Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: An Exploration in Identity - A Video Essay

A video brought to you by MooPer, showing that we are lucky to have experienced an incredible trilogy that forces us to ask "What if?" and answers that question with courage and insight not previously seen in the saga it's saving.
I know people will disagree but i'm just right, Disney has elevated a broken franchise to Magnumi-Opusau (Latin for "Perfect good") And thanks to my extensive Filmic School Education, I can teach you why this film trilogy is better than you could ever understand.

[@Shadowhawk668]

I love how you've perfectly replicated these people's ability to talk a lot but say absolutely nothing.

[@UmbraMan1]

Shadowhawk668 You should see Mauler’s GDELB videos, I nearly had a stroke listening to that.

[@Sonofsun.]

nope. he did say something

[@Sonofsun.]

@@jebblottin92 he said the whole meaningful theme of the plot of movie

[@jonbaxter2254]

He should go into politics.

[@looinrims]

Well yeah, it’s super easy to do

[@wesleyfravel5149]

Ah, a perfect April Fools day joke: Mauler uploading a video less than an hour in length.

[@arklaw8306]

I know right? It's like Jay Exci not getting invaded in his own video.

[@crashschwarzen4642]

amazing comment

[@Boots43096]

mauler posting a video that's not EFAP

[@murasaika2776]

Perfect April fool's joke, longman not being the longman.

[@bastis3439]

Don't worry tomorrow he'll upload the 3 hour version 😂

[@coleyohley71]

It’s shocking how I remember absolutely none of this video after watching it. Not a single sentence. I swear these words are made of grease because they went in one ear and slid out the other. Best April Fools joke ever.

[@an8strengthkobold360]

I think that's on purpose.

[@andre26391]

i will remember the last words of this essay: raid shadow legends

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

@@andre26391 heh ... "Reyed shadow legends"

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

But in all seriousness, yeah I just remember me leaving the comment of "overcame his need to hurt black people"

[@jimyeetast9335]

Ikr wtf

[@matimo8321]

This feels kinda like when you're reading a book and suddenly you realize you haven't been paying attention for the last page or so

[@harrysotter]

EXACTLY

[@hoozzahgames9209]

The way I identify Mauler's April fools videos isn't because of the date, his way of speaking or even what he's saying. No... The way I know is the fact that it's not even 40 minutes long

[@TrisStrudel]

Long long man

[@skirk248]

Got 'em

[@drewlomax7837]

for me, it was the thumbnail text

[@imechko_familia]

so do i :D

[@Sangtrone]

@@drewlomax7837 it's sad I knew exactly who he was poking fun at just from that detail.

[@alanmagana4956]

I knew that this was an April Fool's joke because this film analysis is 20 minutes long instead of 3 hours.

[@brucerobertson628]

I didn't even think of that, I just thought it was a regular joke

[@GFKCEG]

Nobody asked you

[@clairetellkamp6253]

And it felt like it was longer than all efaps added up.

[@mrmeyerhofer]

"It's subtle and unspoken..." as the screen cuts to a planet-sized Death Star. Then "While Luke argues that there is no morality..." cuts to Luke milking an alien dino-boob. This really is some epic level satire here.

[@OlafLesniak]

Here's another one. "most amazing in terms of[...]acting" Shows a robot of all things which harkens back to his TFA series where he says WALL-E is a better actor than Daisy Ridley.

[@summerlarvae]

the perfect manipulation: the calm voice, the calm music, the inspiring visuals, the motivational quotes, no one single coherent argument.

[@sirtsregris9040]

This video is a joke

[@summerlarvae]

@@sirtsregris9040 r/whooosh?

[@Burns_RED]

He captured Just Write flawlessly 😂

[@mawinstallation6626]

The most elaborate, most effort-put April Fools joke I've ever seen.

[@fernandogajo8800]

I Have seen a video about Wau, the magic number... you might enjoy. By vihart

[@Dragonage2ftw]

Implying that Mauler makes an effort.

[@eyeofodin01]

That awkward moment when the joke is so accurate you almost believe he's Serious...

[@Trollificusv2]

Poe's Law?

[@chatch621]

Is this video sarcasm or satire?

[@haplo781]

@@chatch621 satire.

[@Eshayzbra96]

As soon as he started memeing Hux being a Nazi I knew it at that moment

[@stephensocolow682]

11:30 the more you look at this graph the more you laugh 1) Dexter Jettster not only being there, but having so many lines connected to him 2) Rose not having ANY lines connecting to her box 3) Finn being there twice and having a line connecting the two boxes, which corresponds perfectly with MauLer's statement at 15:02: "An important note is that Finn grows through his conflict with Finn." And there are probably even more that I'm missing. It's just so beautifully done. I tip my hat to you, MauLer, you have really out done yourself.

[@Jays_dead_cat]

Its happened. Mauler has "evolved as a critic"

[@frederictam1335]

April fools, it was posted at april fools.

