This is fascinating. I'm actually a child trauma therapist. The entire time I was watching Acolyte, particularly the episodes where it explains what happened to the witches and when Osha kills Soel, I was legitimately baffled by what the author's intent was. Am I SUPPOSED to identify with Osha and the witches? Am I SUPPOSED to view THEM as the victims? Or is the intent that no, they see themselves as the victims but are, in fact, the aggressors?...because that's what is ACTUALLY presented! It's this bizarre ideology of dodging accountability by pointing the finger at everyone else. It's this promotion of feelings over logic, violence over rational discourse. This ideology that IF you feel it, it MUST be right and even fact. The entire time I kept thinking, "So if I'm supposed to think the Jedi are evil...you failed miserably." It's this clash between what's actually being presented and what the intent of the presentation is. We're presented with Jedi reacting...frankly...how anyone would have. The witches escalated the situation. Yet the author THINKS she's just presented a context in which the Jedi are evil...but instead has only presented that she, in fact, is amoral and narcissistic.
It's possible you're looking at multiple competing creative visions. If some of the writers were good at their jobs or Disney intervened, that would explain inconsistency. However, Headland cited various dozens of inspirations from Frozen to Kill Bill to I think Fight Club. But ideas have to form a cohesive whole. I'm sure she's creative. Having an idea every couple seconds might impress Kathleen Kennedy, but it risks making your work a bizarre assemblage. If you watch a Tarantino film, you might get the sense of him as being a hyperactive toddler in terms of constant ideas and references. But he would need the (genuine) discipline to think "oh, that's a bad idea" or "this is getting noisy". The old joke of a pitch was to trap an exec in an elevator and ramble "it's like rambo meets driving miss daisy". If you have more inspirations, then the pitch might become "it's like rambo meet driving miss daisy meets Passion of the Christ meets Debbie Does Dallas meets The Muppets meets Triumph of the Will." Just spitballing in the hope that you confuse an executive into thinking you're Tarantino. It would become easy for a film to get convoluted and to forget to include necessary pieces of the puzzle.
It is especially insightfully ironic when you ponder how this narrative was also intended to have direct meanings to Lesley's own life. There's the unspoken question that an audience that knows those connections about the show and how failed of a presentation is about its intended meaning - just how much of Lesley's actual life is also equally and sadly misunderstood, miscommunicated, and misinterpreted. It's a really tragic insight that shows itself as Lesley describes things very typical of a father's love for his daughter as sexist, and so on.
@@maxmiller5619 What's funny is when the head witch goes "you would have our children raised by an institution instead of a family" like being isolated, having 30 aunts and no other children around isn't a red flag. (I'm pro-homeschooling, but when the home is a literal cult compound it's more than a bit unhealthy). Also while the leader could've been quicker in telling the Jedi that she was giving them her blessing to take Osha, literally every other witch wanted a fight to the death. Horned mom even suggested killing the Jedi when they wanted to test the girls.
For the life of me I don’t get that’s such an American thing to say…. Heck we Latin people are culturally, devout Catholics for the most part….. hardly ever hear anyone who’s not particularly religious whine about it….. cause we all got the old spinster aunt who’s a mass devotee and EVERYTHING is a sin….
Usually when people say that they aren't Christian anymore. Like me. But I'm not mentally disturbed like Leslie and still have a good relationship with my still Christian parents.
Leslie being so sympathetic towards the dark side makes a lot more sense after this video. Truly, she has what it takes to assume the mantle of Sith Lord from her Master Weinstein.
Imagine how horrible this person is if she knew EVERYTHING. If she saw what he was doing for a long time and felt not even a little sympathy to his victims.
Whats Ironic is... the Sith is a Religion aswell, which is an example of She doesn't understand Star Wars. The Acolyte wasn't even about the Sith. the Smilo is just a dark user, If he actually said any of what he said to Osha to his Master he would have been Executed for failing the Sith.
@@BlueBD Because you're allowed to & encouraged to mock religion, especially ✝ but there seems to be some the general public are dissuaded from & maybe even prevented from criticizing... Curious. 🤔
@@Margatatials IT'S NOT A PHASE, DAD!!!! I'm going to LA and gonna intern for Harvey Weinstein!!! Can you help pay for travel expenses and my rent for the next 6 years? (absence of a 'thanks')
@@rayn0577 I don’t know what her relationship with her dad was like. If she grew up in a traditional Christian home then Dad might not have approved of her non-traditional lifestyle. That doesn’t mean the rest of us want to join her as she works through her issues.
There's this trend in media these days, where the main conflict of the story is that someone ELSE has to change in order for you to be happy. That it's other people's fault you have problems in your life. It's a really destructive message because it teaches people to abdicate their own agency. The message is that YOU don't have to change, you don't have to move beyond other people. You just need to wait for other people to fix your problems for you.
@@SoshulComCaptain Marvel, she learns that she was perfect all along and the only reason she didn't realize it was because other people told her she wasn't. In Encanto Bruno was a good boy all along but their evil grandmother was wrong and mean. In Noelle she's the perfect replacement for Santa Claus but the evil Christmas patriarchy has an arbitrary law stating that Santa must be a man.
A viewpoint that's really seemed to catch on with current gen. "Thanks for ruining the world, boomers. It's your fault I can't get a job or a mortgage."
This mentality is very common for people with unresolved issues or simply mental disorder. And quite often, they do not know they have a problem. They feel sad because it feels like entire world is being bad to them. Why are you so evil, world? Why can't you be a bit better? And no matter how much better the world would get; it would not be enough because the problem is not it.
There's an old paradox a friend told me once: "people despise being told what to do but adore telling other people what to do. Most anti-theistic sentiment can be found not in the existence of God but God's moral system yet when given the chance, will impose the strictest moral system upon you"
She's a sad embittered woman whose relationship with her parents and her father especially deteriorated due to her life choices and her hatred of her family's religion and politics. Her father's death denied her of his admission of defeat.
I know it sounds patronizing, but after all this, I can't help but feel a little bad for her. You're right, she'll never whatever magic apology she fantasized about, and she can't let go of it, so now a dead guy is going to keep eating at her forever.
@@RogerCaplan Exactly. I think she's just upset that her dad "had a pair" and stood on business. Notice how all her male characters are ineffectual and almost effeminate.......including the "bad boy" character. Soy bad boy? When was that a thing?
You know the clone wars show did acolyte better than acolyte, it was about Asoka being framed for murder and the Jedi council did not believe her innocence except for anakin, her mentor, who proved Asoka’s innocence, leading to the Jedi council asking her back, without saying sorry, causing Asoka to reject being a Jedi. This animated series cover all the points the writer thought she was covering and did them better.
Hot take: that was a better finale for TCW than the Siege of Mandalore. I love Siege of Mandalore to death, but I think it hits harder to end the series with Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order and Anakin losing another woman in his life.
The best part is that they didn't have Asoka fall to the dark side or demonize the Jedi to find some sort of comfort or justification for leaving, she just realized how screwed the Jedi were and peaced out.
I've noticed the uptick in shows treating religious people like they're idiots but Leslye's view of them is jaw-dropping. Yikes. Great video, Greg! This is definitely one of my favorite video series on TH-cam.
that has been going on for like half a century. possibly more. also notice that they only mock Christianity. the other two Abrahamic religions seem to get a pass
It's boldly defeating a straw man. It's the heroism of attacking an inanimate object. It's meaningless politically. And it can result in cheap writing. If you need the events to unfold in a certain way, then you can just write them to unfold a certain way. It can result in inorganic work. It can remove surprise from your fictional world. Not everything is High Art, but someone read me a quote from Nabokov in which he seemed to glory in the idea of showing a world that differed from reality. Similarly, I think some Dadaists had quotes about training themselves to avoid adhering to their own tastes (though they might have been aware of a level of contradiction). A christian author writing an antichristian work might be interesting. An atheist challenging themselves to write in praise of Christianity would be an interesting challenge. Leslie wants this thing to be arty - rather than just a piece of pop culture. If she wants it to be arty, then a plot of "people I don't like behaving poorly to confirm my world view" is going to risk seeming flat, infantile. If you want to land a blow, then you're going to have a motivation that might blind you if some of your characters aren't behaving like human beings. I think Trinity, Jecki and Jord have moments that seem like they should complicate things. Their deaths are relatively heroic. But Headland was very explicit in terms of her thought process and when she had characters in-universe blurt out her politics. If Jedi were stand-ins for christians, then some of them being decent seems like complicating her position. However, it's possible that Disney pressured Headland to make concessions or one of the writers on the show knew that messaging is more effective if you aren't smashing your audience over the head with it.
@Crimson522 Every now and then they mock Judaism, but the only ones who do that are themselves irreligious Jews (Woody Allen, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogan) but that is rare. The other one though they won't touch with a ten foot pole. Which is rather telling, if you ask me.
There's a really good video on this, it's a little dated now but all of its points and examples still stand, called "Hollywood vs Religion" by Michael Medved.
Vaders betrayal of palapatine is usually referred to as vaders redemption among fans, I think george may have even wanted it to be viewed that way. Thats why he is shown returning as a force ghost, to show that he rejected the dark side in the end even though he didnt live long enough to make most past wrongs right.
As a female let me assure you the acolyte is NOT for me. Especially as a female Star Wars/scifi/comic/AD&D/fantasy and scifi books fan. I want heros to win and I want the story to be about something other than family drama or romance.
I think the "female audience" she is talking about are the ones raving about Fourth Wing or whatever. What's crazy is that the things she is proud of for being "for the ladies" is the most insultingly stereotypical crap.
@@gregowen2022 Well, stereotypes are kind of real. Of course not everyone, but obviously there is something Sigmund Freud called "penis envy". No guy likes "50 Shades of Grey", or thinks about Lightsaber as a phallic symbol.
@@gregowen2022 Sigmund Freud would disagree with you. And psychologists do agree that Women have those thoughts. Of course not all. But again, it's not the men who watch "50 Shades of Grey" or think about Lightsaber as a phallic symbol.
She literally admits, with the 'killing the dream' quote, that the entire point of the Acolyte was to take a massive dump on the entire concept of the Jedi. And Kathleen Kennedy was like "GO for it!". Outrageous. I can't imagine why people who love Star Wars would have an issue with the show.
@@JZStudiosonline Indeeds chief. Though tbf we wouldn't get such positivity _peak_ videos like this four parter here. Silver lining and all that ya sees.
@@furnoprime9439 Watching people dunk on Star Wars has become the entertainment SW used to provide. Ironic. Cool. Cathartic. But also very, very bittersweet.
