Abi as Doctor Who would work so well. Or her as a companion. Although given tis BBC and Disney, she might face a few hurdles on that path unfortunately.
i had the same thought lol. went into a group dm mid-video and said "abigail thorne could play the doctor" and then after the ominous music dark side speech i went back in and said "she could also play the master"
“A suit, it’s a sign of conformity and tradition, that’s order. And stealing, that’s…rebellion of the id, the shadow. So when you steal a suit, what’s that? It’s chaos meeting order. It’s the merging of the two. The unknown and the known are now one. They are now inextricably linked. And once you realise that…well you’ve got a hell of a lot to think about don’t you?”
This "single take, no interruptions monologue" style really shows - and takes advantage of! - Abigail's theatre background, and it was so fun. Thank you!
I think I’ve really been messed up by highly edited content combined with my ADHD, because I just couldn’t watch this. I’ve tried repeatedly. I just give up after a few minutes. I love the rest of her videos, but the quiet unedited tension just made me uncomfortable and distracted. Edit: I was able to finish it this time by just listening while doing housework, not watching the screen!
We’re being monologued to in a strange room by a woman with a distressed hairstyle, a distinctive colored suit, and a bone to pick with the modern world. Abigail is really playing up the Batman villain energy and I appreciate it.
@@sirtrayou are toxic. Ppl identify with modern villains. They’re often portrayed as ppl whom society was unkind to; to put it lightly, and seek its destruction and/or restructuring in varying degrees of violence or coercion in pursuit of authority over the subjugated who were targeted. It’s a perverse power fantasy that many are ppl are happy to indulge in. From Harley Quinn and William Foster, to LeStat de Lioncourt and Darth Vader, we identify with characters who after becoming victims, decide “No more. Now it’s my turn.” But you go on up on your soapbox, bet you get a lot of party invites up there.
Only problem is that most people just listen and don't see them. That said, it's quite hard to do that for a PT video just because of the effort put in, and also other solutions like a description or pinned comment are even less likely to be seen
i'm not usually a commenter, but i was blown away by your performance in this one! i think the uncut monologue style really showed off your background in acting in a way we've never seen before on PT. beautiful job!
this video's lack of editing is one of the points of it, and it is incredible. It was so refreshing watching it! Feels like a conversation, even. Really hope for more of that
This type of filming was popularized by Hitchcock’s film Rope (1948). It is extremely difficult to do well, and is a steep financial risk to do it for the entirety of a full length feature film considering that if you mess up once, you have to redo the whole thing. You have to use extensive rehearsals before actually filming to get the blocking and tracking right. Most films today that utilize this technique do filming tricks to make it appear like it’s one shot, but it might be more than that where they will use something like a wall as a transition to make it appear as one shot, but it’s just clever editing. Most films would use cameras on tracks to film this so you don’t actually have to follow the actor or whatever and can just map out the track before hand and time everything. The fact they used a hand held camera is wild to me. Holding up a camera for 35 minutes straight is exhausting for your arms. I am wondering if they had some kind of mechanism to make it appear handheld, like using a harness on the cameraman’s body to hold the camera.
Hey, I actually was in an accident last year, got some cognitive issues out of it too, had to learn to walk again, hold a pen that wasn't 3 times as big as a normal one (which was pretty important since I am an artist), and retain information again since my brain tended to erase information pretty quickly... Now I'm nearly back to normal, my cognitive functions were all back to great for my age, and I can walk with crutches, draw, and do physiotherapy alone at home, which is what I'm doing while watching this video, so thank you very much for taking the time to educate us, and explain impressively well all of this, because some of us did get into accidents, lost pretty much all their memories, and had to learn how to do everything a person does all over again, and we couldn't really get all that information... But you did and now you're giving to us, and I really really appreciate it.
There is ACTUAL artistic value in this video. A single long shot with a moving camera while performing this well is professional beyond any youtube standart. You got a new subscriber with me, the information within is the cherry on top for me personally!
Thank you so much for mentioning learned helplessness. As someone who grew up in Russia, I cannot emphasize enough just how effective it is on shutting down people's politicization. It's bad enough in a scope of one person, but when it affects entire societies, that's an entirely different story. Politics just permanently leaves the conversation, so much so that people ridicule you for trying to discuss it. At some point, it starts to feel inescapable. I'm still not entirely sure what could get the society out of this state, because so far nothing could. Not the war, not the tragedies, not the poverty, not the deaths.
I don't dare think I have any answers, but if I were to guess, I would say that people like Abigail, you, and the other viewers listening to the message of this video is how things change. From everything I have learned, which isn't nearly enough, I believe all movements start small. It will be you and people like you not afraid to discuss these things. Others like yourself who are brave enough to confront your friends, family, and even complete strangers with well crafted, factual, and substantive arguments against apathy and the rejection of a people to choose their own destiny. You and I can't stop wars, poverty, and homelessness ourselves in any sort of large way, but we can do it in small ways. We help others. We urge others to get involved alongside us. We continuously show them through our words and actions just how meaningful one person can be in effecting legitimate change. Then, hopefully, they will help us show others what the collective voices and efforts of a group can achieve. Sure, there are times when everything seems futile and when we think nothing will ever change. There are days we just want to cover our heads with a pillow and stay in bed because it all seems futile, but we get that out of our system and keep pushing towards those goals. We just help each other try to keep pushing forwards. You already started by just saying something here, so keep doing it. We won't wake up tomorrow in a utopia, but we might wake up tomorrow with one more person that will help us keep pushing forward just a little bit louder and stronger than we did yesterday.
Ngl, this is why I deleted grindr. They updated their terms and conditions so that by agreeing I would be giving them "irrevocable" permission to store, use, duplicate, delete, deliver, sell, export, etc any and all "user content" I uploaded to or produced on the app. Which, that alone is scary enough. But they also added in that any "user content" (meaning photos, videos, audio, texts, communications, behaviors, data, etc) I uploaded/created would be used to train AI models. And then, as a cherry on top, Grindr removed my right to sue in a court of law instead providing me with the option to pursue a series of lengthy 'in-house' arbitration arrangements. Yeah..... no thanks.
Wtf I had no idea about that :o I also deleted it a while ago but mainly because of some dudes being really persistent and annoying after I told them I wasnt interested >:(
Plus grindr like, actively pings your current location away from someone at every given time... The absolute worst app and we can't move on to a better one.
hey Abigail/ philosophy tube team, your previous video on death is open in a tab waiting, at least for me personally I haven't felt ready to watch it with all the anxiety of current events, and the pervasive feeling that death is feeling very real and present to me of late, nothing to do with it not being of interest to me, I feel bad that you concluded it wasn't of interest and that it received lower views. I think it just hit in a place I wasn't able to take on yet, as I, like many others I imagine, are currently oscillating between trying to digest and keep up with the terrifying things going on in the world and escapism as a cope. I am aware of the parasociality of this comment, but what can I say, I'm human, I'm grateful for the work you put out and thus I care. Thanks for all you do
If it's any consolation, I found that one much more... easy listening? Than this one, I guess? It felt like a large expose on one of my 'roman empire' issues, that when cultures actively try to avoid death it only accelerates the hurdle towards it, and that it is a natural part of the cycle of life that must be respected. It brought me comfort and made me feel less crazy, as again a LOT of people don't like talking about death. My condolences if you're recently mourning the loss of a loved one. I hope that when you are able to watch, you do, and you are gentle with yourself as needed. Sending brain hugs in this fucked up shithole of a planet, love.
It's not as bad as you think, provided you get all the way through it. Though I fully understand why you would be hesitant. But as always knowledge is power, and understanding makes way for actual hope. Just remember to take care of yourself, this is the only life we have after all.
The "I could run this country with my eyes closed" rant sent shivers down my spine. Not just because of the amazing acting, but because you're so right - it's easy to fall into the dark place of ego and the romanticism of dictatorships.
I've heard that rant so many times. My family is full of highly educated men who've been told all their lives that they're smarter and better than everyone else. The women are pretty brilliant, too, but they usually get bullied from an early age into letting the boys talk over them and have first crack at everything. So I've heard a lot of men proclaiming that things would be better if they were in charge, and a fair number of women muttering it. Around about the time I was in grad school, I went off the rails a bit by the family's standards. Made friends with people from different backgrounds with different ideas. Got a sense of how much there really was to know in the world, and how little of that I could hold in my brain, even if it did have a little more storage space than everyone else's. I learned to listen, and to value kindness and community over the ability to read Latin. Now I'm the family weirdo who shows up to Christmas, hears my dad start ranting about "the trans agenda", and interrupts with, "I asked my friend Tony what their trans agenda was, and they said it was waffles." Then I pour myself a cup of spiced cider while people yell at me for interrupting. I don't want to be in charge. I'm just enough cleverer than my family to know what a disaster that would be. It's really too bad more people don't realize that about themselves. Personally, I think the world would be a better place if more governments were supervised by kindergarten teachers and librarians, but that's just my silly little dream.
I have a friend who has mini-rants like that all the time, it really does seem to be popular with tech and stem educated men with little education in politics or philosophy, at least in my experience
Dictatorship makes things simple "who's in charge? whoever the Dictator says" "What do we do?" whatever the dictator says. Who's responsible? you, unless you are the dictator.
God, it is SO easy to fall into that mindset. I actively avoid being in positions of power because I know exactly what happens to me and I hate what I become. That evil lives inside me as it lives in all of us. That belief in our own superiority, the urge to rule, to dominate. If we want to build a truly free and equal society, we can't rely on everyone having the same self-awareness and self-hatred as I do. Frankly, it's unhealthy. We need to institute social mechanisms by which we neuter that innate urge to rule. I'm reminded of a society (I think they're in sub-saharan Africa) that have staved off this problem for thousands of years. When a hunter returns with his kill, they ruthlessly mock and belittle his hunting prowess. Because they recognise that keeping the egos of successful people (and let's face it, men) in check, is paramount to preventing the formation of dominance hierarchies. Counter the feelings of superiority with feelings of inadequacy. Is this a perfect solution? No. I don't think it will scale well and I don't think it will work with a digitally interconnected society. But we should take inspiration from them and other societies that have managed to, long term, prevent or dismantle systems of domination by suppressing exactly that thought. It's inherent to humans, but it's not good for us.
This is very impressive for a single take. Your delivery is phenomenal and as always you raise a number of points I hadn't thought about before clicking on your video.
Truly it’s amazing how products like this and AI slop can be so transparently worse, users may even actively and widely detest them, and platforms just … implement them. Part of why social media doesn’t “work” how we think it does is because we have no tangible power as consumers the way we used to, other than to leave what remains of some communities behind. This is a prohibitively difficult thing for some, living in places that have so eroded public spaces and general society offline, so … what do you do? Can the onus be put on someone who needs help and understanding from community to build community from scratch?
"...and allow you to choose between them as you would a browser" Oh, so you mean Chrome, other chrome, different Chrome, Other more different Chrome, Microsoft flavored Chrome, Safari if you're posh, or Firefox
@@RubyRoks then you consider that firefox is living on google's paycheck for hundreds of millions of dollars as well. we're literally living under the grace of google
@@RubyRoks and firefox is largely funded by Google to maintain its monopoly, and recently Google has been losing a lawsuit that might affect that funding directly. also Chromium removed support for JPEGXL, so that's fun
thank you for saying that bit about like, what if a car accident had derailed your education, because that legitimately isnt far from what happened to me and i did have to learn to walk again, that just... really resonated, thank you
@@jenny_azoth The problem is in England you only get one chance at an education. It shouldn't be that way. Anyone should be able to get an education anytime.