[@ROCKpilot590]

@@frederictam1335 duh

[@frederictam1335]

@@ROCKpilot590 I was young and naive that long, long 3 months ago.

[@edwardwhite8253]

@@ROCKpilot590 well at least you recognize your own naivete

[@raijinwolf2248]

So I showed this to my friend to see what he thought of it, and he was telling me that he agreed with almost everything said. Once I asked him to actually name a single point he agreed with, he couldn't form a proper sentence. Tone of voice, word salads, and the right choice of backing music are all it takes to sway someone who wants analysis without fully understanding what that entails.

[@buu678]

This parody shows the insidiousness of pretensiousness.

[@PrismTheKid]

I kinda struggle to believe you got your friend to watch a 20 minute video, and then upon questioning him, got your desired response out of him immediately

[@joeyjojojrshabadoo7462]

It takes bad writing and re-contextualise so it seems to service a higher narrative purpose. It's a legitimate good defence of a bad movie.

[@VulturePilot]

That’s TLJ in a nutshell: utter nonsense worded in a way that makes it sound smart even through it’s the dumbest drivel ever and yet some people absolutely eat it up

[@knightofoctober]

"Friend", you say?

[@ImperfectWeapons]

There's a special kind of hatred you can't help but feel toward a school of thought so shallow and predictably deluded that you can already hear all their exact talking points before it even comes out of their mouths. Most of us just wouldn't make a 20 minute monologue out of it.

[@getinthebackofmyvan]

Most of us don’t have a quarter million subscribers to our KZbin channels either.

[@delboy7264]

i disagree about the hate of school my friend as you are tot exactly what the government wants you to know!! math & english notwithstanding

[@ThorneyedWT]

I know this is joke, but still this was painful to watch.

[@marduk1734]

Оу уважаю, брОтишка.

[@jimluebke3869]

At some points the stupid is so strong it just doesn't parse.

[@latviandragon2718]

agreed

[@wojak-sensei6424]

I've read and written research papers in high school that don't have this level of over-compensation. And English ain't even my first language. This is something I'd say in a improv report in a Science subject, not when I'm discussing a movie's script.

[@jude8943]

YES!

[@John_1-1_in_Japanese]

This video is perfect for those that like having a video running as background noise while they play vidya but don't want it to actually distract them. I never realized I needed a KZbin genre of ambient bullshit before.

[@John_1-1_in_Japanese]

In retrospect, I suppose there's already plenty of channels like that unintentionally

[@kingsweden4636]

that is subjective

[@andrewbray772]

ambient bullshit 😆😆😆

[@UltimateTobi]

@@andrewbray772 Yeah. Background banter you can't quite make out, but don't mind listening to. The content of this video numbs me to a point I can't follow simple sentences he utters.

[@Sara_Feingold]

@@UltimateTobi You may think you WANT control over your surroundings and a perfect understanding of everything happening around you, to assert your dominance over those around your like the porcelain genitals being used as a blunt weapon in Clockwork Orange. What you NEED to realize is that you are ultimately powerless, a mere mote floating along in the zephyr of some grand power's flatulence, no more capable of exerting control than the proverbial goat chained to a post in a T-Rex habitat. ...did I do it right? ლ(╹◡╹ლ)

[@scifistalgia]

Imagine someone watching this without realizing it's a parody and unironically thinking it's a good defense video for the Sequal Trilogy.

[@VulturePilot]

Sequel defenders perform some insane mental gymnastics when defending these movies so it’s possible

[@captainpalsy2092]

I've seen someone wearing a Rise of Skywalker shirt so they are out there

[@OctoBooze]

I'm very sure that someone, somewhere is going to take soundclips or things said in this out of context and twist Mauler's words to defend their own agenda somehow

[@maxhstahl]

Jokes on them, then.

[@dieblauebedrohung]

my cousin is part of that group and I don't know what to do

[@strakk]

He's actually saying nothing, no points,no arguments. I love this so much thank you Longman

[@Necrow_Productions]

500 upvotes and no comments?! Edit: 660 now

[@Gabe_Hunt]

@@Necrow_Productions likes not upvotes lol

[@prince-solomon]

@@Gabe_Hunt oldshool KZbin slang... before the likes, there were upvotes and stars...

[@chriscross8547]

It's like a real video essay... 😢 it's beautiful

[@Necrow_Productions]

@@prince-solomon hooray for oldschool KZbin!! :D

[@Nexuish]

Okay, hear me out... A troll KZbin account where you just use your “American” accent

[@brightblue6184]

So he becomes the new Remarkable Republican.

[@KingThor128]

Tempting, but it takes long enough for Mauler to put a video out on one channel, much less two. Rest of GoT Unbridled Rage when?

[@Destino2493]

@@KingThor128 On this new channel Mauler would just crank out videos, no redrafting no re-editing no points no deep exploration 😂

[@comicface8105]

and covers the channel on EFAP

[@joringedamke5597]

"These ten characters are the moral... wait... is that *Dexter*?" Well played, MauLer.