I am adult woman but I for sure never wanna loose the support and care that my father gives me. I respect his opinion and he respects me and my choices. I really REALLY feel bad for girls with daddy issues...
In general, I think that sexual innuendos (and sex jokes) are some of the cheapest things to write. Just about anything can be turned into it if you want to, so there's hardly any imagination behind it. There are definitely moments where you can joke about, talk about, and allude to sex, but there's a definite quality difference between someone who has used it in a functional way within the story vs stuffing an entire narrative with it. Anyway, I enjoyed this overview. I do love Dr. Greg. Make sure that he doesn't down that entire bottle of apple juice in one sitting.
I completely agree. Sex jokes that are clever are tough to pull off, and most people don't even try. Whoa, whole bottle?! Dr Greg is almost 40, that much sugar would give him the night sweats something awful. Oh, that was the oldest thing I've ever said.....
when you’ve never truly suffered or had real worries in your life, things like an overly caring or even over bearing father figure become your biggest struggle from which to draw on for inspiration because you’ve got nothing else going on. Can’t relate
Honestly thank you for digging so deep. In other corners of the Internet, there are so many lies about “how good this show was” and “why it deserved a second season” that it feels really good to know that I’m not crazy and other people did see how terrible it was for so many reasons
The Acolyte is Star Wars' Velma. Not only in writing, but also in production/how it was made. For real, every animatic review from Velma felt like a bad therapy session.....except with the whoooole production crew. As someone who worked on the production side, it was shocking and uncomfortable, but it feels EXACTLY like the Acolyte.
@@gregowen2022 10000%! I hope the industry is on the verge of change after so many hard core flops. I love working in animation, but I'm lower level so I can't speak out against the nonsense without legitimate threat of losing my job. Keep fighting the good fight Greg! You're speaking for all of us who can't!
@@JZStudiosonline Yeahhh me speaking out and then getting fired and immediately forgotten about does absolutely nothing to change the entertainment industry. People like Greg who have a platform speaking truth does a whole lot more. Me "being silent" to stay in the entertainment industry, so I can make genuine connections with people who have views I don't agree with rather than yelling at them and leaving, and then having the shot at making something that's not complete dogwater or having some influence over part of a project holds more value than you may think.
@@Dumparinothat person was trying to be deep with “Evil wins…”. They failed miserably, but they tried. That was written by someone who does not have a job to lose.
I feel so sad for Lesley's mother. Imagine if your husband died of an ilness, only for your daughter's fictional incarnation to brutally murder your husband's fictional incarnation because of quote "homophobia and sexism."
The fact that Lesley Headland looked at modern media and said, "What my young female audience needs is to see a man looking for physical intimacy with a woman!" is laughable and kind of sad. Like trust me, I'm pretty sure most young women have seen guys looking for "physical intimacy" with a woman and nothing else. The fact that she decided go further with this and made the man in question a sociopathic manipulative abuser is kind of concerning.
When I heard the interview with Lesley Headland after the series finale, I had two thoughts: one, that only poorly written stories need the director and a compliant journalist to explain to the audience what they didn't understand. And two, after hearing that memorable line about how Sol's acceptance of his own death is an insult to May, depriving her of the pleasure of deciding to take a life herself, I thought, as I think everyone else does, that this woman is not just bad at her job, but seriously in need of help. That such a clearly disturbed and amoral person has been entrusted with hundreds of millions and a series intended for a mass audience is truly the most disturbing thing here, much like the Velma series.
Patty Jenkins was going to do a Rogue Squadron movie because she grew up with her Air Force fighter pilot father and wanted to honor him. Instead we got this.
How am I supposed to finish Wind & Truth when Dr. Greg is dropping videos like this? I paused my book to listen to you talk about a show I didn't watch, made by people I don't know, and honestly, a topic I don't care about...and I even liked the video. Well done sir. You have my algorithm exactly where you want it.
My brothers and I made an oathpact that we would listen to Day 10 together and that those ahead would wait for those behind. I now empathize with the Heralds so much. HOW DID THEY HOLD OUT SO LONG?!?!
Now that I'm wrapped up with this, I'm so ready to dive into Wind & Truth! My only worry is that I didn't make time to reread the preceding books this year, so I'm afraid I'll be the Gandalf "I have no memory of this place" meme for a few chapters, lol
@@gregowen2022 At least you have those pro-youtuber glasses from Warby Parker to make your reading experience crystal clear. (Pro-commenter move, plz sponsor me)
@@gregowen2022 At least you possess your polished, pristine pair from Warby Parker, providing a plush and premium perusal experience through the crystal-clear, coveted lenses crafted by the celebrated and chic company. (Pro-commenter move; plz sponsor me)
"You always think you're right" Of course I do! Why would I be holding strong options and defending them if I thought they were wrong? It's the worst insult because, guess what? You think you're right too, thus we have conflict.
The only way to not think you're right about something, anything really (club sandwiches are better than pastrami, Christianity is better than shinto, Spider-Man is better than Batman, baseball is better than hockey, whatever) is to have absolutely zero opinions or ideas on anything. Evan Sayet actually spoke about this 15 years ago, he called it the "cult of indiscriminate-ness." Look that up, it's worth your time.
My personal favourite is how people say that hoping to exploiting your own capacity for self-reflection... a capacity they themselves lack. They don't doubt themselves. They want you to doubt yourself.
The big issue is that her strong opinions are objectively wrong in the eyes of every human being with a working brain. However she actively acts like this isn't true and attacks anyone who realizes it.
@@CoryTheRaven Oh I know and that's infuriating because the only way to fight that is to become zealous and essentially purge self doubt which can itself be a slippery slope, but anything less than an unrelenting offensive and pure screw you attitude won't do squat against those dark triad types, the very instant there is even the slightest hesitation, doubt or being put on the defensive in any way is shown they know they've won the argument not factually or morally but in terms of convincing the audience because all arguements are performances at the end of the day.
First of all, massive props to Greg for all the time and effort he took into making this series of videos. I can confidently say that my time was well spent watching and frankly rewatching theses analyses. And I hope the words I can provide can add to the conversation, even if its not to the same extent as Greg. Regardless, I want to establish that the issue Leslye constantly represents is she believes that concepts matter more than execution. On paper, Leslye is TRYING to do all the things George did to make SW successful; taking inspiration from her own life, writing antagonists as an allegory for contentions she has in the real world, and so on. However, Leslye's story, as Greg rightfully points out, is contingent on you sharing EXACTLY her world view, so if you don't bring this attitudes and beliefs into the show as you watch the Acolyte, you will EASILY see why it is both morally and technically so very VERY wrong. In a previous comment on these videos, I mentioned a character I wrote to illustrate my understanding of ones I have written better than Leslye does hers. And I hope that didn't come off as me wanting to flaunt my writing skills, rather I wanted to express simply how incompetent of a writer Leslye is, that she doesn't follow the basic code of being a writer. In any case, I can also say, in the same work, characters go through similar if not entirely the same experiences as myself, however, these experiences are not used to justify the actions they take, rather its to explain WHAT it was that LEADS them to making the choices they do. Once again, I'm not trying to flex how great I am, as there is certainly more I can learn, but again this is all information someone in Leslye's position SHOULD know. Just to illustrate what I mean, lets look at the comic book The Crow, whose writer (forgive me for forgetting his name) lost his fiance and wrote The Crow to work through his grief, where Eric Draven, the titular protagonist, must overcome the grief of losing his own fiance, Shelly. But The Crow isn't just the writer trauma dumping, this isn't "HIS and his fiance's story", but Eric and Shelly's. And its led to The Crow becoming a cult classic to this very day, and Leslye WISHES she could capture something like that in the Acolyte, but also have it be STAR WARS, and as Greg has clearly proven, that simply doesn’t work
Headland clearly has legitimate father issues. I get it, my dad was an emotionally and physically abusive addict. When I got old enough I literally stopped giving him chances and discontinued our relationship because of that behavior towards me over 17 years. Maybe it fuels some deep need I have that I am not aware of but honestly I don’t think about it often. Leslye clearly does.
I agree. She has her father issues and I think that lead to her looking up to and overlooking/accepting Weinstien's behavior. This show is like watching her justify her rejection of her father and her acceptance of Weinstien/Hollywood morals.
Yeah, but it's hard to even say if her dad was truly a bad person. People who get lost in their own heads like this are sometimes the type with understanding parents. Their biggest sin could be overindulgence. A kid spoiled rotten will view every slight as some earth-shattering wrong.
I had an absent father, so I do legit have daddy issues but I still find Headlun and her worldview repulsive. My absent father has made me appreciative of depictions of good father figures in media.
I don't think she makes it seem her dad was objectively abusive either. Like Sol didn't hit Osha or anything. He mostly seemed concerned with how she was doing or what she was feeling and trying to help. None of Headland's stories seem to come from someone who suffered, er, what an outsider would casually recognize as abuse.
I believe it's guilt. As you can see just from these videos, she's not the most honest person. Plus, well.......old Harv and whatnot. She probably left home in a huff, embellished her dad's treatment only for him to die before there was any closure. She's feels extremely guilty, but instead of owning up to it she decided to double down and even made a show to convince herself she was right all along. However, the guilt keeps dripping through.....that explains her obsession with moral ambiguity. She can't be evil for what she did because, "we're all a bit evil and what even is evil?"
I never heard so much explanation for a show by its creators in my life. They went way overboard on interviews and explaining the innuendos of the show.
I miss the days when most of a Star Wars deep dive was about technical achievements, artistry and archetypal themes, not the creative's personal politics and kinks.
I think what annoys me the worst about this show is that, like so many shows that are thinly vieles criticisms on the church, it all boils down to someone mad that their dad told them not to touch themselves at night.
In this particular case, her father told her not to touch other girls at night and to find a nice guy & settle down. It was his only desire to see her succeed. Also, probably spared the rod. See the spoiled child? Also abused children & women via Weinstein. So depressing. 😔
It really gets annoying. This has been going on for centuries by now. Like I get that christianity may not have been absolutely perfect. But like come on, this is just pathetic hate now
3:15, Small nitpick I do agree with you that what Vader did wasn't redemption. It's more so an evil man finally deciding to do the right thing. However I completely disagree with it being a sith like act. The whole point of that scene isn't that he's killing the Emporer out of rage. He's doing it to save his son. Its the first truly selfless and Jedi like act he's done since he became Vader.
Anakin doesn't even use the Force to kill the emperor. Just strength and the bionics that keep him held together. It saved his son, but also guaranteed his death.
i'm notsure I can agree with the idea that he isn't redeemed, at least to some degree narratively. The implication of Anakin standing next to Ben and Yoda does give the idea that he is at least spiritually redeemed even if he has never atoned for all the crimes he has committed.
