Three Stories at the End of the World

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Articles books and podcasts I used, in terrible order
Fiasco by Thomas Ricks
slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/...
www.humiliationstudies.org/ne...
www.washingtonpost.com/outloo...
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/20...
scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/view...
www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/bo...
slate.com/news-and-politics/2...
www.theartnewspaper.com/2003/...

[@MrxstGrssmnstMttckstPhlNelThot]

I still can't get over the fact this year George Bush was on camera giving a talk about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and in typical Bushism fashion he accidentally called it the invasion of Iraq (when he meant to say Ukraine) an illegal unjust invasion. And then he corrected himself. And then he smirked and laughed and said "well that too". And then the audience laughed and applauded along with him, if only for a short moment. Little has been more surreal and disturbing for me in recent times. A man directly responsible for the senseless death of a million people just openly admitted he knew it was senseless and wrong and just laughed about it. And a room full of people laughed along with him. And the world all saw it. And nobody even cared.

[@selahanany5645]

What else is there to say

[@turtleboy1188]

It's funny because it's true

[@Rainkit]

Dude's a legit war criminal. But because it's the US he can retire to his paintings.

[@reesetorwad8346]

Based on a true story! lol, but seriously, lots of us humans cared, can't prove it, just have to trust me on that one thing.

[@Tethloach1]

America = always right, always good, the world

[@mccperin]

"at the end of the day, the people in the UN security council were off to reproduce guernica, that much is true- but you don't need art to do that. you don't need abstraction and meaning and thought. you just need to bomb a bunch of people for no reason. job done. you made another guernica." sent shivers down my spine. part of what i love about this video is just... the prose. the impeccable prose

[@merlinthegray]

It is the major reason I listen to this channel's work. Not all of the subjects or details are new to me, but it's the same kind of feeling I get watching something like the Ken Burns Baseball documentaries.

[@carsondubs]

17:14

[@mr._otis9840]

Reminds me of what's happening today

[@lukesmith9455]

I'm certain, if the tapestry had been visible, the vast majority of people who agreed with going to war would have seen themselves in the picture, not the Iraqis. They would look at it and see it as a warning of what will happen if we don't go to war. Sadly, I think people are more likely to see themselves in something than some other that they haven't given any thought towards.

[@lloydmorcom9789]

Perfect!

[@elliotted6690]

I think the even if people did give it more thought, the more obvious comparison people would have done is to 9/11. Instead of picturing the future Iraqi civilians getting their towns bombed, they would have taken the images of people cowering and running from the destruction and almost certainly drawn explicit comparisons to people running away from the collapsing twin towers.

[@Doubtlessly]

Oof

[@no_peace]

I don't think most people would have analyzed it at all except in many cases to wonder why they don't put up something nicer I would think it was covered up in part because modern art doesn't align with the military's image. Having Powell in his uniform in front of modern nonsense like that would make him look silly. I don't think art analysis was ever one of their concerns. The people who analyze art were already activated and it didn't matter. Gov reps indicted themselves regularly and a day later they could pretend they'd just never said anything But i agree they would only see themselves. That is all they saw the whole time. It was horrible. Every time, "They shouldn't have attacked us for no reason then."

[@elinope4745]

I call it malignant empathy when you see yourself in others and serve your own ends rather than theirs justified as helping them. They don't see Iraqis, they see themselves and hurt the Iraqis while pretending to help them. They will call themselves righteous and persecuted if forced to address it.

[@skrufii]

"When it became obvious what a dumb and cruel and spiritually and financially and militarily ruinous mistake our war in Vietnam was, every artist worth a damn in this country, every serious writer, painter, stand-up comedian, musician, actor and actress, you name it, came out against the thing. We formed what might be described as a laser beam of protest, with everybody aimed in the same direction, focused and intense. This weapon proved to have the power of a banana-cream pie three feet in diameter when dropped from a stepladder five-feet high." -Kurt Vonnegut

[@ailishmarsden4781]

Really like seeing Vonnegut in this context. I’ve never seen a writer better express the experience of realising that things we NEED to be important, things we NEED to have a meaning, are often empty in the middle. So it goes.

[@NaderNabilart]

Only if the US learned not to endorse any more invasions .. The memory of Vietnam apparently faded away.

[@StNick119]

We really need to see the Korean War (basically the same except a rousing military success for the US) in the same light. It's a shame that only the wars which are going / went badly for the US get that scrutiny.

[@Alex_Barbosa]

@@StNick119 honestly yea

[@guy-sl3kr]

That would be damning proof that the US isn't a democracy if everyone didn't already know as much. Well, most people anyway

[@Ghret]

"...and they never said 'we're sorry'" is an incredible line. this is probably my favorite video you've made, honestly

[@youtakethemoon6768]

It’s a reference to the Sondheim musical ‘Assassins’! If you like that line, you should probably check it out :)

[@hannahu.6220]

@@youtakethemoon6768 god assassins is incredible

[@ltonkovich4692]

@@youtakethemoon6768 An out of the blue Assassins reference never fails to brighten my day

[@heart4brainzz]

@@youtakethemoon6768 i was hoping someone would mention assassins in the comments!! i know this is a serious video but i yelled like i was a sports enjoyer watching football. i looove assassins :D!!!!

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

I fangirled when I heard that reference!

[@pandaemoniae]

This reminds me of a moment in the Iliad where Achilles' horse Xanthos is momentarily given the power of speech so he can remind him of his predstined death, and then gets slapped back into silence since horses are not supposed to be endowed with speech. It always struck me as sad, the implication that this horse can perceive and cogitate presumably but not speak. It speaks to a desire in everyone to have the fullest extent of their capacities and abilities articulated in a world that's shared, and the belief that if they are, compassion and truth will out.

