School of Life: A Deeply Bad Self Help Channel | Big Joel

[@BigJoel]

Hey, I hope you liked the video! And if you did, consider throwing me a few bucks on Patreon! I would appreciate it AND perhaps buy a new plant that does not constantly poke me in the head. The sky's the limit honestly. Anyway, here's the link! www.patreon.com/bigjoel

[@r4masami]

Amazing Alain de Botton impression 900/10 please don't ban me

[@burningflag3679]

I checked this comment just to see if you mentioned the plant. It was um... quite distracting for me.

[@theshamanite]

Nice Alain de Botton impression. It's good, it's good, it's great pls no ban.

[@MrZilgen]

nice sheet background, joel

[@MrZilgen]

You are so naturally funny its just hilarious! LOVE you

[@ZNZbane]

Bruh imagine ordering fish sticks in a date and she immediately assumes youve been traumatized into having bad taste

[@ubermenschen01]

Certified bruh moment

[@localegoist4079]

bruh

[@good2goism]

is that pasqualos dad

[@ZNZbane]

@@good2goism Yeah, it is!

[@polarisator9892]

Did some one say... fish-dicks?

[@KH-zr6pt]

So sad that every middle-aged christian mom with a "Live, Laugh, Love" vinyl wall decal has experienced extreme aesthetic-based trauma

[@hammer158]

that is in fact objectively true

[@KyleJCustodio]

I blame the creepy bleeding jesus statues.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

"Do you want to know where I got those posters?"

[@troywalkertheprogressivean8433]

should start a charity or telethon.

[@freelance_commie]

@@shytendeakatamanoir9740 hahaha

[@Havarti_Samebito]

He's kinda got that Victorian-style logic of "Everyone who disagrees with me has a psychological issue that I made up just now."

[@doubtful_seer]

“Feminism? I think you mean... HYSTERIA!!!”

[@sorryifoldcomment8596]

@@doubtful_seer Unfortunately, Carl (Sargon) already labeled feminism as a "mental illness." :( Cuz it shows all the symptoms

[@Hannah_Em]

Oh heck, you're right! I hadn't realised quite what it was until I saw this comment, but I'm getting some real big Freud vibes from this dude: projecting weird made up conditions onto everyone else, and then smugly smiling to himself like he's cracked some deep truth.

[@paperl9328]

this is almost more of a post-freudian 1920s thing. victorians believed more in physical issues, and they rarely talked about mental disorders from what i've read.

[@heartache5742]

modernism hours

[@freshlybakedsporks]

I think that ordering a glass of plain cranberry juice on a date actually communicates "I have a UTI"

[@LisaMarieYlva]

I was watching the video on my tv, so opened it up on my laptop just to see if anyone had made this comment yet :P

[@romankotas448]

Cranberry juice is an at home beverage. Ordering it in public is a sign that something is wrong with you

[@InvincibleAirman]

Exactly, this made me seriously wonder if the whole channel is just a massive trolling scheme lol

[@babbybobabs8701]

somtimes you just like juice!

[@realleon2328]

​@babbybobabs8701 one of the best comments I've ever seen on KZbin

[@leboyneski5464]

That the Soviet period in Russia was "Devoid of art" is a statement in contrast with reality. Also this argument acts as if Russian culture started in 1992 or that Arabian culture started with the discovery of oil.

[@maybeh-letsplaysmore3697]

I'm still laughing about how he said that Russia "famously has bad art tastes." Like has the never heard of St. Basils cathedral?

[@MatauReviews]

@@maybeh-letsplaysmore3697 or russian literature... cinema... fuckin music? jesus christ

[@suides4810]

The idea that russians like decadence because of socialism is also silly Looking at thier gingerbread churches and palaces...

[@HarryS77]

Bely laugh.

[@leebos]

Also, it's not like the U.S. absolutely set the standard of Brutalist Architecture. Or visions of opulence that we then chastise others for employing. I personally like Brutalist Architecture because... idk, I had trauma, or I just have bad taste.

[@joaopedrobusnardo3522]

"life under capitalism is miserable and alienating, but at least cupcake have sprinkle" - Alain de Botton, probably

[@timothymclean]

"Red symbolizes independence" and "socialism leads to bland conformity" are amusing assertions to make in close proximity.

[@spawniscariot9756]

Sprinkles have always been the tool of the petite bourgeoisie! Hundreds & Thousands is the true socialist cupcake topping🖖

[@KingBobXVI]

@@timothymclean - Obviously the answer here is to put cupcake sprinkles in the cranberry juice to compliment the very much not at all bland kids menu fish sticks.

[@happytofu5]

if they don't have bread, they shall eat sprinkle cupcakes!

[@XHitsugaX]

@@timothymclean socialism does lead to bland conformity. I grew up in the Sowiet Union. You would not find such conformity even in the god damn neoliberal hellhole that is the USA. Now you could argue that Sowiet Union was state capitalist but essentially every socialist nation devolves into state capitalism is an issue. I know bread tubers who are 90% western people who are disaffected by corporatism and will disagree with me, but Id rather live in the USA than ever spending a day in the Sowiet Union again. And this is during the 80ies where life was largely static in the Union and cold war died down a bit.

[@Borninxixax]

“Socialism is when cupcakes are boring” sounds like a satire of capitalism

[@shioneshiori4471]

It sounds EXACTLY like the “Communism is when no iPhone” meme.

[@whysocurious7366]

no sprinkles for socialists lmao the capitalism stand should've had 1 dude doing none of the work and then eating over 70% of the cupcakes :P

[@nukiradio]

@@whysocurious7366 and not paying sales tax either

[@cuckmulligan7602]

honestly, did Vonnegut ghostwrite that? Was it cribbed from an early draft of Harrison Bergeron that was scrapped for being too on-the-nose?

[@whysocurious7366]

@@cuckmulligan7602 I had to look up "Harrison Bergeron" - Vonnegut. The plot summary reminded me of Ayn Rand's "Anthem". An extremely bizarre AU that bares little resemblance to this world.

[@meganbarhorst5272]

"We should prepare kids more for how shitty adult life is" What if we tried making adult life less shitty tho? That's something we could fix, as a society.

[@stitches768]

Exactly

[@floreroafloreril1458]

Nah that would take actual work from my part, I prefer to sit all day telling other parents how they should raise their children.

[@DesolatedChild018]

Alain have a problem: He spent too much time eating from the trashcan. In fact, he spent so much time that by now he feast exclusively upon what he finds on the trashcan. The trashcan, of course, is ideology. In this case: neoliberalism. If you want to see what your brain on “end of history” looks like, check his videos. Of course he cannot consider change, because that’s the only conclusion when you think that what’s out there is as natural as photosynthesis, the water cycle and the food chain. Except, ironically, even those can be disrupted by human interaction. But god forgive if you suggest socioeconomic change. You want to end with poor art and garbage cupcakes? Because that’s how you end up with poor art and garbage cupcakes.

[@Liboo52]

But if we helped each other and society was fixed, then who would need to buy self-help books?

[@Duck-de9dw]

@@Liboo52 it's ok because self-help gurus can just self-help their way to success

[@alicethetransdalek7333]

School of Life: "When you see someone with bad taste in art you shouldn't judge them..." me: "Ah, surely he's talking about how there is no objective judgment of quality in art and so 'bad taste in art' can't possibly exist. Maybe School of Life is not such a bad channel after all..." School of Life: "because they obviously have been so traumatized by their life that they only enjoy bad art and we can't blame them for that" me: "alright nvm"

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Has anyone asked Alain what kind of trauma he suffered that made him turn out the way he did?

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

@@imveryangryitsnotbutter Well I don't wanna.

[@pepi7404]

"You're charged with murder. Do have anything to say in your defense?" "His interior decoration was awful and I wanted to put him out of his misery."

[@davidpeppers551]

You can certainly appreciate the skill or see a lack of skill of an artist and that have nothing to do with the way the art appeals to you. I see well done pieces I do not like. I also see some which appear to be thrown together on a whim and are appealing. So what? I agree with Big Joel. Taste in art is no reason to attack a person.

[@anava7030]

“When you see someone wearing a disgusting outfit, shoes that belongs in 2010 and tacky hair extensions you shouldn’t judge them”

[@AJX-2]

Its true, my entire family died in a war and now I like Adam Sandler movies

[@nekozombie]

hate when that happens

[@Eddbrain]

You poor thing :(

[@jalisco-kallisto6216]

@@nekozombie ugh same 🙄

[@thatshadowguy1005]

"We shouldn't judge people, morally or otherwise, for having bad taste." hell yeah! "Because the only reason they HAVE bad taste to begin with is that they have been harmed in some way." what

[@Zestrayswede]

But we should definitely judge people for imposing their bad taste on others without their consent... *cough* modern architecture *cough*

[@kee7374]

Lmfao

[@MrAapasuo]

@@Zestrayswede Tbf I still like modern architecture better than how most brutalist works turned out. Not that its much better but still

[@Supiragon1998]

@@MrAapasuo Why only compare the two worst ones?