This! He was *absolutely* exhibiting Love (anathema to Jedi) for his Son. He was using the fuel of the Dark Side for an act of Good. It's not wholly a "redeemed to Balance/Light" in my eyes, but it *is* a redemption to Good. He dies ending a malicious cycle with his own sacrifice.
I think a parent has a duty to get their young child on a good, healthy, proper track. They are not even able to talk until they are around two, let alone understand the complexities of life and good vs bad decisions, so they need guidance and direction for many of their childhood years. As the child grows up they can begin to make their own choices on how to veer off or stay on that track, but as a child they have no idea what is good or bad or healthy etc. Hopefully, you got them on a good track as a young child so if they veer off, it is only into a good adjacent path.
I understand that you fell into the rabbit hole. Lesbian Homelander is truly a unique figure. Not only did she have the leverage to ask for $200 million in hush money from KK, but she also had the power to demand the creation of her own Star Wars show filled with self-insert fan fiction. She took a small part of that $200 million and produced a show where everyone is gay, lame, and bad. It’s like she set out to make Star Wars more ‘lame and gay’ than South Park ever imagined. It’s mind-boggling how someone can wield such power over a nearly 50-year-old franchise and convince a company to fund what they know will be the final nail in the Star Wars coffin. It’s as if she aimed to drag the franchise down, and they let her do it, paid for it, and even hired the big journalists to push the public further down. With that kind of reputation, I’m sure she’s the perfect pick for Marketing Director at Jaguar next. She could close and nail down that coffin so freaking fast.
Well, you see, everything comes to an end. 50 yo franchise too. Nobody competent didn’t wanted to be associated with end of Star Wars, so you have KK and this one. Let it go. Why Greg gives so much attention to this nonsense is beyond me. Like, who the hell cares about personal issues of some nobody? No one, that’s who.
@@leonidfro8302 I care, i asked, this isnt just lesley alone but she represents ALL of hollywood today and greg is completely in the right for exposing what hollywood has becomes, a neo-nobles in era filled with all the indulgent and pevert of modern times
Excellent series of videos Greg. Loved your insights. Thank you. As an aside I'd make the comment that, early on during filming Leslye was having some sort of interview, got a bit emotional, and almost in tears cried "Star Wars saved my life !!". The volcanic irony here is that she then returned the favour by bending Star Wars so far out of shape it became completely unwatchable and, imho, totally incapable of "saving" anybody's life.
I dont know anything about how this lady grew up or her father, but id bet my left arm her dad was great, but that was boring so she invented this whole family dynamic in her head that she needs to heal from
@@John-fk2kyListening to Greg read her interviews, I am inclined to believe both of you. She comes across as someone who probably was very difficult both as a child and an adult
Yeah, I've met some crappy fathers, so I can't say there's a 0% chance he was bad, but her interviews do make it seem like she invents whatever justification she needs to hate someone who disagrees with her
I’ve witnessed this family dynamic repeatedly. A girl grows up to hate her father who definitely wasn’t perfect but certainly doesn’t deserve to be despised. But the whole time, the problem was actually the mother. She’s controlling, fretful, and emotionally abusive. Yet through her master manipulation, she somehow deposits all the blame on dad. I’d bet money that this was the case with Lesley’s family.
Sometimes this show feels like that bit where a kid gets a 0% on a test, which then tells the teacher that they *_must_* have actually known all of the right answers because otherwise how could they have possibly gotten a perfect 0. Surely at some point they should have at least accidentally stumbled into doing something right, but nope. The worst part here is that in many ways Star Wars probably does, at least at this point, need some more 'adult' stories and this just botches them so horribly. You can do 'moral relativism', familial issues, more adult themes, etc. incredibly well without just trying to shove them in like an evil stepsister, but this show (and Leslie herself) just can't figure out how for the life of it. There are Star Wars stories which have explored non-plainly-evil interpretations of the dark side, Andor is a great example of Star Wars being given a more adult tone, and you can handle *_incredibly_* tense family drama without dragging down the tone and making your show into a public therapy session. (This is true even if you wanted to go far more involved than the Luke/Vader relationship dynamic. Endeavour's character arc from MHA is insanely heavy yet the show can manage it without dragging the entire show down into misery theatre) This show just failed to do any of it well. edit : 39:05 I'd agree generally but I have seen this flouted with some degree of success. I'm not a huge fan of Chainsaw Man but I gave it a shot after I was pleasantly surprised by a few anime that I had been putting off (notably MHA and AoT) and basically the entire story is about a dude with just, absolutely *_nothing_* going for him until very recently so he has really mundane goals. (this evolves slightly over the season, but so far there is only upto season 1 so it doesn't evolve that far.) Basically the entire point is that "yes, this is a mundane goal, let's play with that idea".
I want to check out chainsaw man in the same way that I'm wanting to check out this Belatro game that was up for Game of the Year last night. A card game? How can it be so amazing? A guy with a chainsaw head? How can it be so amazing? And yet, I hear nothing but praise for it, so I have to find out! I agree Star Wars could use some deeper topics, but I don't know how much, exactly, and as you said almost every attempt is ham fisted and usually boils down to "what if the bad guys aren't so bad?"
_Dungeon Meshi_ got an adaptation that was quite good although I'm not sure it has some super impactful message. It's pretty wholesome, animated better than Frieren IMHO. Likewise, it seems like the skittle squad is attacking _Sousou no Frieren_ again which as someone older, the initial hook of time in relation to self, relationships with others, and the way the world is painted is a strong hook. They're doing a S2 and the manga still goes on (I haven't read).
I posted this comment on the other video, but it seems it would fit better here. Okay the more Headlynd tries to explain the twins motives the worst it gets. Killing Sol was meant to be Osha declaring she's her own person? except Sol was probably the first person to acknowledge that Osha was an individual instead a twin. The Jedi are not shown suppressing Osha's individuality or independence, in fact the story completely skips Osha's time training to be a Jedi. You know what space magic order was suppressing her personal choice and individuality, her loving coven that was ready to defy their leader's wishes and go to war because Osha didn't want to fufill the role they setup for her. Headlynd wants to explore "what if the parents say no to the Jedi" but decided that a cult ready to crown literal children as their co-messiahs was the alternative. Also Mae, there is something there but Headlynd doesn't want to acknowledge it. I feel a little bad for child-Mae because Horned Mom literally bullies her and puts full responsibility for making Osha stay on her. If Mae was then raised by Horned Mom alone (seriously she just ditches her) to shoulder all the blame for the coven's demise, it'd actually make her a bit more sympathetic. If the final showdown was Horned Mom vs. Sol, that would have weight because the both have some blame for the leader's death. That's when you can do the side switch, Osha is filled with rage and Mae is just tired of being her mother's scapegoat and wants real redemption. No memory wipe needed. Yes I realize that I put more thought in this comment that Headlynd put in her multimillion-dollar licensed fanfic, but I'm also working on my own SW-lite story about long-lost twins on opposite sides of a conflict and them being raised different environments is really important for when they reunite. Meanwhile, the coven may as well have happened a year before the story starts and nothing really would change.
I completely agree, the more she says, compared to what the show contained, the more confused I get. I LOVE your idea of the other mom being the catalyst for Mae making the switch. The treatment of both Osha and Mae in the coven was disgusting, but we're supposed to hate Sol?
@@gregowen2022 I'd call the story half-baked but Headlynd clearly just wanted the batter. Shows like this inspire me to write for all the unintended reasons (hence the final section of my comment). Horned Mom is clearly set up to return later, displays all the "protectivism" traits that Headlynd accuses Sol of having and was the main aggressor of the attack on the Jedi. Making her into Mother Gothel with an axe just makes the most sense.
This is exactly my issue with the MCU film version of the scarlet witch, she has murdered and tortured a lot of people but audiences are rooting for her comeback….but to me she hasn’t been punished for what she has done yet….
There's such a disservice done to female characters nowadays. They lack any opportunity for growth. They're never countered on any of their views so they're boring at face value.
MCU fandom is replete with people cheering for the bad guy. Raceswap Hitler and suddenly he has some good points. Thanos doesn't even understand basic population dynamics but he had some good points. Scarlett Witch is unequivocally a villain, but she has some good points... These people just identify with evil. That is all it is.
@ I loved Sarah Connor, she had range and she had a mission to accomplish, she was a powerful woman who the audience could stand behind…there is a serious problem with the creative people in Hollywood right now
Yet, John Walker kills ONE terrorist and is stripped of all titles, rank, and benefits, and is made into a pariah. Equality is a funny thing, isn't it?
Thank you Greg for taking the time to create this series. Every point you brought was precise and accurate about the dumpster fire that is the Acolyte. The scariest part for me was how Disney didn't even make an effort to screen this show to put a disclaimer for young kids. They allowed a show full of sexual innuendos for all to see. Absolutely scary 😵😖☹️
It was this series that made me subscribe. Sure you could beat the dead horse about how she’s a terrible narcissist who made her career out of staying silent about exploitation of young women, but you don’t you just use her words to dissect her story
Alright, Greg, you got me. Normally, I "like" a video once I've watched it through (if I actually liked it, anyway). It's my way of marking a video as "watched." Today, though, you absolutely got me. I stepped away from making my breakfast to like and leave a comment, because that was incredibly high-effort just for a like. Kudos to you, sir!
I have my last Final Exam in half an hour, unfortunately I'll have to come back later. I was listening to the preceeding videos as a podcast while I studied, so I am looking forward to the finale!
It was much more impactful than a Callum (Mauler) 5 hour video, which there are people who are far exceeding Callum & EFAP at their own game & talent (The Little Platoon, The Despot of Antrim are two that come to mind immediately - there are others... like Greg!)
I'm gonna need a therapy session after this video. Thank you for nailing down the issues with the show, and with Lucasfilm in general when it comes to this franchise. When you pick directors and show runners, you need to pick people who actually care about Star Wars, it's legacy, and what it means to fans of all ages and backgrounds. You can't just hire someone because they are popular or 'hot' right now. Don't hire 'super fans', because that is not an indication they know how to make a good Star Wars show or film. If the people at the top don't understand the product, they will never be able to produce things that speak to the consumers of that product. It's as simple as that. Headland seems to be a perfectly nice person, but she was one of the worst persons to try and bring to life a story set in Star Wars.
Evil legitimately sees good as a bad thing. Toxic people find ways to make good people into villains in their lives. When I'm actively trying to be a better person, act less selfishly, MOST people respond more positively - but a few bad folks react much more aggressively cruel towards me. It can be polarizing to do the right thing. And if you listen to those who are trying to bring you down, you'll never really like yourself. I think it's an important thing to teach kids, that being more kind is important even if it pisses off a few noisy, troll-people. If you try to avoid criticism all your life, you'll smother the best parts of yourself
4:26 you're right. I was called out here. My father acts like he cares about me but in reality he belittles me every time he gets a chance and he makes it so he has plenty.
