going immediately to the bury your gays trope is accepted because there's nothing else, which makes it harder to see the actual issues with the movie that you've outlined. thank you for making this video, while i'll always enjoy rent because of memories i have attached to it, it's important to recognise how shitty of a representation (of characters and issues) it really is.

[@emac94]

The opening is a perfect example of why Reagan is one of the worst presidents in recent history and I need to show this to my (well meaning but politically and socially oblivious) dad because despite being a supporter of the LGBTQ and having lived through the 1980’s as a bankrupted adult he somehow did not notice both the negative effects of Reaganomics on him and my mother but missed every single scrap of news regarding a massive pandemic and considers Reagan to have been a great president.

[@regalia8717]

Erin MacAllister I bet it’s because Reagan made him “feel proud to be an American” or some fluffy bullshit like that. Reagan managed to fuck over a large majority of the country and got away with it with an excellent reputation. You don’t have to be a good president for some people to remember you as one. You just have to act like you love America and Jesus.

[@CrowTR0bot]

Erin MacAllister It's been three months. You show this opening clip to your dad yet? If so, how'd he react?

[@emac94]

CrowTR0bot not yet I haven’t found a way to introduce it to him since he doesn’t have an interest in film analysis or musicals. Sorry it took so long to answer, it’s been a super busy year for me.

[@sampflugrath7601]

That shot of the guy singing in the desert looks exactly like if Neil Breen made a musical.

[@mcfeelyat]

Sam Pflugrath He is a brilliant spy/assassin/hacker and only he can stop this AIDS

[@sampflugrath7601]

No, he's going to put the AIDS in Las Vegas's water supply in order to teach humanity a lesson about greed.

[@AwkwardKyle]

Sam Pflugrath Is he good at that stuff?

[@mfitzburger5137]

When his girlfriend died...."I _can't_ believe committed suicide. I _can not_ believe you committed suicide....How could you have done this, how could you have committed suicide?"

[@ZombiesWerePeopleToo]

Sam Pflugrath That's what that shot reminded me of! Thanks for that

[@hombreg1]

I wonder how Reagan's administration moralized the whole "we won't lift a finger" attitude on the HIV pandemic. I mean, isn't it a constitutional must, for the government, to look after the right to live of its people?

[@ZarathustraCalico]

hombreg1 Not when the people are a down trodden minority it's not (according to their attitude). Luckily, there's been, broadly speaking, a relatively quick movement regarding both being LGBT+ and/or having HIV/AIDs. I'm not saying either of those things are easy (I've seen gay men get insulted for choosing to take a pill that lessens the chance of getting HIV when women have had pill - based contraception for a long time now) but it certainly is a better world than it was in the '80s.

[@christophercaldwell5093]

hombreg1 The government must fight to preserve the right to live to its citizens. People also made a decision to have sex, taking their life into their own hands. I think the FDA shouldn't have restricted drug companies and we should hold the companies that killed people accountable. Maybe spend some money on a "Use a Condom" campaign. Sex education.

[@astrangeone]

It's because the LGBT community was seen as a minority back then, not deserving of anything else. It took a lot of fighting and a lot of bravery back then to even admit to being gay. Remember Rock Hudson coming out? My parents still talk about that like it was a big thing. Hell, my mum still demonizes Ellen for coming out!

[@ronondex26]

Sex wasn't the only method of transmission. Lindsay wasn't just filling time when she mentioned hemophiliacs.

[@darkmyro]

The more I learn about Reagan the more I am shocked at the horrible things he did in the name of "making America great again" and I'm sure that sounds familiar cause another president used it to get elected recently. The aid thing is just as bad as the "war on drugs" he continued to champion after Nixon(another republican). That's because it was an excuse to attack minorities. I'm not making this up one of his on of Nixon's aides said this.

[@auntpatty7172]

this honestly aged gorgeously

[@lovelydia101]

As someone who grew up poor and has lived in and out of homeless shelters this musical is beyond sickening. I was never given the option to be poor and I would do anything for a stable job. Its a miserable lifestyle, this musical isn't real poverty thats trust fund kids going through a phase. Most poor people would give their left arm for a full time job (I know I would). This romanticise something that is incredibly miserable and the fact that he's too cool for a loving parent irks me even more since I had an abusive parent and would of loved a phone call like that just once but I digress THIS MUSICAL IS A PIECE OF SHIT.

