Why "Friday" Was Made

A deep dive into the bizarre and short-lived phenomenon of terrible tween tunes, and its unethical underbelly. Check out audible.com/sarahz or text "sarahz" to 500-500 to get a free audiobook, two Audible Originals, and a 30 day free trial!
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Music by Zoë Blade and used with permission!

[@SarahZ]

Truth be told, I'm both really excited and really nervous to have this video out finally. I've been working on it for a while, and it's a lot of "firsts" for this channel: it's my first sponsored video ever, it's the first video I've ever made with this new setup and camera (there are MULTIPLE ACTUAL PIXELS IN IT WHAT!!!!!), and it's my first video with new and more powerful editing software. It's a bit scary having this one out there because I worked really hard on it and now it's subject to public judgment. It's no longer in my hands, so enjoy! Btw, since we're all huge nerds here, me and my friends are in a DND podcast called Trials & Trebuchets. It takes place in a mysterious magical school as we discover its secrets and have a good time. It's a lot of fun, and you can check it out here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/trials-trebuchets/id1450941804 (WE'RE ALSO ON SPOTIFY AND STUFF) Hope everyone has a great day!

[@oof-rr5nf]

Can't wait to see the whole thing! Kudos on working so hard for this channel, I really appreciate the quality of the content. Congrats on the sponsor too!!

[@fluffball131]

It's an excellent upgrade

Excelent video. But I have one question: you start the video with hot tea and then in the end you drink it lukewarm?

[@Analysis_Paralysis]

Was, indeed, a bit annoyed slash triggered that it's a sponsered video... But I can't stop you, can I!

[@Analysis_Paralysis]

The video itself and the content are still great, though!

[@gezak3206]

Thank God this kind of marketing strategy doesn't work in politics. Imagine the horror of someone getting elected by churning out intentionally dumb and toxic lines in order to stir up controversy and gain press attention

[@julirodas9761]

yeah,........ ooooh

[@jam-the-hologram]

....welp

[@RADSPEON]

...well

[@katiec7949]

very accurate description of the current political climate

[@cosmicdude8282]

Yeaah...it would be a lame...

[@carlaeyyy649]

I've said this once, and I'll say this again: let kids be cringy. Kids are annoying, let them evolve into functional adults and to do that they start of cringy. Full grown adults should not be attacking them for that.

[@Simpsfan300]

Carlaeyyy absolutely. Still, makes me glad that I grew up in an era where my cringe teen years only exist in a couple of photos and isn’t online for the world to see lol. RB didn’t deserve all the hate she got though.

[@trucetruce335]

I hate to see my peers devolve into the “these damn kids no respect no good hobbies” grouches after complaining about their elders doing the same things to them.

[@marciamakesmusic]

Hijacking this to say yeah, absolutely. I'm glad I grew up when the internet was still a mostly friendly place to kids using it. Now they're either flamed by full grown men or exploited by mega corporations for ad revenue at every turn.

[@Hyperversum3]

I mostly wonder how many of those being so toxic are actually above 18. I mean, if you are a 17yo you should be mature enough to not go insult a kid doing something on the Internet... but you are still a 17yo youself, teens can be just as a ridicolous as preteens. What would be truly sad and kinda creepy would be having 20+ yo going after kids on the Internet and do similar things. Now, I must be honest, I "like" cringe culture, I like seeing people doing ridicolous things and being the butt of the joke, but it's harmless as long as you don't insult or be toxic with comments or whatever. People gotta learn the difference between having fun by watching people being stupid and being shitty human beings.

[@trucetruce335]

Hyperversum ugh kids who try to be mature by being jackasses are the only kind of kid I’ll ever openly mock. There’s kids who want to take risks and have fun doing stuff? That’s fine, even if it’s dumb, let people enjoy themselves. Kids who are too embarrassed and play it safe? That’s okay too, no one should be forced into fun. Kids who actively put down and bully the ones who go out forcing people who want to try things into neutrality? Burn in hell.

[@stupidass69420]

It’s kind of creepy how grown men (or other grown adults) are so interested in hating young kids...like... eugh

[@ink1018]

Ikr

[@ecanerday1194]

and to also get mad because a THIRTEEN year old is unattractive to them.

[@CarlsCozyCorner]

@@ecanerday1194 hey at least they don't find them attractive

[@pumpkinnecromancer2490]

"Ew I hate this teenaged girl on youtube I'm going to tell her to kill herslef. I'd rather have my precious dakimura of an underaged hentai character. She only ever does everything I want and doesn't sing innocent pop songs."- some guy on the internet hating on a teen pop singer for doing something innocent until they either snap and have "the breakdown" or fade from the spotlight in a couple years.

[@stupidass69420]

Paper Ibuki *THE ACCURACY-*

[@RedXiongmao]

I notice that the second the hate shifted to adult man Patrice Wilson and not the literal children he was exploiting, the company shut down and he went into hiding

[@RoqueFortStu]

quite, he couldn't make money from his own notoriety- only theirs! let's hope he's not working in media, management or anything, and has a crappy job like cleaning toilets

[@moosesandmeese969]

@@RoqueFortStu we know that's not the case; he's probably enjoying his child exploited fortune. Just bash the fucker's head in

[@Shatterstar]

@ No, he's now making cringy 'Suicide awareness' videos ever since HE got shit on by H3H3. So it's alright for him to exploit and place pre-teen girls at the front and center to take harassment and bullying, at a time where girls are pretty vulnerable mentally.....but the second he gets shit for his behavior he paints himself as a victim and makes a horrible series of videos. I've seen them, they're pretty much emotionally manipulation videos using current events (like COVID) to try and manipulate you more. And he, once again, puts teenagers as the face of these videos to try and draw attention onto them! All while posting his name and his company's name in the credits for clout. Amusingly, the series is called 'SILENCED'

@ absolutely, 100%

[@phoenixdavida8987]

I saw he lost a lot of weight and got fit and was making his own music videos a while ago... But that's it.

[@reptilianstudios8994]

it a perfect world, "friday" would've been seen only by friends, family, and one or two people who stumbled across it by accident

[@davadreviewer5509]

And probably one guy who would sample it in his own music

[@underscorekay]

“but this is not a perfect world.”

[@davadreviewer5509]

Kaylen Is smol how unfortunate

[@thegmanofEAP]

in a perfect world , legions of adults wouldn't spend years obsessing over and shaming a bad song and direct their hate at a fucking child.

[@nanahuatli2144]

And furiously liked by the mom and dad and family.

[@BumLuck]

Rebecca Black is honestly an inspiration to me. Even after becoming the laughingstock of the world, she just kept making music. To this day she is still putting out songs. That is god-tier perseverance.

[@NIHIL_EGO]

The world need more people like her.

[@nuberiffic]

Is it? She was handed a career and decided to keep being handed one. Seems like the bare minimum to me.

[@BriPer1992]

nuberiffic... She was thrown into an industry plagued by creepy and money-hungry adults at a tender age, became a laughing stock for her own talent, and is still working hard. She received DEATH THREATS for WORKING. I've never been that strong and by your needlessly cruel comment, it's clear you never have been either.