[@frankmerker630]

Dexter Jettster has more connection with the characters in TRoS than Rose Tico, he is correct

[@brightblue6184]

Don't forget that Finn is on there twice, and Rey Palpatine has a connection that doesn't go anywhere it looks it's going around Finn and about to touch kylo but never actually touches anything. It's hilarious.

[@justinrasiul1397]

Moment of silence for people that won’t get that this is an April Fools thing

[@vadandrumist1670]

To be fair it doesn't say Gdelb.

[@irispettson]

The font, text placement etc. in the thumbnail is already clearly making fun of certain video essays.

[@spuart3308]

Iris Pettson cough cough Just Write

[@arklaw8306]

Two moments of silence for for people that will use this video to prove their points.

[@CssHDmonster]

a video is a fucking video, i aint bitching

[@BlastYoBoots]

It's pretty scary how easily you were able to write a 21-minute script that said absolutely nothing

[@TheNthMouse]

Easily? Nothing?! I think you need to look deeper.

[@supershadey09]

Well, he's been exposed to a lot of inspiration in the past year.

[@Duncecap64]

i mean he even said it himself that it wasnt hard to say alot of nothing in that part 1 of TFA

[@darkbum1510]

@@lennynero8614 Which one?

[@odiadordeisrael]

@@lennynero8614 lol you call people "manbabies" and "alt-righters"

[@DS-tv2fi]

“Finn grows through his conflict with Finn.” Knowing that this is based on something someone said unironically makes me sad. Edit: coming back 4 months later, I forgot that I had written this. This still makes me sad

[@wannabehistorian371]

Who is it?

[@DS-tv2fi]

@@wannabehistorian371 no idea, but all these lines are based off of references from EFAP.

[@dovahkiin3853]

@@DS-tv2fi isnt it from the channel "just write"

[@DS-tv2fi]

@@dovahkiin3853 Maybe.

[@albertocruzado2899]

@@dovahkiin3853 Some are. Not all of them

[@logicaldude3611]

The brilliance of Rise of Skywalker is that it teaches us that our expectations can't be subverted if we don't have any to begin with. The entire arc of the trilogy is supposed to make us realize that expectations are fruitless and that we must live in the moment, no matter how illogical and nonsensical that moment might be. Bravo Disney, Bravo JJ, Bravo Rian... Now I see the plan of the sequel trilogy. You are geniuses. TFA - Create expectations TLJ - Subvert created expectations ROS - Realize you shouldn't have expectations at all Subtle, nuanced, brilliant.

[@DrCash7]

Guffaw

[@redstonesteve526]

In my opinion In my opinion

[@gax1337]

the biggest joke is that mauler released two videos within the same month

[@lekhaclam87]

And they both are too short.

[@Gakusangi]

Both of which are under an hour, even combined.

[@PelemusMcSoy]

On the same day, no less.

[@ricardoandres914]

within the same hour

[@amanibob1416]

+ EFAP Edit: But I get ya.

[@themint7451]

I swear, this is like reading Rian Johnson's production notes. 10/10

[@benrosesongbookandarchive2135]

What production notes? :D

[@gatex33d74]

mauler doesnt just say random things, he doesnt just make word salads, he creates a whole narrative with a point and ideals that he then expands and destroys by using the weirdest ways possible to say what he wants and needs to say, truly an admirable growth and path carved by identity

[@Mj0Skyver]

Dexter Jettster on the moral framework diagram gave me a hearty laugh.

[@kingsweden4636]

mate your opinion is wrong and inflammatory against people who enjoy these movies if you think each movie is good is wrong due to opinions and facts

[@callmeej8399]

@@kingsweden4636 that’s subjectively objectively wrong you alt-centrist soy nazi. Rose Tico is the best Dexter I’ve seen in my entire life, literally celestial. You just don’t like space wizards about children intended for movies

[@kingsweden4636]

@@callmeej8399 i'm a higher level thinker than you

[@Dooger414]

Wait until you pause that chart and see Finn on there... twice.

[@thesultanofswing8706]

We all know that Dexter Jettster is the picture of altruism.

[@theblacknothing]

"I use big words and mental gymnastics to appear smart even though i'm saying nothing " -Bizarro MauLer (Happy April Fools everybody!)

[@OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

Bizauler

[@looinrims]

MooPer*

[@Unknown-hb3id]

MaoLur

[@looinrims]

Unknown The Analytical Dictator who starved tens of millions

[@Unknown-hb3id]

@@looinrims Indeed. A true massive if there ever was one.

[@samzilla567]

I think the biggest joke of this video was how short it was. SHORT MAN BAD!

[@laughingseagull000]

Poor Mooper.

[@konoko1002k]

Can you immagine watching his new 3h analysis just to realize you spent last 2.5 hours on a joke?

[@lilpoteto6486]

shouldve been 10 minutes and 7 seconds

[@Aurelian_Sol_Invictus]

SHORT MAN GOOD!

[@Lucama221]

Still 10 minutes too long for a typical "movie critic".

