The N@zi Alt-History Show That Was ‘Hijacked by Sjws’ - The Man in the High Castle

[@garaj1]

The whole section on white women reminds me of all the people i've known who have claimed, even now, that Melania Trump is "trapped" in a relationship with her husband, as if she's incapable of being a horrible person and choosing this kind of life for herself.

[@MyssBlewm]

Right? Like no she really is just a racist 🤷‍♀️

[@BeGlamourlicious]

Melanie is smart and could definitely marry rich again if she just wanted to. She is choosing her husband. What makes me cringe is that her Dad looks exactly like her husband. It’s bad.

[@melodye14]

Exactly. They act like she didn't push that racist birther shit right along with him during Obama's presidency.

[@Xondar11223344]

@@melodye14 She was pretty much Birther Alpha.

[@goobertron9099]

OMG THIS

[@sammyvictors2603]

The show is tonally confusing. Like the writers showing different themes that clash horribly. Its an amorphous mess.

[@aliceplays9921]

WW2 Alternate history stories almost always fall flat for me cause it gets caught up in the aesthetics of Nazism and seems to diametrically oppose Americans with Nazis ideologically rather than examine the similar power structures that can make fascism arise in any society if bent in that direction. We get caught up in the stormtrooper red and black Authoritarianism that we end up perpetuating images created by hitler instead of recognizing the real self mutilating loser ideology that nazism is. Anyway wolfenstein does ww2 alternate history better imo lol

[@stephenhuynh2709]

Yeah, it reminds of how WH40k started out as initially parodying fascist ideology with the Imperium, with all it's excesses and prejudice, but then it sort of fell into the whole mythos of the "Cult of the Hero" prevalent in fascist ideology until it just became an odd mix of "badass heroic man fights alien that are the exact replica of the image that Imperial propagandists create" and the standard grimdark fare.

[@poposterous236]

RIP Super Spesh

[@pan-semitistcommunist4181]

@@stephenhuynh2709 which explains why all the Warhammer kids from my high school turned into Nazis... Side note: If anyone wants a recommendation for a better alternate WW2 history show that IMO takes a much more real look at fascism in the US try HBO's "The Plot Against America" Taking place in an alternate history where Charles Lindbergh (American aviator and spokesman for the "America First Committee") is made the Republican nominee in the 1940 election instead of Wendell Wilkie. As a candidate Lindbergh uses a simplistic platform of Nationalism, Isolationism and Dog-whistle rhetoric aswell as his already existing cult of personality to ultimately defeat FDR in the Election and become president, filling his cabinet with people like Henry Ford and Burton K. Wheeler. It primarily follows a middle class Jewish family in New Jersey and their struggles with growing antisemitism under the new Lindbergh administration. I highly recommend it. as I always say: "When fascism comes to America it will not be dressed in black and covered in swastikas, it'll come carrying the cross and draped in the American flag."

[@Hawkatana]

The HoI4 mod "The New Order: Last Days of Europe" is another good example of WW2 Alternate History. If the mod has any core themes, it's that Nazism is a self-destructive death cult that will lead to the end of the world if not stopped.

[@danieldionne9709]

@@pan-semitistcommunist4181 Thanks for the recommendation, that show sounds fantastic. Definitely checking it out

[@jackneison]

I really wanted to like this show, but just couldn't get into it. I feel like it failed where the Wolfenstein trilogy succeeded. The entire resistance in Wolfenstein is made up of people who the Nazis hate, including BJ (who has an "aryan ubermensch" appearance, but is also half-Jewish). The game also goes out of its way to point out that brutal racial oppression existed in the US long before the Nazis took over. Not to mention that the entire premise of the game is killing as many Nazis as you can, which is based af.

[@gateauxq4604]

I like how the new Wolfenstein came out and the kids who grew up on 4chan racism were like ‘wtf making Wolfenstein woke by killing Nazis’ 🤦

[@bigloo8395]

I feel the same way, the show was boring. I also didn't like that they portrayed communists as heroes when they're just as bad as nazis.

[@Screwfacecapone]

@ Come on now, they only started doing the anti-nazi thing like, back in the first game

[@jackneison]

@@bigloo8395 lol. Communists engage in class warfare, which consists of organizing labor to attack the ruling (capitalist) class based upon their exploitation of the working class. Hell, some capitalists even go full mask off, like when Besos admitted that Amazon workers and customers paid for his narcissistic flight into space. Communists don't attack anyone based upon immutable characteristics of identity, but rather based upon material conditions and who benefits from them and who is exploited by them. Nazis literally attack people for being Black, Brown, Jewish, gay, trans, etc. Any capitalist can stop being a capitalist whenever they choose (as can any fascist), but someone of a non-"aryan" identity can't stop being of their respective identity. Antifa, for instance, will stop attacking fascists if they stop being fascists, but fascists won't stop attacking the people they hate until they're all dead. If you can't see the difference between the radical left and the far-right, then you have no understanding of how either ideology works in theory or practice, or what the end goals of either ideology are. There are huge, very obvious, differences, which is why the two groups have historically violently opposed one another. But you go ahead with your galaxy brained centrist liberal nonsense. Meanwhile, the world is on fire, and I don't see any of these billionaires doing a goddamn thing to fix it. PS Most of the resistance in Wolfenstein were communists and anarchists, as well. And this was a realistic portrayal of the fight against fascism, because liberalism is ill-equipped to successfully defeat it.

[@khazermashkes2316]

Great point! FYI BJ is a Jew with a gentile father, not a half-Jew. Under Jewish law he is 100% Jewish.

[@DoAllDogsLikeMarmite]

Watching this, I've got to wonder how many people assume the Nazis only got into power because people were scared or complacent, as if there wasn't like, a reactionary movement driving their beliefs.