[@nuberiffic]

@@BriPer1992 ok, easy turbo

[@denisenova7494]

Bri P: Yes, it‘s so hard to have rich parents who pay over 1000$ for a teenage girls‘ vanity project without a reality check. The fact is that everything about the production was bad and that she wasn‘t really that talented at 13 (which is ok). The fact is that her parents were obv vain enough not to see how terrible it has turned out and put it online. Her parents are responsible here. They pay a huge amount for a song to be produced and it turns out to be really bad and yet they put it online for everyone to see. Not saying that the amount of bullying she received was ok, it wasn‘t, but it was to be expected. However it got her attention and attention is good publicity. There is no bad kind of arrention in the industry. If someone receives a lot of backlash for something then a new image and „Look how this person has changed!“ is the next logical step. She still does the same kind of generic highly produced pop music.

[@AndreaPerez-jk9pr]

Jojo Siwa is a prime example of the internet hating a young girl for... nothing? For dressing young? If she were dressing older she would be made fun of too. Young girls just cannot win in the eyes of the internet.

[@scrantonrogueofthesilvertr9031]

Exactly. People are like “she’s annoying!” How? Because she’s enthusiastic? You say you want kids to get out more and exercise and then this girl who is amazing and polite and positive gains popularity and the internet is like “noooooo we want our kids to be miserable and stay inside all day and never get passionate about anything”

[@kelxy4105]

TK-970 why tho

[@tk-9704]

@@kelxy4105 can you tell she needs to get a life

[@kelxy4105]

TK-970 dude she’s just being super enthusiastic. Even if you think it’s annoying. That doesn’t mean she deserves to be bullied over wearing big bows.

[@tk-9704]

@500daysofinternet when did i mention polotics and philosophy

[@garcegarcegarce]

i’ve actually met rebecca and she was really sweet she complimented my hair and said i looked like a mermaid and was just so nice

[@RetroIsaac]

Aww that's nice.

[@_aiborie]

Wholesome

[@ink1018]

Aww!!

[@kel51kel]

Okay that is so adorable. x3

[@funkyyt-rexxius5564]

Awh! That’s awesome dude!

[@kikren]

Friday is a meta commentary on how when you're a kid you look forward to fun, but every adult on the internet hates you and screams that fun is dead

[@davemacdonald4874]

not all adults. typically, only those with some form of self hate.

[@RstmMkdB]

@@davemacdonald4874 so... all adults?

[@poodychulak]

@@davemacdonald4874 Pretty much anybody who feels comfortable calling themselves adults

[@KuraIthys]

@Poodychulak - 'contemplates my poor opinion of 'adults' and reluctance to consider myself one in spite of being WELL past the point where their could be ambiguity'... Eh. Your claim checks out. XD

[@subalternprecariat821]

This is such a good comment, I didn't even realise how straightforward that observation is. Well done.

[@IFYOUCOULDFLY]

God I never realized how many of these “cringe” videos from my childhood were made by young people. I’ve absolutely made some extremely embarrassing videos at that age, the only difference being I never posted them. Just thinking that this level of absurdly malicious hate could have happened to almost any of us is both disturbing and humbling.

[@krixkhaos]

When I think about the videos that my sister and I made for our own enjoyment - if they had got out and had the kind of reach that videos have in this day and age, we honestly would have been toast.

[@dalton-at-work]

i think as a culture we really need to examine what level of internet is healthy for young people. currently we have ZERO restrictions and Ark Music just saw a market and went for it.

[@squidsfromtheskies6097]

I was about 15 when cringe culture first appeared on the internet. It didn't have a name back then, but people were mercilessly ripping into things made by kids, or things that had a massive fanbase among kids. This included everything from the Inheritance books to fanfiction. Ever since seeing things I related to treated in such a way, I became terrified to share anything I created, and sometimes feel a deep sense of shame for creating something because I feel that anything I create is potentially "cringy". I keep hoping this feeling will go away and I'll be inspired to create again the way my pre-15-year-old self was. I'm 30 now. Still hoping. Fuck, I'm depressed.

[@SWAGCOWVIDEO]

I have systematically published every embarrassing thing I have ever made/done onto the internet over the course of my life. If any of my old online accounts come up in a job interview I'm literally screwed.

[@eadlynjune]

I was so close to releasing “Nuclear Geek News” and boy am I glad that never saw the light of day.

[@samlewis6487]

100% sure that producer is a creep. He actively hung around young girls, sabotaged their possible careers, and even exploited certain artists by having them perform many bad songs. It's creepy and manipulative.

[@samlewis6487]

Most of this is covered in the video, but it's a bit glossed over. Just wanted to express my opinion.

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

Agreed, that on its own is a big red flag

[@Boooo]

Kids Online: *exists* Everyone: hippity hoppity your reputation is now *dead*

[@CaseyShontz]

Nice profile pic!

[@ZMW7]

Super Monkey Ball time

[@aidoll3692]

I-It didn't even end in a rhyme...

[@StormBurnX]

super 🐵⭕️

[@emeraldsky2823]

OH GOSH At least let it rhyme Hippity hoppity your reputation has droppitied. There Now I can live in peace

[@persephone3892]

Ironically, teenage girls make certain things very popular but are then made fun of for liking said thing. Twilight, shadowhunters, etc. All while full grown adults watch college football and act like its a serious thing..

[@tf7602]

add the beetles (and I think Elvis?) to that list

[@lisah8438]

At the time people didn't respect the Beatles as much as they do today. Because teen girls loved them.

[@jonsnor4313]

The shadowhunters series gets even legit good, and isnt much more cheesy than most urban fantasy. And teenager liking twilight isnt embarassing, soccer mums liking 50 shades of grey, an unironic textbookstory of abuse(from dominic nobels channel) and a rip off of twilight is embarassing. College football, good example. While teenage girl crowds certainly can be annoying, all crowds can, its just fair to let everyone have an embarrassing hobby.

[@GLamoRousCooKie]

All the greatest bands and artists in the world were made famous by teenage girls. And I really like your point about college football.. Grown men crying over the fact that a soccer team didn't kick a ball in the net enough times have the nerve to make fun of someone else's interest. Ultimately this comes down to mysogyny, on which our society is built and operates. Traditionally feminine interests - specifically young female's interests are looked down upon and mocked and traditionally masculine interests are glorified. Because chucking beers while watching a bunch of men chase a ball on a field is SO much more mentally stimulating, right.

[@princessjello]

@@GLamoRousCooKie i think the person meant American football but still the point is there (loool)

[@jaynestrange]

I feel like if anyone is cringe here, it's the grown-ass man rapping creepily in preteen music videos.

[@JT-dl2cc]

Isn't it creepy when female and male grown stars collab with young teens in general ... What does that sound stupid? Cause that's you. You sound sexist as fuck and don't even see it

[@candycandy42069]

The man isnt creepy,its just you.

[@jaynestrange]

@@candycandy42069 Watch the video, he's 100% creepy.

[@hecklife6636]

JT ??? a grownup ‘collabing’ with teens is always creepy, regardless of gender. its just that this specific scenario has a grown man doing it

[@games_on_phone89]

@@JT-dl2cc how DOES he sound sexist af

[@kellanlevi5663]

I'm still floored by the fact that rebecca was 13 when this all started. Admittedly I was around the same age but I thought she was around 16

[@eviekenyon574]

Even worse when you realise that people sent death threats to a *13 year old* because they didn’t like her song

[@Keznen]

@Evie Seriously? Friday sucks, yeah. But death threats? Geez, people are fucked.