[@cam4636]

@@Supiragon1998 I HATE architecture. What, are caves too good for you now? Kids these days.

[@ironclad6471]

When people make fun of you for ordering fish sticks and cranberry juice so you have to make a video about how it's actually part of your sophisticated 5D Chess seduction game

[@skootties]

assuming that every school of life video is a direct response by alain de botton to events in his life instantly makes them hilarious

[@TheHalflingLad]

@@skootties It's also the only way to make them make sense.

[@ElliJelliZ]

Don't you hate it when you have to eat fish while also having a UTI

[@GabyGeorge1996]

@@ElliJelliZ maybe the UTI makes your privates smell fishy?

[@Technotoadnotafrog]

poor guy, he must've been traumatized into having bad taste

[@samuelmiriello2414]

Hot take: The School of Life is a documentary about Alain de Botton's slow realization that his depression is rooted in the abusive capitalist and imperialist system he desperately tries to normalize

[@somniopus]

I am here for this. I would actually pay money to witness that dawning and growing horror. I think his blinders are too thick though.

[@StephanDallaPria]

Imagine any system that isn't inherently abusive lol

[@fpedrosa2076]

@Church of Film "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling KZbinrs!"

[@randomtinypotatocried]

@Church of Film I actually won't be surprised. I've watched both when I was younger and they seem very similar to each other

[@RFLCPTR]

@@StephanDallaPria libertarian socialism.

[@ic5889]

"sprinkles are a bourgeoisie plot" -karl marx

[@serse8455]

@@easonkamander7348 *Cars Marx [runs very fast in Russia's general direction]

[@AlvaroMartinez-kv3vg]

@@serse8455 Car Marxqueen

[@jmclean6648]

+

[@hangukhiphop]

Das Kupkakital

[@nukiradio]

Coral Markenson

[@antonionionia]

I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. Have you ever seen me without this stupid cranberry juice? That's weird.

[@Jordloopin]

Damn you, I got flashbacks from this 😩😤

[@eldabys]

extremely underrated comment

[@JackedThor-so]

Clearly, the writers of Riverdale suffered some sort or trauma in the past to write such a line! 😪

[@theatheistjew7303]

I don't ~fit in~ and I don't want to fit in.

[@Caroline-tb8eh]

It's so sad that people expect marriage to be shitty and draining constantly. My boyfriend told me when he was a kid, since people were making jokes about how "wife bad" "marriage bad" he had that expectation out of relationships. However, once he finally got into a healthy relationship, his worldview quickly changed and he just realized, "Oh, marriage isn't inherently bad, these people are just in toxic relationships." It seems like a fundamental thing men are taught, "Wife bad and you only need wife for baby."

[@jhoughjr1]

well divorce rate has a lot to do with. Im not an incel or mra but its a legal fact that men are at a sever disadvantage to get married. The entire male female dynamic has been destroyed by culture for the last century or so.

[@bichen-up-ur]

@@jhoughjr1 Marriage isn't something you definitely have to do in life, people starting realize that contributes a lot as well.

[@kappadarwin9476]

@@jhoughjr1 High divorce rates are a good thing, because it means couples are breaking up for the better instead of staying together for the worst.

[@jhoughjr1]

@@kappadarwin9476 LOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[@sheevinopalpatino4782]

@@jhoughjr1 I assume you'd want people to stay together even if they despise each other. Good person ovah here

[@jmmip202]

imagine saying to your friend something like "I dunno, I thought James Cameron's Avatar was ok, I sort of enjoyed it," and then your friend tries to tell you that you're a victim of trauma.

[@BarnabyWalters]

If the comment was about the Shyamalan Avatar, the response would be appropriate though IMO

[@shahsadsaadu5817]

@@BarnabyWalters no it wouldn't. Liking Avatar couldn't be a plausible result of trauma. Liking Dragonball evolution after watching Avatar is. Avatar is not the result of trauma, it's always the cause.

[@shahsadsaadu5817]

@loveutill theendoftimes read my comment.

[@starduststriker8792]

@loveutill theendoftimes u know its a joke right, loveutill

[@alexandergilles8583]

“Aww did the smurfs scare you as a kid as a kid and as a result, you grew to distrust and fear blue pigmented beings?”

[@adrianomaly1760]

The racism of the “aesthetic trauma” claim ohhhhhmygoshhhhhhh

[@lolololololutrythcfy]

it’s that western saviourism

[@sertaki]

It hurts.

[@lulu4882]

"eking out an existence in the desert" :|

[@facelessdrone]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. It almost seemed eugenics-y because he implied that there is a "right" way for the human experience to happen

[@Dethamaranth]

Right? Like holy shit I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found that incredibly fucking racist. The countries they showed as examples literally have nothing wrong with their architecture or anything. I'm Russian and I was just fucking bewildered

[@RmsOceanic]

School of Life diagnoses PTSD: Post-Traumatic Style Disorder

[@kaylaisnothere4397]

Poor aesthetics aren't just bad, they're deeply traumatizing

[@pleasekillyoursef]

This comment is art

[@sodapop8900]

@@pleasekillyoursef my god what happened to you. You need to talk about it man?

[@pleasekillyoursef]

@@sodapop8900 the name is joke on the people complaining about bulling "i dont bully people i ask them nicely to kill themselves" i changed yourself to yoursef for comedically shoddy plausible deniability

[@sodapop8900]

@@pleasekillyoursef I wasn't talking about your name I was making a joke about the whole bad taste point. I said that you have bad taste thinking this comment was art and asked if you needed to talk about trauma. It's not about your username sorry for the mix up

[@jonahj9519]

Everyone with bad tastes has suffered trauma? Dang, I can’t believe every Ben Shapiro fan has gone through such horrible trauma.

[@theeccentric7263]

Yeah, the trauma of hearing his voice.

[@ryebreadthebread]

The trauma of being unable to make their wives wet

[@criidawg]

i am in awe of how funny and smart this is

[@charlesmartiniii1405]

I don't even like Ben that was a stretch. I'd rather talk about bro country fans irreversible problems. There might be an actual case there

[@DeltaNovum]

I've been through much more trauma then most. I'm talking about decades of true (diagnosed cptsd and ptsd) trauma. So I must have the worst taste. I really like Joel's content. This means Joel's content is really bad taste. Which means that if you are reading this, because you like his content too, you must have been badly traumatised. Joel must like his own content right? Because it's his. Is Joel trauma?

[@jessonpaper]

“Socialist cupcake” sounds like something Jordan Peterson would call me.

[@vthinking9518]

I mean if I were to make a bet on it I'd say it's more likely than not that he's said that phrase at some point.

[@nejdalej]

uWu Call me your little socialist cupcake, Daddy Peterson uwu

[@dansmoothback9644]

Lol I'm not sure if he would use it as a pet name or an insult. I would assume both

[@spartida3850]

it reminded me more of the way Obama described his crushes in college lmfao

[@sentientarugula2884]

@jmalcolmg123 Denounce Stalin though

[@free_siobhan]

i think the most frustrating thing about school of life is the high production value. the animation is very high quality, but it’s been wasted on the bullshit this guy spews. it’s just a shame.

[@Rallllllllllll]

School of Life is known for paying young art/animation graduates a pittance for their videos, leading to them rarely using the same artist twice (the artists don't come back).

[@free_siobhan]

@@Rallllllllllll not surprised in the slightest

[@zab416]

Do you happen to know if he's the main writer or just narrates or some combo? From their Wiki page, they seem to be a big organization. That's more depressing if it's a little think tank of bad takes.

[@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7]

Honestly, the “socialist” grocery store in my town (it’s really a co-op where the employees own the store) is much nicer than any stop and shop or Whole Foods nearby. The employees are locals, they know what the locals want, they know the farmers, and they know when/where they can get deals. A lot of the food is at least as cheap as the national chains and the staff is friendlier because they love their jobs. So, idk dude, socialism seems pretty awesome.

[@Superbouncybubble]

But... the cupcakes won't have sprinkles

[@7piecebucket]

You have bad taste in art!

[@bmlgordon]

But, but, the bunny story taught me it’s impossible to love your job!

