The French Revolution on Screen (Slicey Boi's Big Break)

[@saurehefe3332]

It becomes clear that aliens brought us the guillotine. Thank you, History Channel

[@sahasrahla1015]

I grew up in France and learned a lot of things about the french revolution. Until I saw this video I guess I never really thought much about how the french revolution usually gets portrayed in movies and tv, with the rich upper class being seen as nothing but victims of the vicious mobs of evil filthy uneducated poor people. I should've noticed much earlier, with all the press coverage of french protests... Also thanks for pointing out that Marie Antoinette was complicit in the suffering of her own people. I hate the way she's always portrayed as some weepy innocent victim.

[@WeirdoChocolateLover]

I was watching the new Animaniacs reboot and the Marie Antoinette bit they had reminded me of this video. Specifically because it was the first media I've witnessed that featured Marie Antoinette as a villain rather than a victim.

[@samminden1058]

A wonderful video! Your videos are always absolutely amazing and insightful, and this was a great take on a period Hollywood does not exactly like. Also the Mel Brooks' movie is interesting (and hilarious) in how it equally portrays the cruelty and decadence of the aristocracy (albeit to an absurd extreme) and how their Louis is very much a villain. I think you also hit on a really great point towards the end- it is comfortable to like and idolize the status quo affirming American Revolution (when you think about it, all that really changed was America being a fully independent country) in contrast to the French Revolution and its attempts to rebuild society from the ground up in a more equitable way. I blame Edmund Burke. I think one aspect that also makes simple hero-villain narratives difficult is when you have sympathetic and heroic revolutionary figures like Olympe de Gouges and Camille Desmoullin getting guillotined. Also as someone who used to watch a lot of history channel docs as a kid, they used to be really good in the early 2000s! Then they stopped and it all went down hill fast.

[@tashibalampkin8555]

As American, the French revolution was my favorite subject during World History class. Any documentary on the French Revolution on KZbin, I had surely watched it. I never watched a French Revolution movie, however. It just wasn't my thing. I would, like though, like to watch Marie Antoinette since the movie is really pretty looking. I know that's a superficial reason, but still the costumes were nice.

[@veronicamcghie5238]

Am I showing my age if I say I primarily think of The History Channel as being the channel that is 95% documentaries about WWII?

[@sacredlamb3021]

Every time a necklace comes up I'm like "that's terrible! But fuck it's so pretty"

[@slipperypersonmmhmm]

wow I'm so glad I found your channel!! really awesome video, looking forward to watching the rest of your content!!

[@IactuallyShitRainbow]

There's a lot of great things to acknowledge about this video but I just gotta say I appreciate the gay vibes.

[@SaotomeLuna]

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your content, and I hope more people see your stuff!

[@MrRourk]

Week 10 is in the books. Looks like Week 11 is going to happen.

[@dadisfad]

Excellent video! I really enjoyed it!

[@shadetreader]

Obviously, the Reign of Terror didn't go nearly far enough-- otherwise, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today.

[@kefsound]

Leave it to americans to learn history from schoolbooks and hollywood movies. Sigh.

[@sanogoadamagyram8166]

I loved your video but I think it's important to add as someone who studied the French revolution there's something everyone fail to acknowledge : the revolution was orchestrated by the bourgeoisie it was basically people who had as much money as the aristocracy but since they had no titles they were subject to the same huge taxes as the poor. It's very interesting because even if it's the poor people who stormed the streets the one who organazied everything were doing it with very capitalistic goals. And it showed at the end after the democracy was installed the poor remain poor and the worst part is that they really believed their lives would be better under the democracy it was a bit better since the class system was down but they were still poor. But this time they knew that if they protested they would be heard so they just started to turn against the bourgeois. Honestly I feel like no movies could ever depict the french revolution with all the nuance needed. It must be a prestigious mini serie with a lot of budget. Maybe someone should pitch that to a streaming service.

[@leehoffman1803]

1) how dare you make me even see a single clip from Jefferson in Paris 2) I was waiting the entire time for you to talk about les miserables! I think it’s so weird how Hollywood will romanticize tragedy but as soon as those with tragedy want to rise up immediately they become villanized..... like a bunch of rich people just want to jerk it to a film about poor or marginalized people to make themselves feel better, and like you said when people want to rise above the oppressive powers rich people become uncomfortable. Anyways great video as always!! Yay for your Patron!!

