I read about the recent furore surrounding supposed anti-Semitic remarks made by PewDiePie. I am not actually intending to discuss that, but, it looks like an attempted assassination by a mainstream media who have heavily cherry-picked their evidence. The side effect of this story was that I actually watched some of PewDiePie's YouTube videos/ vlogs- whatever you want to call them- out of curiosity. This guy is the anti-charisma, in that he seems to suck all charm, interest, amusement and fun out of the room. His subject matter tends towards inanities, which is fine if handled with wit and humour, but his attempts at jokes are a gaping chasm of awfulness opening onto the fiery depths of cringe. Apparently, he is the biggest YouTube star in terms of views and wealth. I have no problem with a person and their camera, operating out of their bedroom, becoming incredibly popular, if they have something about them or their content that warrants it. But I just cannot understand why an audience flocks to this dullard. In fact, I began to understand that this mainstream media smear campaign is probably born from affront that he has proven so successful with so little talent, rather than any concern about remarks that seem to have been taken out of context to sex-up the story. Can anyone explain the enduring popularity of PewDiePie?
From what I can see- and I am no expert on this guys channel- they were poor attempts at humour. He was reaching for irony - in that the butt of the joke was intended to be the people who hold the views- but he missed it by a country mile. His crime- and ultimate punishment- is stupidity.
Yes he is silly, but they are obvious jokes and don't come off antisemitic at all. Don't buy the hype! He can be funny sometimes but, it's very rare and that isn't why he is so damn popular. Actually it's really interesting how PewDiepie became the biggest youtube star. It has to do with his geographical location, and the way he moved through the years. I think Game Grumps is a lot funnier, but Youtube formula's is fucked. The context of racial slurs are really important. By calling PewDiePie anti semetic you are taking away from the real hatred of the words and those who actually feel that way. There is a growing Youtube star that I've really enjoyed watching that makes PewDiePie look like a precious snowflake. Warning: Contains language that may be offensive This guy is a true internet hero.
Ultimately he is still making videos that gather millions of views practically instantly. If anything this backwards outcry only made him more popular.
So what Pewdiepie is just lame...Youtuber drama is bullshit anyway. Really takes a brain surgeon to make videos of a guy screaming like a moron at a VG. Who gives a shit?...
After looking into this a bit more, I'm actually unsubscribing from my YouTube Red account as a statement to these companies who want to have public sway over what should and shouldn't be allowed to be said. I wanted to believe cultural appropriation was doing some good, but this just stinks so much, I'm beginning to doubt the entire premise is at all helpful for anything other than silencing. It's a perfect example of unwarranted backlash from sensationalist, rather than people who are actually offended.
I wouldn't judge all the youtubers by this guy, that's like judging all books by the most popular magazine. That being said, he may not be objectively good, but he's good at what he does. If you want to restore a bit of faith in the medium, check out dorky. If you've ever played any of the pokemon games growing up, check this out.
Angry gamers seemed to have a hit for a while, with the likes of James Rolfe (his YouTube channel being Cinemassacre and he's best known for Angry Video Game Nerd) on the roster there. However, PDP has cost people before, that's one of the scandals in this video.
That is not backlash, that is me having an opinion about a guy who is famous for being annoying and talent-less. So really who cares that some big mouth moron said something stupid, not the first time a 'famous' person said something that they didn't think through. Again who gives a shit?...(shrugs)
Lol, I'm not talking about you... I'm talking about the media backlash EdiT: sorry link wasn't working, should be now
I have no problem with people being offended and voicing their opinion, but calling someone antisemitic/racist for their jokes is the opposite of okay. The worst PewDiePie did was in the past and the recent stuff he is getting hammered on now, is nothing compared to what he did in the past. People didn't get nearly offended then, and it is proof that there is a factor of sensationalism when dealing with these empty cries that makes the movement much less than what it was trying to represent. So why appropriate for culture if you are essentially preparing for a sensationalist negative response that flies in the face of what it is actually trying to accomplish? Just because it has a negative effect? And is that in line with the original moral contention? I think not.
I saw the jokes, e.g. he played around with faceswap and it offered a Hitler's face on one occasion. He can't really help it if it happens, and he looked pretty shocked. Anti-semitism from his part? I think not. Outrage culture FTW.
I'm officially OLD because I genuinely don't understand how any of this is even a thing. It's like Rihanna's Work song. I'll bob my head at a party if it's playing, but I don't actually understand a damned thing she's saying.
I find it odd how much attention we give someone's offence in this day and age. It seems that if you want to censor something all you need to do is feign offence, and bob's-your-uncle, that person is silenced. PewDiePie is not anti-semitic, but he did punch down, and the idea of a very wealthy YouTube star paying $5 to ridicule very poor people from a very poor area is uncomfortable to watch. It's like I said above, he may not be anti-semitic, but he is a twat.
Either way, that sort of self-righteous, hypocritical offence that propagates on social/ traditional media is deeply unpleasant. There is a great TED talk on it, it's 17 minutes, but well worth a watch.
Oh, I hear you. I've been un-enjoying exchanges with a couple of the content providers at BookRiot, which used to be a great venue to find out about new publications (especially for those of us who live in the hinterlands where there are no book-sellers), but has increasingly becoming just another SJW venue to point out which new books are "offensive" for lack of this, that, the other thing, blah, blah, blah... "This new book by Dude McDudeovich has a really troublesome lack of biracial, Inuit-identifying, introverted characters and every single pronoun is either he or she, so sit back while I explain to you why we need to sound the battle call." :/
When you sign up with a private company, that's part of the deal. Why shouldn't they hold sway over what is said on their own platform?
My immediate impression was "Onision's brother!!!!1". There is so much good content on youtube that gets no light. Reminds me of behavioral sink.
It reminds me of that time Tobuscus (another YouTuber) was publically accused of raping one of his ex-girlfriends even though it turned out to be absolutely false. I think it's just other people trying to cash in on the fame by coming up with some horrific thing a famous YouTuber did, but it's complete BS. Here's the context for those who may not understand. Apparently he paid an online company to have two people hold up a sign and post it on the internet. Two men from India held up a sign that said 'Death to Jews'. Pewdiepie looked at this and reacted with shock and disbelief. Naturally, some people looked at this and drummed up the whole "he's an anti-Semitic Nazi" thing. Despite this not being what he intended or wanted. It's my understanding that he was simply doing this to prove an entirely unrelated point, about how quick people are to cash in on news without fact checking.
What I actually don't understand is why everyone is suddenly freaking out. He has made similar remarks, and (debatably) worse in the past. So why is the internet acting like his humor is a new thing..?