[@Mglue3]

This essay inspires an... Unbridled RAGE. Seriously, it's like a college course on how to confuse people into stabbing you.

[@takotratheratking7411]

"confuse people into stabbing you" is such an amazing concept

[@jonathanleake6176]

This deserves so many more like😂😂😂

[@FirstMetalHamster]

Worst thing is that he uses actual quotes by superfans/shills. They really did claim this.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

It reminds me of that South park episode: _Scientologists really believe this._

[@TheNthMouse]

This isn't merely "word salad." This is layered. This is nuanced. This is brilliant.

[@thebatman4279]

It really embeds itself into the pulse and essence of the Star Wars lore imo. I've always craved for a video dissecting the chasm between identity and the almost ethereal spiritualism and this was a scintillating perspective of both plains of thought as they both careened into the collective pool of Star Wars symbolism.

[@TheNthMouse]

I said: it's not *_merely_* word salad. Superficially, it's patently absurd. Secondarily, it's the parody that many will see. But it's not simple apesmanship: there's ironic commentary throughout (e.g. that you can make anything say anything if you cherry pick & warp the source material). From there, the video offers some decisively barbed criticisms of the movies it mockingly purports to praise.

[@Dezdicardo]

Never in the course of human events has so much been said to say so little.

[@timy9197]

TheNthMouse This has evolved into something more

[@kevinbrown4073]

Sort of like a land fill is layered

[@jonwilson2300]

“His need for identity overcame his need to hurt black people.” But he didn’t oppress any Ewoks!

[@unformedeight]

That was in the visual audiobook novel

[@hyelisk408]

@@unformedeight oof

[@jadencoremusic]

What's good ma Ewok?

[@derickrisner2126]

No joke, I was scrolling down and read this at the exact moment Mauler said it. Serendipity!

[@scroogemcduck8509]

8:16 “and this is why the hatred of Rose needs to stop” that was great

[@uFFFO]

Listening to this, I thought I had endured a series of strokes. However, as I begun listening more closely, the essay revealed its inherent richness of explanatory relevance. Hux absolutelly had to replace his want to hit black folk with his need to buck Trump. His identity was always there for us to gawk at. Our ignorance and prejudice made it near impossible to come to terms with Hux being the main hero-villain in not only this trilogy, but the whole Star wars media. Thank you.

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

14:48 "his need for identification overcame his need to hurt black people." I'm just gonna unsubscribe just so I can subscribe again 😂😂😂

[@TOONYBOY]

If you don't like Hux's character development you're a racist nazi and you can unsubscribe from my channel. Wait, development?

[@OlafLesniak]

So what you're telling me is you unsubbed because you were racist but then realized your inner self-pity at a sight of emptiness and came back in which helped your identification overcome your hatred of black people?

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

@@OlafLesniak exactly on the mark 😉

[@echothegecko2875]

The fact that the number time stamp is so precise with the joke is both worrying and genius

[@nicholasleclerc1583]

@@echothegecko2875 “Worrying” ?

[@InJeffable]

"Her need was to craft her own identity and become the woman she always was: a Skywalker." That right there is gold. Pure gold.

[@FunZies.]

"The Rise of Skywalker subverts everything we understand about power and the acidic nature of shadows in identity." Jesus Christ, this script! (And accent!) I've been trying to eat while watching this, but I just keep laughing hysterically and exclaiming, "What?!" Then replaying the lines so I can attempt to understand what the hell these pseudo-philosophical 'concepts' even mean. I'm absolutely impressed that in 19 mins, absolutely nothing was said. XD Thank you Mauler.

[@cyrus2395]

Mauler has better writing than the entire sequel trilogy, but I didn't need to tell anybody that

[@xanthippus2934]

I feel sorry for the poor bastard who found this insightful.

[@anondalorian3719]

They also always do use that Simpson’s clip of the angry villagers with torches and pitchforks to represent angry fans. Spot on with that and the royalty free hip hop beat

[@HALF_DAY]

What’s funny about this isn’t just the fact that your pretending to defend the film, but how you structure your argument exactly how the people who legitimately defend it do: by taking random events or actions and molding them to fit a claim based entirely on a poorly defined abstract idea or concept.

[@JoeNeutrino]

I always have difficulty defining what the defenders do but that's a really good way of describing it. They imagine themes or arcs which weren't actually present in the film and then cherry-pick snippets which let them fabricate a narrative which doesn't acually exist.

[@OneBoredCatbug]

How you defend these movies is by ignoring the biggest problems and only looking at what you like, when you defend like that nobody can fight it because you seem completely unreasonable.

[@LordZordid]

Don't forget the pretentious voice. Brilliant!

[@gunnar6674]

The best example of this is the part where he talks about Poe's and Han's sequel arcs. I'm like "no, no, no, no, no that's wrong, that's wrong, also that's wrong."