[@leavewe]

Hard agree

[@popularcc4539]

Jefferson in Paris was...rough. It manages to be boring and disturbing simultaneously. Also, I am uh...very very into Les Miserables, so I of course had to bring it up (even though it's not technically the revolution.) And I agree, Hollywood loves misery porn...but stories about revolution not so much!

[@Mysw33tophelia]

Oh Mood, also i think the reason Hollywood loves Les Mis it is because they did not succeed, so it becomes kind of a cautionary tale of "If you revolt you will die".

[@jackotaco5054]

Its 2020 and its gotten even more crazy in France after Macron proposed a new bill that would make it illegal to film the police. One things for sure the French really know how to party, solidarity to france! Also this video still rules

[@chuisii]

It seems I was already a leftist when I was shown Marie Antoinette in high school because I didn't find the portrayal sympathetic at all. I thought she was extremely selfish and materialistic and was kinda grossed out by all royals portrayed in the movie. It never occurred to me that anyone would side with them tbh.

[@coldDrive]

Damn, being a random european, this was a fascinating view. I can't speak for the continent, but Robespierre and the Terror were legit taught as a specific period not representative in the slightest of the entire Revolution, and a lot more emphasis was put on the "phases", the Jacobin and Girondin (girondist? GIRONDINOS, LEÑE) power struggles and succession of power, the changes brough by the revolution and all. The romantisation of the nobles wasn't even a thing I was aware of until I bumped into how movies tackled the topic. God, this channel has been a find. Ty for these.

[@esoxlucius1334]

the history channel used to be legit about 20 years ago before they figured out ancient aliens and reality shows got them better ratings

[@popularcc4539]

Since I've been doing these videos I've seen a few decent older History Channel docs and now part of me wants to do a series charting their downfall.

[@000Dragon50000]

Ooooh. That one which is basically a lesbian fanfic of the french revolution sounds interesting~! More seriously, YIKES, and I thought the history book purges of Martin Luther King's more... communistic... quotes was a massive shipment of BS courtesy of capitalists, but this, damn, this tops it easily.

[@popularcc4539]

(Farewell My Queen is pretty solid, if not wonderful history of the revolution, I recommend it.)

[@jillybellies]

Jesus Jefferson in Paris. Also I loved this video! I saw a clip on tumblr and had to watch the rest of it it was fantastic. As a fun side note, I actually live in Japan. And 1, that anime/manga about Lady Oscar is SUPER popular. 2, its longest lasting legacy is a very popular make up line based on it (I actually knew it from the make up first before I realized it was a series of anime/manga). You can buy face masks that advertise skin white as Marie Antoinettes, lipstick to have Marie's rosy pink lips, or fake eye lashes to look as dashing as Lady Oscar. One of the face mask lines for Rose of Versailles has flakes of gold in it for that French Aristocracy luxury. It's a little bizarre but the Japanese approach to history other than their own is frankly fascinating. The eye liner is actually really stellar though. It's also basically accepted that Marie and lady Oscar were in love.

[@juanjuri6127]

Interesting video! It always rubbed me the wrong way how movies like Marie Antoinette tug on the "aw pwoor widdle awistocwat" strings, even if the dresses sure are pretty. (I felt like the affair of the necklace was even worse at this, though). A couple of things: 1. If anyone's interested in a (way, way) more in-detail look at the French revolution, I suggest giving a listen to Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast. The French Revolution chapters (3.1-55) cover pretty much every single nook and cranny of the whole affair, and it's a pretty even-handed look at the causes behind it and the characters involved. 2. I feel like the French Revolution abolishing slavery should go with an asterisk - the day after the convention approved the abolition of slavery, they were pretty quick to clarify that this only applied to the French mainland, and did not extend to the colonies... y'know, where the overwhelming majority, if not the totality, of french slavery took place. They did actually go back and forth over this issue a few times, with colonial plantation owners being a significant power bloc in revolutionary Paris, and as the different revolutionary governments came and went, so did multiple expeditions to the colonies (St Domingue in particular) to either enforce, revert, or stall the abolition of slavery. The history of the Haitian Revolution (also covered on the previously mentioned Revolutions podcast) takes off from here, and it's a pretty fascinating, if heartbreaking, tale.

