I love how you show the importance of not portraying individuals as stupid, lazy idiots when it's a larger social system issue. That elitism tends to sour most attempts to criticise modern culture for me; yes there are issues but when you pretend it's due to individual failings you miss out on what we can do as a society to correct these issues.
Wall-E holds a special place in my heart. This movie would calm my younger brother who has Autism, OCD, oppositional defiance disorder, tourettes and ADHD when he was little. This movie taught me and my sister to take care of the planet, and taught my little brother his first words at 4.
omg i also have adhd and was born premature, even though my first word was "no" i could not speak properly until 5; but now i have a large vocabulary and.
The great part about the robots in this film is they don't act like robots. What I mean is they aren't these hyper intelligent beings who don't understand emotions or human actions. Yes Eve is all about her prime directive. But, it's in a way that is relatable to workaholic people. Wall-e acts like a curious child or teen leaving his small hometown to explore the world he always wondered about. All the robots feel emotions and act upon it. Except auto he's the odd one out.
Holy shit, explaining this aspect by going through the basics of sociology really hammered in the point. I felt a shift in my mind and thinking. Media analysis should really start their analysis with the academic basics so they build a better foundation in our head when receiving the intended messege. Keep up the good work, amazing video.
Or perhaps, if we want to follow with Pop Culture Detective's line of thinking, that the insidious path of least resistance became more and more omnipotent in the lives of the people on that ship.
I hate to say that I think a lot of people who complain about "privilege" in societies don't entirely understand it in that lens, and so tend to frame it in a very individualistic, blaming way. I think if more people described it in this pattern, they'd get a more sympathetic response. I'm a man, and I live a pretty masculine life (not that I lift weights or am particularly manly, but I identify with the male role in society far more than the female one), and reading up on this topic has taught me a lot about the unfair tightrope men have to walk: In the modern world, we are increasingly expected to be mindful of aggressive behaviour, inclusion, and consent, but the entire body of pop culture we consume still teaches men to take what they want, and fight for what they're entitled to. Pop Culture Detective comes very close to this concept in his coverage of Harrison Ford movies.
Wall-E is a masterpiece and I'm glad kids will grow up with this kind of message. In real life, we don't fight against villains, aliens or robots, we fight against our own comfortable and unquestioned position. We don't win by beating up the bad guys, but by identifying and regaining control over this giant entity that is bigger than us.
I’ve been binge watching these video essays, and I can’t get enough! All of your points are succinct and easy to follow, and your analyses are very in-depth and provocative! Thanks for doing what you do!
This is again such a great video, putting into words what I always kinda sorta knew, but didn't know how to express. I am so happy to have stumbled onto this channel when I have. Back then, I was even thinking about a Big Bang Theory video because it was requested, but now I just don't wanna do it. I have a kids channel and I feel it would be disgusting to do it. And if you keep this level of quality I will be forced to double your support on Patreon :D
Your point towards the end (in the portion about Weinstein) reminds me of a CS Lewis quote, paraphrased: "Too often we laugh when we should be silent and we're silent when we should speak."
This was one of the best video essays I've seen on this website so far. The consistent message with an actual solid base to work from and interesting/relevant details. It was refreshing.
He sorta seemed to suggest that idiocracy is indvidualist, that doesn't seem to be the case to me as the only reason humanity becamw "decedent" is because of the "big corporation", rather than indvidual choice. Although the humor is elitist and so on, the film makes some good points in relation to the "culture industry"
I respect his opinion of the movie but still personally enjoyed it and I would agree with the above comment that it wasn't quite as black and white as he put it. I haven't seen it in a while but I also don't know if I'd call that humor elitist, nothing also Mike Judge has created comes off as elitist from what I can tell. That being said I'd definitely watch a video on him critiquing the movie as I'm open to new ideas and possibly changing my mind or at least seeing where he's coming from more clearly.
You literally changed my mind, your video was well balanced I felt, and I didn't feel it was accusatory in the slightest. Also I love WALL-E, so that helped a bunch. It was engaging, and it drew me in as a viewer. I wish more people were like this.
I really love your videos! They are so inspiring because you don't back down from tackling big complex issues in a really coloquial and relatable way. Thanks for that.
Excellent analysis! I loved this movie and you've now given me an even deeper reason to love it. Systemic problems vs. individual problems is a concept I hope we are all slowly waking up to. I credit the movie "Dear White People" with helping me to understand racism in that way; as an overarching systemic problem we are all implicit in unless actively fighting against it. It's a proactive viewpoint. Saying "I'm not racist" does nothing to stop racism, it just gives an individual absolution from guilt. Now I say, "I was born into a society with institutionalized racism and have been a passive participant in it my whole life, how can I fix it?" Same thing with sexism, poverty, and any other societal ills. Worrying only about your own personal guilt or shame is meaningless and useless. Only when you recognize that we are all participants in a greater societal problem can change take place. Thanks for the video!!
wow717 Yeah! It's interesting how helping others can bring us much more joy than just trying to help yourself. Of course, if people weren't built that way we wouldn't get too far as a society.
True and thanks. You gave me a neat formulation to describe it to those unaware of it. Finding the "right words" to come through is hard. And sadly that's the bigger problem of our social system(s): The status quo is unjust and changing needs to put energy in it. Many don't want to "fix it" cause it takes effort and for many the system(s) not broke at all.
Good points, actually, but what I'm wondering is how to fix the damn problems to begin with. Especially when it's inevitably going to require breaking through to other people.
Ikr im so fucking sick of this 'people are bad because they are bad' narrative and character characteristic, not only is it unrepresentative of society, its so shallow.
JohnnyTheWolf that's been the topic of conversation lately with my older brother. He's been listening to Jordan Peterson, and it's been a little challenging talking about it just cuz Jordan Peterson uses vastly different definitions in his vocabulary so as it oppose a straw man of social justice.
A lot of alt right vocabulary is used to reduce social causes and phenomena to individual endeavours to make them seem frivolous and invalid. The pejorative term "virtue signaling" comes to mind.