[@reeddressler9042]

Reminds me a lot too of Balaam’s Donkey in the Bible (Numbers 22:21-39) who speaks to save Balaam from a hidden sword-wielding angel.

[@Jack_Saint_Archive]

*I love when Little Joel said "It's biggerin' time!" and biggered all over the place. Truly one of the Big Joels of all time.*

[@ivymuncher]

His father, Little Joel, would be proud.

[@yehoshuathompson]

Can’t wait for the third channel: Ambiguously Sized Joel

[@SaturdayCrunch]

I cannot appreciate this comment enough I love you buddy

[@adamplentl5588]

Whoa buddy tone it down with the slurs.

[@marcy_law]

@@adamplentl5588 🎤 dont trust them Biggers over yonder! 🎶

[@MattBowser129]

I'm a scholar of modern imperialism, and I loved this video. I'd like to clarify that the Iraq War did have an objective meaning in the end: it was just classic imperialism (trying to impose the global will of the US on the few remaining "rogue states" that did not support it) and all of the other fluff (WMDs, "democracy," 9/11, etc.) was just there to cover that ugly word. That said, this video is 100% right: it was totally pointless, and anyone educated in the subject knew it would be pointless because since World War II and the globalization of nationalism, formal "invasion" imperialism hasn't worked. In fact, attempting it has actually just made resistance stronger (see also: Vietnam, ISIS, the Taliban, Ukraine). It's the job of people like me to explain the phenomenon, to understand how it works, to unravel the lies supporting it and explain why/how they were told - so I think there is value in history - but this video rings so true: academic work, like art, will just be the crow that speaks the truth that few understand, and knowledge will never give meaning to the people who died.

[@joeyj6808]

I couldn't agree more.

[@orinprindle2029]

"...knowledge will never give meaning to the people who died." Perfectly and beautifully stated, yet abhorrently morbid when facing mankind's history.

[@averyjohnson2589]

A lot of people made a lot of money in the war and I think that's pretty concrete and undeniable. The us managed to station shit tons of equipment and personnel for years to project powers against regional enemies like Iran

[@Fractured_Unity]

Shouldn’t the goal of artists to be to make pieces that can speak to those who traditionally haven’t been catered to because they are ‘too simple to understand it’. The only way to increase complexity in people is for themselves to desire it

[@pendlera2959]

@@Fractured_Unity There are millions of artists with millions of goals. I don't think there are any "shoulds" that apply to artists in general. Besides, the popularity of the idea of "death of the author" has greatly minimized the communicative aspect of art - art now means what the audience wants it to mean, regardless of the author's message.

[@goodolreliablejake4662]

The most devastating and powerful thing Big Joel does in his work is build up big, inspiration, persuasive moments that neatly conclude his videos... And then say "I don't buy it" and pull the curtain away on himself.

[@realsonofmars]

I actually think it was more powerful that they covered it up, like, they could have just shot it somewhere else, or not cared. Even if most people wouldn't have known, *they* knew what the piece meant, and they were afraid, even if it was in some small unimportant way, of its meaning.

[@countryhat5531]

I love this video, but I have to disagree with that bit. They knew what they were doing covering that painting, and they knew why they were doing it.

[@danielc8329]

@@countryhat5531 I second this. No one should be covering up artwork unless, for some reason, it's truly harmful or otherwise has an obvious non-ideological reason to be taken out of existence. Covering it was an attempt to stop people from experiencing the artwork at a minimum. That's my opinion.

[@Mayannaise4]

​@@danielc8329 but again, as said in the end of the video, they probably didn't think anything of it really and just covered it because its sort of a mess. I doubt they even thought twice of it. As most egotistical leaders would have seen themselves in it anyway. The result of what would happen if they didn't go to war rather than actually reflect on what the image is originally based upon or they would have not reflected at all. I highly doubt some supreme leader is looking at a painting and thinking of any deep thoughts beyond "it looks nice" butttt that might just be my cynical outlook on government officials...

[@JamEngulfer]

To imagine that there was some deep consideration by the leaders of nations of the meaning and historical context of the tapestry and the symbolic effect it may have on audiences, lends them far too much credit and is simply fantasy. Frankly it brushes very close to conspiratorial thinking and should be scrutinised through that lens. What’s most likely is that the team responsible for setting up the stage and camera thought it made the shot too busy and drew the curtain without any more consideration than that.

[@cookiequeen5430]

I'm so used to little Joels videos, I wasn't prepared for this one.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

It was hinted on the Little Joel though. But I forgot how hype I was for it.

[@ndf3]

This Joel is practically massive in comparison

[@CortezEspartaco2]

Guernica is one of my favorite pieces of art. The fact that a copy of it was there, behind Colin Powell as he lied us into yet another needless war, gives it even more power to me, even if we assume it was covered up purely for aesthetics. The painting and its original meaning have a profound personal importance to me as someone whose family suffered under and lost people to Franco's regime. So despite being covered I think its presence in the room has an immense energy that anyone who's experienced this kind of war, from Spain to Vietnam to Iraq, can appreciate.

[@cyndaguy]

I love the Cube, and I loved that scene in particular. “We have to use it or admit it’s pointless” made me think about the military. I think after listening to Parenti lectures though I know that’s not really the case. Liberals mocked “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” but ultimately Iraq was plundered and its economy was neoliberalized; that was the mission. Parenti warns against “coincidence theory”, that Britain colonized the globe “in a fit of absentmindedness”. It seems pointless to us everyday folk because we aren’t the ones benefiting from it. To characterize the Iraq war as a mistake by well-meaning actors is simply wrong.