[@popularcc4539]

Excellent point about the abolition of slavery in revolutionary France; I was mostly being snarky about America's superiority complex, but it wasn't pure abolition. At some point I do want to cover the Haitian Revolution (though I'm not sure what media I'll tie it to.) And seconded on the Revolutions podcast; it's a really good comprehensive look at the Revolution!

[@Emileigggggh]

Sofia Coppola's Marie Antionette would have been so much better if it was more about how the privileged are conditioned and accustomed to such a lifestyle that, despite what they might think their morals are, at the end of the day they would rather just continue such a lifestyle no matter the human cost. And that's something we should all think about- because there is "no ethical consumption under capitalism" as they say, we all benefit from someone's exploitation, and at what point should you get sent to the choppy boi for that? Like, imagine if it ended with some starving poor girl's dying dream fantasizing about being Marie Antoinette and getting to live that lifestyle or something like that. The poor's struggle isn't given any weight, it's just "ugh people are angry and mean to us :(" And I can't help but feel like the (admittedly gorgeous but at what cost) Rococo aesthetic is part of why we see so much of the aristocracy focused in these stories. Will you really win an Oscar for Costume design if most of the costumes aren't PRETTY? Also omg every time I mention the French Rev to my dad he quotes a joke from Mel Brook's History of the World: "The poor are revolting!" "Ugh, yeah, they sure are!"

[@ferdinandgarcia2433]

Not a movie but Grégory Jarry & Otto T's "Petite Histoire de la Révolution française" is great. It imagines a modern-day french revolution (published 5 months before the beginning of the yellow vests) and has it in small, witty comic form, while the writing delivers the exposition. It hasn't been translated into English yet, but if it ever happens, buy it. Also sidenote, but it's fun to compare Robespierre and the revolutionaries (Violent leftists overthrowing an even more violent far-right government) with Caesar & Augustus (Dude with centralised imperialist regimes trying to end democracy) who get praise from even the most progressive academics. One time my Latin teacher told us a story about Augustus saving a nice slave from a master that wanted him fed to moray eels, and Augustus punished the man and freed the man! Hurray! It took me 5 years to understand that Augustus could've just....... Ended slavery.

[@petersmith9633]

The Monarchy is a joke and I get sick of people glamorizing and glorifying these people on celluloid. And it's not just the Monarchy, people are obsessed with rich people and their lives. We have reality shows that revolve around them and movies where rich people struggle with some obstacle that poor people would love to have levied upon them just to have opportunity to have a tenth of the wealth. Even modern romances and comedies revolve around people who are rich or are so financially well off that money is never an obstacle.

[@danidkg4071]

I love Sofia coppola’s movie, mostly bc of the beautiful costumes and setpieces, but the way it makes Marie Antoinette look like a tragic indie yA character is SOOOO bad

[@livingabstraction2206]

Wow Surprise surprise D.W. Griffith once again shows how much he doesn't care about the damage he does do the oppressed. I'm sorry I hate that guy so much. Watching the five minutes of Birth of a Nation was a mind numbing experience and a part of me hopes Griffith burned in hell for ever making that garbage.

[@popularcc4539]

DW Griffith was truly vile, and it's incredibly upsetting to me that he's still held up and taught in film schools. Like, I had classes that used him in film school, and I only graduated a few years ago. "Birth of a Nation" is right up there with "Triumph of the Will" in terms of films that did horrific damage to human lives.

[@jaywhangmakes]

@@popularcc4539 Roger Ebert called these movies as "great movies that ARGUE FOR EVIL." They are truly evil movies.

[@jaywhangmakes]

BTW, I fell into this rabbit hole relating to the author Thomas Dixon (who wrote the novel that this garbage movie based on) and learned the fact that the term "fundamentalism", which describes religious fanaticism, is actually American by origin. Thomas has a brother named Anzi Clarence Dixon, and he edited a collection of white supremacist Biblical literalist christian essays titled The Fundamentals. And that's where the term "fundamentalism" came from.

[@yanntautain4616]

"Pictured : a Nazi. " Damn. Even if she's not as openly and obvious as her father is, you"re right. Thank you for writing it.

[@ArninoStorm]

Funnily enough, anime likes the French Revolution, with quite a few taking place during that time. The Rose of Versailles is a good example.