This was fantastic. Some of the edits to show an example from a separate Pixar movie (particularly the Andy one) were graceful and made full use of the video essay as a format. If I had one critique, it would be to introduce the concept of terms like toxic masculinity as descriptors of social systems rather than of strictly individuals more explicitly in the opening of the video. It was the single most compelling and succinctly put argument of this concept I've ever come across, and is overshadowed somewhat by the other more dominant themes in WALL-E for most of the video.
Cullen Cowap That is fair. I would say that this video could help people who are turned off by the term toxic masculinity, but enjoyed Wall-e. By not showing that he was going to make this point, it can soften the blow, I guess.
this is the best thing ever. i did not expect my two favorite things (disney and critique on social norms) could ever be combined but it is so so on spot. and this structure of blaming individuals instead of the overarching institutions is exactly how many people misleadingly choose to look at race
Years too late at this point but I wanted to say, I loved this video so much- this was a fantastic point and something I hadn't considered before. My one nitpick- it would have been great if you had mentioned the inventor of Monopoly, Lizzie Magie, designed Monopoly to illustrate that exact point- that the structure of our economy results in the inevitable hoarding of wealth and forces people to screw over others to 'get ahead', or else they can't compete. It was very intentional on her part, and she often doesn't get credit for it. But, again, your content is exceptional and you're doing amazing work. Very glad that you're here doing what you're doing.
Great analysis. I love this movie so much specifically because it's predicated around the idea that people can change. I also liked your greater point about how it's the system that's the problem, not necessarily individuals within it.
Thank you! I now understand the frustration I so often feel when discussing things with Americans, and discussing sexism with alot of men.I now have the framework to communicate my thoughts better.
WOW... That was awesome. Wall-E has always been one of my favourite DIsney movies, favourite movies period, really, for it's warning against giving in to the inherit laziness and apathy inherit to our culture. It's truly an under-apprecited gem of story-telling. I really liked your use of the Monopoly game as an allegory for explaining the nuanced difference between a despicable system and a despicable person. FAR too often I'm sure we've all seen, reactionary people, quick to defend themselves whenever a construct they identify with is criticized. From the christian institution to the patriarchal system, people often seem to find too much of their self-worth in the ideas of others. Another GREAT work from you, sir. *applauds* BRAVO!
I think that essay is so necessary to the whole discussion you've been doing about masculinity. It gives a good introduction to the audiance about what's at stake when we're studing and discussing about collective categories such as masculinity... I'm trying to get some free time to translate (even with my questionable translation skills :P) the captions of your videos to make them reach more audiences. Thanx for the video!
Lately I often hear people liken the post-election world around us as Idiocracy come to life. I could never quite put my finger on why I didn't quite accept that, but what you said in the video certainly rings true for me. If individuals were the primary driving force behind the election, it would not have ended the way it did. Rather, these institutions and systems were the primary reason things happened the way they did. Those who liken the world to Idiocracy and Idiocracy itself completely miss the point you so eloquently made here. Once again, you have outdone yourself with an amazing video. Fantastic job. I look forward to even more great work from you.
As someone not from USA, i find the election system there baffling. There is all these hoops for voters to jump through, and a candidate can win despite their opponent getting more votes. It all seems so confusing. Anyway, great video and agree about Idiocracy, the whole movie was just a mess of wasted potential and cheap shots at poor people.
Hey PCD I'm absolutely loving these videos - it's so fantastic to have these visual essays on masculinities, social systems, and media - especially as a sociology student. It would be fascinating to see your take on Australian/New Zealand masculinities, especially their relationship to geography, and other men through mateship, it's not often covered! Keep up the good work!
The essays are very good at putting words to things that alot of us can't. Like the Born Sexy Yesterday trope, its something that fell into the "this bothers me but I can't place why" category, and you summed it up incredibly well. And as well, you tie in typical subjects without it feeling forced. Keep up the good work, I love seeing these I my notifications :)
Spot on with the analysis and I really appreciate your attention to detail for clearly explaining the issues in a way that is inclusive for a wide audience - while also matching them with such well known film pieces and present social incidents! Thanks for sharing (from a sociology graduate)!
Most video essays on this platform are incredibly self-indulgent and obnoxious. Yours are so well researched, written, and paced. This is the best content of its kind on the site and you are fantastic dude.
I like how Wall-E didn't villify the BnL CEO. He genuinely wanted the best for everyone and actually tried to clean up the mess his corporation made. He just fell into the pattern of taking the easy path. In any other story (like the inferior Lorax movie) he'd just be evil because "money".
Hey Jon, I found your channel about a week ago and since then I have been watching through your videos and been amazed at your incredible content. Your fantastic content continues to make me think and really helps me to understand a lot of social issues, you put a lot of things in ways I find amazing, in such an engaging way. I have watched TH-cam for a long time, and always considered myself too poor to contribute on Patreon, but I have decided that I will sign up to help to fund your incredible content. Keep up the incredible content, you are genuinely the most insightful channel I have yet found on youtube.
What is most concerning about wall-e is that only the axiom is seen coming back to earth. Leading me to believe there are many other star liners containing thousands of people still flying around in space or even some become derelict and were slowly killed off. On the other hand that would sound like a great story for a wall-e 2.
Of course Wall-e apparently takes social class out of the equation, which makes it a lot easier to develop a coherent social critique. I would argue that the most Pixar and Disney films, while emotionally and tonally quite sophisticated, are nonetheless a bit too simplistic to serve as useful touchstones for discussions like this. That being said, I really enjoyed your video. The parts showing the actual paths of least resistance in Wall-e and the obnoxious players in the Monopoly ads are where the video essay format really shines. Thank you for your continued thoughtfulness. It's only slightly related but I'd love to see you do something on the new Bladerunner, as a film that is not explicitly trying to make a point.
This is easily my favorite channel right now. Your work is impeccably presented, well researched and just a general oasis in the overall TH-cam climate.
Could you do an essay of some kind on "Bojack Horseman"? I feel like there's a LOT of interesting and thought-provoking stuff to be said about that show.