[@melyserenidad6527]

Agreed! My parents had a LOT of issues and definitely weren't good (at least one wasn't) but the fact that even though I'm an adult they try to help is something I appreciate more than I can express. Fine, my childhood was shit but at least they are trying to help me as a now very disabled adult. Also frankly healthcare IS a right and the fact that I am getting support and medicine without spending every last penny is amazing (I'm in Canada). EVERY country needs to have universal healthcare and needs to support the most vulnerable.

[@PhoenixRising87]

I'm a writer, and if someone offered me a job wherein I'd earn $3000 per story, my first reaction would be "damn, I could purchase a *NEW* soul!" rather than bemoaning "selling out." To some degree, "selling out" is just a part of life and being a stable adult (I'm a libertarian socialist who wants to work toward a world wherein that's feasible, but I've needed government assistance to get my life on track, for example). To some degree, I can sympathize with most of the characters in this (even those with less-than-saintly attributes, like Mimi and Angel), but I can't sympathize with Maureen and especially Mark, because they're basically whiny teenagers refusing to grow up.

[@melyserenidad6527]

Agreed! I mean, unless you're being told to write for Fox or Breitbart, or any other right wing propaganda, writing gossip is nothing. Who doesn't love a little trashy media anyway?

[@Tamaki742]

ElectricMayhem87 (Ashleigh) I think they don't even understand what selling out means. They just think it's selling their artwork. I'm an artist and selling out to me means that if I set up a boundary for myself (in my case I'd never draw nsfw artworks, it's just uncomfortable), but just because I want money I do it anyway. Otherwise, anything people want me to draw I'd do them.

[@verdatum]

"Go watch Angels in America" ....SERIOUSLY. GO DO THAT.

[@iluvearth99]

++

[@thecynicalone7655]

I watched a version of it, I hated. Everyone failed to communicate and was an asshole to each other for no good reason. TL;DR all I got was a bunch of jerks being jerks to each other.

[@Greggogrande97]

Seeing a group of women in the 1980's chanting "Healthcare is a right" hits a lot different in 2022 watching Roe be overturned. We haven't moved forward at all, have we?

[@IsiahTomas]

2022 Jordan Peele movie title.

[@vsGoliath96]

No, we have to fight every day to make sure that a certain group of people in our country don't drag us kicking and screaming back to when "America was great," regardless of the fact that that's completely subjective and changes person to person.

[@alexander_avila]

Wow, these videos are really great. I wish I could come up with a more profound thought, but I'm thoroughly entertained and given something to think about, while I'm at it.

[@zeechops401]

AreTheyGay YOOOOO I LOVE YOUR VIDS!!

[@pineapplepal6588]

AreTheyGay me and my friend love you're Hamilton video

[@elkpapa]

Levi Portillo Actually he discisses bisexual representation fairly often as well

[@LACwriter]

Love your channel, my dude. You turned me into a Lams shipper, damn you.

[@perrisavallon5170]

Hey, it's not all whether or not fictional characters like dick. Some of them are about whether or not fictional characters like vag

[@cookieaddictions]

I feel like growing up to hate RENT is a rite of passage.

[@Plisko1]

Yes, just like hating Twilight was a right of passage. Then as it turns out Twilight is forgiven because it's just an author expressing her fantasy... give her a break.... So we find a new thing to turn on... RENT. How dare an author express a fantasy about art and rebellion that doesn't also do the AIDS activism the way I want it!!! How dare rebellion be an emotional thing that is a little self destructive!!! Let me sit on my high horse in the age of outrage and judge some other people's emotional self destruction.

[@mrchuckmorris]

Step one: Resent those who disliked RENT when it first came out because they immediately saw through the BS Step two: Grow up and realize RENT is BS Step three: Apologize to those who saw through the BS in the first place. Unfortunately, everyone seems to skip step three... often because obsessing over RENT (or any other pseudo-political "fight the system" tentpole) and hating those who don't tends to be common behavior for those with an addiction to burning bridges.

[@Plisko1]

@@mrchuckmorris The problem, as I see it, is that RENT was never intended as a pseudo political "fight the system" tentpole. The author was trying to do a modern version of La Boheme as a rock musical. That's about as deep as it went. Was La Boheme a pseudo-political "fight the system" tentpole"? It seems more like a sad opera about artists and mortality to me. Modern bohemians are artists who are living outside the system and being judgmental about it. East Village squatters were the choice and they tied it to being bohemian by doing silly performance art and singing a song about bohemia. The modern disease is AIDS because that is what was in people's minds. It's a story about anti heroes with flaws, weaknesses and impending death coming to grips with life. They realize that the only real magic is to live life in love. ONE character did a computer hack that gave an activist AIDS message and suddenly a Broadway musical must be super authentic and WOKE so that it can shoulder the burden of every REAL activists fantasy projection.... and disappointment. It is unfortunate.