[@archerfan66]

Whoa whoa Socialism working ? Prepare for a coup

[@michaelk9279]

@@archerfan66 “Look at these poor workers being forced into a life of slavery by the communist elites. We need to burn down this empire of evil and reinstate a friendly neighborhood Amazon Superstore(TM) to give these people the free market they deserve”

[@ZephyrusAsmodeus]

Here's some free relationship advice; If you see a date as a fight to 'win them over to your side'... don't go on dates, get actual help.

[@gelatinocyte6270]

_“I diagnose you with Traumatic Past”_

[@ajknight8640]

“Just texting you to let you know that I actually kind of like that painting in your kitchen now so I’m officially undiagnosing you with Traumatic Past. I’ve already texted your therapist :) “

[@eila2635]

Oh s h i t your pfp is the librarian witch from Hilda!!!

[@michaelxu7951]

Lmao

[@somerandomnerd2729]

@@ajknight8640 Oh you ACTUALLY like this show? You must've had a very rough childhood. Let me set you up with a really good therapist I know.

[@HailSatanLLC]

Capitalism in a nutshell: "You can do anything! You can be anything if you work hard enough! Nothing is stopping you under capitalism!" *5 sec. later* "You're depressed? Well.. did you ever consider maybe your expectations are too high? You've got to be realistic after all. I don't think you were believing in yourself hard enough."

[@aliveslice]

More like: I have all the money so you don't have to

[@dissonantdreams]

And you’ll never be able to find meaningful work that you enjoy doing, so perhaps you just need to manage your expectations because everyone else’s life is as shit as yours. (But capitalism is still great, obviously.)

[@someotherguyyouknow]

@@dissonantdreams After being told for the first twenty or so years of your life to "find your passion and do what you love!"

[@skinnymarmalade2309]

I’m so traumatized.... my taste is just... so bad ... now....

[@reneebear3641]

Oop I’m traumatized guess I like heavy metal & brutalist architecture how.

[@lazarcupic]

@@reneebear3641these jokes arent funny. My trauma is very real and very intense. Sometimes, i relive it so vividly that i even go home and start raving to machin3gir1 music whilst scrolling through dada art on google.

[@paisleepunk]

@@lazarcupic Even for a non-trauma person, these jokes just don't cut it comedically.

[@nukiradio]

Dude! This is not funny! I'm still listening to 6ix9ine because my mom fell down the stairs...

[@Alevuss92]

shout out to all us people living in deserts who were traumatized by sand and rocks. our artistic taste will never go beyond darude

[@VivaTunita]

You, an avid consumer of school of life: - I'll have the fish sticks from the children's menu and a cranberry juice. Your date, also an avid consumer of the school of life: - I sholdn't judge his bad taste, it's probably due to some sort of trauma..

[@terratorment2940]

They speak with this undeserved authority as "educational" because the narrator has a British accent and can afford to animate it like an educational video. They may as well be PragerU.

[@MiguelThinks]

I just literally came to the conclusion that they are a Snobby version of PragerU.

[@trevorlong8659]

Kurzgesagt, but evil.

[@tomothytheraccoon]

@@trevorlong8659 pretty much yeah, Kurgesagt puts all their sources in their vids and they’re so much better tbh

[@breakingboardrooms1778]

Prager2.

[@randomguy19954]

Good luck finding a video like this on PagerU. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIS0mHavlM58mcU

[@sourgreendolly7685]

I’m cracking up. Imagine if under PTSD in the DSM they listed “bad taste” somewhere between the hyper-vigilance and night terrors. I have PTSD so I’m just picturing the doctor that diagnosed me telling me I have “bad taste” 😂

[@emmastrange5557]

PTSD is now diagnosed by showing the patient different pieces of art and asking them what they like more.

[@mr.messofgeorgia]

Weirdly enough I know someone like this irl, I went "I don't like photo-realist paintings" and their first response was, "Oh, that's probably because of sexual trauma" no?? I just much prefer hyper-saturated colors and impressionism??? what

[@BriAngel476]

got diagnosed with bad taste disorder after i told my psych i watch anime

[@peterprime2140]

@@BriAngel476 I mean, that one's accurate.

[@batorsagandszerelem4474]

@@peterprime2140 Alain will probably point out that the Japanese were traumatized by the atomic bomb and that's why tentacle hentai exist...

[@Flameclaw123]

Regarding people writing self-help books not being qualified to write them: I work as a ghostwriter, and we get dozens of orders for self-help books every month. These books rarely come with super detailed outlines, and the people publishing these books don't have any real qualifications; half the time they are published under a made-up name anyway. For the most part, we are expected to fill them in ourselves and do our own research, usually just by looking for relevant articles online. I've written at least 10 self-help books in my time at my company, and I can guarantee you I wasn't qualified to write ANY of them in the way you'd expect someone to be. I don't have a psychology or sociology degree or anything. Hell, I don't even have my life together. Half the time I was writing advice like "go to bed early and get enough rest to increase your productivity" while staying up until 5 am to finish an order I'd procrastinated for two weeks. In short, yeah, I definitely believe that many people shy away from self-help books because of the abundance of underqualified writers spitting out the same 10 common sense tips you can find in any other book and muddying the market, and probably not because of... emotional education being viewed as undignified, or whatever School of Life was trying to claim there.

[@adorabell4253]

And yet they were probably all better than 12 lobsters for life. And that was written by an actual professional.

[@sena167]

Somebody exorcise this person

[@AmaraJordanMusic]

I’m an editor and I was going to post something similar. 😅 Also, if it was so simple to break down how to be effective and rich and happy, either everyone would be masters at it by the time they’re middle aged because it would be the most important thing, OR it would not be allowed to be written about by the masters of the universe that unlocked the code. *That’s* some fodder for conspiracy theorists. There are some topics that are useful to read about (I found The Art of Conversation really useful for example, as an introvert). But once you’ve read one or two self-help books, even in the categories that are useful to read about, you’ve basically read them all, and a lot of times there are situation-dependent issues holding people back. Or they need actual therapy to progress, and all the “meditate and stay hydrated,” sections in SH books won’t be enough! It’s a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound! Bugs the crap out of me that SH has at least 5x the shelf space as poetry. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@tocatafugue]

@@AmaraJordanMusic Funny that SH has more shelf space than poetry, when engaging with art objects would be more useful in terms of channeling whatever they want "help".

[@Flameclaw123]

@@tocatafugue Such a shame that all the traumatized people reading self-help books have such bad taste in art according to School of Life then lmao

[@Eds3.14]

you're a maniac for letting that leaf graze your hair for 20 minutes.. respect

[@ArDeeMee]

Oml, that was so irritating to watch… @.@

[@uranuseuler9713]

I love that one leaf is caressig your gorgeous locks, you steamy alewife.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

You vaporous lagerspouse.

[@loffeine3454]

you hazy beerhusbando

[@marthaindahouse1010]

you homosexual rock

[@blarg2429]

you objectively hot troubador

[@DoctorMurch]

you foggy sudsmate

[@fitandhappy42]

“Russia has gaudy art because of a reaction to the years of communism” *stares in the entire concept of the Faberge egg*

[@squidcultist0022]

Communism is when art I don't personally like exists

[@phangkuanhoong7967]

gaudy? seriously? have this guy ever seen the shit capitalism has churned out? XD

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Yeah, not like our gorgeous western art where when we’re not turning everything into the same minimalist hellscape we slap gold on it.

[@aliveslice]

I am traumatized in Russia and I have great taste. Checkmate atheists.

[@Sokofeather]

"The purpose of art is to promote Communism" "The purpose of art is to produce profit" Both Shithead Statements. But one from a former head of state in Russia.

[@legoqueen2445]

Actually what he typifies as gaudy Middle Eastern style is really fascinating. In Islam copying things found in the world through art is considered idolatry. So instead of painting scenes of nature or portraits of people there's this incredible explosion of geometric designs and patterns. Add to this exquisite tile work and ones gets the beautiful feature walls or ceilings in many famous mosques and elsewhere. It's not the same as European sensibilities but it's is gorgeous and creative in it's own right.

[@jamesnomos8472]

I think he's mostly just talking about modern Saudi princelets or Dubaian corporations building extravagant symbols of wealth and conspicuous consumption. Which is still stupid and reductive, but in a different way.