[@chair6703]

if you look into it, its not like the average person was into the holocaust like most idealogies, it starts small and things everyone would support, like better lay, jobs, pride in your country etc, and slowly get more and more authoritarian and then they basically can do whatever they want. the nazis didnt just go yo guyd we gonna go kill millions of people and germany was like yeah im down for that. by the time people realized how bad it was, it was too late to do much

[@SeymourDisapproves]

@@chair6703 I mean, that framing makes it sound as if the Nazi party didn't garner any early support at all by playing on the exact same xenophobia and bigotry that's brought awful people to power during periods of economic stress or great social upheaval for centuries. Like, even just using a recent history of the United States as an example, idk how you can look at vigilante border patrols routinely popping up in the South since the 80s to basically hunt Mexican people for sport, two whole decades of Islamaphobic hate crimes as a direct response to 9/11 and the "War on Terror," or the past year's spike in anti-Asian hate crimes due to sinophobic COVID scare-mongering and confidently say that there weren't a significant number of Germans who were fully on board with murdering Jewish people right out of the gate. And that's not even touching on the fact that Jewish people already have millennias of history when it comes to being scapegoats. Like, come on now, you're smarter than this lol

[@chair6703]

@@SeymourDisapproves i mean sure, i agree, i didnt say outright they didnt mention the jews, people were very antisemetic (in pretty much every country) and they definately banked on that, but really only the most extreme people are in favor of exterminating them. theres evidence for this as 1) the nazis actually hid the outright murder of jews and covered it up as relocation 2) when regular german army (not SS) soldiers discovered the trains or the camps many wrote how disgusted they were or helped them escape. to view everyone within an organization like that as evil is naïve and allows for it to happen again, only a small portion at the top needs to have the power, control and then they can basically do what they want, because you have things such as the bystander effect, or people dont want to step out of line even at the beginning because subconciously its easier for them to just keep their head down or not even think about it, the majority of people now and more so then werent even aware of the politics, think how many people even know we are still at war in other nations or why? and back then over 50% of people were illiterate and were just farmers.

[@aussiegod4269]

If you read up on European history you’d find a great majority of whites outside of the reich hated their policies and disagreed with them. The only reason people collaborated was primarily the fear of their safety. However this didn’t even last as across the German occupied countries like France Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgian, and Dutch their were resistant fighters popping up. What you have to understand is that white people and a great majority of white men were against Nazism. To suggest that most willing complicit is insulting to say the least. Even Oswald Mosely a prominent fascist in Britain was laid into by crowds of working class white men in east end London when him and his supporters took to the streets. Keep in mind these men werent socialist beating up fascists. They were just ordinary folk who didn’t accept this ideological brain washing in their country.

[@thelegendarybloxycola4727]

@@aussiegod4269 nobody mentioned white men, the reich's people were supportive of what was happening, but their support died down during the last stages of war and the following decades, specially with anti-german propaganda created by both west and east germany.

[@bluejellyfish4983]

They should have shown an perspective where the black characters talk about how even before the naz* won they where treated the same and that America has always been this way, it’s just the rolls are changed. They should have also shown the prospective of a non Japanese Asian person specifically Chinese or Korean.

[@jonnytorres664]

Ur gonna love Wolfenstein then

[@veelogation3890]

@@jonnytorres664 I like that people are talking about how good the Wolfenstein series is (throughout this comments section, not just your comment) but I'm confused about recommending a game series as an alternative to a TV show. Playing a game or watching through a let's play or even just cut scenes from a game is a very different experience to watching a TV show or movie. Am I missing something and there's a Wolfenstein TV show or movie coming out? The latest mentions I can find are news about a movie in the works back in 2012.

[@jonnytorres664]

Unfortunately theres not a tv show :c well, theres this game-cutscene, some are cut w/ the ass ngl, but other show a TON of the game, but like u said its not the same, but if u ever wanna try it, its pretty good, you would think a FPS would just b nazis-bad but here it goes in-dept, they did their research when talking abt these topics. Its not only abt physical resistance (killing nazis ofc :P) but about the people the regime affects foremost, Blazko, the protagonist is VERY good for just begin a meaty dude. If u wanna u can also see an Essay from Jacob Geller abt it ;D its basically the basic points, not a TV show, but VERY well thought-out video.

[@bluejellyfish4983]

@@jonnytorres664 “the war isn’t ever look at all these Naz* walking around”

[@dantealighieri8403]

It's been a while since I saw the show, but I could have SWORN there were scenes in the final season where African Americans were explaining to the Jewish guy with the glasses that this fight was nothing new to them, it's the same ideals they've been fighting since day 1, just a different oppressor

[@SirThinks2Much]

"Why John is the best character" I thought you were going to say "because he's played by Rufus Sewell, acting legend" but this was fascinating too.

[@HugoStiglitz88]

Nah I think it's because he's obviously the most conflicted and important character. The acting is excellent but to me the only reason I'm watching still is to see if he finally betrays the Reich because I can tell he's wanted to this whole time since he found out his son was sick. He's a great villain as well because he is relatable in many ways and isn't pure evil. His wife is awful though 🤣🤣 one of the most annoying TV wives I've ever seen. Worse than Skylar White IMO

[@giasas]

Very interesting analysis though... I think the root of the problem with the show may be that the creators tried to put distance between the show and the horrors and reality of fascism. We should be able to have media about fascism, but if it's got a both sides attitude about it or it's overly sanitized, I don't know how helpful it could really be for fueling useful discussion 🤔

[@CheyenneLin]

Thanks! And yeah I’m not sure either 🧐 thanks again for watching and for your support :)

[@DoAllDogsLikeMarmite]

The frustrating thing is that to me, it seems more watchable than something like The Handmaid's Tale because the supernatural element at least makes it feel a lot less heavy. Just a shame the earlier seasons are crammed full of both-sideserisms and sympathetic Nazis.

[@TheChannelJ1]

Yes! If you have to sanitize one side in order to make them more palatable then they aren't a side worth humanizing/sympathizing for...

[@Fushishou]

@@DoAllDogsLikeMarmite "sympathetic nazis"? What, should they be mustache twirling villains instead? This is specifically one of the strengths of the show that it shows how even regular people can turn to evil. How is that no obvious?

[@grandsome1]

That's why I like to stick to the Wolfestein reboot when it comes to WWII alt-history, it middle fingers the Nazi so much at every occasion they can.