Thank you for making this. I cannot overstate how overloaded I feel, mentally. And it's not just that I have access to all the information; it's that everyone around me does, as well an we're all being shown the information from slightly different angles, none of which encourage us to think with any sort of nuance. Lack of nuance is captivating, and so that is what we are sold and we are told that if we try to think for ourselves we are traitors to a cause that we didn't even know we signed up for! Movies, Shows, Music, Work, Billboards, News, War coverage, SMS adverts - how did they get my number?, Email adverts. Is this thing AI? Is this biased? of course it is but why and how? Job insecurity - not just my own, but those of other countries. Power cuts - not just my own but those of other countries. Knowing more about US politics than my own country because of how absolutely saturated the internet is with it. Celebrity controversies. misleading headlines. "5 more bombs dropped". "This woman only ate kale for 5 years, you won't believe what happened!", "5 signs your mom is a narcissist", "This dog got hit by a card - amazing transformation!" "Ear piercings lead to increased risk of homosexual tendencies, says this one guy", "Scientists say we have 5 years before point of no-return", "microplastics found in ice caps"... Can it just... Stop.
You made an episode about Death recently that was somehow less depressing and more hopeful than this. Depressing? Perhaps that isn't the right word. Sobering. Sobering, and maybe even empowering.
That car insurance example is not a hypothetical btw, as someone who spent a year with a black box to get marginally cheaper insurance when I was 18, it was a nightmare. And it's not just speed, it's how heavy you are on the breaks (an emergency stop to not hit someone running into the road acts as a black mark on your record), how tightly you take corners (a nightmare when you live down a narrow cul-de-sac), and distance you travel, among others I'm forgetting. It wasn't even that much cheaper to have the monitoring.
Same here, I think I had it with Intact Insurance here in Canada. Unsurprisingly it didn't help. If anything it gave them one excuse after another to hike my rates.
I had our insurance salesman try to encourage us to "save money" this way and I flat out told him I don't need anyone else monitoring me or selling my information and that I would gladly pay the extra $5 - $10 monthly for personal privacy... I watched his brain short circuit in real time.
My insurance was cut in half due to monitoring like that before they would even let me have insurance. Root insurance. Really thankful for stuff like that, because while your situation and sometimes having to break hard would be annoying, in most cases people purposefully break way too hard, make horrible turns, and generally behave recklessly while driving. People like that should be charged so much to drive that they can't afford to until they change.
the way you moved and spoke and the costume has such a specific vibe to it. like doc from back to the future or beetle juice. lost your mind, villian sort of shit. the talent is crazy. not even to mention how dense your script is with big brain thoughts. love it, as always! and i ADORE the lack of editing, the ad read didn’t even feel like an ad read
the nebula ad was really interesting ive havent seen an ad that transparent in a long time reminded me when i read about the beginning of advertising in the 1900's where they used to just be like "this car has this type of engine isnt that great!" and that was like the whole thing they just hoped you shared the same enthusiasm as them about the product
Yeah ngl i‘ve been on the fence regarding nebula for ages now, i dont need any more subscriptions, but i think i now need to cancel some others to try out nebula instead!
The reason I like Nebula and traditional subscribtion or sales based media in general is simply that they have a product and they want us to give them money. It's simple and easy. With sites like TH-cam or news publishers who make their money from advertising, we aren't _just_ customers, sometimes not at all. We're the product being sold, and we are treated as such. I've seen so many people write comments about how many ads TH-cam shows them and that TH-cam tries to break ad blockers, but none of them seem to realize that serving ads is literally the entire point of the platform. (Unless you pay for TH-cam premium, turning yourself into a customer instead of a product, which obviously none of them are willing to do.)
@burnedbread4691 Second Thought "left" the platform after he and his friends were laughing about slaughterd civilians and saying that every settler is a combatant.
@@DoubLL the Gaza ghetto uprising was a legitimate form of resistance against 76 years of settler colonialism. They attacked mostly military targets and every Hasbara lie about Oct 7 has since been debunked. Also, the settlements surrounding Gaza are filled with paramilitaries and have names such as "Shield". Sincerely, read more on Palestine. I'd suggest you start with Ilan Pappe's book "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" and on colonialism in general, read Aime Cesaire: "Discourses on Colonialism". I'd love to suggest more reading for you as well if and when you already have read these
One other issue with point number 2 (which ties into some of what you go into later) is that we have heard similar things before. I was part of the wave of nerdy internet optimists that came online in the 90's and early 2000's. There was a real sense that not only would the internet bring people together but that its most prominent users, us nerds, would be both more effective and benevolent leaders. We were smarter (and more humble), familiar with what the feeling of being picked on and seen as lesser, and able to connect with each other all over the world, surely we would usher in a utopia. But not only was that way too optimistic, but it was some of those same nerds who started GamerGate about 10 years later which directly lead to the alt-right, and they started many of the hedge funds and tech companies that are doing so much damage to our society.
@27:21 "Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!"
In the mid-1980s, when I was in law school, I and my friends created a newspaper called "the bathroom door." The name was chosen on purpose, because on the bathroom door people would write in secret what they didn't have the courage to say in public. The paranoia that existed during the final phase of a Brazilian military dictatorship turned the bathroom door into a political bulletin board, and we decided to put it all out there. The newspaper caused a stir at the law school. No one was really prepared for discussions about the crisis because of the dismissals of some professors, open complaints about the amount charged to students, and, of course, short literary texts ridiculing some disciplines. When the law school decided to create a newspaper to combat our newspaper, things got even weirder, because on the same day we published an extra edition of "the bathroom door" criticizing the school newspaper (and we used the law school's own infrastructure to do this without the law school's management knowing). But what happened the following year was even more surprising. The group I was part of won the election to the student union, and I immediately began publishing two newspapers: the student union newspaper (with an aggressive political platform and moderate language) and the "bathroom door" (a newspaper with an aggressive platform and aggressive language). The law school temporarily stopped publishing its own newspaper, and we monopolized the published opinion by creating bubbles within bubbles. Some people hated one newspaper and liked the other, but the overwhelming majority of students favored the aggressive political platform (including those who thought it was moderate because of the language in one of the newspapers). This became a source of political power that we used to do things that until then were taboo in law school, such as: a strike to pay monthly installments, a request for political support from students in the City Council, the issuing of UNE student ID cards (UNE is the acronym for the Brazilian National Union of Students; it was still an illegal institution at the time), the filing of a successful lawsuit against the law school to prevent defaulting students from being punished, and orchestrated demonstrations against bad professors (one of them was fired and the other resigned because when they entered a room to teach, all the students would leave). The taste of revolution is delicious, despite being illusory and short-lived. This story, which has been forgotten for decades, is part of my life, and whenever I see things about information manipulation, content bubbles, Fake News, political movements created out of thin air and driven by disinformation outlets, I laugh out loud. That's exactly what we did in the mid-1980s, when the world wasn't computerized. But we did it with much more creativity and determination, without having to make money in a lazy way like those far-right (and left-wing) maniacs who call themselves influencers. And I must say that the taste of the revolution they imagine they're creating isn't delicious, because it has the nauseating smell of gunpowder. Well... at the time, we also had to deal with the problem of surveillance (and threats of aggression from fascists) in a country that was being shaken by the end of a military dictatorship, but the solution was always less violent and much more creative and ironic. Despite being faster-paced and much more flooded with informational garbage, the current world created by algorithms isn't much different from that one: it's just more artificial, less joyful, and devoid of real vitality. But you know... there's always a hacker around the corner wanting to revolutionize everything and gain notoriety. I was a hacker in the analog world of the 1980s and I salute the new hackers.
In order to function well, democracy requires the participation of the populace in government. In order for the populace to effectively participate in government, they need to be assured a certain quality and availability of time. Democracy requires that the population has leisure time in order to consume up to date information about what is going on in society, and to participate in actions and discussions on what to do. If you do not assure that your population has the time to do this, then you do not have government by the people... you have government by those privileged enough to have time.
And when nobody in the populace has time because we slave away all week long just to scrape by in life, exhausted and disenfranchised, it's just so much easier for the privileged to step right in and start calling the shots.
Seriously. To declare "an end to history" just seems exceptionally short sighted and naive. It is like a couple on their honeymoon loudly declaring that their relationship is perfect and will always remain perfect and that they will "never have problems again".
I mean, have you seen Robert "I owe the banks a billion USD but they can't collect on me because they'll never see any money if they do" Kiyosaki? There's worse but I figure he's the most famous.
@@jonathanbowers8964Fukuyama never argued this and literally criticizes the shortfalls of liberal democracy and warned how the political shift of the time, neo-liberalism, would exacerbate those antagonisms.
I REALLY liked that this was all one take, no cuts, with the camera following you. I have no idea what level of more or less effort it was so I can’t tell you if it’d be worth it to repeat. But I can tell you it was such a fun and refreshing format change for the ‘genre’ that I think it was certainly WELL WORTH doing it at least once. I loved it, it was like following someone down a rabbit hole but actually coherent.
Whenever i watch documentary hor historic dramas about a civil rights movement from back in the day, i think: it's sad that we seem to be less able to rally and organize despite having the internet and social media. It never occurred to me that we might be less able to do so BECAUSE of these things!
I have been more accepting of the fact that more communication acts as a sort of dopamine driver, making us ever less revolted with the illusion that, by seeing more people on our side, we feel like we are winning. In many regards, we are (climate change has been more positive every year, with the "cataclysmic end" being pushed away a decade at a time). But don't let such illusions make you feel less motivated. If anything, use it as a drive to keep pushing, but withour really feeling like there is no hope and no end to this. At least that is what I have been working with.
I think it IS easier to rally and organize than ever before! But, to your point, corporations, right-wing enterprises, autocratic regimes, and hate groups have used social media to MUCH greater effect than the left. This isn’t surprising, given what social media is. But we should master the tools at our disposal.
@@charliekowittmusic all your points are valid, but i think the reason we see fewer local engagement for those issues than we did before is connected to our ability to connect with everyone in the world: i can find the bubble that agrees with me on EVERYTHING..but..they are scattered all over the world, so all we can do together is # or cancelling.. But it would probably be more effective to organize with ppl in my city who i agree with on most issues but we can meet in person on a regular basis, would allow us to vote together, organize and also safeguard us from trolls or bots.. But many of us, me included, do not do that because the other option is easier
For a long time I was doing the Learned Helpless option. Saying "both sides are bad and it will never get better" was an easy way to dismiss any need to involve myself. After I realized I'm trans I mostly stuck to hiding and curling up in my bubble - Shinigami Eyes and a lot of blocking. Easier to not subject myself to constant stress of a world that has suddenly gotten hell-bent on my eradication. Doesn't help the outcome though; have to stick my neck out beyond the bare minimum if things are ever gonna get better.
I have been fighting in person and online for two decades. Not only have things not gotten better, they've gotten worse. There is no happier tomorrow - only suffering.
@@aetherkidmight as well make it difficult for them on the way out. Almost all the glory songs come from a small group of underwhelming forces making a last Stand just to spite their oppressors.
Turns out the meme I made yesterday of Clippy saying "It looks like you're having trouble killing the cop in your head. Would you like some help with that?" was foreshadowing for the second act of this video
The scary dark part about making people listen gave me Anakin Skywalker “Attack of the Clones” vibes. When he says that “someone wise” should force the politicians to agree on what’s in the people’s best interest and Padme says that sounds like a dictatorship.