[@NucleaRaptor]

Exactly, his greatest achievement is nailing the exact style of "how-to-coast-along-on-a-verbal-diarrhea-of-scriptwriting-101-lingo-without-actually-having-anything-of-substance-to-say". It's the video equivalent of inflating the word count to stretch a 3-page essay to a 5-page requirement.

[@feelsxaadman9559]

✔ Obnoxiously slow speech to spend longer talking about nothing ✔ Heavily shifting points quickly to cause the viewer to focus too much on their broken necks from the whiplash over the actual statements being said ✔ Nonsensical references to old books and people to make yourself sound smart ✔ Complete misrepresentation of characters to push a theme and narrative ✔ Arbitrary quotes to support said misrepresentation ✔ Being uselessly verbose to sound more like an intellectual ✔ Shitty elevator music ✔ "I think" "Perfect on a thematic level" The only thing you missed was a gun for me to finally end it with. Thanks Nega MauLer

[@matiaspereyra9375]

You do realize this was an april fools joke right?

[@AzureIV]

@@matiaspereyra9375 Of course Saad Taimoor was talking about the execution of the joke. The fact that they referred to this reverse MauLer as "Nega MauLer" at the end indicates that.

[@ConnorJane]

"intellectual". Surely you meant "intellecutal"!

[@SimaoRodrigues...]

Take a shot every time he say "identity". Tell me how it went afterwards.

[@SoftisNelaris]

"Heavily shifting points quickly to cause the viewer to focus too much on their broken necks from the whiplash over the actual statements being said" HAH! I absolutely love the phrasing of this.

[@anyaabusable9888]

The incipient wordiology of this postulating morass signified that, within the individual and the communitism, a blatant correspondence of hitherto unrefined palpitations of the soul existed, and by that existence, had always been.

[@bradlutz5812]

The deepest kinds of rebuttals are when you take the opposing view seriously, treat it with some respect, re-present the arguments trying to steel man, and then dismantle it. It shows you truly do understand the other side which means you understand your own side even more. Well done.

[@admcleo]

This does a better* job arguing for the film than actual defenses. *Better does not mean good

[@chazblank2717]

Dude’s been honing his craft in isolation... I’m not sure if I’ve seen any “actual defenses” of this film... in the form of internet video essays or even comments sections... If I had to guess why, it’s cause they only people going into this one with high expectations love having there expectations subverted more than anything else 😝

[@milsy9635]

Carl Stockman most recent efap covered a video saying it’s good

[@Keanine]

@@chazblank2717 I can't defend Rise of Skywalker, but I will say that I enjoyed watching it unlike TLJ. It's a bad film (especially when looking at the trilogy as a whole), but one that I got some fun out of at least. I would have been much happier if the trilogy overall just split TROS into 2 movies so it could have time to breathe, and then then we can ditch TLJ assuming we just have Rey training with Luke instead of Leia. Even with those changes it would still have been a bad trilogy, but I would actually go back and watch then willingly

[@aaa1e2r3]

@bla blahblah That's the basis of GDELB, every year Mauler makes one of these using quotes, argumentations, and editing decisions from videos they discussed over the year on EFAP, and putting it all into a video, lampooning those types of video essayists.

[@Ehh.....]

I think he's taking the piss out of a lot of people all at once. The thumbnail for this screams of the channel "Just Write".

[@Shabanezloth]

I can imagine the subjective gang listen to this thinking : " It's good to see MauLer finally realising how to analyse movies".

[@lordinquisitordunn336]

I think they’d be yelling, that’s not how we do things! When this is basically a spot on replication of just write’s crap

[@onotinikow]

Just Write is usually Just Wrong. Lol

[@jonbaxter2254]

The sad thing is, they will watch this and agree with it. And say it backs up their point. Despite it not really saying anything.

[@lordinquisitordunn336]

Wreck-It Rolfe maybe he’s really dropped in quality since then

[@Seomus]

@@revolverswitch I didn't know anyone could be this intellecutal.

[@jinzo457]

"These ten characters encompass the entire moral framework of the story." I agree. Dexter is absolutely one of the most important moral characters in Star Wars, and his connections with Hux, Kylo, and Finn cannot be understated. 10/10, MooPer. Keep up the excellent work.

[@Locke19901]

The snapshot with Dex as one of the main 10 characters is where I finally lost it. That was brilliant. 11:33

[@mawile3037]

Dude I was so stuck on that and tried to make sense of the line work and then I was like " didn't he just say Finn needed Rose. . .why isn't she connected . . . .to anyone ?? " and I felt like the Dex was a joke, but I was like " but he still said 10. . . did he mean 9 " this fucking video threw me so hard did not watch it on the day this was intended

[@timy9197]

When your parody is so good that it’s not parody anymore.

[@supershadey09]

It's pretty scary how hard it is to tell.

[@mariokarter13]

The theme of identity is all over the sequel trilogy. Raising questions like "What were they thinking?!" and "What the f**k did I just watch?"