[@Alte.Kameraden]

Honestly it's worse than Man in the High Castle. lol

[@solarmoth4628]

I watched this show back in highschool. It felt confused sometimes. It didn’t focus on the Jewish, Black or other minority characters enough I thought. I found myself wanting to know more about them and wished they were more fleshed out as the show went on. The show left so many questions and loose ends about how the world was set up. I think this was a good exploration of the failings and successes of the show.

[@What-he5pr]

Everything has to focus on victim class diversity hires right?

[@Lycandros]

I find it almost impossible to watch these types of shows, the writers almost always misunderstand, ignore, or just can't fathom actual reasons for people's actions. So it's a super surface level attempt at telling a difficult story that makes me pissed off and depressed. Enjoyed listening to your thoughts and observations though, I'm always curious how well this is done (or how terrible it is). As for Nazi's, I heard about a book written by a Jewish man who went to Germany after the war and interviewed a bunch of 'regular' people. Teachers and the like, those who supported and voted for the Nazi party. Can't remember much (haven't read the book yet), but the one I do remember wasn't upset or ashamed by what the Nazi's did to the people in the camps, he was upset that Hitler brought them into a war they couldn`t win. That is a character I want to see in these types of shows. *Mean Girls*

[@tofugains]

The book is They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45, by Milton Mayer. I haven't read it yet either but I remembered the description from an episode of behind the bastards

[@ifyousayso03]

Imagine growing up in a literal fascist dystopia and still claiming to be apolitical

[@tonimartinez320]

we are, and many do.

[@ilikeships9333]

I mean that’s just wrong there is not a single fascist country left, you can try to say that and act all cool but there literally isn’t also maybe look up what fascism is because there are no country’s that are.

[@ilikeships9333]

@@tonimartinez320it’s a country that has an absolute leader who controls the people and what happens that’s also a extreme right wing “our true people first” and leaves others as being a lot of the time “lesser people” that’s what fascism is and at the moment no country’s bother to use it.

[@VisualdelightPro]

@@ilikeships9333 no corporations are still fascist though.

[@ilikeships9333]

@cyotee doge China is communist dude get a brain Edit: now they are more socialist capitalistic now that I think about it but they are not really racist even though they suck.

[@zmckeown1199]

I love seeing notifications for your videos pop up, always something interesting that I can't wait to watch and learn about :)

[@charlieni645]

This show is so interesting to talk about yet nobody seems to be doing that! Comparing the worldbuilding to Springtime to Mousolini is brilliant. I binged every season the moment they came out because I was so intrigued by the setting. I completely agree that season 4 is easily the best despite it being rushed so badly and not having Tagomi. It finally confronts the mentality of turning evil into banality of unpresecuted people living under fascism that sustains and even protects its existence. Smith started his transformation in the name of survival. But he was unwilling to do anything to stop the Reich from committing atrocity when he got into a position of power because of the privilege granted to him through the system. His eventual admission to Helen that he didn't know how to stop is one of the few truly powerful moments in the show. Edit: God finally someone sharing my hatred for Joe! He always comes off as smug to me even in scenes he's not written to be so. I don't know if it's the actor or the direction given to him, clearly he demonstrates how the show has no idea what to do with him and he's only there because he's in the book.

[@solarmoth4628]

I hated Joe as well, he was very irritating to me. I started to tune him out because he was getting on my nerves. I think the show started to not to know what to do with him.

[@Tennislove88]

Yes the Joe haters club! I hated him too! I was pleasantly surprised when he met his fate as i thought they were gonna keep him alive till the end of the show.

[@genossinwaabooz4373]

I can't quite believe this is the 1st mention I've heard of the show! I don't watch any TV etc but how did this not come up for people when all the stuff politically... Wow. Great analysis btw, & way more focused on the merits of a thing incl messaging, wheras so many others just list the obvious cringeworthy.

[@ElPresidenteMargz]

This is the first time someone says they liked the 4th season which to many .. it was easily the worst

[@dadian803]

​@@ElPresidenteMargz It's the worst.

[@madiunknown5013]

So... I didn't watch The High Castle. But am I to understand that neurodiversity and disabled rights never came into play aside from once character who magically wasn't disabled in our 'good' alt-world? In a show about a movement based on eugenics? Set in America, where eugenics was huge in real life, and treatment of disabled people was abysmal? Because that doesn't sit well me.

[@emptyteacup8228]

FACTS

[@radaro.9682]

Was? I'd say is. They're trying to kill us by starving us, locking us up, keeping us houseless and just straight overdosing us on tranquillizers cause they don't wanna take the time to help us quiet the overstimulation of having lights and yelling pop out of nowhere on you if not actually shooting us cause we don't emote the same. Or are having a meltdown.

[@christophergreen6595]

? I thought it covered a lot more. And of course, this is a world where any open admission of disability on thr nazi side is a death sentence.

[@kyllme1500]

The show really falls apart once it started focusing more and more on "our" timeline. It was cool the first time it happened when we go a whole season in an Axis controlled U.S. and suddenly we're in downtown San Francisco in "our" timeline. And I thought the way they used it to resolve the main conflict in season 2 was pretty clever. But then the Nazis start planning to invade the other timeline and its like, WTF? Why and and how did we get here?

[@teodorasavoiu4664]

They mention a couple of times that Ed, a friend to the main character Juliana, who had his lungs affected by mustard gas as a child, would have been immediately killed in the nazi part of America, whereas in the Japanese controlled area at least he got to live, even though it's as a second class citizen (like all non Japanese folks). But it's honestly not that big of a plot point, because it would seem that the Japanese empire has more lax policies on eugenics. I wish they would have focused a lot more on the eugenics (and the rest) in nazi america, but the show glosses over all of that, until it hits the main nazi family and their son chooses to turn himself in to voluntary euthanasia. Aaand yes no eugenics talk in "good timeline" America. It kinda serves to obfuscate what the US was really like in the 60s, intentionally or not

[@Sean-ni4qy]

I think the Sopranos covered the 'I didn't know/mafia wife' trope much better. They knew. they always know. maybe not concrete, maybe they dupe themselves to wilful ignorance but they always are aware of what they're doing. I don't buy it. Everyone is a willing actor and the daily compromises they make are a choice.