We have very divergent politic values (not just views) in my home, so we often debate/discuss problems and solutions. When one of us starts in on the 'if only everyone would...." "I don't understand how people came think...." like the the train of thought around minute 25, one of us will diffuse it by jumping in with "on MY island.... (everyone will do what I say and it'll be perfect, of course)" to tell the person they going down an authoritarian train of thought. Also mad props to your camera person/direction. They added SO MUCH to the feeling by their careful control of how close and far they are from you, whether 'we' are sitting and listening, and that sudden stand when you got scary!! I'm eating it up omnomnomnomnom
i genuinely appreciate the silly captions at the end, not to be parasocial but it does feel as genuine as a youtuber can get with a behind the scenes sort of explanation. i loved this video sm and it really enlightened me to how social media works. it can be depressing to think about, but i appreciate when you talk about surveillance and things like that
Abigail’s “monitoring and surveillance” video set at the entrance to a. Nightclub where the bouncer is scanning IDs was one of my favorite of her videos. And this is, too. Same topic, mostly. Different r points. Great work, loved this.
Damn!... I've been following Philosophy Tube for 6 years now and every time I watch a new upload, I find myself wishing TH-cam had a 'Love' option instead of just a 'Like'!.... Superb! The honesty and openness of your discussions is why I keep coming back, but the delivery is consistently excellent! Bravo Abigail, Bravo.
what I found myself surprised by in the whole no cuts in video thing was that it felt longer! I had to focus more just like if a real person was in front of me and I kept looking at the time but it felt slower. made me think about how fast content really ruins our attention span and I always knew that but this made me experience it which I think was the goal thank you Abigail and team
As an ex-theatre video technician who used to work on collaborative productions in grimy venues in London and elsewhere in the UK, this "single shot" style is incredibly familiar to me! Very similar to a lot of the shows I worked on that had political or social commentary themes. Love it! Always up for exposing people to more theatre. And I know how bloody difficult it can be to get right.
Actually, the Mad Hatter vibes. I think we can assume it's a deliberate inspiration, and as always magnificently played. Thank you and kudos once again Abi !
Abigail: there are a lot of youtube creators here in Brazil. I don't know what kind of "recruitment" policy Nebula works on (specifically regarding the language spoken in the videos) but maybe it would be a good place beyond the anglophonic countries to expand to. People in Brazil spend a LOT of time on the internet... so it would be very nice to have this kind of content at our disposal!
@@sharkbelly1169one thing to know about Nebula is that they don't allow their contributors to speak up about Palestine. You'll have to look elsewhere to learn anything about that conflict.
@@kwarra-an what’s your source on this? searching “Palestine” on Nebula, i can find videos from after October 7 called “Why Palestine Must Be Free,” “The Games Industry Must Not Stay Silent on Palestine,” and the Little Joel video about the Nakba, among others. that said, i’m not seeing as much as i’d hope for from a platform like Nebula, so i’m curious if there are behind-the-scenes policies i’m not privy to.
Yeah but no I've seriously met a LOT of people from Brazil in the goofy online games I play. I wonder why Brazilians like to hang out online so much? The folks I've met are also really plugged into world affairs; they're not just paying close attention to Brazilian news.
This was so incredibly done, Abi 🙏✨ I cant imagine how long you rehearsed the script to nail a 40m single take !! The use of music and movement to break up the video without cutting was such a nice detail! I've thought about making some videos in a format like this before and you have hugely re-inspired me, so thank you!!
I genuinely really loved this format, it feels very personal, in a way? Which felt like a nice touch. Loved how the camera was allowed to be shaky in places, too.
Oh god. I don’t have TikTok, but I’m on all the like adjacent apps and I just deleted instagram yesterday because it was making me so ill. I turned 18 this year and it’s the first presidential election I can vote in, but it’s really hard to feel enthusiastic about participating when it feels like no option is really a good option. I feel just like. So burnt out and cynical. I keep seeing people I trust falling for the absolute dregs of misinformation or being super reactionary, and it really sucks. This video literally could not come at a better time holy shit 😔
My first election was 2016 - I remember asking my dad over and over "is it always like this?" and he always said "No... No this is new..." And it's only gotten worse ever since 😂😂😢
Do not let the depression of the moment get to you. That's what evil wants. For you to walk away. Stay involved, keep learning. Together we win and finally build a world for everyone.
I just have IG to keep up with friends, the rest of it is like Reels content slurry where it's "oddly satisfying" videos of somebody working in a factory or somebody doing some nonsense, it's like the equivalent of jangling shiny keys in front of a baby at this point
the best way in this case is to vote against the worst option. e.g. almost anyone would be a better option to replace Putin because replacement is already an improvement
There is an article in Al Jazeera, from a writer in Tunisia about the exaggerated role of social media in those Arab Spring movements. Much of the organisation is in person, offline, or through one to one communication, not broadcast.
Social media was fairly new at the time the Arab spring happened and in hindsight it just all kinda seems like a huge puff piece to make people who didn’t actually live there think that we were all living in the future or something because look at all the cool stuff the internet is doing Like it just became like one of those car advertisements where the cars are driving around in the middle of a rugged desert and doing crazy off road stuff in the mud, but if you actually bought that car you’d just spend most of your time in it stuck in traffic on the way to the grocery store, but for social media
@@jonathanbowers8964its goals were extremely nebulous and idealistic, not that they were “over-hyped.” “Democracy, freedom, anti-corruption, bread, and social justice” are good rallying cries but they aren’t good policies or practical solutions to the more systemic issues in the global order. At that time, people were unfortunately dumb enough to think that Liberal Democracy is the best form of government and the current liberal world order would allow people to be autonomous. In Egypt and Tunisia the people were successful and elections were held, and people and parties that threatened Western powers and their proxies (namely Israel and Saudi Arabia) immediately took power and were immediately conspired against. There is genuine history here and the take away isn’t “durr social media” or “durr they didn’t achieve their goals bro!” Both are incorrect, incredibly ignorant and just vapid and uncritical statements.
one take impressiveness. Really appreciate how this channel, all the people that make the videos possible, pushes for amazingly produced videos. You all record with such reverence for cinema, visual arts, fashion, and beyond. love it
During COVID restrictions, I noticed that the most COVID skeptic people would follow the guidelines if they were strictly enforced, and would mock and flout the guidelines if they were weak / voluntary. I swear to God I don't think of myself as an authoritarian cuz that's a weird thing call yourself, but I saw firsthand the difference between Americans asked to do the right thing and Americans ordered to do the right thing. Fun fact: Penn Jillette publicly renounced right libertarianism after an entire lifetime and career based on it, because he saw how American right-libertarians responded to the idea of taking personal responsibility during COVID
Even literal anarchists I've listened to stress that for communities and common resources to work there absolutely have to be clearly defined and enforced rules and boundaries. They just need not to be defined and enforced by a ruling class. Leaving people to their own devices with no sanctions or consequences for bad behavior is plain foolishness.
@@eyesofthecervino3366 My problem with that is, don't the people who define and enforce those rules and boundries automatically become the ruling class? In a large enough community, some people naturally end up taking a bigger role in defining, and deciding on the enforcement of the rules.
@@erilgaz Agreed. My problem here is that the opposite is also true -- if you don't define and enforce rules and boundaries somebody's going to accumulate enough power or leverage to become a tyrant some other way. Way l see it I don't think there's any kind of utopian scenario where liberty and equality will become effortless resting states, I think even in the best case scenario they'll need to be constantly protected and cultivated, and people will have to be aware of and guard against the tendency of power to accumulate and entrench itself.
Unironically I think this might be your best video, the one take really made it feel distinct from a lot of other creators while still maintaining the PhilosophyTube vibe
was literally talking about how social media and the constant barrage of information can make people too tired to think properly about politics the other day lmao excellent timing. from personal experience, it can be a bit frustrating to watch people experience the learned helplessness thing. i work at a nursing home where so many of our long-term residents are very acutely aware of how bad things could be if a certain annoying orange was re-elected, but a lot of them in the same breath say theyre not going to vote because theres no point, thus ignoring the fact that if all of them did vote, there'd be just that much more of a chance to have change. a lot of them spend the majority of their time watching the news constantly, which cannot be helpful in keeping their mental health good, among other things. one of the most insidious things that i think has ever come about is the propagation of the idea that voting cannot do anything, and therefore you shouldnt try. its gotten into enough people's heads unfortunately that it's become a bit of a reality. also, i wanted to say i really like your costume/character for this one and the set! i love the library feel to it and the fact that you kinda reminded me of the mad hatter was just delightful :) it sorta feels like youre walking up to us like "hello, would you like to learn about social media and democracy? no? too bad, im going to tell you anyways". absolutely superb vibes as always :D
art school critique-style thought: doing the whole video with no cuts is a fantastic way to get us (the audience) in the headspace of exhaustion without busting... our ability engage. Chef's kiss on that artistic direction!
I'm getting sick of it being pushed by so many "left" influencers. Like it's so fucking centrist. I know what Republicans say and lie about. I don't need to try to seek out "unbiased" or "middle" sources nor do I need to see "blind spots" which always amount to entirely fabricated conspiracy theories the right believes in alone. Omg why aren't any Democrat leaning sources talking about how Kamala poisoned that well and killed 1000000jillion babies and shipped them to be slaves to China and replaced them with Mexican pedophiles with her Jewish space lazer ... Omg why don't you seek out a balanced news diet you echo chambery babies
@@witherschatIt's better than the bare minimum (habitually checking 2-3 news sites that generally align with your politics) but not a replacement for actually thinking critically.
@witherschat yeah, I'm not convinced, either. I treat the journalistic media with a great deal of skepticism, anyway. I've really practiced my parsing and understanding of semantics, so that helps a great deal in learning what is relevant and what isn't, to me, at least.
Hell yes. THIS is the type of work that inspires my own art, re-opens my eyes to the blurred, perhaps nonexistent boundary between "I can" and "I can't." Being honest and genuine in the digital landscape becomes a detriment to one's financial/social success, it seems; and creativity feels solely like a tool to be gamified or exploited for capital; yet despite this wave of targeted, high-tech, shined-shit content, pieces of media like this video - that embraces weirdness - give me hope for art in the future. Thanks for another banger, Abi. I have much to think about.
the general frantic and messy aesthetic of this video keeps reminding me of Some More News. i always love the work you put into the staging of videos!!
@@HannahFortalezza not trying to be rude but just genuinely wanting to know if you have the time, how is it a warning. I’m trying to understand this video better.
@@sierrah5928 she was mentioning middleware as a possible solution to some of the issues we see, but then she went on to say that those who make the middleware can have their own agendas (and in the example she gave, they do have their own agenda), hence ground news being a middleware as well could also have an agenda at play, either intentionally or unintentionally through their own biases or their algorithm(s) with a bias. To me it’s a bit of a black box that you can’t really be sure about. Additionally the Overton window has shifted to the right over the years so if it says something is extreme left, is it really? Or is it close to being a centrist position?
@@HannahFortalezza Okay thank you I understand now! I thought that was kind of what she was saying just wasn’t sure. And you made a good point at the end!
Shooting this in one take with a fabulous costume, incredible set and, of course, stunning acting, made a difficult and dark topic easier and more enjoyable to consume and digest. Well done, Abigail! 👏🏻
ok, i'm 5:27 in and i think you just outdid my favourite "one take" team....shout out to the cinematographer and sound team...i assume ther's a whole team.... that under the desk move was solid! right anyhoo now i know what i'm in for ......
