This reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in the Sopranos. It's the one where Silvio, Bobby, Chris, Furio, and a few other characters are all sitting outside of the deli talking. Bobby is reading a newspaper, and reads aloud how there are people protesting Columbus day. Everybody is instantly outraged since they consider Columbus a great Italian hero. Furio (who is from Italy) literally spits on Columbus' name and explains that he doesn't like people from northern Italy because of wealth disparity. All of the mafia boys look and act so confused that Italy isn't this great, mythical cultural monolith like they've thought and heard about their whole lives. It really makes the audience realize that the American concept of Columbus only exists in America and is completely ridiculous from almost any outside view.
I'm a second-gen Italian-Canadian and that's my favourite episode of Sopranos, hands down. I might have cracked a rib from laughing when Furio yells "I fuckin' hate the North!" and the rest of them just sit there slack-jawed, and then the episode gets even better from there.
But we're not talking about Southern Italians. We're talking about Americans who happen to have Italian parents/grandparents. It's unreasonable to expect them to share all the biases specific to Italy that their forefathers had. Also, being in the mafia could means loads of easy money, sex, and glory. And it's what their fathers did.
Present day discussion of Iraq amazes me.A million dead Iraqis, Destroyed infrastructure setting the country back, Generations lost time as Iraqi kids are on streets from Turkey to Germany.The only negative discussion amongst Americans is how the the war was expensive a few dead marines.
"americans not only bomb you back to stone age, 20 yeaers later the come back to make a movie how bombing you made ther soilders sad" - a meme on the internet
The older I get, the fewer heroes I have, from historical figures to authors and artists to members of my family. The thing about heroes is.... there’s a line in Max Brooks’ “World War Z” that goes “...America is a very all-or-nothing society. We like the big win, the touchdown, the knockout in the first round.” We like our heroes, our unrealistic ideals. The rich, the famous, the talented, should all be admired because they figured out the game. And even their flaws are held up as pros. But really, heroes should, like faith, be kept personal. Have big parades and holidays for the seasons, for harvests, for a barn raising. Barns never touched anyone inappropriately or owned slaves.
I think we have a very flawed concept of what a hero is. No one has an impeccable record because we as humans are complex, and that should be considered when we choose the people we look up to. We've all gone through that time in our adolescence when we realize our parents aren't as amazing as we thought, and now we are going through that period as a society. Learning that Newton constantly abused his power shouldn't deter you from believing his contributions to science were instrumental in our understanding of physics, for example. And that's not even considering the people we've thrown into the hero category because it's easier to call them 'brave' than to acknowledge the faults in our system.
My first thought whenever someone says "What would the Founding Fathers think?" is usually something akin to "Doesn't matter; they're dead. They don't have to live with this shit."
The thing that would disgust them most would be the large standing army, which of course would be a sign of military tyranny. Like to see the GOP deal with that bind lol.
My strict constructionalist rationale for ignoring what the founding fathers would think: the founding fathers included in the constitution the ability to amend the constitution. If they wanted their word to be the only word on how the US would function, they would never included the ability to amend the constitution. Besides, that whole "interpret the constitution as the founders intended" is a BS excuse to not change anything. I'd go so far as to say it was a catchphrase coined as way to make rolling back the liberties granted under the Warren court sound American. I wouldn't be surprised if it was invented in a Federalist society think tank by people going "we need to find a way to get rid of that pesky Miranda decision without making it sound like we're taking away rights for no reason."
@@timothymclean honestly, the one bright spot of thinking about how the ~founding fathers~ would react to modern society is imagining Ben Franklin geeking out over all the ways we use electricity nowadays and bragging to all the others about how he 'basically invented all of it' lol.
Pretending bad things didn't happen in the past prevents healing and prevents reconciliation. National pride can still be found in being an honest nation that accepts the terrible things that have happened in the past instead of burying it. Great video as always.