[@winterishere440]

The fact that we both saw the same show but interpreted very different things is fascinating.

[@TindraSan]

things might have been better had they switched gears as early as S2, only baiting the bigots throughout the first season. that would've at least felt more deliberate and less of a "OH SHIT we muddled the point of the book" last minute fix

[@onegirlarmy4401]

My take the first time I watched it was that the Nazis had been more "efficient" about their exterminations, which is why there were very few left by the 1960s. It made me very uncomfortable.

[@nevermoreever2]

Labour camps turned into death camps towards the end WW2 when Hitler realized he was losing. So if Hitler and the Nazis won, those labour camps would've never become death camps, because why lose out on all that free labour?/s It takes more energy and man power to actively kill people than to work them to death. So the lack of labour camps in this storyline is odd.

[@mehlover]

Okay, that was some choices for advertising the show wtf. I'm glad there's some good that came from the show. Also hyped the BCR won in the end. But woof at the fandom. Love your review! Can't wait for the next one!

[@ElPresidenteMargz]

BCR was cringe

[@mattevans6752]

All I knew about this show was that it was set in an alternate world where the Allies lost WWII. It looks like the show was way more squirrelly than I expected lol I am positive that watching this video was infinitely preferable to actually watching the show. The amount of times you pointed something out that was obviously a bad idea was hilariously sad. Mean Girls

[@Limptastical]

Honestly!!! The book was so good and they basically took the book and failed the point. It’s so sad, because it COMPLETELY missed the point of the book.

[@Xondar11223344]

I had so many problems with this show, and it didn't have the same care put into the material as PKD put into the original novel. I noticed a lot of the same things you did, like how they made the Japanese the main antagonists. One *huge* problem I had with the show was how they lovingly depicted all the Nazi symbols. The camera pans over swastikas and focuses on them constantly. Compare how often that same happens to Japanese symbols.

[@Xondar11223344]

Also, I loved the video.

[@CheyenneLin]

Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it and I definitely noticed that too

[@ElPresidenteMargz]

I think the answer lies somewhere around the fact that the Nazi reich was VERY into their symbols/symbology as a whole. There’s proven claims that Hitler and high ranking nazis basically revolved a lot around them and even occultism and ancient runes. Imperial Japan wasn’t as focused on the image of their symbolisms as much whatsoever

[@JoshuaThomas9]

How did they make the Japanese the main antagonists?

[@gilesclone]

I read the book about 40 years ago and I was very curious when the show was announced. Thanks for your insightful review. I now know not to waste my time.

[@blastyfish1393]

If you haven't seen the show you, can't really know if her review is insightful. Her review is through the lense of her own political and racial bias. I don't believe she actually understood the show. Even knowing that within the dystopia of the show that my family and I would have been eliminated I, still found the show to be thought provoking. It is worth your time.

[@gapsule2326]

Wow good thing DnD couldn't get their show about the Confederacy winning the war. I cant imagine the horrible ad campaign and weird message those two would come up with.

[@emmazig]

I never watched this show, but it’s so strange to me that it at all address the very large group of white Americans who sympathize with the Nazis before World War II. Antisemitism was a large problem in America as well as other types of racism and they were multiple groups of people even during World War II that actively agreed with the Nazis and thought that Jews being in America was dangerous for them or some thing. The only reason why those groups faded out is because once the Nazi party became more openly genocidal, it looked bad for white people if they supported this ideology. Ironically, the Shoah actually decreased American antisemitism for a (very) brief period of time, but this is clearly a world where antisemitism, xenophobia, and racism were left totally unchecked. There are plenty of people at the time (and today with its resurgence in antisemitism) who would have gladly accepted Nazism and I’m shocked that wasn’t addressed more.

[@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl]

At the high of facisist support in America they numbered only in the tens of thousands

[@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl]

@L M if that is true then that would be because increase in population

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

@@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl That’s tens of thousands of too much people.

[@adkads27]

Jews are the biggest racists of them all. Look how they treat gentiles in Palestine and look how they exploit blacks in the United States. I’ve read parts of the Talmud, I see you devil.

[@Tennislove88]

I had the same question once i finished watching this show: "was the show's message worth all the N@zi imagery, ads, and propaganda?" and honestly to me the show ended with a whimper and so the answer would be no. Edit: Mean Girls

[@benjaminrobinson7203]

I distinctly remember stumbling upon a channel that posted clips of the show to KZbin, and when I went into the comments I found that a great deal of the show's fans were actual Nazis. They were unabashedly fawning over the Reich imagery and ideologies of the most racist characters. Note, this was the vast majority of the comment section. Not sure if that's representative of the whole audience, but it's telling that such a passionate and frankly substantial contingent of it exists.

[@juanitacanon3120]

KZbin commenters are usually like that

[@chair6703]

honestly youtube is a fucking nazi rats nest, go on any historical ww2 video and nazis everywhere

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

Good grief that’s f*cking disgusting. And the way they try to justify their racist logic. 🤢

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

@@chair6703 Is it actually!? GOOD GRIEF THAT’S DISGUSTING!🤢

[@DorsiaMaitreD]

Well your not wrong about that! I absolutely loved this show ❤

[@grapeshot]

Yes the anti sjw crowd will be very quick to criticize any show where the white guy isn't the center of attention or if he is he has to be super great at everything as well as being super conservative.

[@raydgreenwald7788]

And yet they complain about Msry-sues....

[@Aster_Risk]

@@raydgreenwald7788 Because it's not okay if women do it!!

[@chair6703]

@@raydgreenwald7788 mary sues and the male equivelent are both bad

[@alessandromeloni99]

But sjw will complain that a nazi leader in a tv series had a good storyline, smh.