[@48917032]

You know you are a grown-up when Benny starts making sense

[@arbitterm]

The most important line from the show that the movie left out is when the homeless woman yells at Mark "This lot's FULL of motherfucking artists" It's a sudden reminder that the characters chosen path, realistically, has one ending. Refusing to "sell out" will only lead them to poverty. This is probably why the ending had to focus on Mimi's survival being a happy ending. If we extrapolate on the character's lives after the end of the show, most of them are on course for very unhappy endings.

[@TheAmityElf]

Especially since they're probably all going to prison for that stunt Collins pulled with the ATM.

[@NickJohnCoop]

I'd really like to question where the myth of 'the nobility of poverty' got started in the art community. Every single great artist of the Renaissance tried to get a patron ,because that thing called eating and sleeping comfortably is a great help in artistic development.

[@seona33]

Watching this today during the Corona virus outbreak was especially poignant. We are sheltering-in-place to stop the spread, not knowing how long this will go on. What could the government have done to keep it from getting to this point. Or are everyone’s lives being completely upended because other countries’ governments did “as little as possible”

[@SEAZNDragon]

I'm already had a friendship broken over this virus between those who took it seriously and those who didn't. Fertile ground for drama.

[@michaelortiz1561]

What is going on now is stupid , stupid dictatorships hiding shit from the rest of the world which in turn lead to stupid ppl infecting others which lead to ppl freaking out and dying needlessly and when ppl tried to halt the spread of said disease the stupid ppl in the media, the government, and in general said nah imma do what I want the media went orange man bad the government said orange man bad and the idiots went lol I sont care .....so stupid.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

The government can’t do shit it’s a flu like virus that shits gunna spread all over and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Unless you want men in hazmat suits locking you in your home and threatening to shoot you if you leave. Otherwise stop looking to the government to help. This is something that’s happening and we will just have to pick up the pieces and move on when it’s all over.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Humans are inherently social we live in more globalized nations and there are 7 billion of us. If you think we can stop a disease. Then i think you’re valuing macroscopic organisms more than you should. Microorganisms determine so much of reality, most people don’t even consider.

[@benjaminmadrigalperez9010]

@@michaelortiz1561 You forgot the part were the Orange man said that it was not a problem, that everything was under control and that the media Bad, that the other goverments were bad and that China good.

[@annabunovsky5628]

Wow. After that intro, those "I Miss Reagan" bumper stickers are even more insufferable to look at.

[@MnMsandOreos]

My roommate and I have an inside joke where we just share random articles of shitty things Reagan and his government did. It’s ranged from the small, like allowing kids tv shows to have ads, to the huge, like the AIDS denial shit. It’s amazing, we just keep finding new things

[@RecklessFables]

He's the first president I remember. His gift was making people feel better about America by vilifying welfare, the Russians, etc. As someone he was trying to make feel better, it did feel wonderful. It did also spawn a lot of horrible things, like the takeover of this weird "Jesus loves Capitalism" narrative in the South.

[@Tareltonlives]

We're still pretty much still suffering from him. He's dead, and a lot of the evils he enabled and created are still working.

[@chrkrngl]

Even from a right-wing/conservative/Bible-thumping/(but non-neocon)/etc. perspective Reagan did other also pretty bad things: CA has the immigration problem/"challenges" it has today because of Reagan's amnesty and Roe v. Wade partly also happened, was made possible in the first place, because what Reagan did in legislation before his presidency as a gover or regarding that matter. Regarding LBQT[...]l in reality (at the end of the day in 'Realpolitik' as Germans say) the Trump administration is really light years more advanced. Of course there are negative side effects bc other conservatives get a feeling of having the high ground again, and yeah this admin you could call anti-trans (military ban) ...but again it is far more advanced and more sane than most things Reagan was praised for. Reagan could talk very well, and very well about stuff Christians are concerned about, like REALLY WELL (no, there's really nothing in my eye...) but what I want to say: I don't get all this praise for him anymore. Later admins were better for conservatives and liberals or progressives alike. So that is my main point. Not saying which admin. Please don't kill me. Really like the video. We had to study 'RENT' in high school in music class. I tried to impress girls who liked it. (didn't worked) :D Ok, bye for now!