Hollywierd went from adult professionals to fan fiction self inserts. No wonder it is dying. Not to put too much of a point on it, but this all started with Twilight.
30:17 this whole section is reminding me of a book called "Monsters from the ID" by E. Michael Jones. He talks abput the rise of sex and horror in Hollywood movies
when you first showed up on my feed a few months back i was skeptical . Dudes with glasses and holding coffee in videos was always a pattern for mentally weak and/or a bad moral compass (and coincidentally hard left). so i always avoided them. But you are awesome, Greg. it's great to have a just a normal guy talking about all the craziness and BS in our media
Hahaha, I do appreciate you giving me a try. The coffee and glasses is an unfortunate overlap, but at least I don't have a bad 'stache and/or mullet to go with it. That's the sure sign of a video I'm not going to enjoy
I have literally never head of the "moist cave" concept. It absolutely makes sense that people like that would think of such things and take them seriously, but at the same time that level of stupid makes me cringe deep down inside. But in order to go beyond the stupid, it must first be faced and passed by. Thank you, Greg, for making it easy for me.
Mark twain said, "Never argue with an idiot because they will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." It's pointless to try and make sense out of Lesley headlines idiotic ideals.
Ah, but he never said about not exposing their idiocy. Arguing with Headland and trying to convince her she's wrong is something to be avoided at all cost. But pointing out her idiocy is perfectly fine.
"Obsession with sex and trauma" often struck me as an interesting thing for Hollywood to be obsessed about because so many social media people really have a vitriol vs guys with degenerate straight-male fantasies (which really doesn't feel different from lesbian sex fantasies....it's just that it's catered to straight guys) and would invalidate in the same wavelength the guys who do these to cope with the reality. idk how to word it properly lmao but it just strikes me as a "how the turn tables" situation at a glance.
Usually, when someone writes only about how mad they are at dad and religion, you can tell they were abused in a bad way. I don't get that impression at all from her. It's all so vague and feelings-y. Man alive, what a way to write about your recently deceased dad, too, even if your relationship was contentious- especially if you don't think you'll ever see him again.
In my experience people who say they were “raised Christian but now I’m not” usually mean they went to church around the major holidays and their parents didn’t let them do whatever they wanted.🤷🏽
I legit think Headland is evil. Thats not because she made a bad show, its because the stiff she says in these interviews is so unabashedly, unappologetically twisted.
Most healthy adults are so far beyond this in psychological growth its astoundingly unpleasant to realize this is the present tense of proposed archetypes…
YES! And she's in her 40s! When I was 18, I had plenty of edgy views, too, but for most of us, usually in our later 20s/early 30s, we are too busy or gain enough experience to realize that this mindset is not only incorrect but counterproductive. I guess she hasn't grown out of it because she's somehow been rewarded financially for it. I just don't understand how she doesn't get tired of being so angry all the time. It really does seem exhausting
@I’m glad she’s there though. She’s a walking reminder that money can’t cultivate talent, and salary does not determine a persons value. I hope kids see this hack for what she is and want for more in life.
Ha, as soon as Dr. Greg said "algorithmic", I had a feeling I knew where he was going. I've heard this concept of problematic paternity before, and it's just as troubling now as it was then. During a creative writing course (which I would not recommend anyone interested in "creative writing" takes) I was told by a fellow student, (a very woke trans bloke) that it was infantilization and mysogony in the opening of my book for the 9-year-old female protagonist to be saved by her loving father, because he was taking away her agency. He actually got pretty verbally aggressive about it when I told him I didn't see the problem, but can a character lose agency if they have no options? The girl was going to die, she could not possibly have changed that without the help of another character... No one else I've ever spoken to (normal people) see a problem with a father wanting to protect his child, male or female. My father in particular thought the idea of not saving my sister from danger was insane. It speaks volumes about the person who thinks fathers are wrong by nature, and while you can argue that they might have had a bad experience growing up, that does not mean that fathers are inherently evil. Sorry for the ramble here, Greg, but your early section talking about Leslie's take on fathers just made me think of this and how unhealthy this mindset really is.
Not even 4 minutes in and I had to pause for a WTF moment and process that interview quote about how horrible they thought it was that (paraphrasing) Sol accepted the fact that Osha would kill him despite him only wanting to help her, because that was bad of him not to let her get a satisfactory kill. That's just sick.
I think it is worth spending the time on Leslie, because Leslie is basically a cypher; an AI who churns out the corporate worldview. The Barbie film is another example. Barbie emerges from a fantasy world to face the horrors of middle class sexism. She doesn't emerge to find thousands of women working in sweatshops for subsistence wages to make plastic dolls for middle class girls. Granted, middle class sexism happens. It's a thing. But I think the women in the sweat shop deserve a tad more attention....
The mere idea that someone could entrust a Star Wars property to this woman is evidence of real hatred towards the fans. That this is the track they choose to take in the face of crumbling sales is also remarkable.
Greg forever giving me the best content at the risk of Disney giving him a free vacation to one of their many restaurants is to be commended. Take my like sir😂
Damn, Leslie comes across as a post-modern nihilist stuck in the holywood hyperreality (oversexualised, hedonist, amoral, etc.). Coming from such a position, it is completely understandable why she would associate with the dark side of the force - IMHO she's not interested in the greater good (interdependence), but is all about selfishness and hedonism, i.e. she should be able to do/feel whatever she wants (freedom) in the pursuit of power and pleasure. No wonder she was HW's personal assistant.
I got to the point of him saying, "Not convinced it's supposed to be a p? Here's Quimir's next line." Then I got an ad that immediately started with a guy saying, "Here's how I protect against HIV." I can't help but feel like maybe the show would've been better if that was actually the case. It at least would've had healthier messaging.
I did not expect Dr. Greg's professional opinion to be what it was, and fr choked on my food laughing at his advice. xD Well played, Doctor! Also, I acknowledge that it's my bad and I totally should know better by now to risk any food or drink while watching a Greg video. Mea culpa, mea culpa.
Just wanna say, I know you worked hard for this series of videos and they ended up great. Hope it gives you peace of mind now that it is done. And yeah, we agree with you. It needed to be said and you took the time and effort to say it. Go now and rest my boy.
Using the word "immaculate" to describe the performance of a fill-in-for-my-views character criticizing the chur- i mean, jedi....maybe the writer lady should take the time to understand where that word comes from. Cracked me up.
This is fascinating. I'm actually a child trauma therapist. The entire time I was watching Acolyte, particularly the episodes where it explains what happened to the witches and when Osha kills Soel, I was legitimately baffled by what the author's intent was. Am I SUPPOSED to identify with Osha and the witches? Am I SUPPOSED to view THEM as the victims? Or is the intent that no, they see themselves as the victims but are, in fact, the aggressors?...because that's what is ACTUALLY presented! It's this bizarre ideology of dodging accountability by pointing the finger at everyone else. It's this promotion of feelings over logic, violence over rational discourse. This ideology that IF you feel it, it MUST be right and even fact. The entire time I kept thinking, "So if I'm supposed to think the Jedi are evil...you failed miserably." It's this clash between what's actually being presented and what the intent of the presentation is. We're presented with Jedi reacting...frankly...how anyone would have. The witches escalated the situation. Yet the author THINKS she's just presented a context in which the Jedi are evil...but instead has only presented that she, in fact, is amoral and narcissistic.
It's possible you're looking at multiple competing creative visions. If some of the writers were good at their jobs or Disney intervened, that would explain inconsistency. However, Headland cited various dozens of inspirations from Frozen to Kill Bill to I think Fight Club. But ideas have to form a cohesive whole. I'm sure she's creative. Having an idea every couple seconds might impress Kathleen Kennedy, but it risks making your work a bizarre assemblage. If you watch a Tarantino film, you might get the sense of him as being a hyperactive toddler in terms of constant ideas and references. But he would need the (genuine) discipline to think "oh, that's a bad idea" or "this is getting noisy".
The old joke of a pitch was to trap an exec in an elevator and ramble "it's like rambo meets driving miss daisy". If you have more inspirations, then the pitch might become "it's like rambo meet driving miss daisy meets Passion of the Christ meets Debbie Does Dallas meets The Muppets meets Triumph of the Will." Just spitballing in the hope that you confuse an executive into thinking you're Tarantino. It would become easy for a film to get convoluted and to forget to include necessary pieces of the puzzle.
It is especially insightfully ironic when you ponder how this narrative was also intended to have direct meanings to Lesley's own life.
There's the unspoken question that an audience that knows those connections about the show and how failed of a presentation is about its intended meaning - just how much of Lesley's actual life is also equally and sadly misunderstood, miscommunicated, and misinterpreted. It's a really tragic insight that shows itself as Lesley describes things very typical of a father's love for his daughter as sexist, and so on.
This is the best comment I've ever read on TH-cam, and I'm terminally online.
Honestly those witches were idiots all this could been avoided if they just say NO.
@@maxmiller5619 What's funny is when the head witch goes "you would have our children raised by an institution instead of a family" like being isolated, having 30 aunts and no other children around isn't a red flag. (I'm pro-homeschooling, but when the home is a literal cult compound it's more than a bit unhealthy).
Also while the leader could've been quicker in telling the Jedi that she was giving them her blessing to take Osha, literally every other witch wanted a fight to the death. Horned mom even suggested killing the Jedi when they wanted to test the girls.
I love when people say "I was raised Christian" then proceed to say nothing that would be considered orthodox Christian beliefs.
For the life of me I don’t get that’s such an American thing to say…. Heck we Latin people are culturally, devout Catholics for the most part….. hardly ever hear anyone who’s not particularly religious whine about it….. cause we all got the old spinster aunt who’s a mass devotee and EVERYTHING is a sin….
@@alejandromolinac Because you were conquered by the church and never threw off the yoke
Usually when people say that they aren't Christian anymore. Like me. But I'm not mentally disturbed like Leslie and still have a good relationship with my still Christian parents.
@@SolarisKane Hey... Can I recomend you something? besides, good for you, man :")
@@gabrielcancelado2490 Recommend what? I'm never going back to any religion because none of them are grounded in facts or reality.
Leslie being so sympathetic towards the dark side makes a lot more sense after this video.
Truly, she has what it takes to assume the mantle of Sith Lord from her Master Weinstein.
Imagine how horrible this person is if she knew EVERYTHING. If she saw what he was doing for a long time and
felt not even a little sympathy to his victims.