[@shannonm.townsend1232]

Quakers were against representational art as well; see biography of Daniel Webster

[@flowerface9011]

This is very fascinating, I've never thought of that before. Thanks for your thoughtful comment, have always been a massive fan of Arabic and Middle-Eastern architecture since I visited Opa-Locka outside Miami when I was young

[@legoqueen2445]

@@flowerface9011 I remember back in my university days when I was studying Art History and they were covering Gaudi. They were talking about how the Moors influenced Spain and that's when they explained about Islamic geometry and tilework. I was facinated by the concept of one type of imagery being taboo so the human spirit explores creativity in a different direction and just explodes with beauty expressed in a totally different style. I suspect the way Arabic is used in Islam also is an artform though I haven't looked into it nor can I read it. I've just noticed Islamic religious items with Arabic on them look incredibly beautiful, the swirls and peaks of the letters. But that might just be me!! Lol.

[@Ohnoitsruthio]

@@shannonm.townsend1232 technically all Christians should be against it, it’s one of the Ten Commandments, no graven images!

[@greatboredompineappl]

Glad I’m not the only one who thought the whole “Saudi Arabians and Russians have bad taste, and it’s because they’re traumatized” is just a little bit, er...racist.

[@KozelPraiseGOELRO]

No, that is schooloflifist, a severe mental disorder.

[@TheAp397]

yeah

[@joshraid1550]

Especially because… the black community can also be described as traumatized by slavery, redlining, and segregation… and I guarantee this dude thinks the same about rap music as about this other stuff.

[@Iceey]

-Middle eastern architecture: One of the most beautiful in the world that two of them are actually part of the seven world wonders -Russian literature: Dozens of writers that brought such profound literature that it's taught and read to this day, in every school in the world -School of Life: Lolz git gud at art

[@aidancanoli]

not to mention: -middle eastern science: major advancements in medicine, optics, sailing, literally invented a version of computers, and OH YEAH flight??? barely made it out of the desert alive tho

[@MrFirefox322]

note he mentions russian literature as reading one should engage in and does not, in fact, call it bad. sooooo, yeah his claims on art and aesthetic value = ridiculous, but this is an improper representation of them. :nice:

[@kaemincha]

plus Russian visual art and architecture are quite impressive anyway, i dont get SoL's point at all lmao

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

@@kaemincha Next he is going to say that Gay Pride parades causes Homophobia.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

@@MrFirefox322 Why is aesthetic value ridiculous? The way something looks is allowed to evoke emotions, dude.

[@WalrusPlatypus]

“Cranberry juice: The deep red drink would be a symbol of independence” *Also of having a UTI*

[@PancakemonsterFO4]

Just wait till she sees your mandiper when you bring her over to your parents home after the date. She will appreciate your recourcefulness for sure

[@ZombiesWerePeopleToo]

As someone who’s had depression, your take is totally correct that the bunny story essentially fully validates the lies that depression makes you tell yourself.

[@iancrawley3815]

Idk mate, I personally haven’t suffered from depression to my knowledge and I thought that video was actually pretty uplifting, in that it helped put personal problems in perspective and realise your life isn’t supposed to conform to the unrealistic expectations put on us by popular culture. I haven’t seen many other videos from the School of Life, from this video it seems like they’re not very good, but that one really spoke to me.

[@iancrawley3815]

@Burnt Ink that’s totally fair, I guess it depends on your point of view. I thought the video was quite helpful but maybe the fact that I don’t suffer from a mental illness means I can’t understand how harmful it is to someone with such a mindset.

[@Theswedetwins]

@Probably Maybe I’m not Ian, but kinda I think. There is a sense of comfort in believing that even when parts of your life feel pretty bad, most people go through tough times as well. If you feel worse than others, comparing yourself to others and thinking they’re the same can feel validating. I still don’t like the bunny video though, that bunny had issues he should’ve been encouraged to address and work through. That stuff, even if normal, shouldn’t be normalized imo.

[@iancrawley3815]

@Probably Maybe I feel like you guys are acting as though thinking like this and actually taking proactive steps to addressing your issues are mutually exclusive. But they’re not. You can take some form of comfort in realising that you aren’t particularly unique in your problems and that many are just an integral part of being human, while also doing your utmost best to resolve them. In fact, I would argue that adopting this mindset actually helps you get better because it stops you from agonising over how unfortunate you perceive yourself to be, when in reality there is so much more suffering in the world people have to deal it.

[@iancrawley3815]

@@Theswedetwins But dealing with these issues should be normalised. Accepting them and not doing anything to try and solve them should NOT be normalised.

[@mcchilde2903]

Saying that Saudi and Russia have some sort of art deficiency is literally claiming that those countries don't have any artwork or culture of their own.

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

I feel like he did very little research. He’s just like ‘this is what I’ve seen in western media about these cultures. Must be true!’

[@vanyadolly]

And Russia is sort of famous for channeling cultural trauma into... Russian literature?

[@Kindlywaterbear]

Also the reasoning other than communism behind saying that Saudi Arabia was art deprived being that they live in a vast, empty desert 💀. As if art just doesn’t exist in the desert for some reason even if there are people there

[@lamestudiosinc418]

@@Kindlywaterbear Also saying that russia lacks good art because of communism implies either Russians started making art in the 1920s despite existing for over a thousand years prior or that the Soviets traveled back in time to destroy all the great pre-communist art.

[@hhmmhmhm5743]

It's so strange seeing how this guy actually seems to think that his personal perception of reality _is_ reality. The high production value, namely the script, voice acting, and animation, all lend non-existent credibility to his videos, reminiscent of a TedED video or something similar. The problem is that once you look past all the fancy words... nothing is there. The bigger problem is that he doesn't even realize it.

[@phoebexxlouise]

YES. I eradicated these videos from my life years ago.

[@BigFatCock0]

It's probably because of his trauma.

[@ernststravoblofeld]

School of life is a side hustle. Botton's day job is giving expensive talks to corporate events. Before that, maybe 20 years ago, he was fairly interesting. Dumbing stuff down for rich people all the time must take a toll on you.

[@thecognacsipper]

damn thought you meant big BABY YODA joel at first

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Yes, all of this. I watched these in awe of his brilliant insights for a few months. Then when I started reading his community posts, like having zero stimulus other than the actual content, I realized he was a fucking asshole. It read like the musings of a very intelligent sociopathic dictator, bent on convincing people of his own reality. The last straw was when he said "If your partner asks the question 'why do you love me?' a good answer is 'I love you for the sad child inside of you.'" So fucking much WHAT? Like not even gonna address how a person asking that question is obviously severely insecure and no matter what you say they will probably twist it to be negative somehow? No, let's give you some creepy fucking canned answers to give so your partner shuts up and you don't have to deal with their annoying crap.

[@imtheonlyusianwithmynameso1159]

What a sad, sad man. For someone who claims that people disagree with him because they’re projecting their bad experiences, Alain de Botton sure projects a LOT.

[@nukiradio]

Imax in human form.

[@ThatPazuzu]

If you don't like Big Joel, it's because you are traumatized as a child.

[@swsamp8397]

Damn, guess I don’t like Big Joel anymore.

[@yonyosef]

@@swsamp8397 if p implies q, q doesn't necessarily imply p

[@gelatinocyte6270]

One more readily hates Big Joel because... equal outcome or... utilitarian or... whatever, Socialism I guess

[@theblandcharlie822]

@@yonyosef uh nah, obviously I can judge the universe with only math

[@yonyosef]

@@theblandcharlie822 ?

[@rincallinen7312]

As someone with depression, that video about “how the world really is” really felt like a lot of the downward spiralling thoughts I’ve had. And it’s important to remind people that life isn’t “just like that”. It’s not fundamentally cruel nor fundamentally kind. And good things do exist. I fear for the safety of whoever thinks that’s normal, because it’s not.

[@wren_.]

Life is meaningless so do fun things because nobody is going to stop you. If you want cake on Wednesday, eat cake on Wednesday. if you want to paint your entire house bubblegum pink paint your entire house bubble gum pink. Life has no meaning, so it’s up to us to give it one. So why don’t we make ourselves as happy as possible?

[@rincallinen7312]

@@wren_. Exactly! If we’re gonna be here, might as well make the best of it for ourselves.

[@steponkusceponas4085]

​@@wren_.now THAT is proper nihilism

[@vanyadolly]

Yeah, as someone with a history depression it seems like thought patterns you should have learned to recognize before you assume you're fit to give other people life advice. Like this guy needs therapy 😅

[@brunoactis1104]

​@@wren_.That is a REALLY bad philosophy to hold. The best you can do is not experiencing as much happiness as possible, no. The best you can do in life is being alive. Suffering isn't bad, if you aren't so focused on the societal expectation of "the search for happiness", you can easily realise suffering is beautiful too. Experiencing beuty is what gives one the most enjoyment, and the more beautiful something is, the more joy it brings us. Tell me, why do we enjoy tragedy so much? The greeks considered it the highest form of art. If this is true, why can't we appreciate it in life too? Tragedy and suffering are beautiful too. And i don't say this from the perspective of a shielded person. No, oh boy not at all.