[@hermyslilsis]

@@eviekenyon574 And the fact that she went on shows like Good Morning America, and the ADULTS interviewing this 14 YEAR OLD CHILD asked her on national television "So with all these death threats and criticism you're getting, does it make you think about killing yourself?" !!!!!!!!

[@existing-human-]

@@hermyslilsis Holy shit that's just... Wrong. On so. Many. Levels.

[@moss5356]

@@eviekenyon574 I definitely have anger issues, but telling some kid to kill themselves for such a pity reason is just, well... pity

[@commandrogyne]

a very necessary analysis, honestly. however, i think it's important to also talk about how mental illness and disability intersect with cringe culture, because they're usually very intertwined. as an autistic person, my interests have basically always been mocked or derided, not for the content itself, but because of my enjoyment of them. I've seen so many kids harassed and bullied for liking things unironically and enthusiastically, and it's honestly really sad. between the oversexualization of children's media and the concept of cringe culture, I honestly think i was traumatized by my exposure to the internet, and im definitely not alone in this.

[@E4439Qv5]

It's a sad fact that the Internet is not a very safe place-- though some places on it are safer than others.

[@katiec7949]

completely agree and hope to see others talking about this more. it's honestly disturbing

[@wallystogner90]

Thank you for bringing this up. I don’t know why people care so much about what other people like. As long as it’s not hurting anything or toxic, why does it matter?

[@wallystogner90]

I think a great example is Cool Cat. While I will never watch those movies as I have no interest in them, if someone else likes to unironically watch them, why do I care? If it’s what you’re into then just watch it.

[@evaahh9584]

Commandrogyne I really like your pfp, did you make it? If the answer is no, where did you get it?

[@BrotallySwagical575]

"bro, you just posted cringe, you are going to gain massive amounts of money and ruin the public lives of 13 year old children" - Ark Music Factory

[@nope6021]

"Let's do it more!!!" -Ark Music Factory .2 seconds later.

[@sanattia]

im still ashamed of cringe culture and participating in it. i did that when i was younger, nothing extreme or hateful but i still contributed.

[@oof-rr5nf]

As long as we learn to be better, am I right? I myself was the most horrible teenager.

[@rezziey8435]

I laughed at Friday with my friends but even as a kid I felt like the hate was just. . . shitty.

[@darkmanmaggot]

"i contributed" .....Bathetic.

[@StraightPunkEdge93]

@@rezziey8435 I remember laughing at it with all my friends and sisters back then but i had a friend that made a "response" video to the song. Which was the lamest shit ever btw. But at least we were 18 year kids and not grown ass adults, but i still thought the outrage by him and others were overblown. At the end of the day it was just a dumb pop song.

[@Raph584]

about that, the video "Dear Stephenie Meyer" by Lindsey Ellis is very good

[@uwukotoa]

My elementary school had this thing called disco Friday where every Friday for 20 minutes before school we could go into the library and dance with all of our friends. The finale of every week was the song Friday. At my school, Friday was ICONIC.

[@LindsayLohanHuh]

You are the only people with good memories with that song. I had an opposite experience at my high school. We were doing a can food drive and in between classes and lunch they would blast annoying music until we reached our daily goal and guess what they played on Friday. Yep. I swear until like 6th period they finally turned it off.

[@xXSlMdcXx]

Dude they did that too and we all wanted to commit arson over it, I'm surprised you guys enjoyed it and I'm glad someone did

[@uwukotoa]

Mailman BibBob it got old after 1st grade

[@micaela7762]

that's so wholesome

[@greta8849]

Ironic Iconic?

[@MyMyClank]

I’ve supported Rebecca Black since the week “Friday” launched. It was a horrible song, but it made me laugh and I never understood why people were so hateful toward her. The second she started producing music herself I was on her team. Thanks so much for all of the hard work you put into this video, Sarah. I love your content and I love that you take the time to truly uncover the root of the problem, as opposed to the easy takes one could make on this topic. I love that you’re always an advocate for teenage girls. By the way, congrats on the sponsor! Was so excited to see it.

[@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195]

Also never understood all the hateful comments. It was a fun song. Now someone quotes it every few weeks

[@ImmortalBroken]

Her newer music is quite good. I was very shocked but also proud when I heard The Great Divide and found out she had a fantastic voice.

[@FosukeLordOfError]

It's unfortunate the auto tune sound effect is associated with inability to sing when it was first used by cher, as a way to emulate other technologies that created vocal manipulation. It's use to make people unintentionally sing creating a similar effect is most likely the cause for the misunderstanding of what it's doing. At this point any studio album is going to have some level of pitch correction and sample splicing and it's application is not unlike makeup in that you aren't supposed to notice it.

[@Nublet864]

Friday in a way embodied every grievance people had with pop music at the time "Talentless" teen idols Autotune The singer didn't write the song The lyrics and music are lazy "Not another party song!!!" And in usual internet fashion, we lashed out at the wrong person for the problems of the industry Rebecca just bought a song, a lot more teenagers would have done the same if they had the money or knew about the service

[@Nublet864]

@hey guys Totally it's not a 13 year olds fault that the song was bad no singer could have made the song work too many internal problems

[@gabrielladias420]

Made me think of Lindsay's "Dear Stephenie Meyer" piece, particularly the part when she says "we hate teenage girls".

[@captainangamos2212]

I was thinking just that!

[@christiegreenwood2642]

Although I think Lindsay missed the point of most of the criticism being levelled at Meyer. We despise the bad writing, the sexism, racism, classism, ageism, the domestic abuse and also Meyer's awful attitude to criticism. It would've been better to have apologized to the fans being mocked and only them. Directing an apology toward Meyer disregards all valid criticism and puts those criticising in a bad light. Hating on people for liking something is bad. Hating the literary output because it's terrible and harmful is perfectly fine. I honestly think Lindsay dropped the ball here by confusing two very different things. I like her analyses and think she's great, but I can't agree with her conclusions regarding Meyer.

[@oof-rr5nf]

@@christiegreenwood2642 I agree that the apology should have included the fans more pointedly and that the lack of comment on areas where Meyer has fucked up was a flaw. But the level of harassment Meyer has faced was not fair either. Not criticism, _harassment._ And while all the things you listed ARE wrong with the Twilight Saga, I think you are forgetting that the loudest "criticisms" were of the "lol vampires don't sparkle" and "twilight is gay xD" variety. As for the Stalking and Obsession As Romance trope that people complained about was not invented by Twilight, but has been a mainstay in media as a whole since forever. This trope does deserve a broader examination though. Speaking against the uncritical demonization and hatred of Twilight - and by extension its female fanbase - was the subject of Ellis's essay, not the valid critique of the franchise. But you made great points, I liked your comment.

[@christiegreenwood2642]

@@oof-rr5nf I agree with you. There's criticism and then there's harassment. Das Mervin once upon a blue moon did a "hate it for the right reasons" video that addresses these issues really well. I myself dislike Twilight for rationalizing and perpetuating harmful tropes. I also dislike the way Meyer has reacted to criticism in the past. But none of that excuses abuse of her or her fans, and the two - criticism and abuse - should never be conflated. That's a good objection you made, and thank you for the thoughtful response. :-)

[@oof-rr5nf]

@@christiegreenwood2642 Of course! Good talk. 💜

[@starkid4299]

Cringe culture is literally just another form of bullying. That's all it is. Change my mind. Edit: thanks for all the likes :)

[@martinreid2352]

Yeah. And the memes weren’t even that good.