15:48 "middleware" is actually the exact thing that Bluesky is focusing on, and it's been interesting to see how it plays out. There can be good uses but it's also a huge privacy nightmare & spews data everywhere to who knows where, which sounds like a repeat of Cambridge Analytica. There are models that would allow more visibility/control, but that's not what bluesky implements, they don't even give you a way to see which "middleware" has seen your data nor an ability to prevent your data from going to certain places. (In bluesky, middleware is relays, feeds, and moderation services)
I think this is probably my third favourite episode of all time (after the one on Butler, and the one on the NHS). This was a great writing and acting accomplishment. Love where this channel is going!
This was on another level. Authenticity of no edits mixed with the canned forgetting lines mixed with sincere moments bringing it back with the acknowledgment that creating content is feeding that beast but it isn't necessarily hypocritical. Like...this needs a few watches to properly digest.
What's so weird about this video for me, and it's a great video, is I'm doing a social media and politics course - and loads of the sources you mentioned are a big part of that! Really interesting discussion here and while I do try to remain optimistic about this sort of activism - there are absolutely downsides to it. But one of the greatest boons of social media activism in my eyes is accessibility, activists who previously were geographically isolated, physically or even socially isolated are able to take part in movements they couldn't previously. ...However, just as you said, it's so easy for purely online activism to be discounted and ignored.
This is one of the best videos on TH-cam and ad read I’ve ever heard thus far. I wish all the content creators did a quick breakdown of their sponsors like this. It was actually easy to understand.
I fear for my life I'm in TX been hard enough fighting my state for my right to exist but then going against the feds is practically impossible. I'll be alright have been for 65 years think another 20 or 30 more years should be able to handle
"I'm gonna bust..." *Pauses to look at script* "-These myths! Considering you're dressed like Dean Pelton in that one episode of Community, I should have seen a joke like that cumming... *Looks at notes* no no, I think I spelt that right...
The problem seems to be with liberal democracy in particular, which is to say political freedom on paper but also total economic subservience to capital.
My thoughts all the way through this. The problems with democracy have been identified. Our current system is not democratic. It's a dictatorship of the wealthy. The people get paid lip service while the elite actually make the decisions over everyone's lives. The only truly democratic action possible under the dictatorship is to rebel against it. The problem with democracy is it's not democracy, it's a placebo.
(This is Laura writing; I share Robert’s account) You are genuinely the best at pulling together the frustration of information and the way people talk about information, then how they slide into the “the smart people know best” mindset, and we’re suddenly talking eugenics, but technoeugenics, where the most technologically privileged people are somehow the smartest, b/c the person arguing with me just bought the latest whatever. It drives me crackers, b/c it’s so clearly predisposed to advantage that person, they might as well be a guy saying “well, men are hunters, and women are gatherers, so men are superior” on a first date. …Though I’m devastated the Death video didn’t get as much engagement; it was AMAZING. 💜💜💜
As a current Nebula subscriber (and code person), I honestly loved hearing all the details of how they collect and use data! Its cool to hear that they/y'all take privacy and AI etc seriously and build as much as possible in house
I remember the Occupy movement. The most frustrating part of that time was that movement's leaders' absolute refusal to get involved in the tedious, boring, unglamorous behind-the-scenes work needed to build a lasting coalition and create solutions to the problems they pretested. Getting on TV with drum circles and human megaphones were one thing, but when it became time to propose answers and advocate for something, they had nowhere to go. It made their protest theatre easy to mock and ultimately ignore.
I have the same opinion of Jill Stein and the Green Party. Pops up ever 4 years, talks a lot of smack against 'the establishment', pulls in a fair amount of donations and a few votes and then...vanishes for another 4 years. Any true leftist party would need to build coalitions and voting blocks and victories in lower offices.
@@macaronisexone thing they could have done, which conservatives have been doing for years (and have wreaked havoc on society because of how effective it is), is run for office in local government positions like city council and school boards. That way they could have established themselves as legitimate people to listen to, they could work their way up through the government and by now they would be influencing at least state laws if not federal laws. Protests are a starting point for progress, they're not a solution in themselves. The point of a protest is to attract attention so that your movement gains momentum when you take real, tangible steps to do something to create change.
@@macaronisex I think they wanted the leaders to actually organize, and Organizing requires Organization. Shepherding people to cause a scene in a public place does not a lasting movement make. Not on its own, anyway. If you want to last, you need to do boring shit like logistics and structuring your leadership and actually pointing your fervent masses to a less vague goal. None of which they committed to, and they imploded. Simple as.
Care to share the sources of this conclusion? Which unglamorous, behind-the-scenes work? ‘Cause I’m aware of a lot of occupy people who have kept the flame burning while Obama was droning weddings and “realists” were building solutions with Joe Manchin.
It is fundamentally undemocratic for the government or large multinational corporations to surveil citizens and collect and stockpile their personal data.
Core memory from the early-ish targeted ads: For about 3-5 months I was bombarded with ads from a sperm bank. Oh, I'm AFAB nonbinary, by the way, though at the time I still thought I was a woman. This is relevant, I swear! The sperm bank was looking for donors.
I get a lot of stuff targeted to AMAB folks - while I do on occasion shop in the men's dept for clothes due to my height, some of the ads are definitely intended for someone with different biology than mine 🤨 Honestly it's kinda funny still, but it's incredibly odd either way 🤷
All of my junk mail is assigned to “Mr. My name,” despite me being cis female. I’ve always wondered about that. My name is classically a female name, but also a bit uncommon. But it’s strange that every junk mail place would incorrectly guess Mr.? I am fairly masculine in my shopping, I guess.
The whole concept surrounding the bizarre fact that there are a lot of things no one is accountable for is covered very well in Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism"
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Sexy gay vampires - go.nebula.tv/dex?ref=philosophytube
I made a movie about them!
*sipping sanguini (sanguine martini)*
I didnt realise this was out! It was fantastic ヽ(｡◕o◕｡)ﾉ.
I want to watch but I can't sign up with paypal!!!! Nebula please fix!!!!
Thats so nice, here's some engagement
all the govt had to do was not illegally spy on trump and a lot more people would be on your side.......
This is your audition tape for Doctor Who and nobody will convince me otherwise.
Commenting on this one because it would be EPIC
Abi as Doctor Who would work so well. Or her as a companion. Although given tis BBC and Disney, she might face a few hurdles on that path unfortunately.
I would give the show another try
i had the same thought lol. went into a group dm mid-video and said "abigail thorne could play the doctor" and then after the ominous music dark side speech i went back in and said "she could also play the master"
That set could easily be a library in the TARDIS. 😄
EX-TER-MI-NATE!
Did Abigail break into Jordan Peterson's home and steal his suit?
yes, I would know I'm Jordan Peterson on my daughters alt account.
I think she stole all of them
“A suit, it’s a sign of conformity and tradition, that’s order. And stealing, that’s…rebellion of the id, the shadow. So when you steal a suit, what’s that? It’s chaos meeting order. It’s the merging of the two. The unknown and the known are now one. They are now inextricably linked. And once you realise that…well you’ve got a hell of a lot to think about don’t you?”
No, hers looks good
When I saw the thumbnail, I thought it was the 6th doctor's
This "single take, no interruptions monologue" style really shows - and takes advantage of! - Abigail's theatre background, and it was so fun. Thank you!
I agree it was wonderful!
isn't it wild how it's a significant choice on the internet but every public speaker in the world does one-takes every day?
The way she so naturally switched into the anti-democracy bit is some of the best acting, like, ever.
I think I’ve really been messed up by highly edited content combined with my ADHD, because I just couldn’t watch this. I’ve tried repeatedly. I just give up after a few minutes. I love the rest of her videos, but the quiet unedited tension just made me uncomfortable and distracted.
Edit: I was able to finish it this time by just listening while doing housework, not watching the screen!
Obvious comment is obvious
We’re being monologued to in a strange room by a woman with a distressed hairstyle, a distinctive colored suit, and a bone to pick with the modern world. Abigail is really playing up the Batman villain energy and I appreciate it.
@@sirtra i see your point but you might be taking arsons joke too seriously lol
@@sirtra wow your like so far off target that you just bombed Nicaragua by mistake
@@sirtrayou are toxic. Ppl identify with modern villains. They’re often portrayed as ppl whom society was unkind to; to put it lightly, and seek its destruction and/or restructuring in varying degrees of violence or coercion in pursuit of authority over the subjugated who were targeted. It’s a perverse power fantasy that many are ppl are happy to indulge in. From Harley Quinn and William Foster, to LeStat de Lioncourt and Darth Vader, we identify with characters who after becoming victims, decide “No more. Now it’s my turn.”
But you go on up on your soapbox, bet you get a lot of party invites up there.
@@scarba can you see that you're a disappointment to everyone who knows you?
@@sirtraI think it's because she's dressed like Two Face, LMAO
The choice to print the citations at the top of the screen is brilliant and I wish every TH-cam commentary/essay video did this.
YES!!!! I want to read then all!!!!!
Only problem is that most people just listen and don't see them. That said, it's quite hard to do that for a PT video just because of the effort put in, and also other solutions like a description or pinned comment are even less likely to be seen
@@Sepi-chu_loves_moths they's also in the description
Gratefully, the list is in the description
Especially that "at the top," part, because it's not obscured by the captions! I've seen sources posted, but not at the top.
i'm not usually a commenter, but i was blown away by your performance in this one! i think the uncut monologue style really showed off your background in acting in a way we've never seen before on PT. beautiful job!
Thank you!
this video's lack of editing is one of the points of it, and it is incredible. It was so refreshing watching it! Feels like a conversation, even. Really hope for more of that
Wow, thank you!
This type of filming was popularized by Hitchcock’s film Rope (1948). It is extremely difficult to do well, and is a steep financial risk to do it for the entirety of a full length feature film considering that if you mess up once, you have to redo the whole thing. You have to use extensive rehearsals before actually filming to get the blocking and tracking right. Most films today that utilize this technique do filming tricks to make it appear like it’s one shot, but it might be more than that where they will use something like a wall as a transition to make it appear as one shot, but it’s just clever editing. Most films would use cameras on tracks to film this so you don’t actually have to follow the actor or whatever and can just map out the track before hand and time everything. The fact they used a hand held camera is wild to me. Holding up a camera for 35 minutes straight is exhausting for your arms. I am wondering if they had some kind of mechanism to make it appear handheld, like using a harness on the cameraman’s body to hold the camera.
Really impressive
Yeah, absolutely! I even found myself responding at times!
Pretty one sided conversation haha ;) more like a seminar from a guest speaker feel
Always happy to watch you bust.
Some myths.
Maybe even vote, for Nuts, Deez.
😋
Hey, I actually was in an accident last year, got some cognitive issues out of it too, had to learn to walk again, hold a pen that wasn't 3 times as big as a normal one (which was pretty important since I am an artist), and retain information again since my brain tended to erase information pretty quickly...
Now I'm nearly back to normal, my cognitive functions were all back to great for my age, and I can walk with crutches, draw, and do physiotherapy alone at home, which is what I'm doing while watching this video, so thank you very much for taking the time to educate us, and explain impressively well all of this, because some of us did get into accidents, lost pretty much all their memories, and had to learn how to do everything a person does all over again, and we couldn't really get all that information...
But you did and now you're giving to us, and I really really appreciate it.
You're amazing and I'm so proud of you for making it here. May the future treat you well. Safe travels near and far! ❤
A partial bust?! That sounds like an edge case to me!!