She should have just went full on sith, nothing but sith. She has no idea what good is.
Also, sup dragon bro!
Whats Ironic is... the Sith is a Religion aswell, which is an example of She doesn't understand Star Wars.
The Acolyte wasn't even about the Sith. the Smilo is just a dark user, If he actually said any of what he said to Osha to his Master he would have been Executed for failing the Sith.
@@BlueBD Because you're allowed to & encouraged to mock religion, especially ✝ but there seems to be some the general public are dissuaded from & maybe even prevented from criticizing... Curious. 🤔
Darth Kennedy is Darth Headloony's Emperor Palpatine.
Bob Egor is the useful eye dee eye oh tee.
Commenting to help Greg continue to thrive through his ADHDTV diagnosis
Commenting too so others can learn about their LG HD TVs from Greg.
If that insane interview tells us anything, it’s that Leslye Headland had a great dad that she does NOT appreciate.
Imagine resenting someone wanting to nurture and protect you
@@Margatatials IT'S NOT A PHASE, DAD!!!! I'm going to LA and gonna intern for Harvey Weinstein!!! Can you help pay for travel expenses and my rent for the next 6 years? (absence of a 'thanks')
@@rayn0577 I don’t know what her relationship with her dad was like. If she grew up in a traditional Christian home then Dad might not have approved of her non-traditional lifestyle. That doesn’t mean the rest of us want to join her as she works through her issues.
There's this trend in media these days, where the main conflict of the story is that someone ELSE has to change in order for you to be happy. That it's other people's fault you have problems in your life. It's a really destructive message because it teaches people to abdicate their own agency. The message is that YOU don't have to change, you don't have to move beyond other people. You just need to wait for other people to fix your problems for you.
Horrific message but which shows are examples of this? Just curious.
@@SoshulComCaptain Marvel, she learns that she was perfect all along and the only reason she didn't realize it was because other people told her she wasn't. In Encanto Bruno was a good boy all along but their evil grandmother was wrong and mean. In Noelle she's the perfect replacement for Santa Claus but the evil Christmas patriarchy has an arbitrary law stating that Santa must be a man.
A viewpoint that's really seemed to catch on with current gen. "Thanks for ruining the world, boomers. It's your fault I can't get a job or a mortgage."
This mentality is very common for people with unresolved issues or simply mental disorder.
And quite often, they do not know they have a problem. They feel sad because it feels like entire world is being
bad to them. Why are you so evil, world? Why can't you be a bit better?
And no matter how much better the world would get; it would not be enough because the problem is not it.
@@RM_VFXwell, let's be fair, they did.
She says she left organized religion but the way she writes about it shows it still runs her life
She left it but cannot leave it alone.
It's also funny how she ignores that the Sith are pretty much the same.
She left organized religion and joined the hollywood cult
A lot of people who are rabid about the 'evils of religion' are actually very religious, just not in a theological way. It's very ironic.
There's an old paradox a friend told me once: "people despise being told what to do but adore telling other people what to do. Most anti-theistic sentiment can be found not in the existence of God but God's moral system yet when given the chance, will impose the strictest moral system upon you"
She's a sad embittered woman whose relationship with her parents and her father especially deteriorated due to her life choices and her hatred of her family's religion and politics.
Her father's death denied her of his admission of defeat.
I know it sounds patronizing, but after all this, I can't help but feel a little bad for her. You're right, she'll never whatever magic apology she fantasized about, and she can't let go of it, so now a dead guy is going to keep eating at her forever.
@@gregowen2022 probably not a good idea to feel bad
Truly sad
Do you think her working for HW was her sidling up to the bad guy? Her moral compass points in the exact wrong direction. @@gregowen2022
Or she could just......grow tf up. Nahhhhh, back to the storyboard for more (b)itching! 😂😂😂
13:11 …. So your dad died during production and you wrote a tv show about murdering your father? Just wow
The entertainment industry is full of the sickest people.
Yea, that’s….honestly kinda demonic when you think about it 🙁
The idea that things like chivalry and protective fatherhood are forms of """benign sexism,""" has done *so much harm* to society at large
Protective fatherhood (Just like motherhood) is here to stay, but I will be more than happy to say bye bye to chivalry 👌👌👌🤌🤌🤟🤟🤟
@@freakingannonymouspanda1766
Chivalry is dead, and women killed it!
Her description of paternal protectionism (when taken to extremes) sounds much closer to being an overbearing mother than a father figure.
@@RogerCaplan
Exactly. I think she's just upset that her dad "had a pair" and stood on business. Notice how all her male characters are ineffectual and almost effeminate.......including the "bad boy" character. Soy bad boy? When was that a thing?
You know the clone wars show did acolyte better than acolyte, it was about Asoka being framed for murder and the Jedi council did not believe her innocence except for anakin, her mentor, who proved Asoka’s innocence, leading to the Jedi council asking her back, without saying sorry, causing Asoka to reject being a Jedi. This animated series cover all the points the writer thought she was covering and did them better.
Although I do think the evidence did point to Asokha being guilt. Especially at first
Hot take: that was a better finale for TCW than the Siege of Mandalore. I love Siege of Mandalore to death, but I think it hits harder to end the series with Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order and Anakin losing another woman in his life.
You just blew my mind.
The best part is that they didn't have Asoka fall to the dark side or demonize the Jedi to find some sort of comfort or justification for leaving, she just realized how screwed the Jedi were and peaced out.
I love that angle so much better than the Acolyte's cheap attempt at defaming the Jedi!
I've noticed the uptick in shows treating religious people like they're idiots but Leslye's view of them is jaw-dropping. Yikes. Great video, Greg! This is definitely one of my favorite video series on TH-cam.
The Left: "How would YOU like it if all the media made fun of YOU all the time?"
Christians: 😐
that has been going on for like half a century. possibly more. also notice that they only mock Christianity. the other two Abrahamic religions seem to get a pass
It's boldly defeating a straw man. It's the heroism of attacking an inanimate object. It's meaningless politically. And it can result in cheap writing. If you need the events to unfold in a certain way, then you can just write them to unfold a certain way. It can result in inorganic work. It can remove surprise from your fictional world. Not everything is High Art, but someone read me a quote from Nabokov in which he seemed to glory in the idea of showing a world that differed from reality. Similarly, I think some Dadaists had quotes about training themselves to avoid adhering to their own tastes (though they might have been aware of a level of contradiction).
A christian author writing an antichristian work might be interesting. An atheist challenging themselves to write in praise of Christianity would be an interesting challenge. Leslie wants this thing to be arty - rather than just a piece of pop culture. If she wants it to be arty, then a plot of "people I don't like behaving poorly to confirm my world view" is going to risk seeming flat, infantile. If you want to land a blow, then you're going to have a motivation that might blind you if some of your characters aren't behaving like human beings.
I think Trinity, Jecki and Jord have moments that seem like they should complicate things. Their deaths are relatively heroic. But Headland was very explicit in terms of her thought process and when she had characters in-universe blurt out her politics. If Jedi were stand-ins for christians, then some of them being decent seems like complicating her position. However, it's possible that Disney pressured Headland to make concessions or one of the writers on the show knew that messaging is more effective if you aren't smashing your audience over the head with it.
@Crimson522 Every now and then they mock Judaism, but the only ones who do that are themselves irreligious Jews (Woody Allen, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogan) but that is rare. The other one though they won't touch with a ten foot pole. Which is rather telling, if you ask me.
There's a really good video on this, it's a little dated now but all of its points and examples still stand, called "Hollywood vs Religion" by Michael Medved.
Vaders betrayal of palapatine is usually referred to as vaders redemption among fans, I think george may have even wanted it to be viewed that way. Thats why he is shown returning as a force ghost, to show that he rejected the dark side in the end even though he didnt live long enough to make most past wrongs right.
As a female let me assure you the acolyte is NOT for me. Especially as a female Star Wars/scifi/comic/AD&D/fantasy and scifi books fan. I want heros to win and I want the story to be about something other than family drama or romance.
But she is like a walking "female" stereotype.
But she is like a walking stereotype.
Sometimes I think Sigmund Feud was right.
I think the "female audience" she is talking about are the ones raving about Fourth Wing or whatever. What's crazy is that the things she is proud of for being "for the ladies" is the most insultingly stereotypical crap.
@@gregowen2022
Well, stereotypes are kind of real.
Of course not everyone, but obviously there is something Sigmund Freud called "penis envy".
No guy likes "50 Shades of Grey", or thinks about Lightsaber as a phallic symbol.
@@gregowen2022
Sigmund Freud would disagree with you.
And psychologists do agree that Women have those thoughts.
Of course not all.
But again, it's not the men who watch "50 Shades of Grey" or think about Lightsaber as a phallic symbol.
Greg pouring apple juice as symbolism for alcohol because he's completely speechless had me dying🤣
She literally admits, with the 'killing the dream' quote, that the entire point of the Acolyte was to take a massive dump on the entire concept of the Jedi. And Kathleen Kennedy was like "GO for it!". Outrageous. I can't imagine why people who love Star Wars would have an issue with the show.
I don't know why anyone watches anything star wars anymore.
@@JZStudiosonline I refuse to subsidize Darth Kennedy's 💩.
@@JZStudiosonline Indeeds chief. Though tbf we wouldn't get such positivity _peak_ videos like this four parter here. Silver lining and all that ya sees.
@@furnoprime9439
Watching people dunk on Star Wars has become the entertainment SW used to provide. Ironic. Cool. Cathartic. But also very, very bittersweet.
I am adult woman but I for sure never wanna loose the support and care that my father gives me. I respect his opinion and he respects me and my choices. I really REALLY feel bad for girls with daddy issues...
Won't lie.... that Pro TH-cam move was inspiring. If I wasn't already subscribed, I'd hit it again.
Content like this is why I have YT Premium and not a Netflix subscription
In general, I think that sexual innuendos (and sex jokes) are some of the cheapest things to write. Just about anything can be turned into it if you want to, so there's hardly any imagination behind it. There are definitely moments where you can joke about, talk about, and allude to sex, but there's a definite quality difference between someone who has used it in a functional way within the story vs stuffing an entire narrative with it.
Anyway, I enjoyed this overview. I do love Dr. Greg. Make sure that he doesn't down that entire bottle of apple juice in one sitting.
I completely agree. Sex jokes that are clever are tough to pull off, and most people don't even try.