[@weatheranddarkness]

"mission accomplished" was 'posted' as it were, so goddamn early there wasn't a single person on earth that thought the job was done. The nightmare had barely begun.

[@rice1156]

also an insane amount of $$ was made by american corporations contracted to help with the war and 'rehabilitation', pentagon officials insider traded in these corporations for crazy profits. and a lot of the corporations simply kept the money and subcontracted their jobs to eastern european companies who would further subcontract -- the same company would build a shitty subcontracted hospital and bomb it. no plan at all (and they imported labour, didn't even hire iraqis to help build stuff)

[@methyod]

to be honest, there seems to be an extremely kneejerk refusal to countenance anything that could plausibly be called a conspiracy theory by a certain type of american liberal & leftist. i understand where this comes from but i think it's a massive and easily abused blind spot. look at the history of attitudes towards the kennedy assassination for instance. it wasn't very long ago that major democratic party politicians openly questioned the findings of the warren commission; now, you'd never see that.

[@Guitareben]

Parenti is so based it’s unreal.

[@spyczech]

@dance 100 Exactlyy even going back to the native american genocides, I thought in school learning this absent minded "it was a different time" hand wave was weak. Seeing it extended to things that JUST happened are only just 20 years old and open to historian debate and having that inform that too is wild

[@zaraamir9165]

Actually, the fear of getting bombed was something that I grew up with. A bomb went off a few streets away from my highschool the morning after I told my now-fiancee I loved her. I was glad that I did so the previous night, because I would have had to out of fear that day. Before I reached my home, another one went off so close to my house the windows of my house shook. This was only a couple years after over 120 kids were murdered by terrorists in a school in a major city. My 5th grade sports day was cancelled because of threats of blowing us up. I was 10. It was a weirdly normal part of growing up for all of us to sit and discuss what our escape plan would be in case of a terrorist attack. It was also a bizarely common phenomenon that every single person I grew up with would have extremely vivid dreams of terrorist attacks, where we would save everyone. I remember a time not too long ago when not hearing about a bomb going off somewhere in the country every day would set me off into a panic, because it meant something big was coming. Every day, it was, 'Where did it happen today?' I was 12 then.

[@Dexter037S4]

Belfast? Motherfucker that was the worst time to live in "peace". And now there's gonna be a worse version in the US

[@freddychopin]

“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory. The truth is far more frightening - Nobody is in control. The world is rudderless.” ― Alan Moore

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

I think conspiracies are a modern religion. If you think about it, often religion is about cruelty and death and suffering, but there is somebody out there with a plan and a reason. In the US it seems like the government propaganda always paints somebody somewhere as an enemy, because it's easier to pin someone as a devil than admit there are no angels and we are just doing what's in our best interest. A truly grey world is terrifying and probably reality

[@freddychopin]

@@skeetsmcgrew3282 I entirely agree. To put it like Zizek: religion and conspiracy theories are both the result of the desperate need for the Big Other.

[@winterviveca5976]

I've never felt so disconnected with Big Joel's video before and I think it has a lot to do with me not being American. I live in Poland. Shadow of war obscures this so inconveniently placed country since I was born and I was born more than fifty years after the end of world war II. I know I am more sensitive about this than my friends because I was shocked to find out that they do not think of war at least once a day. I do, always, because distant sound will remind me sound of siren or bomb alarm I heard in a movie, because the street is named after Holocaust survivors, because someone in tv will speak of "polish death camps" and it's always a scandal in Poland. As I grew up, I started to be also afraid of climate change. My gf is a prepper while I am just mindlessly floating through life with "I guess we'll all die and I bet that no amount of prepping will stop that". Then the war in Ukraine started and it was back in the time when everyone was saying "No, Putin is too intelligent to do that" and now everyone says he is crazy and missiles killed two Polish people on Polish territory 20 kilometres from my grandparents' house and fuck knows whose they were, why they landed on Polish territory, all I know is that I am more and more scared every day. I didn't even know about more than half of the shit that went down after WTC and although I feel like this video is beautifully and cleverly done, I dunno, it seems like almost a luxury nowadays to fear only about climate change, not war and bombs, so.... how fucked up is that? I dunno, I'm just sad and this video is certainly insanely sad.

[@amycatass]

Definitely a fair assessment and a great point. I hope he will address this kind of thing in a future video.

[@shards-of-glass-man]

Kinda in the same boat, man. The disconnect with these kinds of issues when there is a constant [redacted] that feels way more closer and tangible day by day, is real. One of my Albanian acquaintances went for groceries one day and was like "lol man someone placed a bomb at the steps of our local mall" and it just sounds like just another wacky moment in the hellland. At some point it's as if your brain decides "alright, that's enough" and throws down a switch that makes you uncomfortably, but still, somewhat blissfully, numb, like a blanket of cozy scar tissue over all the shit you have heard, seen, or experienced firsthand. Fucked up and sad.

[@tbear9353]

Wow. Really powerful comment. A very important piece of context for this video. Thanks.

[@saragp8291]

Non-American here too, I think that the physical distance and the lack of posibilites of being bombed (bc if they are, the rest of the world will be fucked too) in the USA makes them not think about the war line an inmediate life-threating thing. They also haven't had a war in their mainland territories for a long time (except Pearl Harbour, all of their battles were fought outside). That may make the American people feel that a war, a "physical" war, is something quite unlikely for them. People living in Europe, especially eastern and south-eastern Europe have lived through WWII, had their countries destroyed, and know the invasion is basically in their backyard. Clearly a different way of thinking what things may destroy your life in the short-mid term. I don't know. I live in Western Europe and the war is something frightening and that is making life more difficult, and those moments of "we're going to get out the nuclear toys if you don't stop" are horrible, but I understand that we're quite lucky. I hope you're well and as sane as humanly possible in these times.