[@ArninoStorm]

Lol I should have finished the video before assuming it covered only western takes. I are dumb. XD

[@popularcc4539]

I really wish I'd been able to go through more of the anime; I was only able to go through a bit of Rose of Versailles but it seemed interesting from the pieces I saw.

[@ArninoStorm]

@@popularcc4539 In the original manga (which I bought), Oscar dies storming the Bastille.

[@popularcc4539]

@@ArninoStorm 😲😲😲

[@ArninoStorm]

@@popularcc4539 It then follows to the death of Marie Antoinette. It does treat her with some sympathy, but mostly by showing her to be extremely childish and naive.

[@kittenclysm_5125]

I didn't finish assassin's creed unity and i'm kind of shocked to learn that the revolution isn't favorably portrayed. the overarching conflict is supposed to be that the assassins are into freedom (often to the point of anarchism) and the templars are into 100% controlling people using government, religion, alien tech & whatever. like how in the hell are the assassins not backing the revolution???

[@RochuBlack]

I don't have the brainpower at the moment to articulate any of my thoughts on the French revolution or the way it is potrayed in media but I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking on this uh... herculean task of studying the history, watching the films, thinking about them, writing this video and then actually making it. Positive outlooks on the French revolution are more than needed and as a video essay this is just delightful. Hearing The Centrists bullshit their way through the topic is exhausting, one would think that in (theyearofourlord) 2019 one wouldn't even need to defend the French Revolution. You've done a marvelous job and also managed to combine some of my favourite things, History (particularly insurrectional history) and media analysis. Sidenote you're goddamn right the women's march was fucking awesome and we never hear jackshit about it. Another awesome thing that often gets left out when talking about the French Revolution: the Haitian revolution! Fucking cool as shit. I do think that there is way too much focus on Marie Antoinette for better or for worse. She was a rich monarch and I don't see why we should have any sympathy for her, but on the other hand she does get thrown under the bus as The Most Evil when, like. The whole Aristocracy is Right There. I think we should just stop giving so much relevance to individual personalities. But yeah this whole trend of defending her in the name of feminism is both baffling and infuriating. Anyways, this is a great video, I'll be sure to check out your other stuff. Hope you keep making content like this! blabla Let's Guillotine the Bourgeoisie Tonight, Qomrade.

[@wweltz]

LOL of course Sofia Coppola relates to Marie Antoinette ... she was born into wealth and achieved status because of the accomplishments of her father.

[@Sparrowren]

absolutely loved this! as a point, my first real introduction to the revolution was the various sketches on the horrible histories show as a kid, and they tend to be very firmly on the side of the revolutionaries! i was always bothered by portrayls of marie antionette and you make really good arguments ill be sure to show people in future :3

[@mollymcdade4031]

The ‘Historical Wife Swap’ where they basically hit the nail on the head was really amazing

[@corvidcall1025]

god i was psyched out of my mind to see this video go up...... i love the french revolution and i wish people talked about it more. but like. in a good way. also excited you have a patreon now!!!!!!!!! ive been waiting :)

[@myrtaleellery]

12:50 I don't know if you're passionate about mangas and stuff, but the anime of Lady Oscar is actually good, much better than the movie, and definitely worth checking out (especially considering it only has one season and 40 episodes). The anime explores the figure of Marie Antoinette but never tries to take the blame away from her and her husband: she was a bad person who didn't know how to rule a country, and people *died* because of her actions. Lady Oscar and André and all the other, non historical characters, are there to give a more in depth view of the society of the time and how the political climate effected them.

[@popularcc4539]

I was talking to someone else in the comments who also said it's really good and I'm very intrigued. The main reason I didn't cover it in the video was runtime; I was already a bit overwhelmed with all of the things I was watching for this, and decided to do Lady Oscar and not Rose of Versailles because Lady Oscar is so much shorter. But now I absolutely want to sit down and work through Rose of Versailles in the near future.

[@jaywhangmakes]

@@popularcc4539 And this is one of few videos on this website that talks about Lady Oscar the movie, which is the first non-Japanese language film adaptation of Japanese manga. And it was rather inevitable since the manga series is set in France.