[@starkid4299]

​@2manynegativewaves Uh, excuse me? I used a meme reference that makes fun of that "genuine shit head right wing bastard." How does that say anything about me or how mature I am? This comment isn't politically motivated or related, anyways, so why are you bringing politics into this?

[@kayleighbrown459]

@2manynegativewaves You're aware that a meme is a way of mocking the original content, right?

[@vixxcelacea2778]

@@ExplosiveBolts No, it's really not. Ostracizing has it's uses, but the people who deserve it already tend to be anti-social and not care what others think. Bullying is trying to tear a person down to feel less than you through abuse tactics from physical violence to emotional/mental abuse. That's NEVER okay. It also doesn't achieve anything good. Much like how punishment is a far worse way to teach good behavior. Ignore the bad, reward the good. Same goes for stuff that sucks. Ignore it. Giving it attention only makes everyone miserable.

[@vixxcelacea2778]

Cringe is meant to be an empathetic reaction to feel embarrassment or humiliation to someone else's experience. Cringe as a culture, as in a way to try to shut people down when they make cringey content is definitely bullying. it's one thing to laugh at a bad product, it's another to use that to indicate that the person is shit, that their work is shit and they should go away. That's never okay. If you actually want someone to stop what they are doing, you ignore it.

[@CeceliaIsAWeeb]

Man why can’t people just leave kids alone and let them have fun and be cringey? It’s a part of growing up and it’s not hurting anyone.

[@CeceliaIsAWeeb]

Ooohbopbopboppadoohwah I’m not a fan of Fortnite, but I find it so hypocritical that people hate on kiddos who like Fortnite, but if someone says a single bad thing about Minecraft then they’ll be even more hostile.

[@jamiedoesstuff5871]

Cringe culture doesn’t just harass kids- it’s also really harmful for neuro atypical people who don’t express their interest in “”””normal”””” ways. It also affects amateur content creators, and that’s not even getting into the vicious ship wars that lead to people getting told to kill themselves, getting rape threats, ect. Basically, online culture is toxic and it really upsets me. I just want everyone to be nice :/

[@adamtolson299]

I'll never forget being literally doxxed and threatened on tumblr after telling someone I thought dean was hotter than sam. Smh

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

You get the whole spectrum. That’s the beauty of the internet. You get something wholesome then you get called names. Best thing you can do is just overcome and better yourself and not care too deeply either way.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

That’s why I advocate banning children from the internet. It’s like a neurological connector between peoples personas. It’s far too complicated for children and even some weak adults.

[@jamiedoesstuff5871]

broderick kurtz Banning wouldn’t work, since it’s frequently used as an educational resource by schools in a way that would be vastly lost if we banned it. In addition, it’s one of the few ways for children to keep in contact with relatives on the other side of the world and contains helpful resources and communities that can vastly enrich one’s life. There really needs to be more warnings probably. I grew up on the internet so all of this is normal for me but I can see how it could be very overwhelming for many children.

[@lizardabyss7035]

I have adhd, I tend to hyper fixate on things. I've been doing that basically my whole life and never really directly suffered from cringe culture but especially when I was younger I struggled to make friends and to fit in socially because of being "annoying" when talking about my interests. I think the rise of cringe culture and a lack of understanding about neuro atypical people, and the glorification of just generally being a dick on the internet is what led to all of that. I think it's getting better on all fronts though and I'm thankful for that.

[@livl.3139]

I have known that Cinema Sins is a grifty content mill for a while, but your comment at 13:20 about them intentionally making mistakes to get people to correct them in comments and thus drive them up in the algorithm is brilliant. In hind sight of course that is what they are doing but I hadn't thought of it. The videos that people make just going through their content and debunking it just feeds their name recognition and thus their the algorithm.

[@dvillines26]

yeah, that blew my mind. I couldn't fathom anyone would deliberately get things wrong like that to increase ENGAGEMENT. but, uh, this is what capitalism has done to the internet, and there is no bottom for content creators with no passion but a lot of greed.

[@poodychulak]

@@dvillines26 *ENTERGAGEMENT

[@stockicide]

I disagree about their engagement being boosted by the people who debunk their videos. I still watched Cinema Sins every once in awhile until I saw Shaun's video explain how they straight up lie about movies through deceptive editing, and it made me quit watching once and for all. Writing bad jokes happens to every comedian, but writing a joke that only makes sense if you cut out the part of the movie that contradicts it? That's unforgivable laziness. Or deliberate engagement-boosting, as Sarah brilliantly points out.

[@AtsAreStupid]

yeah it's almost like cinema sins is garbage lmao

[@FranciscoGarcia-jp1hp]

There are some other impressive (IMO) examples, like channels such as Dota 2 Dagon or some other gameplay highlights channels with giveaways in them, they do a raffle in which a ('a' as in ONE, 1) $20 in-game cosmetic is being given away and all you have to do is like and comment a number between 1-20000, and the result is every single video having astronomical levels of engagement for a minimal investment. The possibly earning a desirable item for just commenting is a good trade it seems, and it pushes the channel up in whatever lists it finds itself in, to the drawback of having zero discussion in the comments and just tens of thousands of random numbers in it. There are some smart people here, after all.

[@eruditecaptain3117]

I think the fact that Rebecca Black didn't feel old enough to be performing a song about romance is one of the most mature things I've ever heard.

[@eruditecaptain3117]

I mean, that on top of her continuing to release music just because it's what she wants to do, despite all that harassment. Those are both incredibly mature things.

[@Morilore]

I remember Rebecca Black being a lightbulb moment for me about how misogyny works. It occurred to me that none of the people dogpiling her actually 'hated' that song in any sensible definition of that word. They ~performed~ hatred, but there was a clear sense of sick joy in it. It gave them permission to unleash a totally unhinged amount of bile and aggression upon the head of a 13-year-old child, and they adored it for that.

[@haniwadog]

Misogyny? No. It was universally hated by pretty much everyone because it's a bad song that reached a lot of people. This is no different than any other awful song that people love to hate on.

[@TwighlightLugia]

I'm all for pointing out misogyny being normalized when it's there but this ain't it chief. People did the same thing with Bieber ar roughly the same timespan.

[@JT-dl2cc]

Um what .the song fucking sucked. No one really cared about the girl. They kicked her talents. Which at the time didn't sound good. Get over yourself.

[@dantheman8103]

She was an easy target. You do that to an established artist... ANY established artist and their fans and their people will combat it. She had no poeople or fans because she was not an actual established artist.

[@mystomachhurt9312]

Nice b8

[@MiloKuroshiro]

I always thought it was only a "Rich Parents forcing Tweens to be famous". Oof, it was WAY worse.

[@taylorgabbey2371]

If we could harness the energy in Sarah's left hand, we could solve the oil crisis. ( Fellow hand-talker here, so I understand :)

[@Hanfgurkenhasser]

Her hand is getting out of hand!

[@Candy-md1uk]

I gesticulate a lot too but i found it very distracting at times

[@Carbon2861996]

There's at least a thousand ways she holds her mug with her right hand as well.

[@8Rincewind]

I only realised how much I gesticulate when my fellow trainee teachers pointed it out.

[@rileycoyote4924]

Great, now my lesbian ass is thinking things.

[@susieboo22]

Rebecca Black has a TikTok now. She's hilarious, still singing and dancing, and is generally a pretty cool lady - and as it turns out, she listens to Girl in Red.