[@quodnomenmihiest6283]

yawn

[@ollygaetheirnandez]

I was intrigued by what the show was trying to say with their weird early marketing I heard about through tumblr and I'm so glad you were able to explain what happened and where they failed and how they eventually had some kind of point (though it doesn't seem like they fully committed)

[@katevgrady]

I remember seeing the heiling statue of liberty and all I could think was "you literally can't live up to the hype you've created for yourself." Like even early Thrones-tier sci-fi couldn't justify demanding THAT much attention from people.

[@katevgrady]

But, ugh, on the other hand, it was 2015 and Prime tv was still new so it was really more of a "make people aware of the platform" campaign than an "interest people in the show" one I imagine.

[@ama4121]

Mean girls! Thanks so much for this breakdown! I really enjoyed it and I'm happy to see how your videos have began to improve over time! :D

[@stephaniewilliams6756]

A much needed video about TV's continued casual racism problem. Alt History almost always means Alt Right. They lost, get over it

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

All alt-history is written by sore losers? Someone warn Philip K. Dick.

[@stephaniewilliams6756]

@@ChucksSEADnDEAD you're a virgin

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

@@stephaniewilliams6756 lmao no argument

[@chair6703]

alt history can be interesting if its done correctly, and im pretty far left

[@stephaniewilliams6756]

@@chair6703 it's cheap storytelling that boils down to "wHaT iF tHe OpPoSiTe HaPpEnEd?" Skip it

[@benjamintillema3572]

I could've sworn that in season 1 (the only season I watched, btw, I gave up on episode 8 or 9) Helen talked about having a brother or something and how he was exterminated for having a disability, and while she seems sad about it, she told her husband that it was "for the best" as in it spared them a life of dealing with the disability. She told her husband this, of course, almost immediately after he discovered that their son has the same condition and I think it's meant to be eye opening for him but the implications it has for Helen as a character is... at odds with her characterization later as the "ignorant" one to say the least. Edit: mean girls

[@teodorasavoiu4664]

Yeah, she's definitely not clueless about the extermination policies, it would seem that she accepted the idea that disabled people cannot live full lives so it's best to curb their suffering. That only changes when she's placed in the position of losing her son to the concrete consequences of that line of thinking. It's more contrived but i find it plausible. She's not a good but ignorant person, she's a selfish parent who bought into horrible ideology and got burnt by it 🤷

[@arnettrabaker4872]

I tried with this show because the concept is killer, but it was dead on arrival because of everything you pointed out, well-done!

[@CheyenneLin]

Thank you!

[@laraspace6139]

I never got in the show. As a German, I feel really uncomfortable with stories where the Nazis win.

[@Lill2895]

@L M because America is and already was full of KKK and Nazi members. My country is built on Eugenics and White Supremacy and xenophobia. 🤷🏾‍♀️ They like a specific type of White. Very conservative and of specific national lineage and Christianity and being heterosexual and able-bodied/minded. America didn't learn anything after slavery so why would they learn anything after WWII 😭🤦🏾‍♀️

[@aquaarietta]

The show had a very interesting premise. I enjoyed the first season a lot because the characters seemed more solid and like the show had a clear direction, which is what I think kept me watching through the next seasons in the hopes that it would actually confront some of the many issues it could have. Instead, it just fell flat to me. When the main characters are just boring, it's really hard to have a compelling story. And while the show falls under the sci-fi category, the sci-fi elements just got too ridiculous over time. The actual Man in the High Castle ended up pretty irrelevant in the end, and the show lost its air of mystery. It's not the worst thing ever produced, but it was disappointing to invest a few years into watching it for it to basically go nowhere. I guess that's most modern TV these days.

[@my86outback]

Mean Girls -> you were on fire for this video! I really enjoyed your analysis. I usually watch shows in a vacuum, since I don't tend to engage online discourse. There were so many points you touched upon that really hit home. Great work! (and truth be told, I tend to listen more than watch, and my daughter suddenly shouted: "mean girls! Dad, you have to type: mean girls!")

[@CheyenneLin]

Thank you! 😅

[@nothanks1337]

Watching a bunch of your vids back to back, glad I found your channel

[@OJsLeftGlove]

This show took two seasons of building two of the most complex villains in TV history and flushed it in the last two just to check some boxes and make some "statements"... The show completely lost me when an entire army of black communists appear out of thin air in the last 10 episodes to take over San Francisco... even though we never see more than the same two dozen black people all season long Yeah, this show was terrible

[@happygomutty]

Oh no, my two favorite commentary/essayist youtubers released 40-minute long videos at the same time what do I dooooooo

[@jordanbrown4779]

I think you made a few good observations. I disagree with some aspects though and completely reject the black communist good guy ending. Are we really going to pretend that communism is this great monolith of virtue? They are responsible for millions of deaths as well. I initially appreciated the show due to its honest take on human nature. All people have the capacity for evil. That’s why I thought the ending was such a betrayal. It treated the black communists, like its own propaganda film. Completely inconsistent with how the show had treated the other factions. I am ok with them being the liberators from a greater evil in the context of this show, but let’s not pretend that communism is this perfect system.

[@DavidBaronStevens]

One of my favorite things about this is how it humanized the worst people. It shows us that whatever we say we "would've done if I was there" is likely bull because if we saw our loved ones with a gun to their head or about to be gassed, even the best person could break and turn coat. Other than that, whatever deep meaning that lies underneath the surface was lost on me.

[@notsostealthmission5184]

One of the few things I actually like is the way that it portrays John smiths arc where he was a good man who turned evil. It’s like a statement about the way people’s hearts and minds can be slowly twisted into horrific amalgamations

[@spittingame4241]

I heard about this show and after your commentary on this, you saves me the trouble from watching this. That's why I love watching your videos💯 Since a lot of writers in Hollywood are white, it is hard for them to really go *in* on their own identity for the atrocities they committed. So they end up "both side-ing" the narrative. Instead of just being bold about how people really feel about America.

[@mitak2535]

I really loved your analysis! Definitely an interesting show premise that was mostly handled poorly. I feel like a different set of writers could’ve made the story less confused and more impactful.