[@calvinnguyen1870]

Dear God. It’s perfect. The incoherent repetition of buzzwords without actually saying anything vaguely resembling a point. The insertion of clips from the films that are supposed to act as evidence for your “points” but are entirely unrelated. The shitty royalty-free low-fi hip hop music in the background. The monotone voice speaking at a speed slow enough to stretch out the video and be irritating but not enough for me to want to speed it up. Fuck you. I love it.

[@PizzaHutCEO]

9:30 has no connection lmao

[@PizzaHutCEO]

And the title card for part 3 even though there was no part 1 or 2 😂

[@petercarioscia9189]

Do you always start every paragraph with "the"?

[@ajohnymous5699]

If you throw in the word "problematic" over and over, and if you made his accent english, this would be a Jack Saint video.

[@realhumanbean7915]

Calvin Nguyen The golden references

[@DylanWOWilliams]

"Raid Shadow Legends".

[@danfisher1821]

I've seen so many of these word salad "deconstructions" now I'm beginning loose my internal image of self worth, causing me to fall into an abyss of consumerist self destruction, forsaking objective truth and replacing it with an external perception of what society is, rather than what it should be.....orange man bad. Spot on MauLer

[@masternoob9673]

So what?? Critiquing should just come down to calling everything shit?? 😑

[@VulturePilot]

I know this is an April fools joke but there’s sequel trilogy defenders that really are this deluded. The entire Disney trilogy feels like an April fools joke with how horrendous it is.

[@zarlei6048]

VulturePilot It already has 33 dislikes xd

[@Daerphen]

@VulturePilot Disney should have released their Trilogy on the 1st of April and not in December

[@JoshuaKevinPerry]

@Rough Collies Rock You cried? You must have a glial tumor.

[@PittsburghSonido]

Just Write already disliked from the thumbnail

[@rsfilmdiscussionchannel4168]

@CW Funny because Just Write disliked this film.

[@ManyMilkGuys]

This shows how talented mauler is as a writer; completely ridiculous in delivery, but perfect as a mock.

[@robertgaudet7407]

The deadpan was always first and foremost a British talent.

[@Ko_kB]

For a year I've been avoiding this video based on the thumbnail and title thinking it's just one of those terrible video essays. Just realised it's actually MauLer. The madman really did just do it 😆

[@eyeballpaul700]

I could have sworn this was cosmonaut variety hour.......

[@insulttothehumanrace3807]

You can tell this is an April Fools' video because even when imitating the sequel trilogy defenders, MauLer still lets a tiny bit of himself seep through. "Rose needed recognition as a destructive influence; Holdo's maneuver was cowardice"

[@yukisohma19]

weird I read this AS it was playing

[@faroffspring2430]

@@yukisohma19 Same!

[@drzerogi]

I caught that too.

[@BeastKi11er225]

I love how this was simultaneously an elaborate shitpost and a genuine satire/critique of youtube “essays”

[@seanhavern2384]

"I will see you next week folks. Raid Shadow Legends." This took me a second and then i couldn't stop laughing.

[@ronniejdio9411]

And another onion of Mauler is peeled back for reveal another talent This is inspired and insane on so many levels. It's so spot on ...in tone ... in voice ... everything. Satire in the highest order. Smart as well as sharp. When you raise the Ire of the man they call Mauler ... he leaves nothing but smoldering ash

[@fabriziolorenzo2392]

"You just can't be too obvious with them or you'll end up with a bad screenplay" he says showing a clip of The Last Jedi. Pristine.

[@iamthegreatest2006]

"The sense that she is conflicted about doing something she knows Leia would disapprove of is PALPable." Bravo

[@Jarvernors]

I came back to rewatch this video after several years, and I just realized what it reminds me of. It's like a video essay version of an MC Escher painting. All the sentences vaguely appear to make sense, but when you pay closer attention, you realize nothing's really connecting to anything in a sensible way. On the surface it looks like a coherent structure, but it actually makes little to no sense by design. I already loved this video, but this really gives me a newfound appreciation for it.

[@Atamastra]

It might be one of the most clever videos I've ever seen. Because, if you get the joke (which I assume you did) you can't help but carry the subliminal lesson with you, how easily rhetoric and presentation can disguise an otherwise vapid pile of BS... and then you start noticing how one channel's ironic prank is many other channels' unironic template.

[@nobodyfromnowwhere7510]

The REALLY sad thing? This could totally be put on other people's channels as if it wasn't satire.

[@Burns_RED]

It's a direct mockery of Just Write's atrocious woke channel

[@ericturczynowsky3243]

"Raid: Shadow Legends" had me giggling like an idiot

[@ChupeTTe]

REYd shadow legends

[@Gatinois]

Thanks for the spoiler.

[@fabriziolorenzo2392]

"Raidy Shady" - Internet Historian

[@Unknown-hb3id]

@@fabriziolorenzo2392 Shadow Man here!

[@RawkL0bster]

@@fabriziolorenzo2392 Congratulations! You've contracted R.A.I.D.S!

[@unfilthy]

The accent "slips" are genuinely a master stroke of MooPer's expertly layered meta-level exploration in identity.