[@Jimbot256]

I clicked on the video for Leftist critique of depictions of the French Revolution in media and stayed for French women staring at each other erotically... and Leftist critique of depictions of the French Revolution in media. I will hand it to Unity, though. It did depict the ruling elite in the correct way: i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_original/akqmvdd29hkw6wr4bvts.jpg (Gosh, the glitches that wreck of a game produced were incredible)

[@popularcc4539]

WHY WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT

[@sanogoadamagyram8166]

I'm sorry you watched The visitors bastille day it was a greedy cashgrab based on a movie everybody loved if you can find the original watch it it's very funny. Also absolutely not related but you should watch Raw it's by a French female director and it's certainly one of the best French movie of this decade just so you know what they are capable of. It's on Netflix I think.

[@popularcc4539]

Ooooo thank you I'll give Raw a watch.

[@syystomu]

Yes! Thank you! This shit really needs to be said because people, (especially in English speaking countries it seems) have massive misconceptions about the revolution and media and movies are a huge part of the reason I suspect. They influence our feelings by getting us to root for the powerful... Re: Les Mis, having seen a whole bunch of Les Mis adaptation, even they don't always portray the revolutionaries positively. Particularly the 1935 Hollywood version which basically turned them into villains who lead poor innocent Marius astray. And even the 1978 version has a royalist Valjean telling Marius to surrender to the guards. Then again there's a definite tendency for the adaptations to get more sympathetic to the revolutionaries, at least in the English language versions. On the French side the newer 2000 miniseries is a bit more ambiguous than earlier French versions which are mostly very pro-revolution and have no sympathy for the authorities or the royalists. But yeah, I guess the further away in time we get from it, the easier it gets to sell it to people as a righteous but tragic event, although there's still often a certain sense of "they're just young boys who don't know what they're doing and they were doomed to fail" (both of which are wrong, they had lived through the 1830 revolution and they could have had a real chance if the liberal republican leaders hadn't decided to abandon them. Oh and also while most revolutionaries were young, there were older people involved in the fight and at least some of the more famous leading figures were in their thirties.) We'll see how the new BBC miniseries portrays them...

[@popularcc4539]

Thank you for watching! About Les Mis, you could argue that even the musical, while sympathetic, mostly views them as children. They're constantly called "schoolboys" etc. At some point I want to do a video about our constant cultural obsession with royalty, but I honestly have no idea how I'd even divide that down into a digestible length.

[@syystomu]

@@popularcc4539 Yeah, the musical is definitely guilty of it too. And the entire song "Turning" is probably the worst offender, all about how useless it all was. "Nothing changes" and all that. Oh man, that would be a great video too, but yeah, that's a huge topic. Hope you can work out how to cut it down to a manageable size!

[@evywthingseemsdiffagain921]

This was really good. While I’ll admit I know very little about the French Revolution or Robespierre, I can’t help but think that he was still rather tyrannical in aspects and more resembling of the more reactionary/co-optive sides of the revolution that abused power. I acknowledge how you brought up how there can be had thoughtful discussions on the use of certain things as violence and more, yet I feel like there may be even more oppressed and marginalized(and rather interesting) voices that are left out of even the most sympathetic takes out there. I don’t know if you’ve read it, but it reminds me of the article by Nathan j Robinson of Current Affairs, “the limits of liberal history”, and while I realize that French politics has different meanings and sides from the American counterparts, I think that even in the left we can fall(though albeit less frequently) in this idolization of a few figures and forget the larger amount of random people as a whole. I think that the only thing that I read on Robespierre and other figures “better”(for lack of a better word) than him in the revolutionary side was in the book “Demanding the Impossible: A history of anarchism” by Peter Marshall, though not sure in what section. Just to make sure, I’m not accusing you of doing this, I loved your take and thought you had a meaningful and nuanced analysis of the matter(I thought about this briefly when I saw mr Peabody and Sherman a few months ago but went past me in an instant), it was just a thought I had. That’s all

[@popularcc4539]

I agree, Robespierre did certainly have tyrannical aspects to his personality, which was one of the reasons the reign of terror got as far as it did. My aim here is not to exonerate him (which I am worried I do a bit too much of) but to show how any revolutionary perspective in general is often lost. In a lot of ways the most interesting film I watched here was Danton (even if it was REALLY reactionary) because at least it was engaging with the actual substance of the history, which is often glossed over. The French Revolution was, as I said, of a pair with the American Revolution, and that includes the fact that the bourgeois and their needs were centered over the actual poor. Thank you for the recs; I think the Nathan J Robinson article crossed my timeline a few months back but I'm not sure I read it; I'm going through it now. I'm also adding "History of Anarchism" to my (admittedly overlong) list of books to check out. I always appreciate you stopping by and engaging with the videos; and I'm hearting this take in the hopes that others will see it!