[@brib6046]

This very throughout and thoughtful review made me want to watch it almost as much as I want to rewatch Mean Girls! And that is a lot! Thank you

[@FrankyMarinino]

This show was amazing. I absolutely loved the cinematography. I was enthralled from start to finish. I believe in the butterfly effect and yes, distorting time dilation is absolutely possible. We have the technology to do it, but we wouldn't know it in 2015, but we see it now. It's so so accurate.

[@GVvoltaire]

Never heard of this show. I’m so glad you focused on such controversial subjects and issues. Thank you for bringing this show and other tops to my attention.

[@Eneri-z9v]

I love 😍 your spoilers. It saves me from wasting my limited time watching it. Thank you 😊.

[@ittybittykraken1963]

"where Thomas is alive and not disabled" So this show definitely agrees with the Nazis it's depicting that disabled people shouldn't exist huh. We disabled people only exist as plot points and in The Better World aren't disabled anymore even when it was a genetic illness. I already hated this but I am now so so angry Edit: well I watched the rest of this video (mean girls) and this whole show sounds terrible in so many ways. Thanks for analysing it!

[@amasterofsome]

That’s interesting. I never saw it from that perspective. Thank you for sharing

[@dharambasi1928]

Well, the show is about Nazis (and Japanese) hence the point of killing undesirables (which includes disabled people). The show doesn't agree with the Nazis in any way. It's an alternate history show about what would happen if the Nazis and the Japanese won the war and quite frankly if they did win the war, disabled people within the Reich would've been killed.

[@ittybittykraken1963]

@@dharambasi1928 did you really just well aktually me? My comment was in particular about the "better" world. Please read it again.

[@dharambasi1928]

@@ittybittykraken1963 I didn't understand what it meant at first but it makes sense now. I see where you're coming from, disability is definitely used as plot points. At this point, Smith just wants to see his kid again and completely disregards disability. The first 3 seasons are a great watch but that last season was a letdown. Amazon cancelling the show had a big part to play.

[@genossinwaabooz4373]

I feel on a deep level that the plot point aspect happens IRL now with new purpose behind it. This has got me thinking. I've struggled 2 years now trying to deal w own disability w/o getting much of anywhere, finding an odd disconnect w the doctors to start with...so tried to pretend it wasn't reality like I could functionally just be in Better World by choice. Didn't see the show but it's interesting finding out about it.

[@gilbertponder5307]

^^ Watched the show with the sound turned off while checking her phone.

[@laurelsilberman5705]

Another great video, Cheyenne!

[@Nesqira]

mean girls! Even though sometimes idk anything about the topic at hand before watching your videos, i always enjoy myself and learn so much and am always glad i tuned in!

[@sophiathekitty]

I think we only watched the first season and never really cared enough to notice any more seasons existed.... The recap portion of this video kinda makes it sound like that was for the best....

[@beccadee0935]

Wow I was unsubscribed again from your channel. Now I'm back and get to catch up on four videos, what a treat!! 😊

[@wokeaf1242]

Good video. I'll never watch the show because I am already living in nazi occupied America, but I liked your review.

[@УЕ-з21]

If you dont like America-return to Africa!

[@mzgreenjeansapproves]

@Roman Zabiiaka nobody asked you! Take your fake patriotic rhetoric and go take a nap.

[@Josephistry]

Wait what? Are you actually comparing the 21st century USA to a potential Nazi controlled US? How does that make sense? I legitimately want to know, I know we live in a era where politics is all about that "I gotcha" sort of writing where we say stuff like this on the right an left, bit this is just plain ignorance. And no, I'm not white, I'm an Egyptian that migrated to the US when I was two.

[@forgegloyd9196]

🤡🤡🤡

[@ronanday1769]

Gotta respectfully disagree with the sentiment the show doesn’t show the white nazi’s doing bad things to other races when it is clearly implied there are no other races as they have successfully carried out their ‘final solution’. I understand that going from the book directly this doesn’t make sense but the show doesn’t have to copy the book exactly.

[@tuckerrouse4850]

Unfortunately I think I might have to invoke Quentin Tarantino to say that I think Inglorious Basterds shows what "humanizing nazis" should look like. ie, yes they're humans, yes they're complex, yes they can be charming or likable, yes, they absolutely deserve to die in a fuckin' fire

[@Lill2895]

I tapped out on the show after the first season when it first came out because I'm a Black American and the way the US is portrayed as if segregation and genocide of Black populations wasn't already a huge issue during and after slavery is upsetting. In reality, majority of the country would be okay with and not care about the attacks and deaths of Black, Jewish, Asian, and Indigenous peoples. Not to mention anyone not fitting their Aryan aesthetic. There were and still are so many Nazi sympathizers in the US. There's the KKK and neo nazi groups that are White non-German American citizens. The Japanese Americans were already in camps in the US so I can't imagine they wouldn't be targeted by both the US and Germany as a threat because racism. What would they do about Hawaii and the south where plantations still stand? There are so many brown and black countries it's insane they didn't bother to go into any of it.

[@R0SE727]

I don’t feel informed enough to rly comment on this show without having seen it, but your dissection was very interesting! Ngl I remember hearing about this show a while back but the marketing for it totally turned me off. I will say, I think it’s kinda weird that the storylines on the west coast don’t cover any Asian people who aren’t Japanese. There were so many Asian countries affected by Japan in wwii. As a Filipino person myself I think it’s kinda a missed opportunity-maybe they could’ve gotten into the compare/contrast of the timeline/alt timeline for Filipino Americans, Korean Americans, etc etc., you know? I know there’s still a lot of trauma surrounding the war for older generations so maybe getting into the brutality would’ve been too triggering, but I dunno. It seems weird to not think of it at all, right? (Also the movie is Mean Girls. Great video!)

[@mochipengin]

mean girls! I missed the train for this show before I cancelled my Prime acct, kinda glad I didn't hop on board hah thanks for sharing this!

[@CheyenneLin]

glad you liked it :D

[@grisflyt]

The premise of the novel is ridiculous. Hitler was a bumbling fool with no power to achieve anything. Secondly, genuine fascism isn't an exportable ideology. It draws from history, a history unique to the country or region. Fascism in America rejects statism and sees itself as libertarian and will be hyper religious. You can't go heavy on religion in Europe and be seen as genuine at the same time. You don't attract a following when you make people roll their eyes when you speak.