This comment is top tier thank you
Booooo 🍅🍅🍅
Jk it was great
thank you and never speak again
The villains goons stay optimistic however
Thank you, Ms. Thorn, for busting
myths about social media and democracy
busting makes me feel good : D
This is my favorite comment
@@kagitsune Damn. You beat me to it.
@@kagitsune I'm not afraid of no bed
mama, kudos for saying that, for busting
There is ACTUAL artistic value in this video. A single long shot with a moving camera while performing this well is professional beyond any youtube standart.
You got a new subscriber with me, the information within is the cherry on top for me personally!
Welcome! And thank you!
Thank you so much for mentioning learned helplessness. As someone who grew up in Russia, I cannot emphasize enough just how effective it is on shutting down people's politicization. It's bad enough in a scope of one person, but when it affects entire societies, that's an entirely different story. Politics just permanently leaves the conversation, so much so that people ridicule you for trying to discuss it. At some point, it starts to feel inescapable. I'm still not entirely sure what could get the society out of this state, because so far nothing could. Not the war, not the tragedies, not the poverty, not the deaths.
_Dude here's a VERY hard agree from a lady who lives somewhere were politics aren't entirely an allowed topic at all_
It's not funnnn
There are 2 ways for a government regime to lose power. Peacefully and not peacefully
I am sorry you are going through that. Оставайся сильным.
I don't dare think I have any answers, but if I were to guess, I would say that people like Abigail, you, and the other viewers listening to the message of this video is how things change. From everything I have learned, which isn't nearly enough, I believe all movements start small. It will be you and people like you not afraid to discuss these things. Others like yourself who are brave enough to confront your friends, family, and even complete strangers with well crafted, factual, and substantive arguments against apathy and the rejection of a people to choose their own destiny. You and I can't stop wars, poverty, and homelessness ourselves in any sort of large way, but we can do it in small ways. We help others. We urge others to get involved alongside us. We continuously show them through our words and actions just how meaningful one person can be in effecting legitimate change. Then, hopefully, they will help us show others what the collective voices and efforts of a group can achieve.
Sure, there are times when everything seems futile and when we think nothing will ever change. There are days we just want to cover our heads with a pillow and stay in bed because it all seems futile, but we get that out of our system and keep pushing towards those goals. We just help each other try to keep pushing forwards. You already started by just saying something here, so keep doing it. We won't wake up tomorrow in a utopia, but we might wake up tomorrow with one more person that will help us keep pushing forward just a little bit louder and stronger than we did yesterday.
LIB ALERT 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
Ngl, this is why I deleted grindr. They updated their terms and conditions so that by agreeing I would be giving them "irrevocable" permission to store, use, duplicate, delete, deliver, sell, export, etc any and all "user content" I uploaded to or produced on the app. Which, that alone is scary enough. But they also added in that any "user content" (meaning photos, videos, audio, texts, communications, behaviors, data, etc) I uploaded/created would be used to train AI models. And then, as a cherry on top, Grindr removed my right to sue in a court of law instead providing me with the option to pursue a series of lengthy 'in-house' arbitration arrangements.
Yeah..... no thanks.
Please stop reading our Terms and Conditions, we even made the Accept button big and green for you to click and enjoy.
Wtf I had no idea about that :o I also deleted it a while ago but mainly because of some dudes being really persistent and annoying after I told them I wasnt interested >:(
If that info isn't end to end encrypted that's absolutely wild.
@@jayspeidell correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it is encrypted
Plus grindr like, actively pings your current location away from someone at every given time...
The absolute worst app and we can't move on to a better one.
hey Abigail/ philosophy tube team, your previous video on death is open in a tab waiting, at least for me personally I haven't felt ready to watch it with all the anxiety of current events, and the pervasive feeling that death is feeling very real and present to me of late, nothing to do with it not being of interest to me, I feel bad that you concluded it wasn't of interest and that it received lower views. I think it just hit in a place I wasn't able to take on yet, as I, like many others I imagine, are currently oscillating between trying to digest and keep up with the terrifying things going on in the world and escapism as a cope. I am aware of the parasociality of this comment, but what can I say, I'm human, I'm grateful for the work you put out and thus I care. Thanks for all you do
I completely agree with this. I want to watch that video but I just can't bring myself to do it.
I can't believe I'm not the only one. Wild
If it's any consolation, I found that one much more... easy listening? Than this one, I guess? It felt like a large expose on one of my 'roman empire' issues, that when cultures actively try to avoid death it only accelerates the hurdle towards it, and that it is a natural part of the cycle of life that must be respected. It brought me comfort and made me feel less crazy, as again a LOT of people don't like talking about death.
My condolences if you're recently mourning the loss of a loved one. I hope that when you are able to watch, you do, and you are gentle with yourself as needed. Sending brain hugs in this fucked up shithole of a planet, love.
It's not as bad as you think, provided you get all the way through it. Though I fully understand why you would be hesitant. But as always knowledge is power, and understanding makes way for actual hope.
Just remember to take care of yourself, this is the only life we have after all.
I feel this as well. ❤️ We are allowed to take things at our own pace.
The "I could run this country with my eyes closed" rant sent shivers down my spine. Not just because of the amazing acting, but because you're so right - it's easy to fall into the dark place of ego and the romanticism of dictatorships.
I've heard that rant so many times. My family is full of highly educated men who've been told all their lives that they're smarter and better than everyone else. The women are pretty brilliant, too, but they usually get bullied from an early age into letting the boys talk over them and have first crack at everything. So I've heard a lot of men proclaiming that things would be better if they were in charge, and a fair number of women muttering it.
Around about the time I was in grad school, I went off the rails a bit by the family's standards. Made friends with people from different backgrounds with different ideas. Got a sense of how much there really was to know in the world, and how little of that I could hold in my brain, even if it did have a little more storage space than everyone else's. I learned to listen, and to value kindness and community over the ability to read Latin. Now I'm the family weirdo who shows up to Christmas, hears my dad start ranting about "the trans agenda", and interrupts with, "I asked my friend Tony what their trans agenda was, and they said it was waffles." Then I pour myself a cup of spiced cider while people yell at me for interrupting.
I don't want to be in charge. I'm just enough cleverer than my family to know what a disaster that would be. It's really too bad more people don't realize that about themselves.
Personally, I think the world would be a better place if more governments were supervised by kindergarten teachers and librarians, but that's just my silly little dream.
I have a friend who has mini-rants like that all the time, it really does seem to be popular with tech and stem educated men with little education in politics or philosophy, at least in my experience
Dictatorship makes things simple "who's in charge? whoever the Dictator says" "What do we do?" whatever the dictator says. Who's responsible? you, unless you are the dictator.
God, it is SO easy to fall into that mindset. I actively avoid being in positions of power because I know exactly what happens to me and I hate what I become. That evil lives inside me as it lives in all of us. That belief in our own superiority, the urge to rule, to dominate. If we want to build a truly free and equal society, we can't rely on everyone having the same self-awareness and self-hatred as I do. Frankly, it's unhealthy. We need to institute social mechanisms by which we neuter that innate urge to rule. I'm reminded of a society (I think they're in sub-saharan Africa) that have staved off this problem for thousands of years. When a hunter returns with his kill, they ruthlessly mock and belittle his hunting prowess. Because they recognise that keeping the egos of successful people (and let's face it, men) in check, is paramount to preventing the formation of dominance hierarchies. Counter the feelings of superiority with feelings of inadequacy. Is this a perfect solution? No. I don't think it will scale well and I don't think it will work with a digitally interconnected society. But we should take inspiration from them and other societies that have managed to, long term, prevent or dismantle systems of domination by suppressing exactly that thought. It's inherent to humans, but it's not good for us.
Every time I think this, I just look around the disaster area that is my office and realize I can't even run my own life with my eyes open.
Doing a friggin' VIDEOESSAY in one take is such a big flex, omg
And it only took 4 takes?!
we are dealing with pros here, so yea
You could see some of the planning that went into it: like having that book propped up against the desk at the right time.
I mean she is a stage actor so I think shed have expierience in doing that sorta thing
How in the fuck
@@pancygarek5686 Still impressive nonetheless. Bravo Abigail
This is very impressive for a single take.
Your delivery is phenomenal and as always you raise a number of points I hadn't thought about before clicking on your video.
Thanks!
Abigail: Describing middleware
Me out loud: This is worse this is worse THIS IS SO MUCH WORSE
Truly it’s amazing how products like this and AI slop can be so transparently worse, users may even actively and widely detest them, and platforms just … implement them. Part of why social media doesn’t “work” how we think it does is because we have no tangible power as consumers the way we used to, other than to leave what remains of some communities behind. This is a prohibitively difficult thing for some, living in places that have so eroded public spaces and general society offline, so … what do you do? Can the onus be put on someone who needs help and understanding from community to build community from scratch?
"...and allow you to choose between them as you would a browser"
Oh, so you mean Chrome, other chrome, different Chrome, Other more different Chrome, Microsoft flavored Chrome, Safari if you're posh, or Firefox
Firefox, my beloved.
@@RubyRoks then you consider that firefox is living on google's paycheck for hundreds of millions of dollars as well. we're literally living under the grace of google
@@RubyRoks and firefox is largely funded by Google to maintain its monopoly, and recently Google has been losing a lawsuit that might affect that funding directly.
also Chromium removed support for JPEGXL, so that's fun
thank you for saying that bit about like, what if a car accident had derailed your education, because that legitimately isnt far from what happened to me and i did have to learn to walk again, that just... really resonated, thank you
I agree. I grew up in poverty and with a lot of abuse and I've often felt bad for not achieving more... you are heard and appreciated.
Real, I had mental illness derail mine when I was young, I can't even imagine how hard it would be to relearn walking
@@jenny_azoth The problem is in England you only get one chance at an education. It shouldn't be that way. Anyone should be able to get an education anytime.
@@MMoffatWrites Agreed ✊
Thank you for making this. I cannot overstate how overloaded I feel, mentally. And it's not just that I have access to all the information; it's that everyone around me does, as well an we're all being shown the information from slightly different angles, none of which encourage us to think with any sort of nuance. Lack of nuance is captivating, and so that is what we are sold and we are told that if we try to think for ourselves we are traitors to a cause that we didn't even know we signed up for! Movies, Shows, Music, Work, Billboards, News, War coverage, SMS adverts - how did they get my number?, Email adverts. Is this thing AI? Is this biased? of course it is but why and how? Job insecurity - not just my own, but those of other countries. Power cuts - not just my own but those of other countries. Knowing more about US politics than my own country because of how absolutely saturated the internet is with it. Celebrity controversies. misleading headlines. "5 more bombs dropped". "This woman only ate kale for 5 years, you won't believe what happened!", "5 signs your mom is a narcissist", "This dog got hit by a card - amazing transformation!" "Ear piercings lead to increased risk of homosexual tendencies, says this one guy", "Scientists say we have 5 years before point of no-return", "microplastics found in ice caps"...
Can it just...
Stop.
Thank you for explaining your thoughts it helped me process more of this video
You made an episode about Death recently that was somehow less depressing and more hopeful than this. Depressing? Perhaps that isn't the right word. Sobering. Sobering, and maybe even empowering.
Death is certain but the future of America is coming up to a coinflip between normalcy and chaos.
To be fair death is the great leveller. Stupidity and greed at least eventually falls.
@@laurenceroberts5239 That is not dead that doth that eternal lies
and with strange eons, even death may die.
@@milascave2Papa Ghedu just says you're not trying hard enough ;)
^ This. It was an important subject matter to bring to light, very happy I got to watch this.