[@nelgluhak6709]

I'm from Croatia, and we had a war in the 90s. however, we've been using war as propaganda ever since, and i've grown almost allergic to it at this point. on another hand, on 10th of March in 2022, shortly after the Ukraine-Russia war has started, a drone fell in Zagreb, capital of Croatia. It landed meters away from student campus. It could've killed people. It could've killed students. It's a miracle that it didn't. And the whole world ignored it. And our leaders ignored it, too, and we still do not know whose drone it was. Romanian Air Force watched the drone fly over their territory for three minutes, and did nothing. Then Hungarians watched it for 40 minutes and it did nothing. And then it landed 50 meters away from student residence hall. It damaged 96 cars. And no one did nothing.

[@ShirDeutch]

This is like, 8 Little Joel videos back to back.

[@brainguide20]

8 little Joel = 1 big joel

[@fellinuxvi3541]

@@brainguide20 Joel exists on a logarithmic scale, like bits and bytes

[@kadoodledo]

It’s like… some kind of *big* Joel!

[@sourgreendolly7685]

I'm teaching myself math so I'm definitely writing this down.

[@ms.aelanwyr.ilaicos]

​@@brainguide20twice the size along all three dimensions

[@Agos226]

I definitely read this in my notifications as “Three Stooges at the End of the World” and got excited about the idea of Larry Curly and Moe accidentally causing the apocalypse

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

Somebody needs to make that a real thing!

[@aarontheperson6867]

just imagining the hijinks of moe trying to get curly to time the key turn with him. beautiful.

[@jmlkinc]

I remember even as a preteen in Canada, an American friend raked me personally over the coals because my country didn't join the US in going into Iraq.

[@polybius3609]

Amazing that they seriously covered up that Picasso painting while broadcasting a justification of a hostile war without catching on to the irony. Or maybe that's why they did it in the first place.

[@nicholaswoollhead6830]

They knew what they were doing.

[@pamdemonia]

Okay, so this is reminding me almost too much of how old I am, but one of my biggest political memory is the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, which happened when I was 24. So I know what it's like to fear the bomb, and it was more awful than I can even say.

[@literaterose6731]

Me too! I was born in Germany to American parents stationed at a U.S. army base, shortly before the wall went up. When it came down, the very first thing I did was call my mom and ask her about her experience when it went up. It’s one of the most important historical events for me personally. (And yup, I’m old now!)

[@andie5031]

Thank you for this comment

[@PastelOddity]

My grandma served as a Morse code intercept operator during the Cold War, and she said the fear was so exhausting that she literally just…stopped caring if they got blown up. Of course-being in the Army-she wanted to do what she could, but she just didn’t have the energy to feel what she “should” about it.

[@PastelOddity]

I should mention that I’m 25, my mom was a teen mom, hence how I can have a grandparent that served in the Cold War, I’m not a baby, I swear 😂

[@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7]

My most visceral memory around 9/11 was seeing it with my own eyes. I was 6 and my school in nyc had a clear view. I remember being brought home to a house covered in dust, I remember my dad wearing a gas mask to walk the dog, I remember the first 9/11 memorial in Union Square-because that’s as far south anyone could get on Manhattan. I remember people going to the memorial and looking for their loved ones, hoping they would show up one night. They didn’t. And then I remember being so, so confused at why *other* Americans were upset. Why were *other* Americans asking to bomb innocent people in the Middle East? *Other* Americans lost nothing that day, they just heard a story. I have always kept that resentment. If you weren’t in nyc that day, and if you didn’t lose anyone, why the hell are you upset? So upset that you would wish innocent people dead? Nothing happened to you, you’re stealing the hurt felt by the people here. That resentment never went away, and it probably drives a lot of my deeper feelings about American conservatives who would so readily use my pain to justify their war. A war I didn’t ask for. (and yes, I know there were other planes and death outside nyc, for sake of argument I group them together with their fellow New Yorkers)

[@joshwhite5730]

I completely understand you but I feel like it is fine and natural for people to be upset about 9/11 but I do agree with you that it is insane for anyone to want to kill innocent people

[@maybemablemaples2144]

Very this. I was able to see the buildings smoking from Harlem, where I lived at the time. The way everyone stopped living and just existed changed me as a person. I've lived out in different states and just the fake trauma people try to play up on how they felt that day before I tell them I was there, infuriates me. But I understand where that ignorance comes from and why the Bush admin were able to get away with such senseless violence that has come back onto us threefold. No one will ever understand the deathly ill silence of the city in those months. The reality of all those movies where NYC is turned into a battleground still makes me uncomfortable but I understand.

[@ashtoncarriveau3880]

I have no memory of 9/11 so I can't speak for those that claim the trauma or the emotions that come with it. However, I can say that perception of NYC is more than just of a city. I'd say the majority of Americans have or know someone who live, lived, stayed in, or visited the NYC metropolitan area. Even if they haven't, they have likely watched weeks of contiguous footage coming from the city from media. This is not to take away from what you described, but to enforce it. I imagine the difference between New Yorkers and outsiders on 9/11 is similar to that of friends/family vs fans of a celebrity. In other words it's a parisocial relationship.

[@ashtoncarriveau3880]

@@maybemablemaples2144 Im coming to the conclusion that this is a sociologically scaled up version of the difference between interpersonal and parasocial relationships. I wonder if the friends and family of celebrities who died prematurely feel the same when fans speak of the grief that they experience. Does someone like Junior Seau's friends and family resent the fans who idealize the sport that arguably got him killed? This has definitely made me think.