[@Black_pearl_adrift]

I started watching the show, and it wasn't really what I expected. But thank you for reviewing it.

[@constantreader1422]

woah, the bit about brainwashing was really spot on and just... really something to think about. i can't put any concrete words to it yet, but thank you! great work, as always.

[@CheyenneLin]

Thank you so much 🥺✨

[@Cadkinsbass]

Great video! (Also, Mean Girls) Feels like that show was such a missed opportunity, it could have been really good! I guess I slightly disagree that there's no good that can come of adding complexity to facist characters: I think there's something interesting that could have been accomplished by showing them as more than evil caricatures as they are traditionally in US media. They were real humans, and there are many uncomfortable parallels that could be made from the silence and culpability of Germans and white US Americans in atrocities and discrimination. Which is why I wish the show leaned more into showing the parallels between the two like you mention. Instead they just made sad N@zis for us to feel bad for, which is a mess. Anyway, thanks for all of your great videos, always excited to see a new one of yours pop up on my subscription feed 🙂

[@silvanaperalta9091]

It is obvious that you hate this show. Why did you keep watching until season 4? You cannot watch Nazis being more violent against minorities because they took them to concentration camps years ago. We just don't see that part, but it is an obvious teme in the narrative of the whole show (remember J. Smith's son?). That for me is more scary and dark than what happened in the Japanese States were minorities were allowed to exist. However, I do believe that season 4 was "hijacked by Sjws". This made this season the worst of all, especially the ending.

[@mzgreenjeansapproves]

A very interesting and insightful analysis.

[@mzgreenjeansapproves]

Also I think that was mean girls at the end?

[@Alvin-AbuVash]

@13:20 I feel like you didn't actually read the book you're doing this comparison essay on. In the book, the universe where the allies won doesn't depict "our world." In the book, America is under British Rule. That's a huge mistake to make if you had actually read the book 😳

[@SteveWilliamscongi]

I really like your videos your voice is unique keep up the good work

[@gilbertponder5307]

At 38:10 we are told "...many of the fans tuned out for seasons 3 and 4 because of homophobia and biphobia and racism against a black character." How does one come by this data point? Is there no other possible explanation? The focus of the writing changed quite a bit (as documented throughout this video), which could mean the the stories became less compelling, a phenomenon that happens with MANY series. Besides that, it does not requires -phobias and -isms to be put off by the experience of yet another tedious DEI training session, especially when one gets home from work (where such instruction is abundant) and simply wants some escapism for an hour or two. Maybe the grueling effort of self-betterment, the brooding and self-righteous mirror of oppression reflection, just isn't for everyone all of the time.

[@robobrain10000]

holy shit. The show's writing got progressively worse, yet you are praising the later seasons. It is like we are opposite people.

[@Zimuahaha]

Thank you. I thought the premise of the show was interesting, but I couldn't get into it because of a lot of things that you mentioned. I'm glad to hear that seasons 3 and 4 delved into actual issues...maybe I'll try to give those a watch sometime. Also: Mean girls!

[@DavidBaronStevens]

The premise of this show was so interesting to me so I dove in. After season 1 I was disappointed. Couldn't even finish season 2. Sad because I felt there was so much potential with this and it ended up just being a convoluted story to push the idea of interdimensional travel Philip Dick deserves a better version of his story

[@chloeelimam3899]

I'm curious what part in season 2 made you give up on it

[@cleverhaunts]

Mean Girls💖 nothing else to add the video was perfect!

[@AVspectre]

I’ve had this video on a playlist for a while but only just started watching (just started season 2). I’ll have to come back when I’ve finished. Looking forward to it! :)

[@cutekitten4395]

oo Mean Girls. Loved the video

[@someguy9293]

What kills the show for me is the time travel aspect. But other then that I think season 4 is to focused on making the SJW's happy. I mean a random all black resistance that some how appeared out of nowhere and suddenly are a massive threat to the Japanese? In the show they state several times that the American Resistance is struggling to even do a fraction of what they can do. And somehow the Black resistance has some magical bullshit power that makes both Japan and the Nazis crap all over them self's at the thought?

[@morbidsearch]

Never underestimate the unfriendly black hotties

[@littlenothing1068]

Mean girlllssss; I loved the video, I don’t plan on watching this show because I’ve heard about the fan base (and now also because of your critiques lol) so it was nice to finally see what it was all about

[@miriamlevenson9430]

mean girls!! i love your video essays

[@czechoslovakia1090]

Man in the High Castle can tell us Americans how fortunate we are to have won the war and had lived in peace for so long and had freedom

[@Demos_Jeff]

Really good video with tons of awesome points made if anything at all I just have to disagree with the idea that the show heavily caters to making the Germans look better than the Japanese. When I watched the show I thought of the Germans as crumbling empire with everyone turning on each other constantly. To me it shows why fascism and a cult of personality can never really build a sustainable empire because as soon as that almost mythical leader is dead everyone will just grapple for power. I also disagree that it’s dangerous to humanize Nazis if anything I think it’s important to explain that these people were just ordinary people taken in by a ridiculous belief system that led to their own self destruction. We need to make that information clear because it’s the only real way to learn from it and become better people. We need to look at history and accept that everyone had negatives and positives. Not everyone can become a card carrying Nazi but anyone can be radicalized by a insane ideology it happens every day. I personally didn’t like the show mostly because the writing itself wasn’t very good. It was a show that just entirely fumbled it’s good ideas.

[@ElPresidenteMargz]

Thank you! This is the best analysis about this take . *Show shows complex characters that happen to be Americans who turned Nazis out of fear and necessity* This chick : SHOW SAYS NAZIS = GOOD ?!? 🤬😡

[@ednab.9001]

Agree with your review other than I did find it very interesting because I know it wasn’t a documentary. To me she seems to be reviewing the show as if it was a documentary. If it was, they would’ve shown all the bad or should’ve shown all the horrible things that they did to Chicanos everywhere. That being said, loved your review thanks for sharing it.