My boyfriend was literally just teaching me how to play monopoly the other day lol. I wasn't getting it and he was like "you're suppose to try and get the most money" and I was like "but I just want to avoid jail and these houses make the board look cluttered" LOL. Now I know I suck at monopoly, but I enjoy playing, just to see how excited other people get when they win lol.
This is a great analysis!! It reminds me of the concept of hegemony, especially cultural hegemony, where one group in power contains and moderates the dissent of more subjugated groups. It usually functions the same way, where it ends up with lots of people participating in a system that doesn't necessarily benefit them, they just don't yet know how to step outside of those norms. Watching your videos on pop culture really helps me understand and reflect on life in the real world! Thank you!
The impact these videos have on the world cannot be understated. You're the Wall-e of this world, helping us see the paths of least resistance. Bless you and what you do. It gives me hope.
I was kinda hoping for a vid about some spooky misogyny, but no matter what the topic, your content never ceases to impress. As a gal who loves comprehensive video-essays, it's hard not to find ones dripping with male ego, but not only r u fantastic, I so wholly appreciate the topics you take on. Born Sexy Yesterday? Genius. I've been trying to find a good word for that disturbing trope for ages (my greatest spin was 'Sexy Baby Dream Girl' and referee THAT scene as the 'My Fair Strip Tease' lol)
Meanwhile, me and my little brother playing Monopoly and being ridiculously nice to each other (e.g. we won’t buy any properties in a group if the other player has any, we’ll remind each other to pick up 200, feel good or bad for each other if we’re winning or losing, etc)
This made a sociology graduate very happy. All too often sociology is dismissed as 'wishy-washy pseudo-science' instead of a useful (and, in my view, essential) tool to analyse our world. Wall.e was always my favourite Disney movie for many of the reasons you describe in this essay (the cleaner robot jumping off line being my favourite moment). So, yes, thank you thank you thank you!
Theres a dark place when you realise that of the many thousands of ships that went in to space, only one of them advertised a regenerative food buffet and fully automated staff, and that was the Axiom, or the premium business elite class ship. All the others would have likely had five years worth of provisions.
great to see creators put so much thought and effort into their videos. this made me see a lot of things in a completely new way. keep up the good work!
The Monopoly analogy is such a useful way to explain this topic, I loved it. And it was interesting to hear your descriptions of the path of least resistances, saying that they are unclear IRL came as a surprise to me, but that must be because as a queer neurodivergent person these paths are something I must think about constantly so they aren't as nebulous as they would be for someone closer to the "default", I suppose.
Oh wall-e, the only animation movie that left me actually felt something back then when I was a kid watching it. I also love this analysis video, thank you so much for all your quality contents.
Great video! I do have a question about not describing participants in a social system by their actions. At the end of the video you mention that we can refuse to be complicit in oppressive systems. Doesn't this mean that, from a moral standpoint, one ought to do exactly that? Shouldn't we expect the men in Hollywood to refuse to be complicit? Maybe these men aren't in favor of sexual harassment, but they had the power to potentially prevent further harm and chose to do nothing. That's where the monopoly analogy breaks down for me, social systems have real-world effects that the participants are aware of, which means there is a moral value associated with the decision to take the path of least resistance. In monopoly, there are no *actual* consequences. Criticism exists to elicit change, but as a critic of culture, what can one expect to change if the problems of a social system are only attributable to the system itself? It seems to me that to critique culture is to urge the participants of a social system to modify their behavior, which happens at the level of the individual. I could be conflating one idea with another, and that might be because individualism is so pervasive. Like I said at the beginning, this was a great video, and It challenged some ideas I didn't know I had.
TheWizardOfOsborne These are my thoughts exactly. The issue I have with the video is that it cant decide whether an individuals actions are guided by social systems or by its own moral judgements. Okay, there might be paths of least resistance, but the choice to do the right thing is and has always been the individuals, at all times. The passengers of the axiom had a choice between complying and refusing to consume vast amounts of junk food. So you are right in saying that systemic change can only be achieved at the level of the individual. The only, albeit undesirable alternative is to construct social systems through policy, basically meaning force, which would have dire consequences. Look up Jordan Peterson for more on this topic.
i think he's explaining what happens and how, not talking about what one should do. he gives you information with which you can try yourself to answer the questions you asked.
I personally believe that the reason why people don't choose the obvious morally better alternative at times is because they don't trully believe they can. Bad faith, they believe deep down that they have no choice because they are following the social system blindly without questioning if they can change it, ergo not "knowing" they can, or at least not knowing they wouldn't be completely thrown away from society for doing so.
systems are made up of people, who can indeed decide to stop participating in them. Should we expect men in Hollywood to refuse to be complicit? Well, this is a tricky question. Morally: yes. But the question is: who can afford to? Morality is nice and all, but practical concerns have to take precedence whether you're a famous actor or a poor single mother. You can only expect people to refuse to be complicit when the things they might lose by doing so are lesser than what they might gain by doing so. The answer, as it eventually turned out (although somehow this almost got lost in the general hubub), was George Clooney. Of all people. He stepped up, and talked about incidents he had witnessed. It should be assumed however that when he spoke, he spoke for thousands of other men in Hollywood. He was simply the one who could say the words, because he doesn't need to worry about his job security.
So what I see is that in the social system set up around Weinstein, people who witnessed it didn't feel like they had the power to stop it. Either their career would be forfeit, or they wouldn't be believed by the higher-ups. The social system created space for Weinstein to abuse his power. There is room for people to not be monsters, but to solve the problem we need to change the system that gives him room to harass and assault without consequences.
these videos are incredibly well-made. i feel like i've learned something or gained a better understanding from each one, even though they discuss topics i already know a lot about.
I just came across your channel and find it very interesting. This thesis reminds me of another youtube video from a channel called Thunk, where he discusses and compares corporations as "rogue AIs". Concerning "bad people doing bad things", that's one reason why I love the character of Londo Mollari from Babylon 5: what happens when basically good people gets put into bad situations.
Thanks to his good diction and pace, the auto-generated English subtitles seem pretty good. Still, I'd pitch in a few hours a month adding subtitles to these videos.