[@missmlpfan]

So she’s ... 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 ?

[@sulli4928]

My second-grade teacher put "Friday" on the smartboard 2 times a day every Friday in school. We loved it so much and made dances for it and sometimes even jumped on desks because we got o hyper. Some parents made her stop the next year, and it soon became the "thing" for our class, despite how cringy it was. We thought we were so cool, and it is still our thing to this day.

[@angierussellfunk]

YEA SAME THEY PLAYED IT EVERY FRIDAY IN SECOND GRADE

[@tinycatfriend]

i was a target of harassment when i was a preteen in 2010, and if it happened today i would've been the poster child of cringe culture. i made youtube videos for fun, and they went a bit viral (about 1 mil views) after 4ch/an found me. i was a visibly disabled preteen girl, i didn't stand a chance, honestly. i'm still bearing the scars from it today. i'm not sure its gotten any better, really. in fact, i find it's gotten worse when you add in the viciousness of fandom spaces and callout culture of today. i feel like i'm seeing what happened to me, repeatedly, and on a massive scale. i am terrified for the kids going through this, and i'm certain that some may not survive.

[@Sailorchibbimoon]

tinymeows i feel this so much. i had very simular situations, i dont choose to be a public figure anymore but for some reason ppl still seek me out.

[@tinycatfriend]

@@Sailorchibbimoon i feel that. i tried to keep making videos as a teenager, but failed every time i "rebooted" things. eventually the trolling became too much, and i can't do it anymore. thankfully i haven't been sought out in recent years. the last major incident was in 2015, so fingers crossed that i've been mostly forgotten (whatever that means these days, with the internet being forever). i'm sorry you still have to deal with that :(

[@Sailorchibbimoon]

tinymeows stay strong!!! i cant find the terms/ words to talk abt it still but i hope u the best!! soildarity!

[@nateayi]

Honestly, I just think that 4ch/an is the worst website on the internet. People who would be instantly mocked if they showed their faces mocking people brave enough to show their faces, doing what they love. It’s evil.

[@tinycatfriend]

@@nateayi i agree. not everyone there is cruel, but many can be. not to mention its track record in radicalizing white men into fascists.

[@KarkatVantasBitches]

I was 13 when the song was released, and my teacher would play it every single Friday. It was awful. I felt really bad that so many grown adults were making fun of a girl the same age as me who was just trying to do something fun.

[@bumblewyn]

+

[@claireeebee]

That is really sad. And we wonder why so many kids are insecure.

[@NewhamMatt]

As a teacher who regularly played this song as a prank, I never intended to use it as an attack on Rebecca, so much as on the song (which is undoubtedly awful). When later songs like My Moment and Saturday came out, I showed them to demonstrate that Rebecca Black was, in fact, a capable singer and that Friday was a result of bad songwriting and bad production. This being said, this video makes good points and I feel terrible that I contributed to the awareness of the song that, in turn, led to a child's bullying.

[@itzelwind5813]

My teacher would do the same

[@claireeebee]

@@NewhamMatt It definitely gives us something to think about! I know I don't have hateful intentions but I've said cruel things. We just have to strive to be better :)

[@kravvall4869]

People raging about music being bad, REALLY miss out on one important fact. They all sucked. Listen to metallica or whatever act comes to mind on their first live recording. Those bands where touring although they sounded like hot garbage. Not even the beatles where good at first, they had hundreds of hours of failiing, and in that perfected their craft. By talking down on people making mistakes people are discouraging experimentation, learning, and therefore are themselves a factor in mainstreaming music.

[@Xehanort10]

Those other bands improved though. The likes of Bieber and Black sang the same songs and types of songs over and over again. Bieber's 25 or 26 now and he's still doing the same "begging teen girls to love him" songs he was doing as a teenager. Only now it's creepy since he's a guy in his 20's singing at underage girls.

[@alamunez]

But people like Rebecca Black (or Bieber for that matter) do not make music, they aren’t the ones who are creating the songs. Therefore, they will never get better at it. All they can do is hire better composers & producers.

[@colemccallum1276]

@@alamunez Also Bieber's kinda a scumbag as a person. From what I've seen, Black's a well rounded average 20 something young woman just minding her own business.

[@dormouse1085]

@@Xehanort10 why should we treat every artist like they will never improve just because some don't? If you are constantly told your work sucks even if you are improving then you'd actually start to stop improving.

[@Xehanort10]

@@colemccallum1276 She sort of faded away after Friday but Bieber stayed around both assaulting people's ears with what he calls "music" and pissing people off with his arrogant attitude. And despite his fans whining about him being hated they don't realise that they're part of the reason people hate him because of their blind defence of his actions and delusional belief that he can do no wrong. These are people who call crimes "mistakes" and think being human justifies anything anyone does.

[@DS-wp2dj]

Rebecca Black's new music absolutely slaps and she is such a gift. Her strength to pull through all that and choose to keep making music and be a kind person is inspirational honestly.

[@Pkblazer099]

Yea saturday is actually decent.

[@thedotintheletteri]

Pietwr wait did she actually make a song called Saturday? What a legend

[@iantaakalla8180]

She did and it’s of the same caliber as Friday. Not the best or one of the best, but if you stumble across it you’ll find it good and possibly nostalgic.

[@DSgamrz585]

Great video, especially touching on how horribly internet culture treats kids. If I remember correctly, this was also at the height of the Justin Beiber hate era. While I was never personally a fan of his old music, the hatred people have for him completely spiraled out of control and devolved into personal (and often homophobic/transphobic) attacks on the guy himself. And it was into this toxic outrage culture that Friday was dropped so the mob could sink its claws into a young girl without any fame or fanbase behind her. While I like to think we've gotten better, it's still really sad how much of internet culture is "things young people/girls/both like == bad"

[@jonsnor4313]

I think that has mostly to do with the "the horrible youth" bias of older people, and their powerlessness in general. Its not like there arent any adults making either bad or unironicly cringey music, ironically cringey can be quite fun and smart. Then there is lady gaga with her uuhh, she is so daring mainstream hype, while she is just really a reasonable good singer, but thats so fake and unauthentic. As example, there are worse than her. She isnt bad at songwriting and singing, they made some great parody covers, but if she wasnt cringy in her pseudo edgy make up. She aint no marylin manson. Also donald trump, he is the worst and people defend him, and he does politics. I thinks because its somehow ok tolook down on kids, which is unfair, and everyone was rather silly and cringy once, we have no right to look down on it, but its ok to make fun and legit critizism.

[@NIHIL_EGO]

Fortnite anyone ?

[@harrylane4]

@@NIHIL_EGO hell, remember 10 years ago when we were all talking shit about Minecraft?

[@NIHIL_EGO]

@@harrylane4 Nah, people started to talk shit about Minecraft in 2013-2014, with the rise of KZbin.

[@dailymdesdemona]

@@jonsnor4313 I legitimately can't tell if you're criticizing Gaga or defending her

[@handstouchinghands]

This is an outraged comment to increase your engagement! How dare you! How dare you make such good content!

[@blarg2429]

This comment is a petition to raise awareness for the issue of koala alcoholism. 1 video like = 1 cry

[@crackheadspeedway6788]

I’m your 666th like

[@Mouseymouse678]

@@blarg2429 oh, to be a drunk koala.