That car insurance example is not a hypothetical btw, as someone who spent a year with a black box to get marginally cheaper insurance when I was 18, it was a nightmare. And it's not just speed, it's how heavy you are on the breaks (an emergency stop to not hit someone running into the road acts as a black mark on your record), how tightly you take corners (a nightmare when you live down a narrow cul-de-sac), and distance you travel, among others I'm forgetting. It wasn't even that much cheaper to have the monitoring.
The very first time I saw an ad for the insurance surveillance, I knew it was Orwellian Capitalism.
Same here, I think I had it with Intact Insurance here in Canada. Unsurprisingly it didn't help. If anything it gave them one excuse after another to hike my rates.
I had our insurance salesman try to encourage us to "save money" this way and I flat out told him I don't need anyone else monitoring me or selling my information and that I would gladly pay the extra $5 - $10 monthly for personal privacy... I watched his brain short circuit in real time.
Brakes. Brakes. Brakes. Brakes. Repeat after me, it is spelled “Brakes”. Thankyou.
My insurance was cut in half due to monitoring like that before they would even let me have insurance.
Root insurance.
Really thankful for stuff like that, because while your situation and sometimes having to break hard would be annoying, in most cases people purposefully break way too hard, make horrible turns, and generally behave recklessly while driving.
People like that should be charged so much to drive that they can't afford to until they change.
the way you moved and spoke and the costume has such a specific vibe to it. like doc from back to the future or beetle juice. lost your mind, villian sort of shit. the talent is crazy. not even to mention how dense your script is with big brain thoughts. love it, as always! and i ADORE the lack of editing, the ad read didn’t even feel like an ad read
Time is a flat circle. History doesn't repeat but it rhymes and I hate this tune so much.
“It’s like poetry so that, they rhyme.
Each stanza kinda…
rhymes with the last one.”
-George Lucas
Which will wood song is this
My history teacher once put it like this: history isn't a straight line going up. In fact, it's more like a series of zig-zags.
@@godricktheminecrafted3113 that one indiepop version of i/me/myself that got deleted off the face of the earth
It’s more like a spiral but I agree completely. Lately that spiral has been headed right back down
the nebula ad was really interesting ive havent seen an ad that transparent in a long time reminded me when i read about the beginning of advertising in the 1900's where they used to just be like "this car has this type of engine isnt that great!" and that was like the whole thing they just hoped you shared the same enthusiasm as them about the product
Yeah ngl i‘ve been on the fence regarding nebula for ages now, i dont need any more subscriptions, but i think i now need to cancel some others to try out nebula instead!
The reason I like Nebula and traditional subscribtion or sales based media in general is simply that they have a product and they want us to give them money. It's simple and easy.
With sites like TH-cam or news publishers who make their money from advertising, we aren't _just_ customers, sometimes not at all. We're the product being sold, and we are treated as such.
I've seen so many people write comments about how many ads TH-cam shows them and that TH-cam tries to break ad blockers, but none of them seem to realize that serving ads is literally the entire point of the platform. (Unless you pay for TH-cam premium, turning yourself into a customer instead of a product, which obviously none of them are willing to do.)
Nebula and its creatoes refuse to condemn Zionism tho. It's the reason Second Thought and other left the platform. Would hope Abigail did that too...
@burnedbread4691 Second Thought "left" the platform after he and his friends were laughing about slaughterd civilians and saying that every settler is a combatant.
@@DoubLL the Gaza ghetto uprising was a legitimate form of resistance against 76 years of settler colonialism. They attacked mostly military targets and every Hasbara lie about Oct 7 has since been debunked. Also, the settlements surrounding Gaza are filled with paramilitaries and have names such as "Shield".
Sincerely, read more on Palestine. I'd suggest you start with Ilan Pappe's book "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" and on colonialism in general, read Aime Cesaire: "Discourses on Colonialism". I'd love to suggest more reading for you as well if and when you already have read these
Phenomenal! The fact that this was a one-er with the camera work made it the most theatrical videos I’ve ever seen, and the writing was 👩🏻🍳😘
Glad you enjoyed it!
One other issue with point number 2 (which ties into some of what you go into later) is that we have heard similar things before. I was part of the wave of nerdy internet optimists that came online in the 90's and early 2000's. There was a real sense that not only would the internet bring people together but that its most prominent users, us nerds, would be both more effective and benevolent leaders. We were smarter (and more humble), familiar with what the feeling of being picked on and seen as lesser, and able to connect with each other all over the world, surely we would usher in a utopia. But not only was that way too optimistic, but it was some of those same nerds who started GamerGate about 10 years later which directly lead to the alt-right, and they started many of the hedge funds and tech companies that are doing so much damage to our society.
@27:21 "Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!"
I was thinking the same thing!
okay I was not the only one...
@@mpmartincity3 definitely not the only one
What a classic quote
In the mid-1980s, when I was in law school, I and my friends created a newspaper called "the bathroom door." The name was chosen on purpose, because on the bathroom door people would write in secret what they didn't have the courage to say in public. The paranoia that existed during the final phase of a Brazilian military dictatorship turned the bathroom door into a political bulletin board, and we decided to put it all out there. The newspaper caused a stir at the law school. No one was really prepared for discussions about the crisis because of the dismissals of some professors, open complaints about the amount charged to students, and, of course, short literary texts ridiculing some disciplines. When the law school decided to create a newspaper to combat our newspaper, things got even weirder, because on the same day we published an extra edition of "the bathroom door" criticizing the school newspaper (and we used the law school's own infrastructure to do this without the law school's management knowing). But what happened the following year was even more surprising. The group I was part of won the election to the student union, and I immediately began publishing two newspapers: the student union newspaper (with an aggressive political platform and moderate language) and the "bathroom door" (a newspaper with an aggressive platform and aggressive language). The law school temporarily stopped publishing its own newspaper, and we monopolized the published opinion by creating bubbles within bubbles. Some people hated one newspaper and liked the other, but the overwhelming majority of students favored the aggressive political platform (including those who thought it was moderate because of the language in one of the newspapers). This became a source of political power that we used to do things that until then were taboo in law school, such as: a strike to pay monthly installments, a request for political support from students in the City Council, the issuing of UNE student ID cards (UNE is the acronym for the Brazilian National Union of Students; it was still an illegal institution at the time), the filing of a successful lawsuit against the law school to prevent defaulting students from being punished, and orchestrated demonstrations against bad professors (one of them was fired and the other resigned because when they entered a room to teach, all the students would leave). The taste of revolution is delicious, despite being illusory and short-lived. This story, which has been forgotten for decades, is part of my life, and whenever I see things about information manipulation, content bubbles, Fake News, political movements created out of thin air and driven by disinformation outlets, I laugh out loud. That's exactly what we did in the mid-1980s, when the world wasn't computerized. But we did it with much more creativity and determination, without having to make money in a lazy way like those far-right (and left-wing) maniacs who call themselves influencers. And I must say that the taste of the revolution they imagine they're creating isn't delicious, because it has the nauseating smell of gunpowder. Well... at the time, we also had to deal with the problem of surveillance (and threats of aggression from fascists) in a country that was being shaken by the end of a military dictatorship, but the solution was always less violent and much more creative and ironic. Despite being faster-paced and much more flooded with informational garbage, the current world created by algorithms isn't much different from that one: it's just more artificial, less joyful, and devoid of real vitality. But you know... there's always a hacker around the corner wanting to revolutionize everything and gain notoriety. I was a hacker in the analog world of the 1980s and I salute the new hackers.
In order to function well, democracy requires the participation of the populace in government. In order for the populace to effectively participate in government, they need to be assured a certain quality and availability of time. Democracy requires that the population has leisure time in order to consume up to date information about what is going on in society, and to participate in actions and discussions on what to do. If you do not assure that your population has the time to do this, then you do not have government by the people... you have government by those privileged enough to have time.
Big tech is doing their part to give huge swaths of their workforce unwanted leisure time… 😈
And when nobody in the populace has time because we slave away all week long just to scrape by in life, exhausted and disenfranchised, it's just so much easier for the privileged to step right in and start calling the shots.
Brilliantly put
someone has been reading Aristotle lately?
No one gets dunked on more frequently than Francis Fukuyama
Seriously. To declare "an end to history" just seems exceptionally short sighted and naive. It is like a couple on their honeymoon loudly declaring that their relationship is perfect and will always remain perfect and that they will "never have problems again".
I mean, have you seen Robert "I owe the banks a billion USD but they can't collect on me because they'll never see any money if they do" Kiyosaki? There's worse but I figure he's the most famous.
i just learnt who he was today, funny i should come upon his name again so soon
Partially undeserving in my opinion.
@@jonathanbowers8964Fukuyama never argued this and literally criticizes the shortfalls of liberal democracy and warned how the political shift of the time, neo-liberalism, would exacerbate those antagonisms.
I REALLY liked that this was all one take, no cuts, with the camera following you. I have no idea what level of more or less effort it was so I can’t tell you if it’d be worth it to repeat. But I can tell you it was such a fun and refreshing format change for the ‘genre’ that I think it was certainly WELL WORTH doing it at least once. I loved it, it was like following someone down a rabbit hole but actually coherent.
Whenever i watch documentary hor historic dramas about a civil rights movement from back in the day, i think: it's sad that we seem to be less able to rally and organize despite having the internet and social media. It never occurred to me that we might be less able to do so BECAUSE of these things!
I have been more accepting of the fact that more communication acts as a sort of dopamine driver, making us ever less revolted with the illusion that, by seeing more people on our side, we feel like we are winning.
In many regards, we are (climate change has been more positive every year, with the "cataclysmic end" being pushed away a decade at a time). But don't let such illusions make you feel less motivated. If anything, use it as a drive to keep pushing, but withour really feeling like there is no hope and no end to this.
At least that is what I have been working with.
Yet the 2020 George Floyd protests were *global* in scale.
@@NothingXemnas please stop mentioning dopamine like that :) Thank you
I think it IS easier to rally and organize than ever before!
But, to your point, corporations, right-wing enterprises, autocratic regimes, and hate groups have used social media to MUCH greater effect than the left.
This isn’t surprising, given what social media is. But we should master the tools at our disposal.
@@charliekowittmusic all your points are valid, but i think the reason we see fewer local engagement for those issues than we did before is connected to our ability to connect with everyone in the world: i can find the bubble that agrees with me on EVERYTHING..but..they are scattered all over the world, so all we can do together is # or cancelling..
But it would probably be more effective to organize with ppl in my city who i agree with on most issues but we can meet in person on a regular basis, would allow us to vote together, organize and also safeguard us from trolls or bots..
But many of us, me included, do not do that because the other option is easier
For a long time I was doing the Learned Helpless option. Saying "both sides are bad and it will never get better" was an easy way to dismiss any need to involve myself. After I realized I'm trans I mostly stuck to hiding and curling up in my bubble - Shinigami Eyes and a lot of blocking. Easier to not subject myself to constant stress of a world that has suddenly gotten hell-bent on my eradication. Doesn't help the outcome though; have to stick my neck out beyond the bare minimum if things are ever gonna get better.
What do you do now?
I have been fighting in person and online for two decades. Not only have things not gotten better, they've gotten worse. There is no happier tomorrow - only suffering.
@@aetherkidmight as well make it difficult for them on the way out. Almost all the glory songs come from a small group of underwhelming forces making a last Stand just to spite their oppressors.