[@Vv-ys4vw]

None of you Yankees know anyone in Ukraine why do you get so upset about it?

[@sourgreendolly7685]

Whoa, I am not used to such a large Joel!

[@NathanKemp125]

"did you know we're at war?" is a phrase everyone in our generation has said of heard sometime in our childhood.

[@pumkinswift8263]

Honestly this video hit me pretty hard. A lot of it has to do with some personal issues. I've struggled with depression for a lot of my life, and I've always had this sinking existential dread that my life and everything in it was pointless and meaningless. When I look at history and all the suffering in the world I can't help but feel like it was equally pointless. I feel like life and history is the process of creating meaning, inventing a reason for the chaotic and unreasonable nature of reality. Trying to stuff the square peg of the world into the round hole of human understanding. IDK, just something that sits on my mind

[@shaisag1]

❤❤❤

[@VoltaVoid]

Definitely feel this. It’s been lingering on my mind for a long time. The solution, if you could call it that, to that dread actually came to just by remembering the messages that recur in so many pieces of media that I have consumed over the years: love. There may be meaning to life, there may not, it may be something that matters or doesn’t, but at the end of the day, if you understand yourself and your own needs, then you can understand others, and can recognize that spreading love to others seems to be a good enough reason to exist, if that is necessary.

[@haughtygarbage5848]

Yeah I think I might uhhh put this one on mute to give Henry the ad revenue and uh maybe actually consume it when I'm feeling better. I'm sure it's thought provoking and well made i just don't know if I'm gonna be able to get through today after watching this

[@B0bb217]

Read Nietzsche ❤️

[@meeomelovescookiesandhisto459]

aspiring future historian here. Honestly, what I've come to believe for myself is that history doesn't necessarily have one overarching trajectory and it's just all of the good, and all of the bad, and everything inbetween, all of the time. History is always a little subjective and we are always trapped in our perspective, so the most fascinating thing to me is that whenever we look at anything in history, we look at it in a unique way and gather something that's completely unique to our time (and person)- we literally can't not look at it from our own perspective. We can never know for certain what the real meaning of anything is. In my opinion, that's why we can't 'learn from history' in a superficial sense, but I have still learnt so much about life and myself and some specific issues from history. I have gathered a thousand little meanings that are my own, I've connected with dead people (I know, ew), I've opened so many little windows into different perspectives, and I carry them all with me now. I know that sinking feeling, and I get it a lot too, especially in the last few years. Sometimes 'history' reassures me and sometimes it scares me more. What I've come to believe for myself is that things don't always need to have meaning, but sometimes I need something to believe in- and it's okay if I make something up that serves me at the time instead of having it all figured out or following a specific set of meanings. This was a super long ramble but maybe you get something from it. I definitely related to your comment.

[@potatopotato5354]

I think this might be the most affecting, thought provoking Big Joel video yet. Definitely one of the best things I've seen on YT in a long time.

[@Alexlalpaca]

Btw the "gue" in "Guernica" is pronounced as in guess. This mistake was unforgettable and you have made a new enemy, Joel.

[@elleinfinitea]

I love that you used Liebesträume no. 3 as not only is it a incredibly beautiful and moving piece but the piece is separated into three distinct sections. Liebesträume in its entirety consists of three songs that are each based on a poem - Each one depicting a different types of love: (holy love, romantic love and mature love). Very clever Big J

[@HeadsFullOfEyeballs]

My main memory of 9/11 as a slightly older child in Germany is confusion as to why everybody was making such a huge deal of it. I watched the evening news with my parents every night, and so I was aware that awful things of a similar scale happened around the world pretty regularly. But our teachers had never previously felt the need to interrupt class the next day and give us a talk about how we could get psychological support if it upset us or whatever.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

In Germany they did that? Weird. Germany is physically closer to most other world disasters than they are to the United States

[@bunny_wilder]

Too much Little Joel, I want the BIG stuff

[@natnatandnat]

Really hope “ And it didn't heal the country / And they never said, "We're Sorry" “ was an Assassins reference.

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

It almost certainly was, and I’m here for it!

[@anaarbelaiz3615]

Loved the video as always! I don't usually comment but I wanted to mention that the "Guer" in Guernica (or Gernika in basque) is pronounced ger as in hun-ger, the u is silent. I'm from a city close to Gernika so I figured I should say something. Love ya! ^^

[@puntodelectura]

@@gregoryford2532 In IPA it's geɾ-ni-ka, so... yes. We don't thing about schwa a whole lot so it's easy to forget that /ˈhʌŋ.ɡər/ does't carry an "e" sound.

[@cannizaro-emne556]

I genuinely feel like you are Socrates but reborn as a KZbinr

[@williammajor6202]

Joel, this is your best video essay so far. I’m impressed by your thoughtful synthesis of the varied works you reference, and you even bring some poetry to these dark topics. This was an absolute delight to listen to.

[@angelarice8418]

Whoa, a reference to Assassins and then Cube so close together. Those were both incredibly significant to me in my adolescence and young adulthood. I still quote them both a great deal, and now I'm wondering if 9/11 and the war had something to do with that aesthetic, disillusion and frustration... very interesting to think about

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

I mostly quote Assassins when I’m looking for stuff in my purse and when I find it I’m like “YEEEEAAAAAHHH there it is!”