[@corvuscallosum5079]

Somehow I never got the memo that Rebecca Black was just a kid. All this time I naively assumed she was an adult with creative control over her work and now I find out that I am less than a year younger than she is. I'd like to think if I had known that in middle school my past self would have been less eager to participate in that toxicity . . . In any case watching this video right after the one on the "not like other girls" phenomenon has given me a lot of things to consider that I really haven't before. Keep up the good work Sarah! (The pivot from discussing a problem that is, shall we say, not unrelated to capitalism to advertising for Audible, an Amazon company, was darkly amusing though)

[@lenaeospeixinhos]

I never got why Star Wars kid was bullied, he was awesome. First time I watched it I was jealous, I'd played with fake lightsabres in my youth too and I was nowhere near that convincing. Then someone went and actually did the lightsabre effects! Respect, young man... respect.

[@ismena3635]

"let's be kind" god if this isn't the mood we need

[@ataraxia7439]

+

[@Tybis]

can random kindness be the hot new meme please

[@SnoFitzroy]

I unironically liked the song for about 3 or 4 years after it came out. I still have a playlist with the song in it. Also, that comment where someone said she's "VERY unattractive"?!?!? SHE WAS 13?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[@PugandOwn]

honestly the song has a certain charm to it. like that kidz bop kinda feel, or a cartoon's theme song. it's kinda like kids' antics crystallised in musical form with 99% less sudden screeching.

[@OdaKa]

It's hard to tell her age with the way she's made up

[@daksh1673]

Friday is still a bop

[@g_00ie56]

When i saw friday i thought Rebecca was 16 she looks really mature.

[@nowandaround312]

@William Brynn As a grown adult it's pretty easy to tell, but she was mocked by a lot of teens as well who probably didn't see her as the kid she was, since she could have passed for 15 or 16

[@deadaccount5795]

Oh my word she was thirteen. Why are thirty-year-old men mocking a child?

[@abbierodgers7623]

God, the jessi slaughter situation is so sad to look back on. That's a depressing reminder i wasn't expecting.

[@originlollol7]

I never knew that I wanted the story behind this till just now.

[@tf7602]

So... teenage girls have recieved an unproportional amount of hate for their harmless hobby... that really is a new thing and totally caught me by surprise :/ sadly

[@denisenova7494]

People receive hate for liking shit. Happens. And it has nothing to do with gender or age.

[@shewillsmash]

@@denisenova7494 that's a load of horse shit

[@Xehanort10]

@@denisenova7494 Exactly. People hate this song because it's a shit song with too much Autotune not because it's sung by a woman. The people who instead of realising that people dislike a bad song that happens to be sung by a woman are accusing people of disliking it because it's sung by a woman are just seeing sexism where there isn't any. Just like even if people dislike a character in a show who's a minority for reasons unrelated to their minority they'll still get the "You only hate them because they're black, female, trans, disabled, gay" or anything else accusations. The idea that people might find the character boring, that they have no personality or traits, that they're badly written or played by a bad actor or actress and so on never crosses their minds. They just use the character's minority to accuse people of prejudice even if the minority isn't why people hate the character. It's like The Flash TV show's Iris West. People hate her because she only exists to be Barry's wife and a damsel in distress who always gets kidnapped. But because she's played by Candice Patton who's black Iris fans say people only hate her because she's black even though if the show's Iris was white people would still hate her not because of her skin colour or gender but because she's an uninteresting 1 dimensional character.

[@denisenova7494]

@@Xehanort10: Things that are bad need to be called out. There is nothing wrong with making fun of bad and cringy pop music, bad tv shows or movies or bad literature aimed at teenage girls. Pop stars are products too. There is nothing wrong with making fun of the product Justin Bieber or One Direction being terrible and annoying. Because we don‘t want stupid shit being sold to people and because it is cringy and annoying. Because we don‘t want stupid nonsense to influence kids. Furthermore it‘s not like all teenage girls without exception instantly like all the stupid things that are aimed at them. There are many teenage girls with their own taste. It‘s stupid people liking stupid things regardless of gender and age. I also make fun of people liking the Kardashians. These things are trash and the industry sells useless products to people and some people are just stupid enough to like everything they are fed. And no, it‘s not „teenage girls are like that“ because that insults the intelligence of everyone who isn‘t like that. Yes, some people like stupid things at a young age because they are force-fed these things by mass media and some people change and prefer better and more mature things as they age. That doesn‘t change the fact that there are cringy and trashy bad quality things out there that target teenage girls and I never liked that when I was a teenager myself because it discriminates against every girl that doesn‘t like generic things without depth and it pretends all teenage girls like stupid bubblegum pop and stupid novels that have absolutely nothing to do with literature. It‘s not misogyny to bash and insult these products. It‘s misogyny to market things without depth and without sophistication to girls. How come magazines for boys are about science and nature and cool things like comics and pranks and jokes but magazines for girls are about make-up and clothes and diets and stupid pop stars? This is the real misogyny.

[@I_love_dr_stone]

@@denisenova7494 oh give me a break. people put out equally shite music all the time, it's just that people fucking hate teenage girls.

[@arsony1775]

"Factory" is a great way to describe the company. Churning out cheap low quality shit as fast as possible with little to no soul.

[@dentedtester36]

Down with cringe culture!!! Just let everyone do what they want or like what they want as long as they aren't hurting anyone.

[@Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat]

I do feel bad about how rebecca black was treated. I was in high school and I made fun of it with my friends. I wasn't public and never made fun of her personally but still, let's not be mean to the barely a teenager for making a harmless music video.

[@marksilla8276]

That thumbnail made it look like the company murdered or kidnapped Rebecca Black

[@fionatastic0.070]

Mark Silla metaphorically, they kinda did

[@kingoftehwalrus77]

I mean, with Patrice Wilson, I’m surprised that neither of those things happened.

[@mikelmontoya2965]

@@fionatastic0.070 what? They didn't murder her, Rebecca Black is ALIVE AND THRIVING!

[@justaspiral13]

It makes me so mad that the internet was targeting these VERY young girls. They went way overboard with that crap...

[@Cervidae]

Ah, a fellow Annus!

[@JackJames2612]

I always remember Charlie Brooker [creator of Black Mirror] defending Rebecca Black at the time. Clip is on KZbin if anyone's interested.

[@Broadwaychica]

...oh my God, this whole situation is basically proving The Producers right. You CAN make more money with a flop than with a hit. 🤦‍♀️ Also I was so much happier before I knew about the followups to Friday...I feel unclean just hearing about the last ones.

[@games_on_phone89]

ah so that's why illumination still makes a fuck ton of money

[@unicornburgers302]

Federico Arrojo nah, they make money because parents won’t stop taking their kids to see it.

[@games_on_phone89]

@@unicornburgers302 huh neat

[@RealLukeWilson]

Good lord, I had never even heard of “Skip Ropes” or “Chinese Food.” I’m glad I avoided awareness of the continuing zeitgeist of Ark Factory, though I have no idea how.

[@Liggliluff]

An issue is that people say that there should be absolute free speech on the internet, and therefore harassment should be allowed. I can accept that you should have free speech when it comes to criticism, that you shouldn't be censored because you don't agree with or possibly even just stating the wrong things. But harassment isn't necessarily criticism, and you can make criticism without harassment.

[@rbrickproductions123]

Patrice Wilson watched Mel Brooks' The Producers while high one night and used young girls instead of a Hitler musical.