[@code8825]

Yes waiter, could I please get fish sticks off the kids menu and a cup of cranberry juice? Yes I’m an alpha male thank you for asking. Edit: nowadays the term would be “”sigma male””, gotta get with the times.

[@Heimdal001]

My girl went to the bathroom an hour ago. Can I order the soup too? When she walks back and sees me eating alphagettis, I'll have won her over for sure.

[@fluffynator6222]

Nothing wrong with fish sticks.

[@eungeran07]

@@fluffynator6222 lol yeah man true .. but first impressions the girl really gonna be like "oo cant wait to see what fishsticks over here is packin!!!"

[@sebasmusician736]

Me: goes out wearing a bee movie t-shirt* School of life: "You wear that because you have trauma!!" Me: "Well i do but... :"(

[@useroffline9999]

back in the day, at my worst moments with OCD, depression, and trauma symptoms, i would go to school of life. i went there to wallow in my own self hatred. i found your channel through your “gods not dead” series and have been watching ever since. when you uploaded the first SoL video, i got unreasonably defensive, but liking your content so much, i watched it anyways. it kind of forced me to step outside of myself and realize how id been using those videos as a destructive coping mechanism. so i unsubscribed, and ever since ive been bringing my issues to my therapist instead of digging myself deeper on the internet. what im trying to say is; thank you, big joel.

[@hayk3000]

I hope you're doing well now. "School of life" can't help you in your very specific and unique life. That's what you, your loved ones and your therapist can do. Much love Nadal❤

[@useroffline9999]

@@hayk3000 wow... this is such a sweet reply i don’t know what to say. thank you, much love to you as well. may your kind heart take you far in life ❤️

[@dramatictrauma331]

I used to do the same when I was seriously depressed lol. SoL is extremely odd because the very general thesis of their videos aren’t necessarily wrong. They to have one or two good points even in a bad video, but the way everything’s told and explained as if the narrator was severely projecting onto people and situations that he very obviously knew nothing about, is what makes it so useless at the end of the day.

[@PHONEyah]

Bless you, I'm glad things are looking up for you.

[@Robstafarian]

I am glad that you are recovering, and I hope that your mental health continues to improve. I have my own list of channels which I found whilst severely depressed years ago (I only just heard of the School of Life from Joel's videos); thankfully, I was able to overcome my depression and take great pleasure in leaving said channels.

[@lmaowhat9607]

as a russian, I absolutely died at his explanation of why *the entirety of russia* has shitty fashion, like babe what?

[@tottalynotmark877]

As if Russia doesn't have any diversity

[@iz2333]

No drip?!🥺

[@Zenheizer]

Username checks out ;)

[@clsisman]

Do we think Alain looks at St Basil’s Cathedral and thinks “HORRIBLE! They didn’t even get the towers all the same height and didn’t paint it beige! Maybe if this architect’s parents had loved him he would have learned how to square off those turrets!”

[@wesshiflet2214]

@@clsismanno bc that was built before communism, it doesn’t count

[@miltonvermeer237]

Cranberry juice communicates: "My grandma says it'll help with my UTI" also "I'm working towards passing my pre employment drug test "

[@dragonslaya16]

Damn people use their own pee?

[@lily91109]

Whoa what

[@hiroantag]

It is the best juice

[@General12th]

@@dragonslaya16 I drink it first to filter it. :)

[@Gooong]

@@General12th So that's what 'triple distilled' means...

[@polymphus]

"I am a carefree human, I do what I will, and that's why I'm massively overthinking my order to make you like me more."

[@sovietcanuckistanian]

I'm ordering this drink that an internet man told me to ask for, in order to signal that I'm a free thinker.

[@kpunicorn]

love how he blames socialism for russian "bad taste" immediately after drawing what looks like a representation of the winter palace. like, i got news for you buddy....

[@jaschabull2365]

"It was so bad, the Russians got preemptive trauma from it." - Alain, probably

[@Abcflc]

he was drawing what is clearly a gaudy mansion... but your understanding of architecture is clearly as limited as your understanding of taste. Context and intent matter: an imperial palace serves a purpose, it has a context and a history of constructive and artistic techniques. An imitation palace for a person who has a purely material understanding of their role in society can be clearly explained in negative ways once you dissect it from a sociological perspective.

[@maitele]

@@Abcflc No, see, they weren't drawing the thing *I* like- they were drawing the thing that *looks like* what I like and is meant to espouse the exact same concepts, but they're totally not the same!!!!!! Unless you mean to tell me that palaces serve any purpose other than *showing off* and being ultra fancy for the benefit of the most powerful people in the nation. Fun fact: you can enjoy the aesthetics of something while still despising the surrounding context. I was blown away by the grandeur of the Mohegan Sun casino but I still find it abhorrent that all this artistry is being used to window dress a money siphon for marks.

[@conors4430]

Lol it helps when he knows nothing about anything, because then he can make anything fit his narrative

[@shahsadsaadu5817]

@@Abcflc what is the difference between an imperial palace and an imitation palace? Both are made by burgeouis dickheads who wants to show up all their wealth. And in the context of saudi Arabia (which has some of most beautiful,well regulated pilgrimage sites in the whole damn world btw) every big building they've made is made by big rich guys who pretty much owns everything. The "purely material understanding of their role in the society" is translated into their purely ideal understanding of their role in the society as they are seen as great, generous religious rich men who is idolized by the masses as their noble feudal lords(and recurring theme in middle eastern history) Also, idgaf who this french guy thinks he is,but he has to be fucking blind to think that saudi Arabia,or any country with a considerable amount of muslim population,has bad taste in architecture. Arabs wrote the book on architecture which europeans ripped pages of. Ask anyone with a basic understanding of architecture about the mosque of Medina, or any mosques in Saudi.

[@_ikako_]

Ah yes, testing a capitalism Vs Socialism model in a capitalist society. Surely an unbiased and equal test. Not to mention they got the basic definition of socialism wrong. It's not prioritising the needs of the worker over the needs of the consumer. It's prioritising the needs of the worker over the needs of the owner (the boss, CEO etc.) One would assume that by prioritising the worker, they are able to create produce that they are proud of, putting more effort in to create the best product they can, so therefore, the cupcake should have chocolate chips *as well as* sprinkles.

[@bluedragonfly8139]

And weirdly implying that workers aren't also consumers, and vice versa? Like, I work at a grocery store, but I also *shop* there!

[@Tuxfanturnip]

capitalists really cannot seem to stop thinking about consumers, can they

[@luismarioguerrerosanchez4747]

You got socialism wrong too.

[@DesolatedChild018]

While the premise of that dumbass video is utter bullshit, isn’t somewhat ironic that the worst argument against the “commie cupcakes” is “they look trash because the sole purpose is to provide sustenance equally” while the capitalist cupcake is the same thing, except with superficial differences that are essentially a frivolous luxury to justify the fact that they are over priced? In his own dumb experiment, that he was free to set the standards as he wanted, all he did was make the biggest unintentional “capitalism breeds innovation” meme. Like I’ll take affordable cheap ass ugly cupcakes anyone can buy rather than no cupcake. It’s a fucking cupcake. Maybe is my poor person brain. I’ve been traumatized into having bad tastes. That’s definitely it.

[@Jakub.Ferencik]

that is by far not the "basic definition of socialism" ... there is no "basic definition of socialism"

[@philipvipond2669]

"Saudi Arabian decor is gaudy and tasteless because their society has lived in scarcity for so long, so they feel they have to compensate for their lack of wealth in the past." *Shows interior of Trump tower penthouse*

[@pheonixrises11]

*monkey side-glancing meme*

[@SR-fw4yy]

What a cringe moment. Should have been "us-aligned elite minority has taste similar to their western backers"

[@MadeleineSwannSurreal]

We had to read Alain De Botton's book at college and he was so insufferable I couldn't do it. The idea of trauma causing someone to like art/fashion that's different to you is so arrogant it's funny

[@oliver6354]

What course were you taking? My philosophy professors would find his summaries of the various philosophers laughable.

[@CodyAustin]

Hol' up, this guy is being read in colleges??