You're awesome, thank you for this video. This has been one of my favorite movies for a long time and you made me realize even more of the reasons why I love it so much. Keep doing what you're doing, your channel is fantastic and I think it's helping a lot of people to understand things they weren't able to see before.
This helped me understand why I didn't like that frase about "human kind being inherently bad", something along those lines "human nature". I never believed it. I always thought that it was unfair to place an individual in a situation that it's easier "to be bad" and expect them to behave "right". Thank you, for making this.
Well done video! I had noticed when watching the movie that the film teased the humans a bit about having grown complacent, but you never stopped caring for them so while the SIGHT of them sliding across the deck was visually funny, you were concerned for their welfare. Your analysis neatly ties all the reasons for this together.
This was utterly a joy to watch, and gave me another reason to love Wall-E. I'm surprised a film as progressive and brave in its ideas was put out by Disney. And thank you for highlighting how annoying and elitist stories which demonise individual consumers are - we see this a lot in the real world with individuals being encouraged to recycle each week to Save the Planet when it's corporations pumping out tonnes and tonnes of waste fuels and greenhouse gases which are the problem, to take one example. I don't think Wall-E is utterly free of making the inhabitants of the Axiom butts of jokes occasionally or scapegoats to blame, but the film does a lot better job of sociological storytelling than anything I can think of right now off the top of my head. Also, it's worth noting that Monopoly was originally invented as a critique of capitalism, to show how ultimately it sticks people in a system which drains them of their resources but for the small few who collect the goods. Unfortunately, as so many once critical and progressive texts are (I'm thinking Shrek and The Sims as other examples), it became warped into a twisted money-grabbing parody of itself.
Wow I really really loved this. Because of personal experiences, I especially loved your examples of monopoly and the robot with the yellow paint trail, because I think it shows things that can be inherent prohibited of following the path of least resistance. In my case, I'm speaking of mental illness, and how being mentally ill and choosing to treat it goes against the social norm of not being mentally ill and choosing to not treat any problems that may need it with professional help. This goes especially with psychotic disorders. Society doesn't want you to be mentally ill, and if you are, it must be depression and anxiety, and it must be solved by means which for people like me, can be very helpful, but not solve the problem. And even though these are things that someone cannot control, once you have bipolar, PTSD, dysmythia, memory problems, chronic pain, etc., And treat it with medication, you are against the norm and no longer really accepted. "Fought against" as you said. Maybe this isn't really path of least resistance as you said, but it popped into my mind with your monopoly example because I could never win monopoly because of my short term memory problems. Because of something inherent about me, or that I could not control, I can no longer follow that particular system.
Wonderful as always. Can't wait for the next one, I love me some prequel commentary. I wish I had some money to send your way, but I'm struggling myself.
I love your videos and the way you analyze media based on sociology, it is both entertaining and educating. I will support you as much as I can to get more great content on yt!
As soon as it got to the point about social rules I was waiting for "Axiom" to be used in the literal sense, or at least this play on words to be pointed out...
sometimes it feels like the institutions we have in place are like snowballs that gather size and speed, and there's no way to stop them. e.g. we need necessities like food and water and shelter to survive, but all of those are either packaged and/or owned and sold for profit. it's like, how do we oppose these systems when we rely on them? i really do love walle tho, because it does give me a sense of hope for change.
This is great and all, but I as a kid never distinguished anything different between WALLE's villain and others. It never dawned on me that the AI Auto wasn't self aware. I always thought of him as a malicious, evil villain.
![ฮักเทื่อสุดท้าย - บอย ศิริชัย [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-1PoPoQ-B-k/mqdefault.jpg)
I love how you show the importance of not portraying individuals as stupid, lazy idiots when it's a larger social system issue. That elitism tends to sour most attempts to criticise modern culture for me; yes there are issues but when you pretend it's due to individual failings you miss out on what we can do as a society to correct these issues.
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@@aliixx4305Hold this L, bot 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Exactly!
Wall-E holds a special place in my heart. This movie would calm my younger brother who has Autism, OCD, oppositional defiance disorder, tourettes and ADHD when he was little. This movie taught me and my sister to take care of the planet, and taught my little brother his first words at 4.
omg i also have adhd and was born premature, even though my first word was "no" i could not speak properly until 5; but now i have a large vocabulary and.
First words: "A is for Axiom"
@@johndwolynetz6495and what??
I'd just like to point out how amazing the music for Wall-E is.
The great part about the robots in this film is they don't act like robots. What I mean is they aren't these hyper intelligent beings who don't understand emotions or human actions.
Yes Eve is all about her prime directive. But, it's in a way that is relatable to workaholic people. Wall-e acts like a curious child or teen leaving his small hometown to explore the world he always wondered about. All the robots feel emotions and act upon it.
Except auto he's the odd one out.
The true hero of WallE is the cockroach. It just wants to live a quiet life.
IS THAT A JOJO RE-
Holy shit, explaining this aspect by going through the basics of sociology really hammered in the point. I felt a shift in my mind and thinking. Media analysis should really start their analysis with the academic basics so they build a better foundation in our head when receiving the intended messege. Keep up the good work, amazing video.
Salem Al-Arrak most youtubers wouldn't do that though as they don't have an academic background...
3:25 to 3:30, why did I never realize that Auto got closer as time went on. It shows the control Auto had over the lives of all those aboard the ship.
Great observation. I notice now they used real portraits for the earlier pilots ha
Or perhaps, if we want to follow with Pop Culture Detective's line of thinking, that the insidious path of least resistance became more and more omnipotent in the lives of the people on that ship.
@@classydays43 yes, the longer you remain complacent, the more power your complacency holds
That last bit about how misogyny and patriarchy are about describing the effects of our sociological systems, rather than demonizing men, was so good.
Agreed, it was really well formulated, informative and insightful. I'm going to recommend this to alot of people.
It's a critical message. If people think criticisms of the system are personal attacks, nothing will ever change.
I hate to say that I think a lot of people who complain about "privilege" in societies don't entirely understand it in that lens, and so tend to frame it in a very individualistic, blaming way. I think if more people described it in this pattern, they'd get a more sympathetic response.