[@Dolphanatic]

Honestly, after watching this video, I'm more convinced than ever that the show was, in fact, hijacked by SJWs. The fact that it does a complete turnaround in its final season and suddenly portrays the communists as a diverse group of righteous rebels who can do no wrong instead of acknowledging that they can be just as violent and tyrannical as the Nazis does strike me as a pretty hypocritical direction for a show about dictatorships to take. It's basically just a blatant attempt by the writers to demonize the United States' opposition to the Soviet Union by implying that communists are always right. Plus, seeing a BreadTuber mock the idea of communists being capable of committing war crimes while praising the show's final season for unabashedly glorifying communism just further proves that point.

[@bellalysewinchester]

Mean Girls, this was such an insightful critique!

[@thane816]

Why are brownshirts in the show? I thought they all got knocked off during the night of the long knives.

[@mrl397]

Mean Girls. Those 42 mins went by very quickly. Thank you Cheyenne, I'm looking forward to watching your other videos

[@endTHEhegemony_Today]

Sognal boost, this is an awesome video

[@andrwblood9162]

I was wonder how that show ended. Thanks for giving this board outline, though I don't think I'm going to watch it. Very insightful and interesting video.

[@wilsonwijaya.design]

One of the ways that this can work is to utilise the structure of Breaking Bad and focus the whole story on John Smith struggling to consume for power while needing to keep lying to his wife an kids "i did this for family!". So his suicide would have a big impact, very similar how Walter White went all out by the end of season 5.

[@nicoleheart16]

Well I thought this analysis was very good and explained a lot about the show and since I made it to the end the movie that you put up is mean girls

[@erikdaniels0n]

I understand why you used The Handmaid’s Tale as another example of TV Shows that hit a little too close to home after the past few years, but mentioning that show in the same sentence as the mess that is Man in the High Castle seems wrong because Handmaid’s Tale is, ya know, GOOD.

[@Gingersnaps_the_pumpkin_kitty]

I mean they both had stories with the same goal.

[@elitheman7745]

I'm so glad someone finally did a deep dive on this show!! I never watched it bc the promos looked so sus😳 but I've always wondered how it turned out (it's mean girls)

[@IrishMorgenstern]

I was so interested in this show as a PKD fan, but I couldn't make it past season 2 as Juliana was completely insufferable. I feel like I am not missing anything by not picking it back up. I will just read the book instead. Thanks! Does this mean I can wear pink on Wednesday?

[@drakashrakenburgproduction5369]

It was frustrating to see how little we see of the Nazi's crime. Yeah, we had a flashback but they glossed over too much and attracted the wrong crowd to watch this show. So when they finally began to show the evils and representations, losers began attacking this show calling it "woke". My big gripe was the BCR. They were poorly written and showed up out of nowhere and the only resistance movement that did severe damage. To me that wasn't fair because we were following Lem and Wyatt's fight against the fascist and it felt like they were robbed from it. Also I'm getting real tired of ambiguous endings.

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

Heavy on the ending. Tired of ambitious ending.

[@ElPresidenteMargz]

I agree with this . I think Nazis crime portrayals were explicitly not focused on as much, imo, cause nazis commuting war crimes is pretty mainstream and the show creators lift come w the assumption that most people watching this .. already know the extent of Nazi crimes in WWII ans that is why they showed the Japanese being way more ruthless … because they WERE and they get heavily eclipsed by Nazi war crimes .. Imperial Japan was as bad or to some .. worse ! Agree on the Black Communist Red Simps or whoever they were .. they showed up out of nowhere and basically were OP! Lol All these resistance members could make a dent on the Japanese in 3 seasons and this group out of nowhere straight up DEFEATS them and push em out of America ?! Lol

[@Dragonette666]

it's based on Phillip K Dick, all of his stuff is kinda like that. Question reality. Even the movie Blade Runner you wonder if Deckard is a replicant or a human.

[@cgmason7568]

Because it's expressed that they immediately did them which was almost 20 years before the show takes place

[@michaelmunsey5660]

Thanks for your great analysis of the show and giving me a new perspective on it :)

[@mathildesm954]

Oh Cheyenne! You're my hero for watching this show to its ill-fated end. I have a recommendation for you : Charité. It's a German series with a fantastic spin-off called Charité at War (In my opinion, you can watch the spin-off without having seen the full series.) I think Charité does the "First they came" trope much better than TMITHC, and its characters are much more fleshed out and understandable. I think you'll enjoy it!

[@meiday154]

Mean girls! I've never watched Man in the High Castle it wasn't my style of show but when I read the premise I knew it was going to be full of nazi sympathy. The concept of "grey morality" and "not having things be black and white" is totally lost on fascists and nazis and frankly I'm getting sick and tired of people trying to both sides a hate group/ideology. This is a great video and basically confirmed a lot of what I feared about what this show was. Also very comprehensive in talking about the fandom and the pitfalls of a toxic show creating a toxic fandom

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

Thank you, I’m so tired of people trying to humanize and sympathize nazis, white supremacist, etc. Like no, why tf are they trying to make this happen?

[@dfsnsdfn]

i personally really liked the HBO adaptation of ‘The Plot Against America’ I haven’t read the book so can’t comment on how well it translated the material but I think it did a much better job at actually focusing on minority, particularly Jewish characters, and also not treating fascism as an external force inherently opposed to American ideals but rather something that can arise essentially anywhere but especially in places like the United States.

[@vanders626]

Great video!

[@Ogrefairy]

Wow. I knew *about* this show and the controversies but hadn't seen it. Your analyses is so in depth that I am very glad that I don't have to! Thank you for going through it so deeply. I really appreciate your insight on things. also mean girls!

[@Diceman88]

WTF? This review so badly misses the mark on just about all points. Tragically infantile talking points indicative of the horrid state of the current education system

[@commradeBee]

Fantastic video! I started it but never finished because of all the reasons you talked about in the video. I was excited to see well-written, fully fleshed out characters of color but just got several hours of apologetic rhetoric about nazis and fascists....