Whoa, whole bottle?! Dr Greg is almost 40, that much sugar would give him the night sweats something awful. Oh, that was the oldest thing I've ever said.....
when you’ve never truly suffered or had real worries in your life, things like an overly caring or even over bearing father figure become your biggest struggle from which to draw on for inspiration because you’ve got nothing else going on. Can’t relate
Honestly thank you for digging so deep. In other corners of the Internet, there are so many lies about “how good this show was” and “why it deserved a second season” that it feels really good to know that I’m not crazy and other people did see how terrible it was for so many reasons
The Acolyte is Star Wars' Velma. Not only in writing, but also in production/how it was made. For real, every animatic review from Velma felt like a bad therapy session.....except with the whoooole production crew. As someone who worked on the production side, it was shocking and uncomfortable, but it feels EXACTLY like the Acolyte.
That is the best way to put it. If I didn't know better, I could believe that Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy wrote The Acolyte
@@gregowen2022 10000%! I hope the industry is on the verge of change after so many hard core flops. I love working in animation, but I'm lower level so I can't speak out against the nonsense without legitimate threat of losing my job. Keep fighting the good fight Greg! You're speaking for all of us who can't!
@@Dumparino Evil wins when good men stay silent.
@@JZStudiosonline Yeahhh me speaking out and then getting fired and immediately forgotten about does absolutely nothing to change the entertainment industry. People like Greg who have a platform speaking truth does a whole lot more. Me "being silent" to stay in the entertainment industry, so I can make genuine connections with people who have views I don't agree with rather than yelling at them and leaving, and then having the shot at making something that's not complete dogwater or having some influence over part of a project holds more value than you may think.
@@Dumparinothat person was trying to be deep with “Evil wins…”. They failed miserably, but they tried. That was written by someone who does not have a job to lose.
I feel so sad for Lesley's mother. Imagine if your husband died of an ilness, only for your daughter's fictional incarnation to brutally murder your husband's fictional incarnation because of quote "homophobia and sexism."
13:29 can we just appreciate the fact that Greg nearly burned down his house for a 3-second gag?
The fact that Lesley Headland looked at modern media and said, "What my young female audience needs is to see a man looking for physical intimacy with a woman!" is laughable and kind of sad. Like trust me, I'm pretty sure most young women have seen guys looking for "physical intimacy" with a woman and nothing else. The fact that she decided go further with this and made the man in question a sociopathic manipulative abuser is kind of concerning.
When I heard the interview with Lesley Headland after the series finale, I had two thoughts: one, that only poorly written stories need the director and a compliant journalist to explain to the audience what they didn't understand. And two, after hearing that memorable line about how Sol's acceptance of his own death is an insult to May, depriving her of the pleasure of deciding to take a life herself, I thought, as I think everyone else does, that this woman is not just bad at her job, but seriously in need of help. That such a clearly disturbed and amoral person has been entrusted with hundreds of millions and a series intended for a mass audience is truly the most disturbing thing here, much like the Velma series.
Patty Jenkins was going to do a Rogue Squadron movie because she grew up with her Air Force fighter pilot father and wanted to honor him. Instead we got this.
You'll no doubt be accused of being sexually repressed because you don't want to associate lightsabers with male members.
So people who are obsessed with their sexuality act out like they're obsessed with their sexuality? Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhocking!
How am I supposed to finish Wind & Truth when Dr. Greg is dropping videos like this? I paused my book to listen to you talk about a show I didn't watch, made by people I don't know, and honestly, a topic I don't care about...and I even liked the video. Well done sir. You have my algorithm exactly where you want it.
My brothers and I made an oathpact that we would listen to Day 10 together and that those ahead would wait for those behind.
I now empathize with the Heralds so much. HOW DID THEY HOLD OUT SO LONG?!?!
Now that I'm wrapped up with this, I'm so ready to dive into Wind & Truth!
My only worry is that I didn't make time to reread the preceding books this year, so I'm afraid I'll be the Gandalf "I have no memory of this place" meme for a few chapters, lol
@@gregowen2022 At least you have those pro-youtuber glasses from Warby Parker to make your reading experience crystal clear. (Pro-commenter move, plz sponsor me)
@@gregowen2022 At least you possess your polished, pristine pair from Warby Parker, providing a plush and premium perusal experience through the crystal-clear, coveted lenses crafted by the celebrated and chic company. (Pro-commenter move; plz sponsor me)
Finished Wind and Truth yesterday, and…you don’t need to hurry.
"You always think you're right"
Of course I do! Why would I be holding strong options and defending them if I thought they were wrong? It's the worst insult because, guess what? You think you're right too, thus we have conflict.
The only way to not think you're right about something, anything really (club sandwiches are better than pastrami, Christianity is better than shinto, Spider-Man is better than Batman, baseball is better than hockey, whatever) is to have absolutely zero opinions or ideas on anything. Evan Sayet actually spoke about this 15 years ago, he called it the "cult of indiscriminate-ness." Look that up, it's worth your time.
My personal favourite is how people say that hoping to exploiting your own capacity for self-reflection... a capacity they themselves lack. They don't doubt themselves. They want you to doubt yourself.
The big issue is that her strong opinions are objectively wrong in the eyes of every human being with a working brain.
However she actively acts like this isn't true and attacks anyone who realizes it.
@@AzureRoxe Opinions can't be wrong. If they can be, they are facts, not opinions.
@@CoryTheRaven Oh I know and that's infuriating because the only way to fight that is to become zealous and essentially purge self doubt which can itself be a slippery slope, but anything less than an unrelenting offensive and pure screw you attitude won't do squat against those dark triad types, the very instant there is even the slightest hesitation, doubt or being put on the defensive in any way is shown they know they've won the argument not factually or morally but in terms of convincing the audience because all arguements are performances at the end of the day.
First of all, massive props to Greg for all the time and effort he took into making this series of videos. I can confidently say that my time was well spent watching and frankly rewatching theses analyses. And I hope the words I can provide can add to the conversation, even if its not to the same extent as Greg.
Regardless, I want to establish that the issue Leslye constantly represents is she believes that concepts matter more than execution. On paper, Leslye is TRYING to do all the things George did to make SW successful; taking inspiration from her own life, writing antagonists as an allegory for contentions she has in the real world, and so on. However, Leslye's story, as Greg rightfully points out, is contingent on you sharing EXACTLY her world view, so if you don't bring this attitudes and beliefs into the show as you watch the Acolyte, you will EASILY see why it is both morally and technically so very VERY wrong.
In a previous comment on these videos, I mentioned a character I wrote to illustrate my understanding of ones I have written better than Leslye does hers. And I hope that didn't come off as me wanting to flaunt my writing skills, rather I wanted to express simply how incompetent of a writer Leslye is, that she doesn't follow the basic code of being a writer.
In any case, I can also say, in the same work, characters go through similar if not entirely the same experiences as myself, however, these experiences are not used to justify the actions they take, rather its to explain WHAT it was that LEADS them to making the choices they do. Once again, I'm not trying to flex how great I am, as there is certainly more I can learn, but again this is all information someone in Leslye's position SHOULD know.
Just to illustrate what I mean, lets look at the comic book The Crow, whose writer (forgive me for forgetting his name) lost his fiance and wrote The Crow to work through his grief, where Eric Draven, the titular protagonist, must overcome the grief of losing his own fiance, Shelly. But The Crow isn't just the writer trauma dumping, this isn't "HIS and his fiance's story", but Eric and Shelly's. And its led to The Crow becoming a cult classic to this very day, and Leslye WISHES she could capture something like that in the Acolyte, but also have it be STAR WARS, and as Greg has clearly proven, that simply doesn’t work
She seems to be conflating "Vader was redeemed in ROTJ" with "Anakin was right in ROTS."
Implying Order 66 was justified.Did they forget children who were Padawans were also killed?
Headland clearly has legitimate father issues. I get it, my dad was an emotionally and physically abusive addict. When I got old enough I literally stopped giving him chances and discontinued our relationship because of that behavior towards me over 17 years. Maybe it fuels some deep need I have that I am not aware of but honestly I don’t think about it often. Leslye clearly does.
I agree. She has her father issues and I think that lead to her looking up to and overlooking/accepting Weinstien's behavior. This show is like watching her justify her rejection of her father and her acceptance of Weinstien/Hollywood morals.
Yeah, but it's hard to even say if her dad was truly a bad person. People who get lost in their own heads like this are sometimes the type with understanding parents. Their biggest sin could be overindulgence. A kid spoiled rotten will view every slight as some earth-shattering wrong.
I had an absent father, so I do legit have daddy issues but I still find Headlun and her worldview repulsive.
My absent father has made me appreciative of depictions of good father figures in media.
I don't think she makes it seem her dad was objectively abusive either. Like Sol didn't hit Osha or anything. He mostly seemed concerned with how she was doing or what she was feeling and trying to help. None of Headland's stories seem to come from someone who suffered, er, what an outsider would casually recognize as abuse.
I believe it's guilt. As you can see just from these videos, she's not the most honest person. Plus, well.......old Harv and whatnot.
She probably left home in a huff, embellished her dad's treatment only for him to die before there was any closure. She's feels extremely guilty, but instead of owning up to it she decided to double down and even made a show to convince herself she was right all along.
However, the guilt keeps dripping through.....that explains her obsession with moral ambiguity. She can't be evil for what she did because, "we're all a bit evil and what even is evil?"
I never heard so much explanation for a show by its creators in my life. They went way overboard on interviews and explaining the innuendos of the show.
I miss the days when most of a Star Wars deep dive was about technical achievements, artistry and archetypal themes, not the creative's personal politics and kinks.
Probably because they realized they did such a poor job explaining themselves in the actual show.
I think what annoys me the worst about this show is that, like so many shows that are thinly vieles criticisms on the church, it all boils down to someone mad that their dad told them not to touch themselves at night.
In this particular case, her father told her not to touch other girls at night and to find a nice guy & settle down. It was his only desire to see her succeed.
Also, probably spared the rod. See the spoiled child? Also abused children & women via Weinstein. So depressing. 😔
It really gets annoying. This has been going on for centuries by now. Like I get that christianity may not have been absolutely perfect. But like come on, this is just pathetic hate now
Resentful of being told not what to do in general. It could be simple "don't be mean to people," "don't steal or take what isn’t yours," etc as well.
'I think I have all 80 of those HD things' made me literally laugh out loud.
Might just steal that one as it's very relatable.
3:15, Small nitpick I do agree with you that what Vader did wasn't redemption. It's more so an evil man finally deciding to do the right thing. However I completely disagree with it being a sith like act. The whole point of that scene isn't that he's killing the Emporer out of rage. He's doing it to save his son. Its the first truly selfless and Jedi like act he's done since he became Vader.
Anakin doesn't even use the Force to kill the emperor. Just strength and the bionics that keep him held together. It saved his son, but also guaranteed his death.
i'm notsure I can agree with the idea that he isn't redeemed, at least to some degree narratively. The implication of Anakin standing next to Ben and Yoda does give the idea that he is at least spiritually redeemed even if he has never atoned for all the crimes he has committed.