I'm a man, and I live a pretty masculine life (not that I lift weights or am particularly manly, but I identify with the male role in society far more than the female one), and reading up on this topic has taught me a lot about the unfair tightrope men have to walk: In the modern world, we are increasingly expected to be mindful of aggressive behaviour, inclusion, and consent, but the entire body of pop culture we consume still teaches men to take what they want, and fight for what they're entitled to. Pop Culture Detective comes very close to this concept in his coverage of Harrison Ford movies.
Yes!! Whole video on this please
To be fair, men are typically socialized (im a man) in a very, VERY toxic way.
Wall-E is a masterpiece and I'm glad kids will grow up with this kind of message. In real life, we don't fight against villains, aliens or robots, we fight against our own comfortable and unquestioned position. We don't win by beating up the bad guys, but by identifying and regaining control over this giant entity that is bigger than us.
Your channel is a rare gem of youtube
Your editing is impeccable!!
Thank you :)
And you sound like an NPR person (I mean that as a compliment).
I think you're glad to not be watching anymore Big Bang Theory.
If I never see another episode of that show, it will be a thousand years too soon.
Let's hope they don't give you a reason to criticize Young Sheldon or whatever it's called.
The Big Bang Theory should have quit along time ago.
I’ve been binge watching these video essays, and I can’t get enough! All of your points are succinct and easy to follow, and your analyses are very in-depth and provocative! Thanks for doing what you do!
This is again such a great video, putting into words what I always kinda sorta knew, but didn't know how to express. I am so happy to have stumbled onto this channel when I have. Back then, I was even thinking about a Big Bang Theory video because it was requested, but now I just don't wanna do it. I have a kids channel and I feel it would be disgusting to do it.
And if you keep this level of quality I will be forced to double your support on Patreon :D
Your point towards the end (in the portion about Weinstein) reminds me of a CS Lewis quote, paraphrased: "Too often we laugh when we should be silent and we're silent when we should speak."
This was one of the best video essays I've seen on this website so far. The consistent message with an actual solid base to work from and interesting/relevant details. It was refreshing.
Can you please do a video on your critique of Idiocracy?
He sorta seemed to suggest that idiocracy is indvidualist, that doesn't seem to be the case to me as the only reason humanity becamw "decedent" is because of the "big corporation", rather than indvidual choice. Although the humor is elitist and so on, the film makes some good points in relation to the "culture industry"
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I respect his opinion of the movie but still personally enjoyed it and I would agree with the above comment that it wasn't quite as black and white as he put it. I haven't seen it in a while but I also don't know if I'd call that humor elitist, nothing also Mike Judge has created comes off as elitist from what I can tell. That being said I'd definitely watch a video on him critiquing the movie as I'm open to new ideas and possibly changing my mind or at least seeing where he's coming from more clearly.
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You literally changed my mind, your video was well balanced I felt, and I didn't feel it was accusatory in the slightest. Also I love WALL-E, so that helped a bunch. It was engaging, and it drew me in as a viewer. I wish more people were like this.
I love how you so smoothly is able to discuss hard topics without casting blame. Keep up the good work!
I'm blown away at how succinctly and persuasively you convey these ideas. You should be very proud of yourself.
I really love your videos! They are so inspiring because you don't back down from tackling big complex issues in a really coloquial and relatable way. Thanks for that.
Excellent analysis! I loved this movie and you've now given me an even deeper reason to love it. Systemic problems vs. individual problems is a concept I hope we are all slowly waking up to. I credit the movie "Dear White People" with helping me to understand racism in that way; as an overarching systemic problem we are all implicit in unless actively fighting against it. It's a proactive viewpoint. Saying "I'm not racist" does nothing to stop racism, it just gives an individual absolution from guilt. Now I say, "I was born into a society with institutionalized racism and have been a passive participant in it my whole life, how can I fix it?" Same thing with sexism, poverty, and any other societal ills. Worrying only about your own personal guilt or shame is meaningless and useless. Only when you recognize that we are all participants in a greater societal problem can change take place. Thanks for the video!!
wow717 Yeah! It's interesting how helping others can bring us much more joy than just trying to help yourself. Of course, if people weren't built that way we wouldn't get too far as a society.
I wish I could like your comment multiple times
True and thanks. You gave me a neat formulation to describe it to those unaware of it. Finding the "right words" to come through is hard.
And sadly that's the bigger problem of our social system(s): The status quo is unjust and changing needs to put energy in it. Many don't want to "fix it" cause it takes effort and for many the system(s) not broke at all.
Good points, actually, but what I'm wondering is how to fix the damn problems to begin with. Especially when it's inevitably going to require breaking through to other people.
Ikr im so fucking sick of this 'people are bad because they are bad' narrative and character characteristic, not only is it unrepresentative of society, its so shallow.
Everyone ignores how that cockroach stayed on that same landmass for about 2-3 days.
"... stay silent" *quentin tarantino on screen* YESSS HONEY DRAG HIM
Aidan Carroll I just read your comment when he read the line and YES! Drag him!
Also, this video was perfect. Was not expecting a video with that title to become a succinct and powerful defense of social justice theory.
JohnnyTheWolf that's been the topic of conversation lately with my older brother. He's been listening to Jordan Peterson, and it's been a little challenging talking about it just cuz Jordan Peterson uses vastly different definitions in his vocabulary so as it oppose a straw man of social justice.
A lot of alt right vocabulary is used to reduce social causes and phenomena to individual endeavours to make them seem frivolous and invalid. The pejorative term "virtue signaling" comes to mind.
I M J U S T B U I L D I N G T H E E C O N O M Y
Oh, I like this.
Thanks :)
I love how you are so calm and you explain everything with so much detail.
"too much trash in your face? there plenty of space up in space" Brilliant.
as a non native english speaker I only now hear this amezing line.
This was fantastic. Some of the edits to show an example from a separate Pixar movie (particularly the Andy one) were graceful and made full use of the video essay as a format.