[@jacobwalker8730]

Reminds me of a book I read called The Apache Wars. Native Genocide is one of those things that you think must've been the result of a very intentional and sinister plot to snatch land out from under the natives for the sake of money and power. And it was, in theory, but the actual practice of it is far stupider and more ham-fisted. A long series of command involving ignorant and disinterested generals and presidents at the top, and bigoted and incompetent platoon leaders at the bottom. The actual start of the Apache War is straight up based on a mistaken identity and bungled negotiation by a very green officer with an Apache chief. And then you realize that maybe there really aren't malevolent puppet masters and master plans. There's just greedy and stupid people bumbling through time and destroying entire communities with each misstep. Through this lens, things feel infinitely more tragic. There is nothing to be helped, there is only the ignorant nature of man and the cold indifference of the cosmos. It is an empty feeling that leaves one yearning for bad guys to defeat. Anyway, great video.

[@askmeaboutfreewill5791]

Cool association. Once an organization gets large enough that it can abstract the lives of the people it holds sway over, some really incredible harm can almost be accidentally done. To bring this back to the 21st century, my favorite conspiracy theory behind 9/11 is that the States actively provoked a "grassroots" terrorist organisation to attack. All they had to do was make sure that it wasn't stopped. I don't know anything about the Apache war, but I can imagine that the same way certain sectors of the state military corporate complex knew they wanted more control and that a war would give it to them, the military of the early 1800's knew a war would bring them more land. It was just a matter of allowing it to happen.

[@biggestastiest]

i would like to take this moment to remind you that love is real and connections can't be broken once they're made, thought you might've needed to hear it

[@Tethloach1]

Europe and America were destined for greatness, they dragged the world kicking and screaming toward the future.

[@gabagoo777]

@@Tethloach1 Try harder troll

[@comandantedubois2397]

It was absolutely was intentional

[@thedeadsoiree14]

As an avid fan, this is one of your best videos. The connections you draw are revelatory, and I now have a new appreciation for Macuga and Picasso respectively. Can’t wait for the rest of this series!

[@SteveJubs]

A group of friends and I have been quoting “you build a WIDGET in SASKATOON!” at each other for years, along with “holy cats … holy, holy cats!” (when appropriate) and suddenly shouting “pierogies!” (whenever that would be the least appropriate)

[@FelixWarren]

I was born in 1981 and grew up with Reagan's version of the Bomb hype, and the first 30 seconds of this video sum up why I'm so messed up today. Imagine seeing War Games as a young kid and being told by your parents that all the nuclear stuff in it is accurate and it could all still happen any day now.

[@ManCarryingThing]

that intro goes so hard, the music and everything. damn

[@gloryrod86]

I think the painting being covered says more than seeing it ever could in a way. Its literally a cover up, but not for any great reason. Just like the real thing

[@joseangelsanchezgomez3925]

I appreciate this series of videos so much. I can come back, watch them again and always get something new from watching it. Really love your work!

[@bradypustridactylus488]

A few months after 9/11 and several weeks into the war, I told a fellow teacher in the prison where I worked, "This is only the United States flaunting super power status. No WMDs. No connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq. No justification whatsoever." She just looked at me and said, "At least, Hussein is not gassing entire villages of Kurds anymore." At the time, her response seemed vapid beyond any need for refutation, and as the war unfolded over the years, the vapidness of her remark compounded.

[@weatheranddarkness]

the worst thing about her comment is when you know the whole backstory of said "gassing". America's hands are just as bloody in even that small piece of the story.

[@SodiumNitrateBot]

The war in Iraq didn't start until late 2002, so your memory of "several weeks into the war" was probably 2003. That's not "a few months after 9/11." Memory is a funny thing.

[@theangryholmesian4556]

@@weatheranddarkness So you're saying the well documented genocidal intentions of Hussein towards the Kurds didn't happen or?

[@askmeaboutfreewill5791]

@@theangryholmesian4556 I don't know the whole story behind Saddam's use of white phosphorus on his own people, but I do know that the American military used that exact flesh-melting compound on the civilian population of Felusia.

[@theangryholmesian4556]

@@askmeaboutfreewill5791 Yes America did something bad. You might want to sit down for this but other people also do bad things and it's possible for multiple things to be bad at once.

[@ProfessorRex]

Watched this last night on Nebula. First time I had ever seen your content & I want you to know I was sucked right in. You’ve done an amazing job with this video and I’m looking forward to diving into more of your content!

[@mcbaws21]

this is literally the best video you’ve ever made. please keep making these this was amazing

[@coolnerdzroc]

Love that you’re incorporating loads of creative camera angles in your videos and excited to watch the rest of this series

[@seraphonica]

That Assassins reference at 9:19... the closest I've ever had to a religious moment.

[@kphoenix5942]

I SHOUTED OUT LOUD WHEN IT HAPPENED

[@vivianransom9024]

so glad i'm not the only one :)) loved that!

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

Same! Unexpected Sondheim is always such a treat!

[@phoebexxlouise]

There's mastery at work in this video. I really appreciate the effort you take to frame your shots artfully and learn your script thoroughly enough that I can focus on your statements and your apt delivery.

[@countryhat5531]

Joel this might be the best video you've made. Incredible work.

[@bidaubadeadieu]

One of my favorite videos of yours, recently. Great work.

[@Puddle]

phenomenal video- looking forward to the upcoming series

[@Imstillhangintherethankgod]

Humanity really is one large act of cruelty away from total annihilation. And it's that same fragility that unites us at the end of the day. No one wants to die before their time. No one wants their loved ones to get hurt. That's kind of beautiful, in an existential kind of way

[@blueberriesinmycoffee1234]

Big Joel's voice is still there, but now it reads like poetry. What an eerie, nice thing you've made. Thank you, this was very, very good.

[@98JSB]

Really excited for this series. This is my favorite of anything you've done.

[@joseangelsanchezgomez3925]

Man... this is 100% my favorite video of yours. Awesome work!