[@threeequalsd4865]

Very celestial.

[@BonktoHead]

Sorry don’t you mean Darth Mooper

[@EspressoStalinist]

I was convinced I'd slipped into an alternate dimension for a minute until I realized it was a Just Write parody

[@williamcaseywells604]

I had to check if I was on the right channel twice before I realized this was satire. Well played.

[@stevenbrule5285]

This was masterful. It’s so spot-on that it makes me wonder if anyone who dislikes IX is going to stumble on this video, not realize it’s satire, and actually decide that IX isn’t such a bad movie after all, despite this video being an incomprehensible 20 minute word salad.

[@stevenbrule5285]

PS Great job with the accent and tone of voice. For the first few seconds, I thought “wait, I swear I clicked on a MauLer video” before I realized it WAS a MauLer video.

[@benjaminatwood]

@@stevenbrule5285 I admit i kept checking who made this video below the bar thinking who did this, ... wait, WHAT mauler, checks again. ???? AMAZING

[@Theorex]

I am one of those dumbasses. Did not realize this was satire and was lowkey fuming for 8 minutes

[@rexedous3908]

I was half asleep when watching this, and was seriously reconsidering my views on this movie. It didn't change my mind, but it definitely messed with my dozing self

[@TsunTzu]

I mean. It's not incomprehensible at all. It's just not really saying anything of worth. Really surface level analysis while being overly verbose. So- yes, this is a perfect representation of these kinds of videos.

[@cravenmorhead8810]

This is such a Top-Tier Shitpost. TOP. TIER.

[@chazblank2717]

It’s like Charlie from Lost said “...secrets only the Sith knew...” Wait; no... “Last I heard we’re positively made of time” Yeah that’s the one...

[@NineSun001]

Just to came up with 20 minutes of this script is surely impressive. Also to keep "in character" for the whole time and never break out in laughter ist amazing. I couldn't imagine how many takes this needed.

[@pokeygorilla9368]

This is my favorite video you've made. It's so convincing at first but then it descends into madness. I love it.

[@pabsra]

Kylo: *Heals Rey* Anakin: “Is it possible to learn this power?”

[@kylefrank638]

Rey: *floating* Palpatine: Is it possible to learn THIS power? So I can't be thrown down gravity wells?

[@shimdidlys2343]

...Not from a Jedi

[@VioletDeathRei]

**Admiral gender studies turns a ship into a lightspeed projectile** Droid pilot engineer: "Is it possible to mass produce this power?"

[@arikutin1032]

@@VioletDeathRei Po: come on. That move's one in a million.

[@VioletDeathRei]

@@arikutin1032 Yes of course, people able to calculate a jump lightyears away precisely couldn't possibly time a small window to recreate that lol. I mean it's not like they could build a death star, or death planet, or miniature in atmospheric one for sieges, or find a way to fit hundreds of star destroyers with death star equivalent lasers, if you really think about it these guy's are idiots.(the writers not the engineers)

[@MaxRovensky]

Hearing MauLer in an American accent just feels wrong on a fundamental level

[@theDAVIScomplex]

Bruh I was so confused by that and hated every second haha

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

Hearing him call someone a “fucking ham sandwich” with an American accent just wouldn’t be the same.

[@michaelmaroney1660]

Agreed

[@BenMcKenn]

Was it a good accent as well? I'm from the UK so can't tell

[@michaelmaroney1660]

@@BenMcKenn actually he did an excellent job. I would have thought he was from Chicago.

[@legateelizabeth]

It's like I'm ACTUALLY listening to Folding Ideas.

[@Jimbit2954]

American Mauler isn’t real, he can’t hurt you

[@electricbayonet2]

"The most meaningful Star Wars film, but the most incredible in terms of action, pacing, legitimate theming, lighting, real cinematography, specialized effects, screenplay nuance, and acting." This entire sequence was gold, but it was 'specialized effects' was the one that really got me.

[@Sangtrone]

Pretty sure I choked on the word pacing and missed the rest

[@marcoluciani2701]

Combining April fools with Trolling another Channel is a power that some consider to be unnatural.

[@axelcats]

i nearly shit myself at the "Raid shadow legends" at the end lmao

[@raptorshinryu]

It's like when you leave a YT video on in the background to sleep and you hear it somewhere in your dreams and can't quite make out what it's saying, but you're wide fucking awake so it just feels like you're having an aneurysm.

[@AppleWasMyIdea]

Still waiting for: Game of Thrones: S08E06: An Unbridled Rage

[@thejakyl1369]

AMEN! UPVOTE THIS!

[@bastionunitb7388]

I need the conclusion!

[@papershadow]

I fully expect the 2021 AF videos to include something like "GoT S08 E06: An Unbridled Praise"

[@siriusrha]

Para cuando!!!! Ya saca el capitulo 👍🏻

[@bleckofbleh2295]

I love how his essay voice went from ‘soft and fragile’ to ‘please god clear your throat’.