If I had one critique, it would be to introduce the concept of terms like toxic masculinity as descriptors of social systems rather than of strictly individuals more explicitly in the opening of the video. It was the single most compelling and succinctly put argument of this concept I've ever come across, and is overshadowed somewhat by the other more dominant themes in WALL-E for most of the video.
Cullen Cowap That is fair. I would say that this video could help people who are turned off by the term toxic masculinity, but enjoyed Wall-e. By not showing that he was going to make this point, it can soften the blow, I guess.
Wall-e was legit a masterpiece and I loved it
wooo, my first funded video!
Thanks so very much for the support Matt!
this is the best thing ever. i did not expect my two favorite things (disney and critique on social norms) could ever be combined but it is so so on spot. and this structure of blaming individuals instead of the overarching institutions is exactly how many people misleadingly choose to look at race
Years too late at this point but I wanted to say, I loved this video so much- this was a fantastic point and something I hadn't considered before. My one nitpick- it would have been great if you had mentioned the inventor of Monopoly, Lizzie Magie, designed Monopoly to illustrate that exact point- that the structure of our economy results in the inevitable hoarding of wealth and forces people to screw over others to 'get ahead', or else they can't compete. It was very intentional on her part, and she often doesn't get credit for it. But, again, your content is exceptional and you're doing amazing work. Very glad that you're here doing what you're doing.
I am still impressed how close it follows the 1928 novella: The Machine Stops.
Tyrant-Den Are you saying Wall-e is like that story? I've never heard of it before.
Great analysis. I love this movie so much specifically because it's predicated around the idea that people can change. I also liked your greater point about how it's the system that's the problem, not necessarily individuals within it.
Thank you! I now understand the frustration I so often feel when discussing things with Americans, and discussing sexism with alot of men.I now have the framework to communicate my thoughts better.
WOW... That was awesome. Wall-E has always been one of my favourite DIsney movies, favourite movies period, really, for it's warning against giving in to the inherit laziness and apathy inherit to our culture. It's truly an under-apprecited gem of story-telling.
I really liked your use of the Monopoly game as an allegory for explaining the nuanced difference between a despicable system and a despicable person. FAR too often I'm sure we've all seen, reactionary people, quick to defend themselves whenever a construct they identify with is criticized. From the christian institution to the patriarchal system, people often seem to find too much of their self-worth in the ideas of others.
Another GREAT work from you, sir. *applauds* BRAVO!
I think that essay is so necessary to the whole discussion you've been doing about masculinity. It gives a good introduction to the audiance about what's at stake when we're studing and discussing about collective categories such as masculinity... I'm trying to get some free time to translate (even with my questionable translation skills :P) the captions of your videos to make them reach more audiences. Thanx for the video!
Lately I often hear people liken the post-election world around us as Idiocracy come to life. I could never quite put my finger on why I didn't quite accept that, but what you said in the video certainly rings true for me. If individuals were the primary driving force behind the election, it would not have ended the way it did. Rather, these institutions and systems were the primary reason things happened the way they did. Those who liken the world to Idiocracy and Idiocracy itself completely miss the point you so eloquently made here.
Once again, you have outdone yourself with an amazing video. Fantastic job. I look forward to even more great work from you.
As someone not from USA, i find the election system there baffling. There is all these hoops for voters to jump through, and a candidate can win despite their opponent getting more votes. It all seems so confusing.
Anyway, great video and agree about Idiocracy, the whole movie was just a mess of wasted potential and cheap shots at poor people.
I've always saw the election less as "idiots vote in Trump" and more "the people are forced to pick between two people they don't like."
Hey PCD I'm absolutely loving these videos - it's so fantastic to have these visual essays on masculinities, social systems, and media - especially as a sociology student. It would be fascinating to see your take on Australian/New Zealand masculinities, especially their relationship to geography, and other men through mateship, it's not often covered! Keep up the good work!
The essays are very good at putting words to things that alot of us can't. Like the Born Sexy Yesterday trope, its something that fell into the "this bothers me but I can't place why" category, and you summed it up incredibly well. And as well, you tie in typical subjects without it feeling forced. Keep up the good work, I love seeing these I my notifications :)
Spot on with the analysis and I really appreciate your attention to detail for clearly explaining the issues in a way that is inclusive for a wide audience - while also matching them with such well known film pieces and present social incidents! Thanks for sharing (from a sociology graduate)!
Most video essays on this platform are incredibly self-indulgent and obnoxious. Yours are so well researched, written, and paced. This is the best content of its kind on the site and you are fantastic dude.
I like how Wall-E didn't villify the BnL CEO. He genuinely wanted the best for everyone and actually tried to clean up the mess his corporation made. He just fell into the pattern of taking the easy path. In any other story (like the inferior Lorax movie) he'd just be evil because "money".
But the CEO was in control of the whole planet, he was the global government as well.
Good thing I stayed home instead of trick-or-treating!
Hey Jon, I found your channel about a week ago and since then I have been watching through your videos and been amazed at your incredible content. Your fantastic content continues to make me think and really helps me to understand a lot of social issues, you put a lot of things in ways I find amazing, in such an engaging way. I have watched TH-cam for a long time, and always considered myself too poor to contribute on Patreon, but I have decided that I will sign up to help to fund your incredible content. Keep up the incredible content, you are genuinely the most insightful channel I have yet found on youtube.
the wall-e plot is literally the world right now, i hope people step of the path and make the change as soon as possible.
Dammit, I hate that you're right about Idiocracy. I love the dumb humour in it, but yes, now that you mention it... ew.
What is most concerning about wall-e is that only the axiom is seen coming back to earth. Leading me to believe there are many other star liners containing thousands of people still flying around in space or even some become derelict and were slowly killed off. On the other hand that would sound like a great story for a wall-e 2.
Of course Wall-e apparently takes social class out of the equation, which makes it a lot easier to develop a coherent social critique. I would argue that the most Pixar and Disney films, while emotionally and tonally quite sophisticated, are nonetheless a bit too simplistic to serve as useful touchstones for discussions like this.