[@searchingfororion]

There are so many people who worship Regan. He was a murderer.

[@helmetlesssolairedotpng4220]

the first time i saw rent mentioned on the internet it was these tweets "Rent is atrocious because the story surrounding the songs is garbage and often offensive. The songs are not bad" "a girl tries to get someone to do heroin and have sex with her. She has AIDS and he's a recovering heroin addict. She's a protagonist"

[@carloscaro9121]

"A girl tries to get someone to do heroin and have sex with her. She has AIDS and he's a recovering heroin addict. She's a protagonist." That is in and of itself not a problem. Protagonist simply means the character who is addressing a central conflict. The problem is she is framed as being *in the moral right*. There are plenty of villainous protagonists; Henry Hill & co, Patrick Bateman, Yuri Orlov, half the cast of Game of Thrones, etc.

[@iamaunicorn1232]

That chorus of parents "calling" for their children just saddens me. Maybe cuz I have such a great relationship with my mom. I would never want her to worry like that...

[@jaromanderson2877]

I have a bad relationship with my parents as im lbgt in a religious home but I am so excited for the day I can have a healthy relationship and mutual respect with them. The characters in rent have no maturity

[@letranger4461]

I remember watching this in the first weeks of the pandemic in March of 2020. I went back to a deserted campus because I knew I wasn’t going to get a refund on housing. I had watched it a few times already, sometimes putting it in the background while doing calculus or procrastinating on my college essays. Rewatching it in March 2020 felt surreal, but oddly comforting? Like we’ve been here before, suffered so much, but still kept going. This channel was always a comfort, so thank you.

[@TheMightyPika]

"RENT is terrible and I hate it." This sentence has earned you my eternal admiration. Also, that last bit was brilliance.

[@brettknoss486]

The story of Mark leaving his news job would have worked if he was employed in a more journalistic role at a more respectable news source like the NYT, when the Grey Lady was kept straight, and if Mark's project had more urgency, because he felt a documentary on AIDS had to pe finished immediatly to create change. This again is framing, and an effort to engage the system that is ignoring a crisis, instead of abstractions about "selling out. "

[@missybarbour6885]

This is a perfect take down of how everyone interprets Rent. But my mom who attended theater school in the late 80's and early 90's has a different take. She loves the show because she lived with all of these characters when she was in school. Art and theater people really can be this annoying and self aggrandizing. There was a major movement from the hippies until about Rent's era that decided because society is bad, everything society says is bad must be good. It's the middle schooler logic of "anything my parents hate must be cool". Every vice was seen as a virtue. That shallow rebellion of "sticking it to the man" by behaving badly was really really popular especially among the kind of people Rent profiles. She argues you're suppose to realize how childish they're all being so maybe the constant phone calls from parents were intended exactly in this way. The point of Rent is to take a snapshot of a particular time in the artist community when suddenly all the actions they considered liberating turned out to have consequences. Maybe doing drugs, having unprotected sex, and refusing to pay your rent were considered bad for a reason. Maybe equating a YOLO mentality with the support people need to carry on with a terminal disease is incredibly arrogant. Act one is the before times. Everything is just a self important party masquerading as a crusade. Sure, tragedy is striking in slow motion, but Maureen's about to lose her performance space! And if you don't realize how shallow all the characters are yet, act two is when the bill comes due. Suddenly they all face an actual tragedy they're ill equipped to deal with because they thought emotional maturity was selling out. The reason the two story lines are incongruous is because that's how it happened in real life. A plague hit out of nowhere. The first time I saw the show, I found the Life Support group members much more compelling than any of the main characters. And maybe we're supposed to. Maybe we're supposed to stop caring about whether Roger and Mimi or Joanna and Maureen get back together because whether or not to take a sell out job is such a small problem now. Maybe Rent is a take down of the bohemian lifestyle. Or maybe Jonathan Larson was exactly as pretentious as his characters and thought a song could cure the AIDS.

[@Marrisaplays2712]

I really really like this approach.

[@micahcook2408]

Marrisa plays same

[@MrStGeorgeIllawarra]

LOL. Nobody cares. The sooner Rent is forgotten the better.

[@midnightsunrose]

I mean not paying rent IS a good thing tho

[@cwonderland6259]

Well, this is exactly how I've always interpreted RENT, so your mom isn't the only one.

[@ashleycarroll3309]

The closing montage brought me to tears. I have always greatly disliked Rent, and you put all of my disgust into words. Thank you for showing the reality of the AIDS crisis... People need to know.