[@evywthingseemsdiffagain921]

Popular C/C thank you, I’m always glad to increase someone’s burden of knowledge(I myself always add more texts/films on my list from these videos). Really appreciate these takes, when watching films I seldom have the opportunity to develop these ideas so well, glad to have something to fall back on when I want to start a conversation around media

[@syystomu]

I think much of Robespierre's supposed "tyranny" is actually based on propaganda spread by the Thermidorians attempting to clear their own reputations and putting the entire thing on Robespierre and his supporters when in fact the Thermidorians were themselves complicit, as was the National Convention. For a short overview of Robespierre's actual character and involvement in the Terror, see Marisa Linton's article on Robespierre and the Terror. I'm not an expert on the French Revolution by any means, I just vaguely know some people who are, but this article seems good based on what I do know.

[@syystomu]

Here's the article: www.academia.edu/5514329/Robespierre_and_the_Terror

[@popularcc4539]

@@syystomu Thank you for this; I really really enjoyed this piece. I might link it in the description if that's okay with you (and credit you with sending it along of course.)

[@Wunklr]

Nobody will be mad you criticized ac unity, except maybe for bringing it up at all.

[@cabbage2587]

Robespierre did nothing wrong

[@CookiDough12346]

Bruh after the revolution he got very power hungry and tyrannical and executed everyone over minor shit.

[@cabbage2587]

@@CookiDough12346 nah bruh, Robespierre did nothing wrong. You can't have virtue without terror this is the core of his belief. What happened was that the revolution was not stable and could collapse from internal and external forces. When they arrested the King they found information for a counter revolution and many other plans. What would you do if the Revolution was about to fall apart? The use of violence to protect this new institution is justified. He was still supported by the Communes and the main reason he was killed was that the people who did it were most likely to go to the guillotine. The Committee needed to have a majority anyway so you can't just blame him and he could of lost his position with a vote. The biggest problem is that a lot of information is lost so we can't really judge that far as well don't you think that the Conservatives in the assembly would use propaganda to discredit and smear him afterwards so they look morally correct?

[@ondrejsaska3201]

Every murderer did wrong.

[@CookiDough12346]

Communist Cabbage interesting points

[@Snowleaper]

Finally! A good opinion on the topic!!

[@LeSeulViolet]

Merci camarade!

[@kspoo10_]

I haven't started watching the video yet, but I already ADORE the title

[@natalieshappka2702]

Super awesome video!!! I never realized how skewed hollywood movies are concerning the “right” and “wrong” side of the french revolution. Very interesting!

[@DarkestElemental616]

Am I the only one who remembers when the History Channel actually did history and isn't surprised that it has...good historical information?

[@darkollie77]

god THANK you for this

[@Plasmaggie]

oh hell yeah, knocked it outta the park again!!

[@fluoresensitive3519]

I literally adore this video!!!

[@Laughingtoyourself]

Great video as always! Funny, witty and just good! so glad that you are uploading!

[@maeves]

Really, really well done video!!!

[@raving_1074]

This video was great, im so sad that this channel hasnt had a video uploaded in 4 years!

[@Dhutton42]

Hey this was a really good video, thanks for making it

[@morthempstock9477]

a Good video - signed A French

[@jjazdzewska2157]

are you... criticizing Wajda for being involved with Solidarność? And for hating the soviet union? I know this was probably not your intention, but the fragment on Wajda seemed disrespectful and uninformed. You ridiculed Wajda for his dislike of the soviet union and for how he kept critiquing it in his films - and one of the posters of his works you displayed was Katyń. You know, Katyń, otherwise known as the Katyń massacre where 22,000 people were murdered by the soviet union - including Wajda's father. I think the man is entitled to some hate. As a friend of mine once said - Soviet Union Bad. Not many people learn about Polish history, which is I am so incensed - even if you didn't mean it, you misrepresented such a huge and important chunk of it. It seems like you're criticizing Solidarność. It seems like you're ridiculing someone for fighting against the soviet union.