That being said, I really enjoyed your video. The parts showing the actual paths of least resistance in Wall-e and the obnoxious players in the Monopoly ads are where the video essay format really shines. Thank you for your continued thoughtfulness.
It's only slightly related but I'd love to see you do something on the new Bladerunner, as a film that is not explicitly trying to make a point.
This is easily my favorite channel right now. Your work is impeccably presented, well researched and just a general oasis in the overall TH-cam climate.
I just saw Wall E yesterday, and now this is in my recommended, coincidence I think not
Could you do an essay of some kind on "Bojack Horseman"? I feel like there's a LOT of interesting and thought-provoking stuff to be said about that show.
Thank you for this, my essay will now be sheer fire
Huh. I just noticed while watching this video that the Axiom kinda looks like a cruise ship with some engines pasted onto the bottom. Interesting.
My boyfriend was literally just teaching me how to play monopoly the other day lol. I wasn't getting it and he was like "you're suppose to try and get the most money" and I was like "but I just want to avoid jail and these houses make the board look cluttered" LOL. Now I know I suck at monopoly, but I enjoy playing, just to see how excited other people get when they win lol.
This is a great analysis!! It reminds me of the concept of hegemony, especially cultural hegemony, where one group in power contains and moderates the dissent of more subjugated groups. It usually functions the same way, where it ends up with lots of people participating in a system that doesn't necessarily benefit them, they just don't yet know how to step outside of those norms. Watching your videos on pop culture really helps me understand and reflect on life in the real world! Thank you!
Please never stop doing these videos, this is quality content!
The impact these videos have on the world cannot be understated. You're the Wall-e of this world, helping us see the paths of least resistance. Bless you and what you do. It gives me hope.
I was kinda hoping for a vid about some spooky misogyny, but no matter what the topic, your content never ceases to impress. As a gal who loves comprehensive video-essays, it's hard not to find ones dripping with male ego, but not only r u fantastic, I so wholly appreciate the topics you take on. Born Sexy Yesterday? Genius. I've been trying to find a good word for that disturbing trope for ages (my greatest spin was 'Sexy Baby Dream Girl' and referee THAT scene as the 'My Fair Strip Tease' lol)
Anna is a Trashcan't at the end, it was very much about spooky misogyny. His channel will mostly always be themed around patriarchal topics
Meanwhile, me and my little brother playing Monopoly and being ridiculously nice to each other (e.g. we won’t buy any properties in a group if the other player has any, we’ll remind each other to pick up 200, feel good or bad for each other if we’re winning or losing, etc)
This made a sociology graduate very happy. All too often sociology is dismissed as 'wishy-washy pseudo-science' instead of a useful (and, in my view, essential) tool to analyse our world. Wall.e was always my favourite Disney movie for many of the reasons you describe in this essay (the cleaner robot jumping off line being my favourite moment). So, yes, thank you thank you thank you!
Finally, someone giving this movie the analysis it deserves. Keep it up man
Theres a dark place when you realise that of the many thousands of ships that went in to space, only one of them advertised a regenerative food buffet and fully automated staff, and that was the Axiom, or the premium business elite class ship. All the others would have likely had five years worth of provisions.
Buy N' Large was in control of the whole Earth, it was a globalist state as well, there are no other chips not made by Buy N' Large.
great to see creators put so much thought and effort into their videos. this made me see a lot of things in a completely new way. keep up the good work!
The Monopoly analogy is such a useful way to explain this topic, I loved it.
And it was interesting to hear your descriptions of the path of least resistances, saying that they are unclear IRL came as a surprise to me, but that must be because as a queer neurodivergent person these paths are something I must think about constantly so they aren't as nebulous as they would be for someone closer to the "default", I suppose.
I don't trust people who don't like Wall-E. This movie is almost perfect.
Your visual+academic essay/article is great! Keep it up. Definitely the type of video that should be shared in all storytelling classes.
You must do a video about Idiocracy. My political science professor loves it and it grinds my gears lmfao
Oh wall-e, the only animation movie that left me actually felt something back then when I was a kid watching it. I also love this analysis video, thank you so much for all your quality contents.
Great video! I do have a question about not describing participants in a social system by their actions. At the end of the video you mention that we can refuse to be complicit in oppressive systems. Doesn't this mean that, from a moral standpoint, one ought to do exactly that? Shouldn't we expect the men in Hollywood to refuse to be complicit? Maybe these men aren't in favor of sexual harassment, but they had the power to potentially prevent further harm and chose to do nothing. That's where the monopoly analogy breaks down for me, social systems have real-world effects that the participants are aware of, which means there is a moral value associated with the decision to take the path of least resistance. In monopoly, there are no *actual* consequences.
Criticism exists to elicit change, but as a critic of culture, what can one expect to change if the problems of a social system are only attributable to the system itself? It seems to me that to critique culture is to urge the participants of a social system to modify their behavior, which happens at the level of the individual.
I could be conflating one idea with another, and that might be because individualism is so pervasive. Like I said at the beginning, this was a great video, and It challenged some ideas I didn't know I had.
TheWizardOfOsborne These are my thoughts exactly. The issue I have with the video is that it cant decide whether an individuals actions are guided by social systems or by its own moral judgements. Okay, there might be paths of least resistance, but the choice to do the right thing is and has always been the individuals, at all times. The passengers of the axiom had a choice between complying and refusing to consume vast amounts of junk food. So you are right in saying that systemic change can only be achieved at the level of the individual. The only, albeit undesirable alternative is to construct social systems through policy, basically meaning force, which would have dire consequences. Look up Jordan Peterson for more on this topic.
i think he's explaining what happens and how, not talking about what one should do. he gives you information with which you can try yourself to answer the questions you asked.
I personally believe that the reason why people don't choose the obvious morally better alternative at times is because they don't trully believe they can.
Bad faith, they believe deep down that they have no choice because they are following the social system blindly without questioning if they can change it, ergo not "knowing" they can, or at least not knowing they wouldn't be completely thrown away from society for doing so.
systems are made up of people, who can indeed decide to stop participating in them. Should we expect men in Hollywood to refuse to be complicit?