[@fgjhham89]

"All she did was release a song that was bad" - yes, but remember "we hate tenage girls," right?

[@palaciospalacios9319]

No, what is we hate teenage girls?

[@bluecat1462]

Bingo. 😕

[@tf7602]

@@palaciospalacios9319 Well, teenage girls are often the target of ridicule for what they are passionate about, be it horses, a band or musician, a book or movie. Anything that is liked by teenage girls is somehing you can be ridiculed for. And it is usually harmless stuff.

[@killgriffinnow]

Yeah, like Justin Bieber! They're a teenage girl, right?

[@EllaKarhu]

@@killgriffinnow People hate things teenage girls like. The hate for Bieber was just a part of that. And even if it wasn't, "people hate other things too" is completely irrelevant whataboutism. Seriously, point to one thing associated with teenage girls that isn't constantly ridiculed.

[@sauleiwanderapfelstrudel]

Kids: do some stuff for fun Grown ass adults: we must hunt them down and make them PAAAAAAAY

[@blarg2429]

@Ooohbopbopboppadoohwah Yeah. There are serious, valid criticisms to be made about Fortnite, but you rarely hear them. Instead it's mostly people who were kids five minutes ago themselves being angry that children exist.

[@sindhu7582]

there is actually a webtoon called 'Lost in Translation' whose plot deals with the topic of outrage marketing, only its refered to as' manufactured controversy' in the webcomic. It follows the story of a kind but misunderstood idol(kpop idol) named Wyld whose entire image is being a rotten playboy which puts him on news rather often. This image of him was created by his CEO to market the group Wyld is part of, and Wyld is manipulated into playing along since the CEO claims it is for the happiness of the rest of the boys in the group.The comic focuses on how this has affected Wyld in terms of his relationships with others, and how he tries to overcome those barriers.Currently it only has 6 episodes or so available since the author is redrawing it, (got moved from discover) but I highely recommend it.

[@jessdavis2677]

I still remember when I was 16, unsupervised by negligent parents, and deep into the cringe bubble with several ex friends. I'm now 26, there's a reason I call them ex friends, and the thought I might have utterly destroyed someone's motivation to create and the very fact I engaged in it in the first place are things I still can't shake off to this day. There are numerous reasons children shouldn't be allowed on the internet, and it's articulated very well in this video. The internet promotes many unhealthy ideas in the minds of 15 year olds-both as victims and instigators of cringe "culture". Edit: Birth

[@Hhhhhh-zt3kk]

You're not alone in that. I wish I hadn't been such an asshole online when I was a shitty 15 year old.

[@ikarikid]

Incidentally, I like Rebecca Black’s non-Ark music. She actually is a competent singer.

[@josephcarlisle1943]

She's much more than competent she's a gorgeous singer.

[@LoppyQ]

Yeah. Rebecca blacks latest music is actually straight fire.

[@OBasedBeats]

Tbh every second person can sing in a way you can market it.

[@gavingrotegut4246]

"do you" fucking slaps

[@RonquixoteDIII]

She definitely improved though

[@FluxChanneler]

I offer this comment to the algorithm as a sacrifice.

[@jcat5443]

This comment genuinely made me laugh so much, god its so great! Thank you for writing this and may this reply act as yet another offering to the cruel cruel algorithm.

[@julirodas9761]

me toooo yeah

[@shinyminunthetheatregeek2036]

A young girl on the internet, being passionate/excited about something and having fun: The internet: That's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.

[@Nossairito]

Not gonna lie i was still sleepy and I legit thought this would be a critique of why some producers decided to create the day friday and I was so in board with it

[@sylviebrebach8371]

I love that

[@Nugcon]

Day companies after inventing Friday: 💸💸💸💸

[@blueshark4926]

all of bread tube uses zoe blade's music now. nice.

[@Zvox]

zoe blade rips. it's either zoe blade or eric taxxon. non-compete uses my music sometimes though.

[@xb1692]

@@Zvox is now Patricia Taxxon

[@Zvox]

@@xb1692 oh shit i didn't know

[@Sofia-fc5tb]

Decent camera resolution? Sponsorship?! Well done, I'm so happy for you! (Also vis a vis Good Omens- I loved it and its authors so much that when Terry died I wrote a eulogy on my highschool's blog... and then got bullied for it. He and Neil have been two of my favourites for such a long time and I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying the book!)

[@Eagledude131]

That lightsaber clip is honestly pretty impressively edited. Idk why one would berate someone for having fun and developing useful skills Edit: wording

[@nanahuatli2144]

Yeah, I'd never seen it before but I thought it was pretty cool.

[@martinreid2352]

Really insightful video. It gave me a reality check, honestly: kids have always been doing cringy stuff, but now the harshly critical adults and teens can view it readily, whereas 10 years ago or so they couldn’t. It makes perfect sense of why kid’s fashion is now almost exactly mini adult fashion: they aren’t happy to be kids anymore! And people of my generation are often to blame...

[@reaganbartels9993]

I believe it was Marx who said: "Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but cringey music videos!"

[@astrinymris9953]

I watched a video essay by Lindsay Ellis where she pointed out that our culture loves to pour contempt and scorn on things teenage girls like... and by extension, teenage and pre-teen girls themselves. No wonder girls self-esteem often plummets when they reach puberty. (The video title is 'Dear Stephanie Meyer' if you're curious.)

[@hangingfuchsias6439]

People who bully kids on the internet are pathetic.

[@TheGrooseofLegend]

"Capitalism incentivizes quality and innovation" ARK music company:

[@MattTheSpratt]

literally any capitalists:

[@KangMinseok]

Capitalism channels humanity's destructive nature away from physical conflict and towards entertainment. At least compared to other systems. Burning money instead of people. Shooting out nasty online commets instead of bullets.

[@conquerorofbread6020]

@@KangMinseok Yeah except on top of burning money and shooting comments capitalism also burns people and shoots bullets. Did you forget what the US and European powers have been doing for the past 500 years?

[@KangMinseok]

@@conquerorofbread6020 1. You have not provided any evidence for correlation 2. the point is that capitalism leads to far less physical violence than any other system we have encountered so far. Evidence are the past 50 years compared to any other period in human history.

[@dynamicworlds1]

@@KangMinseok wow, your cluelessness is stunning.

[@sabrinagranger5468]

this is to feed the algorithm nom nom nom nom

[@saxosipho]

Let me join in. The vid needs more traffic.

[@kathrynpotts3318]

Sabrina Granger I love feeding the algorithm for iconic, quality content!

[@sweetpeabee4983]

Another delicious comment for the pile.

[@wes4439]

😄

[@nataliesargent8405]

Nom nom nom

[@TheSnowBallet]

I remember a song/music video called "Hot Girl Problems" being released after the Friday outrage, which was also a bad song that sexualized teenage girls and of course made a lot of people comment on the girls' appearances... What you mention about people saying people should expect to be harassed when they put themselves out on the internet: I've seen that said before and it makes me so sad/mad. It's just excusing bullying as being an unchangeable status quo, which removes all responsibility from online trolls and bullies. I'm seriously thinking about deleting most of my social media because I feel like I can never be totally safe from people who are looking for a fight and those who shrug at the existence of online hate or call you weak for not wanting to be harassed.