100%. It was an act of selflessness. Greg's take on that is a bit of a clunker.
The redemption may not be important for others but for Luke it is.
Despite everything Anakin affirmed Luke's hope.
Sport coat with elbow patches? ....No no no, we can tell he is smart because of the glasses.
This! He was *absolutely* exhibiting Love (anathema to Jedi) for his Son. He was using the fuel of the Dark Side for an act of Good. It's not wholly a "redeemed to Balance/Light" in my eyes, but it *is* a redemption to Good. He dies ending a malicious cycle with his own sacrifice.
I think a parent has a duty to get their young child on a good, healthy, proper track. They are not even able to talk until they are around two, let alone understand the complexities of life and good vs bad decisions, so they need guidance and direction for many of their childhood years. As the child grows up they can begin to make their own choices on how to veer off or stay on that track, but as a child they have no idea what is good or bad or healthy etc. Hopefully, you got them on a good track as a young child so if they veer off, it is only into a good adjacent path.
I thought the same thing, but apparently I'm being benignly sexist, haha
@ Making a strong case for the benefits of sexism haha
Appreciate your hard work on this series, you put more effort in your videos then the Acolyte writing staff put into the series. Great work sir!!
I understand that you fell into the rabbit hole. Lesbian Homelander is truly a unique figure. Not only did she have the leverage to ask for $200 million in hush money from KK, but she also had the power to demand the creation of her own Star Wars show filled with self-insert fan fiction. She took a small part of that $200 million and produced a show where everyone is gay, lame, and bad. It’s like she set out to make Star Wars more ‘lame and gay’ than South Park ever imagined.
It’s mind-boggling how someone can wield such power over a nearly 50-year-old franchise and convince a company to fund what they know will be the final nail in the Star Wars coffin. It’s as if she aimed to drag the franchise down, and they let her do it, paid for it, and even hired the big journalists to push the public further down. With that kind of reputation, I’m sure she’s the perfect pick for Marketing Director at Jaguar next. She could close and nail down that coffin so freaking fast.
Well, you see, everything comes to an end. 50 yo franchise too. Nobody competent didn’t wanted to be associated with end of Star Wars, so you have KK and this one. Let it go.
Why Greg gives so much attention to this nonsense is beyond me. Like, who the hell cares about personal issues of some nobody? No one, that’s who.
@@leonidfro8302
I care, i asked, this isnt just lesley alone but she represents ALL of hollywood today and greg is completely in the right for exposing what hollywood has becomes, a neo-nobles in era filled with all the indulgent and pevert of modern times
Last time I was this early we still had some well made media
Love ya stuff Greg
I'm a hopeless optimist, but I think 2026 is our year! Just gotta get the last vestiges of garbage out of the production pipeline
Excellent series of videos Greg. Loved your insights. Thank you. As an aside I'd make the comment that, early on during filming Leslye was having some sort of interview, got a bit emotional, and almost in tears cried "Star Wars saved my life !!". The volcanic irony here is that she then returned the favour by bending Star Wars so far out of shape it became completely unwatchable and, imho, totally incapable of "saving" anybody's life.
I dont know anything about how this lady grew up or her father, but id bet my left arm her dad was great, but that was boring so she invented this whole family dynamic in her head that she needs to heal from
Or there are issues, but they stem entirely from HER choices and she can’t accept that being told “no” or “this isn’t good” could possibly be right.
@@John-fk2kyListening to Greg read her interviews, I am inclined to believe both of you. She comes across as someone who probably was very difficult both as a child and an adult
Yeah, I've met some crappy fathers, so I can't say there's a 0% chance he was bad, but her interviews do make it seem like she invents whatever justification she needs to hate someone who disagrees with her
I’ve witnessed this family dynamic repeatedly. A girl grows up to hate her father who definitely wasn’t perfect but certainly doesn’t deserve to be despised. But the whole time, the problem was actually the mother. She’s controlling, fretful, and emotionally abusive. Yet through her master manipulation, she somehow deposits all the blame on dad. I’d bet money that this was the case with Lesley’s family.
@@gregowen2022or - she just made stuff up, so it will be something to talk about. Don’t attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity.
Sometimes this show feels like that bit where a kid gets a 0% on a test, which then tells the teacher that they *_must_* have actually known all of the right answers because otherwise how could they have possibly gotten a perfect 0. Surely at some point they should have at least accidentally stumbled into doing something right, but nope.
The worst part here is that in many ways Star Wars probably does, at least at this point, need some more 'adult' stories and this just botches them so horribly. You can do 'moral relativism', familial issues, more adult themes, etc. incredibly well without just trying to shove them in like an evil stepsister, but this show (and Leslie herself) just can't figure out how for the life of it. There are Star Wars stories which have explored non-plainly-evil interpretations of the dark side, Andor is a great example of Star Wars being given a more adult tone, and you can handle *_incredibly_* tense family drama without dragging down the tone and making your show into a public therapy session. (This is true even if you wanted to go far more involved than the Luke/Vader relationship dynamic. Endeavour's character arc from MHA is insanely heavy yet the show can manage it without dragging the entire show down into misery theatre)
This show just failed to do any of it well.
edit : 39:05 I'd agree generally but I have seen this flouted with some degree of success. I'm not a huge fan of Chainsaw Man but I gave it a shot after I was pleasantly surprised by a few anime that I had been putting off (notably MHA and AoT) and basically the entire story is about a dude with just, absolutely *_nothing_* going for him until very recently so he has really mundane goals. (this evolves slightly over the season, but so far there is only upto season 1 so it doesn't evolve that far.) Basically the entire point is that "yes, this is a mundane goal, let's play with that idea".
I want to check out chainsaw man in the same way that I'm wanting to check out this Belatro game that was up for Game of the Year last night. A card game? How can it be so amazing? A guy with a chainsaw head? How can it be so amazing? And yet, I hear nothing but praise for it, so I have to find out!
I agree Star Wars could use some deeper topics, but I don't know how much, exactly, and as you said almost every attempt is ham fisted and usually boils down to "what if the bad guys aren't so bad?"
_Dungeon Meshi_ got an adaptation that was quite good although I'm not sure it has some super impactful message. It's pretty wholesome, animated better than Frieren IMHO.
Likewise, it seems like the skittle squad is attacking _Sousou no Frieren_ again which as someone older, the initial hook of time in relation to self, relationships with others, and the way the world is painted is a strong hook. They're doing a S2 and the manga still goes on (I haven't read).
Feels good to catch one so early.
I posted this comment on the other video, but it seems it would fit better here.
Okay the more Headlynd tries to explain the twins motives the worst it gets. Killing Sol was meant to be Osha declaring she's her own person? except Sol was probably the first person to acknowledge that Osha was an individual instead a twin. The Jedi are not shown suppressing Osha's individuality or independence, in fact the story completely skips Osha's time training to be a Jedi. You know what space magic order was suppressing her personal choice and individuality, her loving coven that was ready to defy their leader's wishes and go to war because Osha didn't want to fufill the role they setup for her. Headlynd wants to explore "what if the parents say no to the Jedi" but decided that a cult ready to crown literal children as their co-messiahs was the alternative.
Also Mae, there is something there but Headlynd doesn't want to acknowledge it. I feel a little bad for child-Mae because Horned Mom literally bullies her and puts full responsibility for making Osha stay on her. If Mae was then raised by Horned Mom alone (seriously she just ditches her) to shoulder all the blame for the coven's demise, it'd actually make her a bit more sympathetic. If the final showdown was Horned Mom vs. Sol, that would have weight because the both have some blame for the leader's death. That's when you can do the side switch, Osha is filled with rage and Mae is just tired of being her mother's scapegoat and wants real redemption. No memory wipe needed.
Yes I realize that I put more thought in this comment that Headlynd put in her multimillion-dollar licensed fanfic, but I'm also working on my own SW-lite story about long-lost twins on opposite sides of a conflict and them being raised different environments is really important for when they reunite. Meanwhile, the coven may as well have happened a year before the story starts and nothing really would change.
I completely agree, the more she says, compared to what the show contained, the more confused I get.
I LOVE your idea of the other mom being the catalyst for Mae making the switch. The treatment of both Osha and Mae in the coven was disgusting, but we're supposed to hate Sol?
@@gregowen2022 I'd call the story half-baked but Headlynd clearly just wanted the batter. Shows like this inspire me to write for all the unintended reasons (hence the final section of my comment). Horned Mom is clearly set up to return later, displays all the "protectivism" traits that Headlynd accuses Sol of having and was the main aggressor of the attack on the Jedi. Making her into Mother Gothel with an axe just makes the most sense.
This is exactly my issue with the MCU film version of the scarlet witch, she has murdered and tortured a lot of people but audiences are rooting for her comeback….but to me she hasn’t been punished for what she has done yet….
There's such a disservice done to female characters nowadays. They lack any opportunity for growth. They're never countered on any of their views so they're boring at face value.
MCU fandom is replete with people cheering for the bad guy. Raceswap Hitler and suddenly he has some good points. Thanos doesn't even understand basic population dynamics but he had some good points. Scarlett Witch is unequivocally a villain, but she has some good points... These people just identify with evil. That is all it is.
@
I loved Sarah Connor, she had range and she had a mission to accomplish, she was a powerful woman who the audience could stand behind…there is a serious problem with the creative people in Hollywood right now
♀? Punished? Consequences? Surely, you must be joking! In modern media - it's never gonna happen.
Yet, John Walker kills ONE terrorist and is stripped of all titles, rank, and benefits, and is made into a pariah. Equality is a funny thing, isn't it?
Thank you Greg for taking the time to create this series. Every point you brought was precise and accurate about the dumpster fire that is the Acolyte. The scariest part for me was how Disney didn't even make an effort to screen this show to put a disclaimer for young kids. They allowed a show full of sexual innuendos for all to see. Absolutely scary 😵😖☹️
You have way too much fun with the like button segments and I love it
It was this series that made me subscribe. Sure you could beat the dead horse about how she’s a terrible narcissist who made her career out of staying silent about exploitation of young women, but you don’t you just use her words to dissect her story
Alright, Greg, you got me. Normally, I "like" a video once I've watched it through (if I actually liked it, anyway). It's my way of marking a video as "watched."
Today, though, you absolutely got me. I stepped away from making my breakfast to like and leave a comment, because that was incredibly high-effort just for a like. Kudos to you, sir!
I have my last Final Exam in half an hour, unfortunately I'll have to come back later. I was listening to the preceeding videos as a podcast while I studied, so I am looking forward to the finale!