[@DaGuyWhoSezHi]

this is such an exciting direction for this channel to be taking

[@spicycoldnoodles4585]

The cube reference is so good, ive felt the same way about it re: large unaccountable bureaucratic systems. this video kinda reminds me of an adam curtis doc with the reference to narratives, artistry, and the stories we want to tell ourselves when the reality is almost far more banal and boring

[@flourvase_]

this is the greatest video I've ever seen. everything about this was pure art, you are brilliant (also i LOVED the assassins reference).

[@user-lq5ev8hg9q]

incredible work. i love how you bring up one viable thesis after another, and then undermine each. it creates such a nuanced overall perspective. thx for your work!

[@MangaPen]

Oh today is a wonderful day, thank you for the upload

[@camelopardalis84]

The notification for this video here popped up right as I was finishing the newest Jack Saint video, towards the end of which he mentions "As I Lay Dying". I looked up the title (that I had heard before), and saw that it was written by William Faulkner (an author I had also heard of before). Now I start this video and hear you talk about William Faulkner.

[@maristiller4033]

Faulkner is good I recommend

[@camelopardalis84]

@@maristiller4033 Good look trying to make me read a book. The internet and how I use it makes me feel as if I've turned illiterate. I do think I own a book by him, though. I am pretty damn sure that one of those "50 works of world literature" books I bought for very little money (per book) in 2005 is by him. I just looked up a list of his works, but none of the titles sound familiar.

[@SonarPup]

​@@camelopardalis84 Reading is tricky to make yourself do when the shape of media now is so focused around sheer amount of content that can be consumed in x minutes/hours. I'll say I started reading again in the last few months, and if you do want to try doing it again, the things that helped me a lot were: Reading alongside Audiobooks - not the cheapest (you are essentially buying an extra copy of the book, and usually for more than the paperback) but I found that it worked well to make me put reading in a similar space in my head to reading the captions on stuff (which I do to help w attention span and with audtiory processing issues. Having a focal point/book with reinforcement/audio can help) Making myself set my phone aside fully - I got a Flip and tbh having it closed 90% of the time has helped me so much with attention, but also will leave it at my desk and go sit on the couch or similar. Setting some time aside explicitly for it, esp time where you may not be using your phone as much anyway, like before bed (bonus that phone use in bed isn't great for sleep hygene, and reading doesn't have the same issue, tho if you're like me and can start to get drowsy quick bc of meds it can be a little weird trying to pick up where you were sometimes). You do kinda have to *want* to read something. I was stuck without electronics for around a week due to being hospitalized 6mo ago and finally finished Borne and reread Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, and that kinda sparked me actually wanting to read again. I immediately proceeded to try and start reading Dune again lmao, and I drop it for a long while here and there, but like... I can appreciate reading again. Finding shorter works helps too. I picked up Serious Weakness by Porpentine (which is a horribly fucked up book but also was the most invested in a book I may have ever been. I read it during work. I read it between waking up and starting work. I was eager to continue it constantly.) and that really started to open me up more to reading the kind of more experimental/marginalized writing I read back when I had finished high school, but with the expanded life experience and critical understanding I have now. You can try and find what you want to read. Even if something is a classic, maybe you don't like it because it falls flat in other ways that something else may have done better. You don't *have* to stick with a single book, but trying to find what kind of writing (subject, style, prose) you like can also be a big factor. (Sorry for going so long on this my adderall is hitting kinda hard today, but like, it's a thing I've gained a newfound interest in now that I can make it fit into my life more easily)

[@christophergreen6595]

Nooooope nope nope nope nope NOPE!

[@camelopardalis84]

@@christophergreen6595 What?

[@TheAlphaFrag]

This was wonderful. Thank you for making it.

[@sarahlogue8432]

This was honestly a masterpiece, amazing work!

[@JaxonHaxon]

I have GAD, and 'that little part of yourself, everyday, to being scared of a thing like that', goddamn, spot on dude. I spent almost a decade afraid of the sound of planes, terrified *it's the end* I don't have that fear anymore. Unironically Dr Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was the end of that fear, quickly overwritten by Force of Nature by David Suzuki. I enjoy Thanatos, I indulge in self-destruction. The bomb would be a swift mercy to an alternative of a life tortured by the ravages of Climate Change, the death by a thousand cuts we will endure. I'm Australian, we are suffering every year, you all might remember when the *smoke from our bushfires, engulfed the entire WORLD* at the end of 2019, early 2020. Our air was *toxic poison* where we had to wear N95 masks in public just months before Covid hit our shores... The Cube IS a banger and that sentiment is so funny cos I shared it in the last 2 days with my brother, that conspiracies like epstein and co, of JFK and the CIA surely existed, and must exist out there somewhere but that Capital is in and of itself a headless monster, it moves how it moves to serve it's self interest. The conspiracy is not a spoken one, it is an unspoken truth, a silent agreement, that is more terrifying in a way. That there is no bad guy like some story about the end of the world, one Villain to defeat, but more of a millions/billion headed hydra of bourgeoisie and petit bourgeoisie to overcome. I don't fear atomic bombs, I fear the faceless liaison that is my landlord and the police who protect their interest by force and bondage if I disobey... Also shocked to realise your age based on the 9/11 story, similar experiences bro, same, we just wanted cartoons 😂

[@christophergreen6595]

Every time the power goes out or the internet won't work, I cross my fingers and say hopefully; "maybe this time!"

[@91Vault]

Climate change at least has ways out or ways of mitigation, there’s no garuntee once the bomb drops your going to be in the right place

[@91Vault]

@@christophergreen6595 my god, the extensive doomerism of every depressed person who thinks they’ve stumbled across some deep understand of the world truly is exhausting

[@christophergreen6595]

@@91Vault thats what knowing about thr cold war and AGW will do to ya. Also seeing the US basically give up and 'choose imperialism' instead of doing anything about climate issues. Odd that you should think that's depression... no, its just depressing.