Well, this is a tricky question. Morally: yes. But the question is: who can afford to? Morality is nice and all, but practical concerns have to take precedence whether you're a famous actor or a poor single mother. You can only expect people to refuse to be complicit when the things they might lose by doing so are lesser than what they might gain by doing so. The answer, as it eventually turned out (although somehow this almost got lost in the general hubub), was George Clooney. Of all people. He stepped up, and talked about incidents he had witnessed. It should be assumed however that when he spoke, he spoke for thousands of other men in Hollywood. He was simply the one who could say the words, because he doesn't need to worry about his job security.
So what I see is that in the social system set up around Weinstein, people who witnessed it didn't feel like they had the power to stop it. Either their career would be forfeit, or they wouldn't be believed by the higher-ups. The social system created space for Weinstein to abuse his power. There is room for people to not be monsters, but to solve the problem we need to change the system that gives him room to harass and assault without consequences.
My dad walked over and was like why are you watching monopoly ads
I honestly cannot believe those ads for the Monopoly board game. The mind boggles.
these videos are incredibly well-made. i feel like i've learned something or gained a better understanding from each one, even though they discuss topics i already know a lot about.
I just came across your channel and find it very interesting. This thesis reminds me of another youtube video from a channel called Thunk, where he discusses and compares corporations as "rogue AIs".
Concerning "bad people doing bad things", that's one reason why I love the character of Londo Mollari from Babylon 5: what happens when basically good people gets put into bad situations.
I like how all of the monopoly ads show only the winner enjoying the game
any chance you can add subtitles?
IM working on it
Thanks to his good diction and pace, the auto-generated English subtitles seem pretty good. Still, I'd pitch in a few hours a month adding subtitles to these videos.
English subtitles done, just need to be reviewed.
B Long whoever did, the subtitles has distractingly, poor grammar. With constantly, unnecessary commas and full stops,
This really helped me with an essay I'm working on, thank you.
One of my Uni Professors recommended this video in her lecture.
Amazing video. This makes me feel even better about taking sociology 101 last semester. Sociology applies almost everywhere.
You're awesome, thank you for this video. This has been one of my favorite movies for a long time and you made me realize even more of the reasons why I love it so much. Keep doing what you're doing, your channel is fantastic and I think it's helping a lot of people to understand things they weren't able to see before.
This helped me understand why I didn't like that frase about "human kind being inherently bad", something along those lines "human nature". I never believed it. I always thought that it was unfair to place an individual in a situation that it's easier "to be bad" and expect them to behave "right". Thank you, for making this.
Well done video! I had noticed when watching the movie that the film teased the humans a bit about having grown complacent, but you never stopped caring for them so while the SIGHT of them sliding across the deck was visually funny, you were concerned for their welfare. Your analysis neatly ties all the reasons for this together.
This was utterly a joy to watch, and gave me another reason to love Wall-E. I'm surprised a film as progressive and brave in its ideas was put out by Disney.
And thank you for highlighting how annoying and elitist stories which demonise individual consumers are - we see this a lot in the real world with individuals being encouraged to recycle each week to Save the Planet when it's corporations pumping out tonnes and tonnes of waste fuels and greenhouse gases which are the problem, to take one example.
I don't think Wall-E is utterly free of making the inhabitants of the Axiom butts of jokes occasionally or scapegoats to blame, but the film does a lot better job of sociological storytelling than anything I can think of right now off the top of my head.
Also, it's worth noting that Monopoly was originally invented as a critique of capitalism, to show how ultimately it sticks people in a system which drains them of their resources but for the small few who collect the goods. Unfortunately, as so many once critical and progressive texts are (I'm thinking Shrek and The Sims as other examples), it became warped into a twisted money-grabbing parody of itself.
Wow I really really loved this. Because of personal experiences, I especially loved your examples of monopoly and the robot with the yellow paint trail, because I think it shows things that can be inherent prohibited of following the path of least resistance. In my case, I'm speaking of mental illness, and how being mentally ill and choosing to treat it goes against the social norm of not being mentally ill and choosing to not treat any problems that may need it with professional help. This goes especially with psychotic disorders. Society doesn't want you to be mentally ill, and if you are, it must be depression and anxiety, and it must be solved by means which for people like me, can be very helpful, but not solve the problem. And even though these are things that someone cannot control, once you have bipolar, PTSD, dysmythia, memory problems, chronic pain, etc., And treat it with medication, you are against the norm and no longer really accepted. "Fought against" as you said. Maybe this isn't really path of least resistance as you said, but it popped into my mind with your monopoly example because I could never win monopoly because of my short term memory problems. Because of something inherent about me, or that I could not control, I can no longer follow that particular system.
I never thought I would find a cockroach the cutest living thing on earth for more than an hour. But here we are.
Excellent video! You have an outstanding speaking voice and you explain everything so well! Keep up the great work!
It was an interesting point to learn from Monopoly the family game we like.
Wonderful as always. Can't wait for the next one, I love me some prequel commentary. I wish I had some money to send your way, but I'm struggling myself.
That little cleanliness obsessed robot is amazing.
Litterally stepped off the line just so he could clean the dirt trail Wall-e left.
I love your videos and the way you analyze media based on sociology, it is both entertaining and educating. I will support you as much as I can to get more great content on yt!
Your analysis is spot on!!
As soon as it got to the point about social rules I was waiting for "Axiom" to be used in the literal sense, or at least this play on words to be pointed out...
I saw this movie as one of those cautionary tales of what our society is steadily heading to and that too much consumerism can be bad for us.
You make good content.
sometimes it feels like the institutions we have in place are like snowballs that gather size and speed, and there's no way to stop them. e.g. we need necessities like food and water and shelter to survive, but all of those are either packaged and/or owned and sold for profit. it's like, how do we oppose these systems when we rely on them? i really do love walle tho, because it does give me a sense of hope for change.
This is great and all, but I as a kid never distinguished anything different between WALLE's villain and others. It never dawned on me that the AI Auto wasn't self aware. I always thought of him as a malicious, evil villain.
That is a great way to send that message! Holy crap...