Your diligence to citation and reference is ADMIRABLE. Fantastic
Turns out the meme I made yesterday of Clippy saying "It looks like you're having trouble killing the cop in your head. Would you like some help with that?" was foreshadowing for the second act of this video
The scary dark part about making people listen gave me Anakin Skywalker “Attack of the Clones” vibes. When he says that “someone wise” should force the politicians to agree on what’s in the people’s best interest and Padme says that sounds like a dictatorship.
"if it works..."
“And together you and I can rule the galaxy! Make things the way we want them to be!”
Plato moment
We have very divergent politic values (not just views) in my home, so we often debate/discuss problems and solutions. When one of us starts in on the 'if only everyone would...." "I don't understand how people came think...." like the the train of thought around minute 25, one of us will diffuse it by jumping in with "on MY island.... (everyone will do what I say and it'll be perfect, of course)" to tell the person they going down an authoritarian train of thought.
Also mad props to your camera person/direction. They added SO MUCH to the feeling by their careful control of how close and far they are from you, whether 'we' are sitting and listening, and that sudden stand when you got scary!! I'm eating it up omnomnomnomnom
i genuinely appreciate the silly captions at the end, not to be parasocial but it does feel as genuine as a youtuber can get with a behind the scenes sort of explanation. i loved this video sm and it really enlightened me to how social media works. it can be depressing to think about, but i appreciate when you talk about surveillance and things like that
That AstroTurf part made me pay attention SO HARD I almost busted... a blood vessel. Also, insane how this is ONE TAKE!!! Instant classic.
Abigail’s “monitoring and surveillance” video set at the entrance to a. Nightclub where the bouncer is scanning IDs was one of my favorite of her videos. And this is, too. Same topic, mostly. Different r points. Great work, loved this.
Damn!... I've been following Philosophy Tube for 6 years now and every time I watch a new upload, I find myself wishing TH-cam had a 'Love' option instead of just a 'Like'!....
Superb! The honesty and openness of your discussions is why I keep coming back, but the delivery is consistently excellent!
Bravo Abigail, Bravo.
really appreciate the citations. it's really helpful to be able to read more about a topic and to get this info in a non-intrusive way
I do wish they were off-center though. They're a little too distracting when appearing over someone's face.
what I found myself surprised by in the whole no cuts in video thing was that it felt longer! I had to focus more just like if a real person was in front of me and I kept looking at the time but it felt slower. made me think about how fast content really ruins our attention span and I always knew that but this made me experience it which I think was the goal thank you Abigail and team
touching grass won't work if it's astroturf ;)
that's the point 😄
That would be the opposite
I tried touching grass. Didn’t work. Really pointy.
I touched grass and it cut my finger so 🤷🏻♂️
@35:40 If anyone else was wondering what the "Chill music" playing was, I finally found it: Clemency by Pandaraps ft. Alexa Prus
Thank you very cool of you
As an ex-theatre video technician who used to work on collaborative productions in grimy venues in London and elsewhere in the UK, this "single shot" style is incredibly familiar to me! Very similar to a lot of the shows I worked on that had political or social commentary themes. Love it! Always up for exposing people to more theatre.
And I know how bloody difficult it can be to get right.
The fit is like if Johnny Depp played Jordan Peterson in a Tim Burton directed Batman film. 10/10, more please.
This! 😄
Actually, the Mad Hatter vibes. I think we can assume it's a deliberate inspiration, and as always magnificently played. Thank you and kudos once again Abi !
with a mix of doctor who
GET OUT OF MY HEAD
I was totally thinking Mad Hatter vibes too!! @@lysandroabelcher2592
I've been waiting for a while for this new episode of Docotor Who.
Abigail Thorn by way of Colin Baker.
@@thebitterfig9903- Colin, Tom, and Jodi simultaneously.
Scariest episode of Doctor Who ever.
Every shot is still so perfectly framed! There are One Shots and then THERE ARE ONE SHOTS! Bravo crew!
Abigail: there are a lot of youtube creators here in Brazil. I don't know what kind of "recruitment" policy Nebula works on (specifically regarding the language spoken in the videos) but maybe it would be a good place beyond the anglophonic countries to expand to. People in Brazil spend a LOT of time on the internet... so it would be very nice to have this kind of content at our disposal!
Ooh, I’m just about to switch from this platform to that one, and I’d love to be able to get quality like Abigail Thorn in Portuguese!
@@sharkbelly1169one thing to know about Nebula is that they don't allow their contributors to speak up about Palestine. You'll have to look elsewhere to learn anything about that conflict.
@@kwarra-an ugh. 😑 that’s disappointing but not very surprising. Turns out every corporation with a recognizable name is good with g-cide
@@kwarra-an what’s your source on this? searching “Palestine” on Nebula, i can find videos from after October 7 called “Why Palestine Must Be Free,” “The Games Industry Must Not Stay Silent on Palestine,” and the Little Joel video about the Nakba, among others. that said, i’m not seeing as much as i’d hope for from a platform like Nebula, so i’m curious if there are behind-the-scenes policies i’m not privy to.
Yeah but no I've seriously met a LOT of people from Brazil in the goofy online games I play. I wonder why Brazilians like to hang out online so much? The folks I've met are also really plugged into world affairs; they're not just paying close attention to Brazilian news.
This set dressing is spectacular
This was so incredibly done, Abi 🙏✨
I cant imagine how long you rehearsed the script to nail a 40m single take !!
The use of music and movement to break up the video without cutting was such a nice detail!
I've thought about making some videos in a format like this before and you have hugely re-inspired me, so thank you!!
I wish I was able to pull off the Batman Villain look.
She does look like a batman villain. Awesome.
Have enough tragedy and anger and you can
Didn’t Jordan Peterson wear that exact suit
harvey dent sort of outfit
I think we all have a Batman villain inside us.
I genuinely really loved this format, it feels very personal, in a way? Which felt like a nice touch. Loved how the camera was allowed to be shaky in places, too.
Bustin' makes me feel...
_•checks notes•_
...myths!
Oh god. I don’t have TikTok, but I’m on all the like adjacent apps and I just deleted instagram yesterday because it was making me so ill. I turned 18 this year and it’s the first presidential election I can vote in, but it’s really hard to feel enthusiastic about participating when it feels like no option is really a good option. I feel just like. So burnt out and cynical. I keep seeing people I trust falling for the absolute dregs of misinformation or being super reactionary, and it really sucks. This video literally could not come at a better time holy shit 😔
My first election was 2016 - I remember asking my dad over and over "is it always like this?" and he always said "No... No this is new..."
And it's only gotten worse ever since 😂😂😢
Do not let the depression of the moment get to you.
That's what evil wants. For you to walk away. Stay involved, keep learning.
Together we win and finally build a world for everyone.
I just have IG to keep up with friends, the rest of it is like Reels content slurry where it's "oddly satisfying" videos of somebody working in a factory or somebody doing some nonsense, it's like the equivalent of jangling shiny keys in front of a baby at this point
the best way in this case is to vote against the worst option. e.g. almost anyone would be a better option to replace Putin because replacement is already an improvement
Trust me your 40yr old self will look back thanking the stars Trump won.
Unless he’s the antichrist lol.
There is an article in Al Jazeera, from a writer in Tunisia about the exaggerated role of social media in those Arab Spring movements. Much of the organisation is in person, offline, or through one to one communication, not broadcast.
Social media was fairly new at the time the Arab spring happened and in hindsight it just all kinda seems like a huge puff piece to make people who didn’t actually live there think that we were all living in the future or something because look at all the cool stuff the internet is doing
Like it just became like one of those car advertisements where the cars are driving around in the middle of a rugged desert and doing crazy off road stuff in the mud, but if you actually bought that car you’d just spend most of your time in it stuck in traffic on the way to the grocery store, but for social media
The whole Arab spring moment was extremely over-hyped in retrospect and achieved none of its major goals.
@@jonathanbowers8964its goals were extremely nebulous and idealistic, not that they were “over-hyped.” “Democracy, freedom, anti-corruption, bread, and social justice” are good rallying cries but they aren’t good policies or practical solutions to the more systemic issues in the global order. At that time, people were unfortunately dumb enough to think that Liberal Democracy is the best form of government and the current liberal world order would allow people to be autonomous. In Egypt and Tunisia the people were successful and elections were held, and people and parties that threatened Western powers and their proxies (namely Israel and Saudi Arabia) immediately took power and were immediately conspired against. There is genuine history here and the take away isn’t “durr social media” or “durr they didn’t achieve their goals bro!” Both are incorrect, incredibly ignorant and just vapid and uncritical statements.
The Arab Spring was real - but the US worked damn hard to make sure it didn't change anything from the status quo.
@@jonathanbowers8964 all too easy to be cynical in hindsight
one take impressiveness. Really appreciate how this channel, all the people that make the videos possible, pushes for amazingly produced videos. You all record with such reverence for cinema, visual arts, fashion, and beyond. love it
Thank you very much!
During COVID restrictions, I noticed that the most COVID skeptic people would follow the guidelines if they were strictly enforced, and would mock and flout the guidelines if they were weak / voluntary. I swear to God I don't think of myself as an authoritarian cuz that's a weird thing call yourself, but I saw firsthand the difference between Americans asked to do the right thing and Americans ordered to do the right thing.
Fun fact: Penn Jillette publicly renounced right libertarianism after an entire lifetime and career based on it, because he saw how American right-libertarians responded to the idea of taking personal responsibility during COVID
Sometimes you have to just make people do stuff 🤷
Even literal anarchists I've listened to stress that for communities and common resources to work there absolutely have to be clearly defined and enforced rules and boundaries. They just need not to be defined and enforced by a ruling class. Leaving people to their own devices with no sanctions or consequences for bad behavior is plain foolishness.
@@eyesofthecervino3366 My problem with that is, don't the people who define and enforce those rules and boundries automatically become the ruling class? In a large enough community, some people naturally end up taking a bigger role in defining, and deciding on the enforcement of the rules.
@@erilgaz
Agreed. My problem here is that the opposite is also true -- if you don't define and enforce rules and boundaries somebody's going to accumulate enough power or leverage to become a tyrant some other way. Way l see it I don't think there's any kind of utopian scenario where liberty and equality will become effortless resting states, I think even in the best case scenario they'll need to be constantly protected and cultivated, and people will have to be aware of and guard against the tendency of power to accumulate and entrench itself.
@@eyesofthecervino3366Is that anarchism or is that libertarianism at that point?
Unironically I think this might be your best video, the one take really made it feel distinct from a lot of other creators while still maintaining the PhilosophyTube vibe
Wow, thank you!
The ending subtitles are always a treat. Thank you for timing them so well: I can read them without haste.
CHUUUUUBE!
was literally talking about how social media and the constant barrage of information can make people too tired to think properly about politics the other day lmao excellent timing. from personal experience, it can be a bit frustrating to watch people experience the learned helplessness thing. i work at a nursing home where so many of our long-term residents are very acutely aware of how bad things could be if a certain annoying orange was re-elected, but a lot of them in the same breath say theyre not going to vote because theres no point, thus ignoring the fact that if all of them did vote, there'd be just that much more of a chance to have change. a lot of them spend the majority of their time watching the news constantly, which cannot be helpful in keeping their mental health good, among other things. one of the most insidious things that i think has ever come about is the propagation of the idea that voting cannot do anything, and therefore you shouldnt try. its gotten into enough people's heads unfortunately that it's become a bit of a reality.
also, i wanted to say i really like your costume/character for this one and the set! i love the library feel to it and the fact that you kinda reminded me of the mad hatter was just delightful :) it sorta feels like youre walking up to us like "hello, would you like to learn about social media and democracy? no? too bad, im going to tell you anyways". absolutely superb vibes as always :D
BRAVA. This was so good I’m legit angry at how brilliant it was. Just how dare you. You are busting. With talent.