[@a_doggo]

Thanks so much for your videos, Joel. I don't know if you'll ever see this, but thank you so much for YOUR TIME, and sharing it with us. I'm stuck at home alone, and it's awfully nice to see you. Not to be all parasocial; I just can't physically leave and I think that this is really nice. Thanks for all of your effort.

[@Judasziege]

Outstanding. Looking forward to the other videos in this mini-series.

[@hexamoth5873]

been waiting for this!

[@ItsMiddleClick]

Another banger from BIG JOEL. He is HUGE and BIG

[@10Gpixels]

I'd kill for a Jacob Geller and Big Joel collab

[@apatheticwithnoa]

I'd kill for a Nobel peace prize

[@ms.aelanwyr.ilaicos]

Waiting for the Big Joel/Little Joel collab, personally

[@aarontheperson6867]

@@apatheticwithnoa id kill for a billion dollars maybe but why would u kill for some pointless award. anyway yeah jacob n joel would b epic

[@0h0ur10]

genuinely moved me to tears, i am so so excited to see what the other two videos have in store.

[@chrisbuzan426]

Just wondered when the video would drop and BAM!

[@brat_prince]

today I learned that I am older than Big Joel, making me a Bigger Joel, and then I crumbled into dust and the wind spread my ashes across the horrified faces of my friends and family

[@samogden4265]

Idk why, but this is my favorite video of yours. It's sorta harrowing, but really made with a lot of care and love. great work

[@user-lg5gq2he9g]

I love all your videos, but this one is probably my favourite by far. Simply outstanding

[@VanessaDelgado]

I think they deliberately covered it up. Maybe not for some huge "we must not show the people for their eyes will be opened!" but likely the more mundane "this wouldn't look great visually and some press might write something about this." That's if they had a pr person present at the time. Composition definitely comes into play (can't have a messy looking conference) but there typically are people there to mind that kind of thing. Lovely video. Learned a few things I never heard before about that time period! Edit: it's been brought to my attention that this was addressed in the video. So uh enjoy my redundant comment.

[@VanessaDelgado]

@@gregoryford2532 ah guess I gotta listen better!😅

[@philipdowdell3429]

what i got from the video is that Size-morphing Joel thinks it takes a really long time to cover something with a curtain you already have on hand

[@weegee_47]

i really appreciate your videos. i’m so glad you made this one. your videos are always among my favorites. thank you.

[@ClaireSunshine]

An amazing video from you as always Big Joel, as well as a classic cameo from Little Joel at the end!

[@xoxoe9960]

Fun fact: like parrots, crows can be taught to repeat words well enough for humans to understand

[@fossilfighters101]

+

[@christopherlewis9566]

The extremely subtle Sondheim reference at 9:20 was just... Exceptional.

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

Right? Love that show!

[@Carlosonebillion]

I think this experiment is a wild success so far! Would love to see more vids like this.

[@russelltesmer6633]

This was magnificient. Looking forward to the next two!

[@IronMaiden1164]

When you realise Big Joel is 7 years younger then you

[@spinozatheobvious626]

He's actually 15 years younger than me... really strange sensation!

[@chillsy_pluto]

a little weird experiment with this long video format but im looking forward seeing more of this on little joel

[@nathanielholzknecht3203]

I normally will come back to one of your videos after about a month to enjoy it again. But idk I’ve watched this three times today, I’m just so impressed by the presentation and storytelling. Using art to analyze art, how cool

[@andrewdoucet3029]

Nice work! That Chaucer bit was awesome. The Manciple is my pick for scariest pilgrim. There is something unbearably grim about him and his tale. Thanks for this video!

[@chasevictory9465]

One of your best videos ever man. "You can try to take the crow's voice away but it will always linger with its ugly song."

[@EthanCuka]

"And it didn't heal the country, and they never said we're sorry" "Another National Anthem" lyrics spotted 👀Great video as always and a really affecting nod to a fascinating musical

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

When I heard that I did something between a gasp, a shriek, and a squee!

[@aniaramarcusse5467]

I love these videos, thank you for putting in this much work

[@CaptainTid]

incredible video as always man - got goosebumps when you connected that moment from the cube to, as you put it, 'the gap between 9/11 and saddam'. exceptional

[@strangehominid]

i remember having to write about faulkner's nobel prize speech during my high school rhetoric class. i liked the kind of dichotomy of these two things: acknowledging the sways of the heart and fixating on a physical, fearful death. i thought it was such a clear cut, simple explanation of different ways to create art. i go back to think about the nobel prize speech and wonder how right faulkner was and if i got it right. i cant figure it out.

[@harrylane4]

This big joel guy is pretty great. I hope my favorite youtuber, little joel, does a video about him.

[@phishfoodfreak]

maybe my favorite video yet. thank u for ur work, i cant wait for the rest 🙌🏼

[@MarbleCellar]

love how you are experimenting with your style so much

[@FIDoAlmighty]

After having anxiety and panic disorder for the last 15 years, I can relate to this. My creative side definitely slip.

[@joeholley3178]

Art is the deliberate creation of meaning, and war is nonsense. Art about war cannot absolve itself of this tension. Faulkner was keenly aware of that

[@WhimzyInteractive]

Great content as always Mr. Joel

[@emmaowen840]

fantastic analysis! beautiful work Big Joel

[@MoondustManwise]

TBH the reason I know much about the Iraq war is because my dad's a veteran of the war. He wasn't a good man when he was deployed, and he was a worse man with PTSD he refused to treat afterwards. The war's nothing more than a miserable stain on memories I don't have, but that affect me nonetheless.