[@MadeleineSwannSurreal]

@@oliver6354 I was doing creative writing and it was for a travel writing module. He actually tells you the "right way" to look at scenery or art in a gallery lol

[@MadeleineSwannSurreal]

@@CodyAustin I know, he gets TV documentaries as well it's wild

[@mchevre]

lol what joke of a professor had you reading this guy? or was it more of a you gotta read this to understand a certain point of view even though its ridiculous, and not an actual endorsement or validation of it?

[@cadeocafeeee]

School of Life: "so these are the facts" us: "source?" School of Life: "voices inside my head"

[@redhot2976]

Us: Source? School of Life: Just trust me bro lol

[@Norimarisu]

Jajaja !!! I love this.

[@Patashu]

source: dude trust me

[@dalm1504]

My issue with self help books is like. Often they individualise societal problems and put responsibility on the workers rather than on a society that needs to be better

[@dennyfader7559]

Well they are SELF help books, after all ;) Most are geared toward adjusting one's own outlook and perception, since that is the only thing truly in our control to change. Societal progression is something that is not so easily in our control, and exists in a separate swim-lane from self progression, in my opinion

[@noahkarpinski1824]

@@dennyfader7559 The issue is that they naturally act as if the ONLY issue is found in the self. Which is why they talk as if they can make people successful and happy no matter what

[@dennyfader7559]

@@noahkarpinski1824 Not the ones I've read, but I've gone through maybe 3 or 4 tops, so I'll refrain from opposing your own personal experiences with those that you've read

[@MiguelThinks]

Honestly, being someone whos read several self help books (and admittedly likes a few) even I recognize this. It's disgusting. This is why my "self-help" section of my personal library is small. Besides, most of these self-help authors are usually American and pro-capitalist, especially Christian self-help books, obviously.

[@lukeo5908]

>Often they individualise societal problems and put responsibility on the workers rather than on a society that needs to be better. Uh, yeah. It's called self help for a reason. There are books about economics, society and politics for those who want them.

[@user-et3xn2jm1u]

When I meet someone who doesn't like Self Help books, at first I scorn them, because they are philistines with objectively bad taste. But then I remember that they are traumatized, and I recommend them my new book "Trauma, and How to Self-Help Your Way Through It", which is on sale this weekend at various online retailers.

[@Narusasu98]

Perfect timing! You're a life savior.

[@mrhellothere4143]

I do the same thing with radiohead fans

[@billhicks8]

@@mrhellothere4143 You scorn them and then try to sell them your Radiohead albums?

[@mrhellothere4143]

that's just showbiz babey

[@veggiezz]

I'm sorry, an 'ETERNITY OF EKING OUT A LIVING, in the BARREN DESERTS of Saudi Arabia'!? lol maybe he should read up on the history of the Arabian peninsula

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

It's common knowledge that the Arabian Peninsula's premier cottage industry for thousands of years was the production and supply of commercial-grade sand for playground sandboxes.

[@Madhatter1781]

This man has legit never heard of Mesopotamia or "The Fertile Crescent." Or the Ummayads. Or the Abbasids. Like Jesus father-fucking Christ, I know life can't be accurately depicted by a game, but just like watch someone stream CK2-3 or EU4 for like 30 minutes and you'd learn that this statement is utter poppycock.

[@johnanth]

To my knowledge it is accurate - the coastal towns saw limited prosperity with trade but the states & empires that governed them focused more on the Levant region and Egypt. Both before and after the Caliphate the region was very poor (despite mostly being left to their own devices by imperial rulers), until finally they discovered oil.

[@warcam2592]

I think it's funny how he said it doesnt matter how much education you give people, it wont change their art tastes, then proceeds to not know the history of the region he is criticizing

[@MrAbood900]

Coastal areas have always had some modicum of normalcy due to trade and fishing, but central arabia was definitely a barren nightmare. I say this as someone who lives there right now. It would not be as good as it is now if it weren't for the Saud's allegiance to it. The land here has no redeeming qualities; there's no oil, barely any water, barely any agriculture, and a shortage of animals. Old arabian poetry reflects this too. Many scholars(this claim is substantiated by the curriculum taught here) claim that poetry was depressing and graphic because their lives were in a wasteland with zero prosperity

[@chikensaku]

As someone who has suffered from severe bouts of depression numerous times in their life, the whole Bunny video was literally how I felt in my last major depressive episode. Literally. Nothing was worth it, everything was hopeless... I truly don't think that's a rather normal approach to life and certainly, we would all be jumping off bridges en masse if it were true. My last bout of depression lasted about three years and was so dire I was basically a shell of my former self, with my entire identity stripped. Life isn't that way, at all-and it shouldn't ever have to be. That nihilism isn't so lovely to spread around- we all deserve to find some fulfillment and happiness- and we all can. With some good coping mechanisms (therapy) and the ability to connect with others.

[@finalsloth872]

Yeah, it was very relatable to my thoughts whilst having depression. How were you able to get better?

[@matsab7930]

@@finalsloth872 not op, but for me it took medication (fluoxetine). The medication restored my baseline 'willpower' to functional levels. I was able to go and engage in behaviour and habits which improve your mental health. Relationships are key, too. You need to be able to talk to someone; be it a friend, partner, family member or therapist - internal conflicts caused me a great deal of mental anguish, and depression was almost how my brain coped with that. I'd start with medication though. It worked within a week for me, i've heard it doesn't work for everyone but i'd recommend trying it. I'm off it now after just over a year of taking it, so it doesn't even have to be a permanent solution.

[@mow_cat]

shouldnt have to be, and shouldnt be paraded as normal but lets not pretend there wasnt a huge increase of people feeling that way ever since the pandemic started. hate it when my family tells me "no one else is struggling mentally! whats your problem?" when theyre supposed to be my support system because i dont even have friends during all this

[@chikensaku]

@@mow_cat I'm sorry you're going through that. It certainly doesn't help when your feelings are invalidated either. Please accept an e-hug from a stranger! There certainly isn't anything wrong with you if you're struggling through a worldwide pandemic, where isolation runs rampant. I'm so so sorry. Things will get better- there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. You've got this.

[@gymnasticsgirlie0647]

Yes! His videos feel like a projection of depressive thoughts disguised as philosophy.

[@squashedshibber2684]

"I like minions unironically" "who hurt you?'

[@cookiesnbubbles]

That is perfect. Thank you for that addition to the comments lol

[@RoshDroz]

That one is actually true tho. People who like minions are clinically damaged

[@d.lan3y]

No that one's actually valid tho

[@pietro4622]

Imagine having this hatred

[@TheNinja94a]

@@pietro4622 Don't have to

[@mitchlmitten5874]

-Decent working conditions OR -Sprinkles on cupcakes Hmm...

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Capitalism really rustles my jimmies.

[@spacesponge8732]

There is no need to be upset.

[@friedrice4015]

Food dye is a weapon of the bourgeois

[@paisleepunk]

How about trying the best of both?

[@limon16025]

Communism is when no sprinkles

[@theomegajuice8660]

The "trauma = bad art" take is so weird given that the bad take I'm used to hearing is that "True Art requires suffering". The number of great artists with tragic and depressing lives is long enough that people who know nothing about art could easily rattle off a few examples.

[@Robert-yc9ql]

All valid points. Having watched many "School of Life" videos, two things stick out to me: 1. They seem to be pointed at people who are insecure and possibly broken inside. Besides describing normal thoughts and worries, they are sometimes shown magnified into horrendous proportions and then the video focusses on how bad that can be for some people. They seem to operate on the premise that everyone needs therapy, whether they know it or not. That seems a bit self-serving. 2. The only great redeeming quality I have found is the tone of how people should deal with others. Always, ALWAYS, there is a great emphasis on coming from a position of kindness and love when dealing with anyone in any situation. I cannot find fault with that, no matter how condescending the video may seem.

[@bastiancu2365]

Establishing the narrative that people can be ranked and deemed worse than yourself is wrong. At its extreme this idea, that is present among many, ends in nazi ideology

[@betticola]

oh that thing about school of life selling you on depression is very real to me. i remember feeling very validated by school of life at my worst mental health in high school, and was ready to be defensive of it when you posted your first video. but you’ve been very right and i’m glad you’re helping to dismantle this channel.

[@NathanGatten]

Weirdly, My experience was completely different, in which my depressed periods caused me to really hate the channel. I was honestly so elated when Joel ripped into it.

[@7211_]

me too!

[@yoavsnake]

+

[@paulpujeter6340]

same here. I cringe at the memory of suggesting their videos to my friends & partner at the time

[@nousnesavonspas]

agreed, depression brain will latch onto any data which confirms its "life is miserable" theory

[@emmathestonedspider8676]

If someone ordered children's fish fingers and cranberry juice, I'd peg them right at the table.