I'm already hooked by the start! A single take video?! AWWWWWWW YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH DIS GONNA BE GUUUUUUUD
art school critique-style thought: doing the whole video with no cuts is a fantastic way to get us (the audience) in the headspace of exhaustion without busting... our ability engage. Chef's kiss on that artistic direction!
When you said "middleware" it immediately made me think of Ground news as a possible example of it
I'm getting sick of it being pushed by so many "left" influencers. Like it's so fucking centrist. I know what Republicans say and lie about. I don't need to try to seek out "unbiased" or "middle" sources nor do I need to see "blind spots" which always amount to entirely fabricated conspiracy theories the right believes in alone.
Omg why aren't any Democrat leaning sources talking about how Kamala poisoned that well and killed 1000000jillion babies and shipped them to be slaves to China and replaced them with Mexican pedophiles with her Jewish space lazer ... Omg why don't you seek out a balanced news diet you echo chambery babies
I still don't know what to think of GroundNews NGL.
@@witherschatIt's better than the bare minimum (habitually checking 2-3 news sites that generally align with your politics) but not a replacement for actually thinking critically.
@witherschat yeah, I'm not convinced, either. I treat the journalistic media with a great deal of skepticism, anyway. I've really practiced my parsing and understanding of semantics, so that helps a great deal in learning what is relevant and what isn't, to me, at least.
I thought of ROS (Robotics Operating System) but I think that's down to my robotics studies
8:26 I'm glad that Folding Ideas' videos are so in-depth that you can cite them in other in-depth pieces like these.
0:37 She's gonna bust
Great start, honestly 😂😂😂😂
Myths
I been saying this
i paused right on 0:37 lol thanks for the heads up
Hell yes. THIS is the type of work that inspires my own art, re-opens my eyes to the blurred, perhaps nonexistent boundary between "I can" and "I can't."
Being honest and genuine in the digital landscape becomes a detriment to one's financial/social success, it seems; and creativity feels solely like a tool to be gamified or exploited for capital; yet despite this wave of targeted, high-tech, shined-shit content, pieces of media like this video - that embraces weirdness - give me hope for art in the future.
Thanks for another banger, Abi. I have much to think about.
the general frantic and messy aesthetic of this video keeps reminding me of Some More News. i always love the work you put into the staging of videos!!
16:14
When you were talking about Middleware, I thought this was setting up an ad spot for Ground News. 😂
More like a warning to be careful with that!
@@HannahFortalezza not trying to be rude but just genuinely wanting to know if you have the time, how is it a warning. I’m trying to understand this video better.
@@sierrah5928 she was mentioning middleware as a possible solution to some of the issues we see, but then she went on to say that those who make the middleware can have their own agendas (and in the example she gave, they do have their own agenda), hence ground news being a middleware as well could also have an agenda at play, either intentionally or unintentionally through their own biases or their algorithm(s) with a bias. To me it’s a bit of a black box that you can’t really be sure about. Additionally the Overton window has shifted to the right over the years so if it says something is extreme left, is it really? Or is it close to being a centrist position?
@@HannahFortalezza Okay thank you I understand now! I thought that was kind of what she was saying just wasn’t sure. And you made a good point at the end!
27:32 "I pass the test... I shall go into the West, and remain Galadriel"
I had the exact same thought I swear I briefly heard Cate Blanchett from some deep crevasse in my mind
Shooting this in one take with a fabulous costume, incredible set and, of course, stunning acting, made a difficult and dark topic easier and more enjoyable to consume and digest. Well done, Abigail! 👏🏻
ok, i'm 5:27 in and i think you just outdid my favourite "one take" team....shout out to the cinematographer and sound team...i assume ther's a whole team.... that under the desk move was solid! right anyhoo now i know what i'm in for ......
You can read who the sound team and camera team is by turning on captions on the credits
I enhoyed the real-time example of checking your sources biases - will be clipping that for educational purposes.
To quote ghostbusters.
"Busting Makes me feel good!".
😂
15:48 "middleware" is actually the exact thing that Bluesky is focusing on, and it's been interesting to see how it plays out. There can be good uses but it's also a huge privacy nightmare & spews data everywhere to who knows where, which sounds like a repeat of Cambridge Analytica. There are models that would allow more visibility/control, but that's not what bluesky implements, they don't even give you a way to see which "middleware" has seen your data nor an ability to prevent your data from going to certain places. (In bluesky, middleware is relays, feeds, and moderation services)
I think this is probably my third favourite episode of all time (after the one on Butler, and the one on the NHS). This was a great writing and acting accomplishment. Love where this channel is going!
My favorites change daly..or depending on the mood..but those were great ones (but the song from the nhs one becomes an earworm really fast ;))
This was on another level. Authenticity of no edits mixed with the canned forgetting lines mixed with sincere moments bringing it back with the acknowledgment that creating content is feeding that beast but it isn't necessarily hypocritical. Like...this needs a few watches to properly digest.
What's so weird about this video for me, and it's a great video, is I'm doing a social media and politics course - and loads of the sources you mentioned are a big part of that! Really interesting discussion here and while I do try to remain optimistic about this sort of activism - there are absolutely downsides to it. But one of the greatest boons of social media activism in my eyes is accessibility, activists who previously were geographically isolated, physically or even socially isolated are able to take part in movements they couldn't previously.
...However, just as you said, it's so easy for purely online activism to be discounted and ignored.
Wow i cant believe you spouted this all off the dome! Thats crazy. Great worm
Great work
@@smartkaboose3806 Great worm is funnier, please leave it
This is one of the best videos on TH-cam and ad read I’ve ever heard thus far. I wish all the content creators did a quick breakdown of their sponsors like this. It was actually easy to understand.
I fear for my life I'm in TX been hard enough fighting my state for my right to exist but then going against the feds is practically impossible. I'll be alright have been for 65 years think another 20 or 30 more years should be able to handle
Hey TX! I’m Texas too 👋🏻
Also in Texas. I want life without fear for you and for all of us too.
I’m also a Texan, and trans. I’m really hoping I can still get healthcare and not have to worry about losing access before I can even start…
In Texas, voted on Tuesday. Wasn’t old enough to when 2016 happened and making damned sure I go up and down the ballot ever since.
Im glad you're still here. Also from Texas being trans and poor here sucks i hope we all make it together
"I'm gonna bust..." *Pauses to look at script* "-These myths!
Considering you're dressed like Dean Pelton in that one episode of Community, I should have seen a joke like that cumming... *Looks at notes* no no, I think I spelt that right...
😂
I love reading the captions during the credits. Something about it restores my soul.
The problem seems to be with liberal democracy in particular, which is to say political freedom on paper but also total economic subservience to capital.
My thoughts all the way through this. The problems with democracy have been identified. Our current system is not democratic. It's a dictatorship of the wealthy. The people get paid lip service while the elite actually make the decisions over everyone's lives. The only truly democratic action possible under the dictatorship is to rebel against it.
The problem with democracy is it's not democracy, it's a placebo.
(This is Laura writing; I share Robert’s account) You are genuinely the best at pulling together the frustration of information and the way people talk about information, then how they slide into the “the smart people know best” mindset, and we’re suddenly talking eugenics, but technoeugenics, where the most technologically privileged people are somehow the smartest, b/c the person arguing with me just bought the latest whatever. It drives me crackers, b/c it’s so clearly predisposed to advantage that person, they might as well be a guy saying “well, men are hunters, and women are gatherers, so men are superior” on a first date. …Though I’m devastated the Death video didn’t get as much engagement; it was AMAZING. 💜💜💜
This was fantastic! Greatest respect to you and your crew for pulling it off
beautifully with everyone apparently surviving!
As a current Nebula subscriber (and code person), I honestly loved hearing all the details of how they collect and use data! Its cool to hear that they/y'all take privacy and AI etc seriously and build as much as possible in house
What does premium mean? How, why and in what way is Nebula "premium"?
It would be cooler if they allowed their contributors to speak about Palestine.
@@thumper8684 I think she meant it in that it's one that you pay money for compared to platforms like youtube where it's free but ad supported
I remember the Occupy movement. The most frustrating part of that time was that movement's leaders' absolute refusal to get involved in the tedious, boring, unglamorous behind-the-scenes work needed to build a lasting coalition and create solutions to the problems they pretested. Getting on TV with drum circles and human megaphones were one thing, but when it became time to propose answers and advocate for something, they had nowhere to go. It made their protest theatre easy to mock and ultimately ignore.
What’d you rather they do? Have a nice chat over coffee with the 1%?. Lib
I have the same opinion of Jill Stein and the Green Party. Pops up ever 4 years, talks a lot of smack against 'the establishment', pulls in a fair amount of donations and a few votes and then...vanishes for another 4 years. Any true leftist party would need to build coalitions and voting blocks and victories in lower offices.
@@macaronisexone thing they could have done, which conservatives have been doing for years (and have wreaked havoc on society because of how effective it is), is run for office in local government positions like city council and school boards. That way they could have established themselves as legitimate people to listen to, they could work their way up through the government and by now they would be influencing at least state laws if not federal laws. Protests are a starting point for progress, they're not a solution in themselves. The point of a protest is to attract attention so that your movement gains momentum when you take real, tangible steps to do something to create change.
@@macaronisex I think they wanted the leaders to actually organize, and Organizing requires Organization. Shepherding people to cause a scene in a public place does not a lasting movement make. Not on its own, anyway. If you want to last, you need to do boring shit like logistics and structuring your leadership and actually pointing your fervent masses to a less vague goal. None of which they committed to, and they imploded. Simple as.
Care to share the sources of this conclusion? Which unglamorous, behind-the-scenes work? ‘Cause I’m aware of a lot of occupy people who have kept the flame burning while Obama was droning weddings and “realists” were building solutions with Joe Manchin.
Abigail, this is a masterpiece from start to finish. The idea, the acting, the set, the costumes, the philosophy - (chefs kiss)
It is fundamentally undemocratic for the government or large multinational corporations to surveil citizens and collect and stockpile their personal data.
Holy cow, Caitlin and Abigail on the same day. That starts off my weekend right.
Lol, I'm watching this directly after Cromwell's head!😂
@@amorphoussolid8512 SAME. :D :D
Absolutely loved this type of format. MOAR
Core memory from the early-ish targeted ads:
For about 3-5 months I was bombarded with ads from a sperm bank. Oh, I'm AFAB nonbinary, by the way, though at the time I still thought I was a woman. This is relevant, I swear!
The sperm bank was looking for donors.
I'm sorry but I don't understand. Would you mind explaining to an idiot? 😅
I get a lot of stuff targeted to AMAB folks - while I do on occasion shop in the men's dept for clothes due to my height, some of the ads are definitely intended for someone with different biology than mine 🤨
Honestly it's kinda funny still, but it's incredibly odd either way 🤷
@@bellablue5285 A while back, I got a bunch of ads for tampons. Given I'm comfortably AMAB, I found that very funny.
All of my junk mail is assigned to “Mr. My name,” despite me being cis female.
I’ve always wondered about that. My name is classically a female name, but also a bit uncommon. But it’s strange that every junk mail place would incorrectly guess Mr.?
I am fairly masculine in my shopping, I guess.
The whole concept surrounding the bizarre fact that there are a lot of things no one is accountable for is covered very well in Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism"
Wow, you are such a gifted speaker. I can’t believe you did that without cuts.