[@lettherebelightpink]

*LEAVE KIDS ALONE YOU ABSOLUTE CRETINS* - Sarah Z, 2019 Also: was that a very subtle reference to Chris Crocker's Leave Britney Alone? Because I am only just realising that this was cringe culture in its earliest KZbin days...

[@marcosementilli]

I think SammyClassicSonicFan even went through something similar where he made some cringy videos when he was young and people thought his entire life would be making cringe around Sonic the Hedgehog and people actively bullied him and were being completely ableist, etc. The point is, we all do cringy things when we're young and people need to not be so harsh on kids, especially when they're just having fun. Great video, Sarah!

[@mooreanonumbers]

I feel bad for Sammy(and other neuroatypical creators like him) because his videos were genuinely different and entertaining. This guy had passion.

[@KetsubanSolo]

It's because our fantasies will never be quenched. When will we learn that our actions have consequences?

[@mewgami]

Sammyclassicsonicfan was part of the problem. His videos were an act mocking kids having meltdowns.

[@Eagledude131]

Wavywebsurf did a video on him. I’m glad to see he moved on and is doing well

[@nanophosis6256]

mewfi Yeah, I heard that as well. Maybe I misremembered and he is autistic but was mocking kids who had meltdowns publicly, I’m not sure

[@lostmarble540]

Oh that's why cinema sins makes mistakes in their videos. Also yeah, the whole throwing kids under the bus to generate rage and profit is really messed up.

[@grandunification]

The internet just hates young women :/

[@titosanpablo4610]

WinsomeMisfit Nah, just women in general

[@wrinkleintime4257]

The world hates women :’( And the Internet makes it more obvious to us

[@Ephraim225]

I don't get it. We're watching a woman's KZbin video, aren't we?

[@antikrista]

maybe if y'all stopped giving a shit, you'd be happier lmao

[@_aiborie]

​@@antikrista This is a systemic issue.

[@starcrysis23]

How are there NO comments about how IMMEDIATELY after you mentioned Cinema Sins leaving in mistakes (WhatCulture does it too), your video and audio went out of sync. That gave me a chuckle and you deserve more comments about it! ‘‘Twas very clever

[@claireeebee]

I have learned that this guy is a *complete creep* . Thanks for shedding light on this.

[@69Yosiel69]

The full circle of compliments between Hbomberguy and you makes me watch your Wendy’s, his Gillette and this one in a loop. Great work all of them.

[@IsaacMayerCreativeWorks]

F R E E Y O U R S K I N

[@SageManeja]

The "Crazy German kid" also got severe bullying and ironically went crazy, when he was just playing a character in that freak out video. Also Boxxy got bullied.

[@RTU130]

E

[@mse90]

I just popped back in 2 years later to say that her EP she put out in 2021 (Rebecca Black Was Here) singlehandedly carried me over that year. So good for her for still doing music, but also, good for me! And dare I say....... Friday is kinda iconic. Despite its incredibly dubious origins, it's time we admit that - it wouldn't have been stuck in our heads for a decade otherwise. It deserves at least a similar reverence as things like The Room and My Immortal receive.

[@RedKimmie]

This is a really good video. All of the things I've thought and tried to convey to people who just see rebacca black as "a spoiled child with no talent who wanted to be a popstar" without having any actual knowledge of why and how it happened. The girls were victims of an exploitative system, it pisses me off so much.

[@joenrowledge8172]

"Tween chronic" I had to pause the video and get up from my computer

[@Immortal-ironic-fist]

Joen Rowledge if that’s the name Ark gave them it’s horrible. If those 11 year olds named themselves Tween Chronic? That’s amazing.

[@52flyingbicycles]

From what you showed of “Star Wars Kid”, I’m shocked that anyone thought that video was cringe

[@steamboatwill3.367]

The Star Wars fandom is a retched hive of scum and villany. I am a Star Wars fan.

[@max1mum0verdr1ve]

The example that you included at the end, with Jessi Slaughter, is even more awful, because they were one of Dahvie Vanity's victims, and the reason they made the video was an attempt to stop the onslaught of people slut-shaming them about it. *Edit*: they go by Damien now actually. My mistake.

[@gabeernstt]

TheDreReichDude so you mean he

[@cizd]

There are similar cases today, but the hate doesn't get that far. With TikTok most of the severe cases comes back to bullying at school. The other side is organic discovery where the hate brings in a lot of supporters which in my eyes cancels it out, but of course the person in the midst of it might latch onto the negative minority more easily than the positive majority so idk. The actual hate cases I've seen in recent years were all directed at 18+ individuals. It's better, but in a lot of cases not more deserved.

[@muratemkuzhev1958]

Thank you for a great video! It also helped me verbalize why I never trusted the whole "this bad artist is destroying art" idea.

[@pheela]

Does anyone remember that when friday went viral, the ARK channel switched the video to pay-to-watch mode, not just take it down? 8:00 for THREE DOLLARS!

[@seventhsheaven]

I remember when it came out, I was in my early twenties. I remember laughing over it and thinking it was cringe, and me and my brother played it to each other for laughs. That said, I don’t ever remember thinking that *Rebecca* was to blame for the music. I think I learned quite early on that she wasn’t trying to be a pop star, and that the whole thing was one of those birthday experience gifts that wealthier parents sometimes get for their kids. Clearly the girl hadn’t written the song herself, nor was she seeking fame. If the song was bad, it was because of how it was produced. Sadly, a lot of people, particularly grown men, hate teenage girls with a passion. I don’t know if it’s just sexually frustrated pedos or what, but it’s disgusting. Remember that girl who killed herself after being harassed online for years by this one evil pervert? You still see comments from grown men saying she was a slut or she was stupid and therefore deserved to die. It’s disgusting.

[@abi_rose]

is that....... a fantasy costco mug? taz video essay when lmao

[@suburbanlegend1997]

As soon as we can curse a real sword lol

[@comraderarity7281]

That sounds wonderful, there’s a video essay, (not exclusively about taz) about the McElroy canon™️ that I really recommend. “The politics of the McElroy Brothers”.

[@Romanticoutlaw]

imagine being so bad at songwriting that you only get really successful when you start producing deliberate flops

[@Liggliluff]

(8:00) That's a bit weird. I would expect Ark to have it in the contract that they own the song and all revenue from it. This seems like the way they run the company. If the court ruled that Rebecca Black owned the song; either the contract was badly written, or a theft just happen at the approval of the court. Rebecca Black didn't make the song or the music video, she was just one piece in it. The main lead, but still just one piece. Imagine the lead actor if a major motion picture suing the production company and taking the full rights to the film. That would be nuts. But that just happened with this song, to my understanding.

[@tornaghmalumenis6834]

I have to admit I'm very much guilty of this behaviour myself and didn't realise that. Damn.

[@onadaTotihotiH]

I remember watching Rebecca Black’s Draw My Life and it actually made me reconsider what I had done along with the rest of my friends back when the song came out

[@dallak93]

I'm 4' into the video and I was reminded of the classic that is Hot Problems.

[@funbibakare7414]

Can I just say that I’ve loved your videos for a while and seeing how your content has grown and progressed so quickly is amazing! Got a new camera, getting deals by sponsors. Girl you’re moving up and I’m loving it!

[@trevler]

Out of morbid curiosity I checked out that Chinese Food video. Imagine my surprise when I recognized the filming location- it's a Mongolian bbq joint not too far from where I used to live. They couldn't even find a Chinese restaurant!