[@risingsuperstarfrost3096]

LMAO

[@davelewis8270]

I can absolutely see me ordering fish fingers in a restaurant. Not cranberry juice though.

[@bperson4153]

😳

[@peterprime2140]

*frantically orders entire box of fish sticks and a carton of cranberry juice*

[@risingsuperstarfrost3096]

Ngl the weird mind games stuff is obviously cringe, but if the person legitimately just enjoyed the kids’ fish sticks that would be kinda cute.

[@markhaus]

My new favorite version of “socialism is when no iPhone” is “socialism is when boring cupcake”. Why does school of life seem like the neoliberal version of a Jordan Peterson?

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Peterson isn't neoliberal?

[@DoctorHouse999]

Peterson is a joke

[@r.t.5767]

Beacuse it is xd

[@marcogonzales7070]

@@kostajovanovic3711 read that part over again.

[@eila2635]

My favorite take is "Communism is when big building"

[@nikitahichoii482]

Those capitalist cupcakes look like they have 75% fondant and 25% bread, I feel like when I bite them I would get dizzy

[@bernebelmont1857]

Hot take Capitalism is when the cupcake has a disgusting amount of frosting to appeal to vomiting children

[@nikitahichoii482]

@@bernebelmont1857 I think thw cupcakes are a good analogy for capitalism in another way, capitalism makes things look appealing by putting a lot of useless decorative shit in things to disguise that the actual product isnt really that good, while things in communism are less visually appealing but actually serve their purpose and better than things in capitalism

[@bernebelmont1857]

@@nikitahichoii482 yknow what youre damn right

[@tactical_slime4608]

The instant headache of just taking a single bite of fondant.

[@1kwerty7]

fondant is cheating.

[@TheCedarFresh]

The "bad taste" we associate to Russia and Saudi Arabia comes from the fact that both countries have an extremely small elites of rich oligarchs ruling the country and so engage in extremely ostentatious consumption to assert their status

[@smallspidersad78]

Same with America then

[@grilledcheese5000]

@@smallspidersad78 True

[@aidancanoli]

@@smallspidersad78 yeah exactly the trauma of our long battle with communism :'( and eeking out an existence in the barren North American plains

[@pilarhunter3154]

Do you like cupcakes with sprinkles or were you traumatized as a child?

[@btarczy5067]

Sprinkles are reactionary and we need to reject them!

[@fiduwarrior]

His comment about Russia and Saudi Arabia is just basically him trying to justify his racism through bad logic

[@polarisator9892]

The beauty of racism is, that it doesn't need to be founded in anything remotely resembling reality. Just have a couple of bad experiences and blame your own misery on others and Mein Kampf writes itself.

[@leovalenzuela8368]

@@polarisator9892 your take is as brilliant as it is true.

[@Joe_Yacketori]

The cupcake video made me convinced that this whole channel is a satirical joke in one fell swoop.

[@oscaranderson5719]

no, we hate self-help books because most of them try to peddle dangerous bullshit to vulnerable people

[@annika8674]

School of Life: “Life in a capital centric society obsessed with productivity and monetary gain is unnecessarily stressful and damaging to the majority of workers” Also School of Life: “Communism is when building ugly 🤬 and cupcake yucky 🤢🤮”

[@slightlyoffensivedadjokes]

school of life is like that person whose like "both sides (politics) are dumb I don't identify with either and will critique anything" except school of life has nothing of value to commentate on politics so they just pander incoherently. they wanna be that edgy centrist who isn't afraid to critique something, but school of life has nothing to say. I don't understand how they have so many subscribers.

[@Nn-3]

@@slightlyoffensivedadjokes I was briefly a fan of some of their videos about 6 years ago for the artistic value. There is a certain appeal to emotion if you're already predisposed to what they're saying.

[@JallyJam]

Capitalist have a better quality of life after they industrialize while commies, well they never stop industrializing.

[@princevesperal]

You can't deny that soviet architecture is notoriously bland, bleak and often oppressive.

[@slightlyoffensivedadjokes]

@@princevesperal okay but that's not the point I don't necessarily disagree w you when it comes to the soviets specifically but that's besides the point the point is that they argue contradicting things from video to video, like they can't commit to an opinion and as a whole it comes out all wishy washy

[@realleon2328]

Imagine calling Russia, the country that's created some of the most brilliant artists and writers, a country of bad taste

[@arthropodqueen]

constructivism

[@sandystudios223]

Racist channel! 😡🤬

[@lutfensusshow5397]

ain't wrong bout arabia tho💀

[@strakhovandrri]

Yeah, I was thinking about all of those expensive castles and palaces and, like... Did he say centuries of communism or what?

[@pavelthefabulous5675]

The only book I've been extremely moved by was from Dostoyevsky. Now granted, I haven't read a lot of books, but still.

[@xthepotatowolfx2334]

Me: “Prepare for an elegant dinner, my date.” Also me: “I’d like to order a kids pizza with a chocolate milk.”

[@NIHIL_EGO]

Here's some choccy milk because you are epic ! I couldn't resist.

[@xthepotatowolfx2334]

@@NIHIL_EGO thanks uwu here’s a cookie :] 🍪

[@useroffline9999]

that does sound really good lol

[@dimthecat9418]

Furry?

[@chocolatebunnies6376]

I tried to order the kids pizza once, but the waitress refused.

[@AL-qe5bz]

"they have bad taste" *Limo passes by and drops two people looking fresh as fuck*

[@flowerhobi1673]

@@abuasmaa9067 this the type of dude that's been wearing the same cut of suit since the 90s and still think he's not fashion impaired

[@flowerhobi1673]

@@abuasmaa9067? He absolutely is

[@Blueberrycaprice]

Omg Russia has always traditionally had a very intricate and theatrical aesthetic style, it didn't start after the Soviet era, that's the most small-minded view of the country possible.

[@damienm.9677]

@@mikubrot there is some pretty good Soviet music, but a lot of artists were stifled by the state, especially under Stalin. Dmitri Shostakovich is a great case study of this. The KZbinr Tantacrul has a great video on it.

[@mollylong3607]

@@damienm.9677 symphony 5 slaps so hard though

[@XHitsugaX]

@Microinsurgent Warzone Soviet art was cornered by their censorship, so sowiet artists musicians, managed to work around those restrictions and censorship.

[@XHitsugaX]

@@damienm.9677 Schostakowich had a bunch of musical protest in his music too. He is my favorite domestic russian composer. His Fugue and 7th symphony is the prime example of fight against censorship and agression

[@eila2635]

But communism is when big building!

[@FrecklesHasAQuestionMark]

I remember watching the bad taste video and thinking it was really funny. your grandma likes garden gnomes because of horrid trauma

[@jayjaythejetplane5390]

I like garden gnomes :( they’re ugly little guys doing their best

[@sol4925]

I mean of she lived as a woman through the 50's...

[@skepticmonkey6923]

@@jayjaythejetplane5390 I'm deeply sorry to hear that, i hope you get better, all of that trauma you went trough is not your fault.

[@jakerockznoodles]

That bad tastes one literally sounds like a parody of snobbery, the sort of thing the snooty character from a British sitcom would say 😂

[@pkmnherofan22]

Some real fraiser crane shit

[@calamitysangfroid2407]

Pretty sure every POC who's lived in a western country has heard the "your culture sorely needs white man's education to fix it and here's why" at least once, with an option of "you don't even realise how tragically miserable your countrymen are" on the side. Honestly that'd be my biggest red flag for this channel (second is the SEDUCTIVE KID'S MENU ORDER).

[@sreoshibhaumik5891]

Hi Joel. Thank you for helping me in a very deep and real way. I'll be honest, I'm someone who often stumbles onto a School of Life video and enjoys them and then starts marathoning through many of them. I just realised through this video that you've made and the one you made on it before, (I watched them both today for the first time) that I only watch these videos when I'm already sad and am suffering from anxiety. The soothing British voice lulls me into a sense of comfort while the very common conclusion of "something in your childhood is to be blamed" makes me sad as well as relieved. I recently was bingeing these videos, especially the one about relationships and emotional intelligence and I just spiralled into an anxiety attack. I was hyperventilating and crying. I now realise its because the videos actually just echo the depressing thoughts in such a factual manner that there is no option but to accept life is meant to be meaningless and sad and we have no control over it. These videos you've made helped me recognise this pattern, of how I seek these videos out when I'm sad and how they don't offer anything profound, but just make me fall deeper into despair. THANK YOU!!! You've helped me a lot!