[@zetmarple]

exactly my thoughts! @creator of the video - your stance on wajda and the soviet union seemed SO bizarre to me, because here in Poland it's common knowledge that the soviet union was the regime and Solidarność was the revolution. Poland was oppressed by the soviet union for many years before Solidarność succeeded in making a change. i feel like there's a trend in the west to perceive ussr and the soviets as these unappreciated, misrepresented people, but they were literally... the oppressor... like i know capitalism is bad but surely the answer to that isnt praising authoritarian regimes based on mass murder and censorship?? not saying that that's what you did in this video, but i cant pretend that the way u presented the role of the soviet union in poland didnt ruffle my feathers a bit, lol. it did feel as if you were criticising Wajda for opposing the soviet union which - again - will be absolutely bizarre to anyone with a bit of knowledge about Polish (and eastern european in general) history and politics

[@dialecticalveganegoist1721]

Loved it!

[@CookiDough12346]

im crying we watched that first documentary in history class a few months ago

[@talytasbarcelos]

I'm very greatfull for this

[@Universal_Pig]

Nice work comrade, look forward to watching more from you!

[@callmethecommentcountess9329]

Interesting

[@cryptidpop]

Awesome video! I know this video focuses specifically on the French Rev. and a little bit on it's relationship with the American Rev. but the trifecta, the Trilogy™, if you will, of world changing revolutions wouldn't be complete without the Haitian Revolution of 1804 because both the American AND French Revs had a profound impact on the Haitian Rev. and ultimately, the Haitian Rev. was the revolution that radicalized the world. So if you get a moment, dive into the history of the Haitian Revolution too because it's awesome! Also, the same reason why there's such a heavy bias toward aristocracy in films about the French Revolution is the exact same reason why there's little to absolutely no films/content about the Haitian Revolution (i.e. corrupt French & US governments)

[@rikafurude6275]

this video was amazing though i am saddened by the only passing mention of marat/sade, one of my favourite plays of all time... the portrayal of the proto-communistic en ragés and the commentary on the napoleonic counter-revolution are particularly good

[@popularcc4539]

Marat/Sade is fantastic; I came across it pretty late in writing this video and honestly I probably should have discussed it more. I might revisit it later.

[@rikafurude6275]

Popular C/C it makes sense it holds a radically different perspective since if i recall its writer was an east german man, paul weiss. i’d certainly be interested in seeing you do a full discussion/analysis of it!

[@mandaboiarry4366]

Boiarri... lets get back what they have taken from us.... enough is enough

[@albam992]

Good video!

[@mandaboiarry4366]

Im the last left... yes they slaughtered all except the ones that got away... ha my smart family ....

[@finetun3d]

Wow! This channel is a gem! Please do more omg

[@mandaboiarry4366]

Ha im french boi... amanda boiarri

[@anleg98]

the quality of this video is !!!!! wow

[@malodemesidon1035]

I'm French and "Film where women longly stare at each other eroticly" are among my favorite too ; for some reason it seems we are good at making those. But anyway, kinda surprised to see that a lot of movie get a so...partial view, it's more than probably because I'm french, but I alway got the impression than you know, Revolution was mostly portrayed in a positive light. Even Louis XVI, tough he is more seens as a fool than a evil guy, is not elevated as a martyr, more like "Yeaaaaaaaaaah maybe beheading was a bit harsh, and life in prison would have been better ; but he fooled around trying to run away and those where violent time". Marie-Antoinette...I would say a divisive figure maybe ? Like, we are aware she was kind of a..well kind of a cunt to be blunt, but we also realise a lot of people just hated her because she was the Queen and a stranger from Austria (and Austria was not well liked) induce a bit of sympathy, probably helped by the whole "She loved her kids" syndrom ; another "Death was harsh".

[@mirandamrozek5939]

Don't worry about botching your Polish pronunciation. The phonetics (especially when it comes to what letter(s) makes what sound when read aloud) are quite different from english, so it's not surprising that it's difficult to most english speakers (one way to work around it, even if it is not foolproof is to use the Google translate "listen" option). To be honest, I'm just happy that a Polish person was mentioned and talked about, I am happy to learn more about my mother country (even if it said information is about the less good aspects. In other words, no matter if it is about something good or bad) Leaving that behind, it was a lovely analysis that balanced well between facts, opinions and humor! You just earned yourself a subscriber.

[@lynnpehrson8826]

You and contrapoints are gonna save the world