[@GreenLightningHood]

I love that I know he pulled this off because my brain keeps screaming what is your fucking point. 10/10 video essay. Also you guys should have realized what this was the moment you heard the voice lol.

[@thesultanofswing8706]

This kind of makes me think of a self important asshole getting sloshed out/ of his mind. Swaying between meaningless bullcrap points while never making one. Absolutely perfect.

[@peterl3907]

Two elements that really sell this: 1. The unsettling American accent 2. The use of clips with zero context

[@JB-db6qo]

I can't wait for the EFAP for this one. It will be interesting to hear what Mauler and Rags think about it.

[@Nueamien]

Mauler commenting on Mooper? That's staring into infinity right there

[@gueton5200]

Crisis on infinite essays

[@Sangtrone]

"JJ Abrams is a master of subverting expectations." Hah haha hahahahaha Funniest thing I've heard this week, thanks.

[@denkerbosu3551]

Dude, he said that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't going to play Kahn in his Star Trek... Then in the movie he reveals his name is KAHN! EXPECTATIONS SUBVERTED

[@jordanwood3281]

“The hatred of Rose needs to stop.” Is when I looked to the comments for sanity.

[@surfergto]

The first videos I watched from your channel were the episode 8 critiques. Knowing nothing more than that, I then checked out this video. God damn was I confused but god damn do I now find it amazingly well played.

[@resto776]

"I found Star Wars a city of brick, and left it a city of a pile of bricks." - Disney

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

More like a pile of bricks with vomit all over it.

[@commentingcommenter1230]

@@politicallycorrectredskin796 The vomit came from the sewers, which were exposed by radioactive crocodiles created through the vile acts of Disney. The monsters flew into the air, and as vomit and destruction ensued, people on the streets could be heard yelling "they fly now!"

[@Dunge0n]

"Gaze upon my work and despair."

[@giornojoestar4411]

I couldn’t hold my laughter in when I saw Dexter Jexter. Class act MauLer. 10/10

[@Linus8472]

That last "Raid Shadow Legends" pulled a full force laugh right outta me. 🤣🤣

[@isakaldazwulfazizsunus7564]

Wasn't this a parody of Just Write? It's so on point.

[@rawen160]

20:20 I love how Mauler couldn't force himself to let C-3P0 call them his friends

[@nathanfiveoh6387]

Yes!

[@floydlooney6837]

besides R2 he barely knows those people

[@afuriousblackman]

Floyd Looney R2 wasn't even there

[@floydlooney6837]

@@afuriousblackman That just makes it even worse.

[@afuriousblackman]

Floyd Looney yea it's depressing to say the least

[@retard3448]

Quarantine finally made him snap.

[@artierupinen9240]

*laughs like the Joker* All it takes is one *REALLY BAD DAY*

[@machinaanguis4998]

@@artierupinen9240 Look at the release date.

[@volo870]

@@machinaanguis4998 Still. He's read through all of this script with straight face. Makes you doubt 🤔

[@TheNthMouse]

@Volo - check the end for bloopers.

[@luckylanno]

Now I know how a high school English teacher feels...

[@Kommiekiller]

Mauler normal voice: silky smooth Bond villain Mauler american voice: big ghey

[@kingbash6466]

It’s going to be really sad when people will use this unironically to defend the sequel.

[@chrishamilton7107]

Haha true...I mean this is really well-done sarcasm that almost convinced me it was serious so I'm not surprised if some dimwits decide to use this as an actual defense.

[@Horvath_Gabor]

@@chrishamilton7107 To be fair, it starts out reasonable (or at the very least sounding reasonable in a vacuum), it's only around the ten minute mark that the self-contradictions and the cherry-picking really starts to ramp up. It's kind of how these video essays tend to operate too: they start out with a reasonable premise, use big words to sound clever, then use what actual arguments they have to sink their talons into you before they run out of steam and just start cherry picking and creatively reiterpreting and re-contextualizing scenes and lines to fit their own narrative. It's such a frighteningly effective way of presentation that for the first few minutes I almost felt like the parody points Mauler was making made a twisted kind of sense.

[@yaeven4943]

I think it's going to be glorious, actually. Outing themselves and publicly humiliating themselves by pretending to have a 'deep understanding of the films' while in reality missing even the sarcasm of this video and the fact that it is, in fact, dunking on their narrative rather than supporting it? Why not?

[@chrishamilton7107]

@@Horvath_Gabor Yeah, that's what almost got me, was that it DID kinda make a convoluted kind of sense, which almost made me think it was serious.

[@nikolayveselinov906]

I'm 5 minutes into this and I'm struggling to remember what was said in the beginning. Mauler nailed what a video essay is

[@Legofps123]

Amazing video. It's really fascinating to see your exploration and interpretation of this movie's tHeMes. Earned yourself a sub

[@ultimatemaulerfan9729]

The opening with the American accent immediately made me realise he had made a second April Fool's vid, and I couldn't be happier.