[@DeoMachina]

You did it all yourself Sreoshi, you're only gonna get better and better from now on

[@cookiesnbubbles]

I hope things improve for you

[@isabellamorris7902]

But that's right isn't it? Life IS supposed to be meaningless and sad

[@CamembertDave]

@@isabellamorris7902 Life isn't "supposed" to be anything, in the same way that air or water aren't "supposed" to be anything. Your meaning in life is whatever you choose.

[@GoogeSchultz]

@@isabellamorris7902 it's odd. Your comment disproves itself. If life is supposed to be "Sad" I think that implies a meaning, even if it's one you sent necessarily happy with. But either way, I believe that meaning is something WE apply to life.

[@12abirato]

You’re right and you should say it big Joel- school of life videos are like feeding a Freudian philosophy text book through a random word generator.

[@warcam2592]

Every now and again Nietzsche gets tossed in there

[@hithere5553]

@@warcam2592 throw in some Jordan Peterson in there to balance it out.

[@nunouno001]

The most frustrating thing about School of Life’s videos is that in most of them, there is some small or tiny idea that I can agree with. However it’s suffocated by so much warped and bizarre reasoning or explanation that it transforms the whole point into utter nonsense.

[@nkbujvytcygvujno6006]

I did hear it’s common to use nuggets of truth to sell people on exaggerations, lies, and wild, badly supported conclusions.

[@llshinda9508]

Their next video after "What We Should Eat on a Date" is "Why You'll Never Find the Right Person". Would it be too cynical to assume that they intentionally set people up to ruin their first date so that they're more likely to watch the next video?

[@briannamcfarland5974]

A slightly less cynical interpretation is that he tried the fish sticks and cranberry juice tactic for the first time after posting the video, then had to make a second one rationalizing how his sure-fire method failed.

[@c.l.6957]

He has to know on some level that what he's saying is bullshit. If you order cranberry juice on a date, your date will think "oh, they like cranberry juice," not "wow, what a strong and independant thinker." But if he is purposefully depressing people to create an audience, posting those two topics back-to-back like that kind of gives the game away, doesn't it?

[@megt7128]

@@c.l.6957 if I saw someone order cranberry juice, first place my brain would go is "oh maybe they have a bladder infection"

[@Strawberry92fs]

"there's no point in mocking them" I...what does he think the intended results of mocking someone are? Is he under the impression that mocking normally serves some beneficial function?

[@bmlgordon]

Alain de B probably does regard making himself feel superior as a beneficial function, though.

[@leonardo9259]

They do tho, they are a way of kids to learn social contracts/rules (like picking your nose on public) Granted. It shouldn't be used like that on adults, or in that magnitude, but they serve a purpose, that's why it exists

[@kinokochan]

me: "Eh, judging someone based solely on their food order seems silly." date: "Fish fingers from the children's menu, and a cranberry juice, please." me: *grabbing my coat and running for the door* "I've just escape axe murder by a psychopath."

[@deltahalo241]

I like to imagine that at some point in the past, Alain went on a date and ordered the kids Fishsticks, a glass of Cranberry Juice and the most elegent dessert available, and he is now desperetly trying to justify his choice

[@chokepoint]

Hello, potion seller. I'm trying to impress my date, and I want the most whimsical items on your menu.

[@kenshin4113]

My items are too whimsical for you traveler

[@Crabby-Abby]

God, school of life is like someone gave Freud an animator and told him how smart he was every day

[@sweetestpotato4392]

Freud struggled to perform basic tasks like putting toothpaste on his toothbrush, and he completely relied on his wife to be his full-time servant.

[@nejdalej]

I haven't seen a School of Life video about castration anxiety and penis envy, or one where he talks about killing your father and fuck your mother and vice versa. Maybe they're there and I haven't realised it.

[@Crabby-Abby]

@@nejdalej I wasn't referencing those specific theories, more referencing the fact that freud is infamous in the psychology community for being like "I have no evidence to base this claim on except like one case study and I ~think~ it is true so it must be true"

[@kamijk]

@@sweetestpotato4392 that tracks.

[@G625-s1c]

my friend’s self-help/self-improvement/hustle culture obsessed ex boyfriend used to order cranberry juice everywhere he went and now i’m wondering if it was because of the school of life

[@forgetmenotjimmy]

You mean the deep red colour of the juice didn't make it clear it was a choice that indicated independence?!

[@PaulOrtiz]

Watching this with auto generated captions is fantastic. Elan de baton Elon de baton Alon de baton Alondo Baton Alanda Baton A London Baton One of those is right, right?

[@cccaaa702]

A London Baton

[@thunderpooch]

A London bell end? 🤷‍♀️

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Alain de Botton: “Do I feel miserable all of the time because I’m cripplingly depressed? ... No, this must just be how life is.”

[@aaronlandry3934]

It would seem that he’s something of a narcissist with depressive tendencies. Granted, I’ve only studied Psychology for a year and I’m by no means a therapist, but his videos that are supposed to be self-help alway assume that he is always correct and that everyone else is wrong. He doesn’t seem to think about things from anyone else’s perspective and seems to assume that everyone is deeply unhappy and depressed.

[@qojte]

That literally is how life is.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

@@qojte Wow, deep bro.

[@mc-ps-playa5569]

@@qojte I pity you

[@stitchfinger7678]

Yeah this guy is literally just thinkipieceing his own inadequacy issues

[@SomeSayApple]

What the frick... My socialist cupcakes stand would have the coolest, most fancy looking cupcakes our there. Creativity spikes when you're not under constant pressure to make ends meet

[@Dalt1n999]

No cap, general creativity under socialist governments is notoriously high, capitalism kills creativity so every product and service can follow the market I remember once seeing a video where George Lucas (I think) said he envied(?) the Soviet directors in the 70s bc all they had to worry about was to not talk too bad about the government, while George was many times advised not to produce Star Wars bc it didn't follow the market rules of the time, and then Star Wars changed the market and everything else became blockbusters

[@kimuires]

15:23 WHY TF DOES ONE OF THE BOOKS HAVE TIDDIES I’M SCREAMING

[@capoeirastronaut]

Big tiddy book girlfriend

[@ulamogtheinfinitegyre2021]

Because they have to make sure that this is 100% heterosexual by giving something tits to signify woman

[@suigeneris2663]

😂

[@level43aipom28]

the books can't be gay

[@CoreyStewart91]

I always thought it was spelled "titties" but I like the dd's better 💀

[@mikifauns]

The end is just him justifying ordering chicken tendies on a first date. Honestly, ordering chicken tenders on a first date is one Hell of a power move.

[@ZAMAKOVO]

It actually shows inadequacy and laziness towards the partner.

[@mikifauns]

@@ZAMAKOVO Oh, my mistake. Two orders of chicken tendies. :)

[@ZAMAKOVO]

@@mikifauns yess!!

[@KozelPraiseGOELRO]

What if in my first date I ask for a Tlacoyo? Is that better or worse than chicken tenders?

[@julekwpracy]

i just dont understand all the comments about fish sticks and chicken tendies and stuff, is it wrong to order that on a first date? why??

[@Dywindel]

I did start watching the School of Life video links, but I had to stop when he described all working class people as "Unfortunates".

[@tabithak.9923]

Les Unfortunables

[@sarahberry8934]

Yikes

[@warcam2592]

Tbf living in capitalism is unfortunate

[@yoissy]

@@warcam2592 trueeee

[@Scanny524]

Communist revolutions are also known as A Series of Unfortunate Events

[@katrinahamiltonofficial]

that bunny book sounds like "It's a Wonderful Life" before the angel shows up and teaches him that it's possible for both bad and good things to happen to the same person

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

School of Life is literally a massive incel project. Like, not always (though often) about sex and relationships, but the way it just stinks of all the mind-games and metaphysics of a person who does nothing but read a few books and tries to explian everything in the world on his own terms without any real experience or evidence. He loves the sound of his own voice, and thinks his insights are profound but they're just lazy and come from nowhere.

[@ZagorTeNayebo]

Top notch comment

[@anava7030]

Exactly, “you’re not doing something I want you to do” morphs into “there is something wrong with you.”

[@warcam2592]

Yeah I feel like he is trying to justify why people dont like him or desire him because hes a prick, by saying there is something wrong with everyone else?

[@somniopus]

@@warcam2592 no one appreciates his genius :'(

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

@@warcam2592 Well yeah, there are people who really do this. One guy I know believed that people who use violence are evil and that killing to protect others is a contradiction.

[@cade8986]

I swear people will think anything said in an English accent is smart