I hope the test went well! If today was your last one, I hope the next few weeks off are extra sweet after the finals push
Greg, I say this as seriously as I can:
Thank you for your service.
.....and the attendant sanity damage.
I don't want this series to end, man. Please just keep watching the Acolyte over and over and show us new ways that it's so horrible.
This!!
Still can’t believe you had to make 4 parts to this series
It's like trying to dig up a stone when clearing a field... It just keeps getting bigger the further down you dig.
I can't either. It was going to be the final section of the original video, but there was just SO MUCH.
It was much more impactful than a Callum (Mauler) 5 hour video, which there are people who are far exceeding Callum & EFAP at their own game & talent (The Little Platoon, The Despot of Antrim are two that come to mind immediately - there are others... like Greg!)
I want to imagine that Leslie watched these videos, realized that Greg fully understood everything she tried to do, and found it utterly wanting.
Bro put more effort and thought into this series than the creators did
At like 1/1000th the cost too
"Both Amandla and Manny, when they read the final draft of Episode 6, they were both looking at me like, 'Leslye.'"
Yeah, I believe that.
I'm gonna need a therapy session after this video. Thank you for nailing down the issues with the show, and with Lucasfilm in general when it comes to this franchise. When you pick directors and show runners, you need to pick people who actually care about Star Wars, it's legacy, and what it means to fans of all ages and backgrounds. You can't just hire someone because they are popular or 'hot' right now. Don't hire 'super fans', because that is not an indication they know how to make a good Star Wars show or film.
If the people at the top don't understand the product, they will never be able to produce things that speak to the consumers of that product.
It's as simple as that.
Headland seems to be a perfectly nice person, but she was one of the worst persons to try and bring to life a story set in Star Wars.
I can't believe common sense became a rarity. Is mindblowing.
Evil legitimately sees good as a bad thing. Toxic people find ways to make good people into villains in their lives.
When I'm actively trying to be a better person, act less selfishly, MOST people respond more positively - but a few bad folks react much more aggressively cruel towards me. It can be polarizing to do the right thing. And if you listen to those who are trying to bring you down, you'll never really like yourself.
I think it's an important thing to teach kids, that being more kind is important even if it pisses off a few noisy, troll-people. If you try to avoid criticism all your life, you'll smother the best parts of yourself
4:26 you're right. I was called out here. My father acts like he cares about me but in reality he belittles me every time he gets a chance and he makes it so he has plenty.
I actually really appreciate Greg’s take here. The show makes so much more sense with this video.
Dude, I'm so glad you've said all of this out loud. Please never change, this is golden.
Hollywierd went from adult professionals to fan fiction self inserts. No wonder it is dying. Not to put too much of a point on it, but this all started with Twilight.
Headland: I want a real dad who doesn’t care for me and just throws me out to the wild to be raised by the other lesbians
30:17 this whole section is reminding me of a book called "Monsters from the ID" by E. Michael Jones. He talks abput the rise of sex and horror in Hollywood movies
when you first showed up on my feed a few months back i was skeptical . Dudes with glasses and holding coffee in videos was always a pattern for mentally weak and/or a bad moral compass (and coincidentally hard left). so i always avoided them. But you are awesome, Greg. it's great to have a just a normal guy talking about all the craziness and BS in our media
If they're sipping tea, they have low-T.
Hahaha, I do appreciate you giving me a try. The coffee and glasses is an unfortunate overlap, but at least I don't have a bad 'stache and/or mullet to go with it. That's the sure sign of a video I'm not going to enjoy
So needing vision correction means someone is inherently an awful person?
@@SunshineLoLypops that's not what i said
@@LordMoldyButt18 That is what you implied.
"Dad Greg" having zero extra mental capacity while playing POE2 is so accurate 😂
I have literally never head of the "moist cave" concept. It absolutely makes sense that people like that would think of such things and take them seriously, but at the same time that level of stupid makes me cringe deep down inside. But in order to go beyond the stupid, it must first be faced and passed by. Thank you, Greg, for making it easy for me.
It shows up perfectly explicitly in Alison Bechdel's 'Fun Home,' her autobiographical comic about coming out. As a (sexually) desirable thing.
Mark twain said, "Never argue with an idiot because they will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." It's pointless to try and make sense out of Lesley headlines idiotic ideals.
Ah, but he never said about not exposing their idiocy.
Arguing with Headland and trying to convince her she's wrong is something to be avoided at all cost. But pointing out her idiocy is perfectly fine.
"Obsession with sex and trauma" often struck me as an interesting thing for Hollywood to be obsessed about because so many social media people really have a vitriol vs guys with degenerate straight-male fantasies (which really doesn't feel different from lesbian sex fantasies....it's just that it's catered to straight guys) and would invalidate in the same wavelength the guys who do these to cope with the reality.
idk how to word it properly lmao but it just strikes me as a "how the turn tables" situation at a glance.
Usually, when someone writes only about how mad they are at dad and religion, you can tell they were abused in a bad way. I don't get that impression at all from her. It's all so vague and feelings-y. Man alive, what a way to write about your recently deceased dad, too, even if your relationship was contentious- especially if you don't think you'll ever see him again.
In my experience people who say they were “raised Christian but now I’m not” usually mean they went to church around the major holidays and their parents didn’t let them do whatever they wanted.🤷🏽
This topic has 100% deserved a 4-part series. Thanks Greg!
Argonian maids mentioned, 5 stars, would watch again
26:51 "Neuro-Spicy" Literally broke the internet there for a second
I legit think Headland is evil. Thats not because she made a bad show, its because the stiff she says in these interviews is so unabashedly, unappologetically twisted.
I love seeing you get riled up about the culture and would love to contrast this saga with your thoughts on Arcane S2.
You better believe that Greg is earning that "like" every single video.
Most healthy adults are so far beyond this in psychological growth its astoundingly unpleasant to realize this is the present tense of proposed archetypes…
YES! And she's in her 40s! When I was 18, I had plenty of edgy views, too, but for most of us, usually in our later 20s/early 30s, we are too busy or gain enough experience to realize that this mindset is not only incorrect but counterproductive.
I guess she hasn't grown out of it because she's somehow been rewarded financially for it. I just don't understand how she doesn't get tired of being so angry all the time. It really does seem exhausting
@I’m glad she’s there though. She’s a walking reminder that money can’t cultivate talent, and salary does not determine a persons value. I hope kids see this hack for what she is and want for more in life.
Ha, as soon as Dr. Greg said "algorithmic", I had a feeling I knew where he was going.
I've heard this concept of problematic paternity before, and it's just as troubling now as it was then. During a creative writing course (which I would not recommend anyone interested in "creative writing" takes) I was told by a fellow student, (a very woke trans bloke) that it was infantilization and mysogony in the opening of my book for the 9-year-old female protagonist to be saved by her loving father, because he was taking away her agency. He actually got pretty verbally aggressive about it when I told him I didn't see the problem, but can a character lose agency if they have no options? The girl was going to die, she could not possibly have changed that without the help of another character...
No one else I've ever spoken to (normal people) see a problem with a father wanting to protect his child, male or female. My father in particular thought the idea of not saving my sister from danger was insane. It speaks volumes about the person who thinks fathers are wrong by nature, and while you can argue that they might have had a bad experience growing up, that does not mean that fathers are inherently evil.
Sorry for the ramble here, Greg, but your early section talking about Leslie's take on fathers just made me think of this and how unhealthy this mindset really is.
Wow, one messed up chick. But seriously, I feel for her. She is lost and confused. I hope she finds a bright tomorrow.
Oh yeah I forgot there was a part 4 of this! The gift that keeps on giving:) brush off the haters man keep doing the Lord’s work!
I greatly appreciate you outweighing any hate!
The idea of “Jedi is too powerful and must be kept in check” is great, too bad this show fails to explore it.
Not even 4 minutes in and I had to pause for a WTF moment and process that interview quote about how horrible they thought it was that (paraphrasing) Sol accepted the fact that Osha would kill him despite him only wanting to help her, because that was bad of him not to let her get a satisfactory kill. That's just sick.
I think it is worth spending the time on Leslie, because Leslie is basically a cypher; an AI who churns out the corporate worldview. The Barbie film is another example. Barbie emerges from a fantasy world to face the horrors of middle class sexism. She doesn't emerge to find thousands of women working in sweatshops for subsistence wages to make plastic dolls for middle class girls.
Granted, middle class sexism happens. It's a thing. But I think the women in the sweat shop deserve a tad more attention....
The mere idea that someone could entrust a Star Wars property to this woman is evidence of real hatred towards the fans. That this is the track they choose to take in the face of crumbling sales is also remarkable.
The finale of the worst show ever being systematically dismantled. I’m here for it
Greg forever giving me the best content at the risk of Disney giving him a free vacation to one of their many restaurants is to be commended. Take my like sir😂
Damn, Leslie comes across as a post-modern nihilist stuck in the holywood hyperreality (oversexualised, hedonist, amoral, etc.). Coming from such a position, it is completely understandable why she would associate with the dark side of the force - IMHO she's not interested in the greater good (interdependence), but is all about selfishness and hedonism, i.e. she should be able to do/feel whatever she wants (freedom) in the pursuit of power and pleasure. No wonder she was HW's personal assistant.
I got to the point of him saying, "Not convinced it's supposed to be a p? Here's Quimir's next line." Then I got an ad that immediately started with a guy saying, "Here's how I protect against HIV."
I can't help but feel like maybe the show would've been better if that was actually the case. It at least would've had healthier messaging.
I did not expect Dr. Greg's professional opinion to be what it was, and fr choked on my food laughing at his advice. xD Well played, Doctor! Also, I acknowledge that it's my bad and I totally should know better by now to risk any food or drink while watching a Greg video. Mea culpa, mea culpa.
Just wanna say, I know you worked hard for this series of videos and they ended up great. Hope it gives you peace of mind now that it is done. And yeah, we agree with you. It needed to be said and you took the time and effort to say it. Go now and rest my boy.
I genuinely appreciate that, because sometimes I hated it, but now I really am happy with how it all turned out. Thank you so much!
I really hope the "eggnog trampoline" becomes the Calvin and Hobbes noodle incident of your channel
Using the word "immaculate" to describe the performance of a fill-in-for-my-views character criticizing the chur- i mean, jedi....maybe the writer lady should take the time to understand where that word comes from. Cracked me up.
Did this lady see the Family Guy: Star Wars episodes? That's the only time I have seen lightsabers interpreted that way 😂
There was also Space Balls, but like Family Guy that was a gag.
Go look up the light saber scene from Drawn Together! It’s super dirty but kinda hilarious.