Yes I agree. Every culture does this. Like the myth that America invented slavery. A slave culture existed in Africa for thousands of years before it found its way to America. This is no excuse just a good example of shameful acts being mythologised.
This is something that worries me about modern day germany. They try to act like their past didnt happen, instead of openly talking about what happend, and being an advocate of the dangers of nationalism.
It baffles me how often Americans will use the argument “this is what the founders wanted.” As if our modern laws should be beholden to what some slave owners who died hundreds of years ago thought.
100% agree. My response to anyone who says anything along those lines is "The founders of our country made sure that we COULD change things as time goes along. They're called ammendments".
And it’s basically unique to ‘Murica. In Europe, for example, where the various nations have exhaustingly long lists of figures who qualify as candidates for “great men” for the ignorantly idle to entertain in their minds, it isn’t common practice to praise every single thing they did in their lives and entangle those actions into a gold standard of principles for whichever nation. Well.. it was common practice for a time, and that turned out fantastically for the entire world to enjoy. Most nations aren’t perpetually stuck worshipping a roughly 50-year time period when men wore tights and powdered wigs.
Yup, this world is COMPLETELY different from the one they lived in. They wouldn't know left from right in today's society. The notion that we, the people alive today, should be sticking like glue to the ideas written on a document nearly TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, is incomprehensibly narrow-minded, and borders on religious ideology. 1/4 of a thousand years... There's a very fine line between that and saying that we should be living our lives according to an even older book, like the Bible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing religion - you are free to believe what you want to believe, you can live your life within our society however you want as long as it's not disruptive to society or the lives of others. But the moment you say "this is what we ALL should be doing because this is what THEY wrote, and if you don't agree, YOU'RE wrong", you are no better than a religious extremist forcing your beliefs on the lives of others. We need laws and guidelines grounded in the reality of the world we live in today, not how things were 250 years ago. bBesides, America was literally founded on the idea of transformation and change. That was the entire point. They didn't even have cars, man. They didn't have CARS. COMPLETELY different world....
People (including myself in this) want things to be easy. It's easy to impulsively say "I don't want this as law because someone long ago said it was wrong". It's harder to sit and think about why we believe what we believe. And it's comforting to feel that there are unshakable rules in the world.
That comes from a guy who would have enforced thought crimes if he had the means to do so. Also he was killed by his own government during the revolution because he spiraled out of control.
Nationalism is basically a religion. The founding fathers are God, Columbus was the prophet, the president’s the pope and the constitution is the Ten Commandments.
Try the sheer audacity of suggesting Winston Churchill didn't ride a griffin into Berlin and single handedly drive Excalibur into Hitler's heart to your average Englishman....
Honestly, as a German I am so glad we lost the war... Not only because of the nazis (and that’s a freaking good reason alone), but also that we can’t be proud of the thing our ancestors did. That’s a really good thing to have...
When I was in middle school, my teacher showed the class a film about what Columbus *actually* did when he landed in the Americas. The idea of celebrating that man in any way has seemed disgusting since then.
People like to say that Canada is somehow better, somehow more ‘civilized,’ but we’re just as blindly patriotic and violent towards the truth of this nation. We stole indigenous children from their homes for generations to torture them in catholic schools, and when those were closed we let the utterly chilling system of children services’ remove indigenous children from their families to torture them in foster care. The accounting needed for this great crime is so mind boggling most people feel far more comfortable remaining in the negative peace. It’s a real joe-mentum feeling.
This feels a lot like the people who say "You can't take down a statue Jefferson Davis! You're just trying to erase history!", or "The Confederate flag doesn't represent racism! It's a part of southern culture!"
@@blaidencortel thank you as a southerner myself I never understood my region keeps trying to glorify a horrific time of our past the Confederates were traitors plain and simple
It's not even the real flag it's the naval banner. The confederacy literally had like two ships. I'm not sure how two sailboats that existed for a year or two can be a major part of a culture
I am a firm believer that the people who get their "history lessons" from these kinds of statues instead of books, is a big part of why we have the problems we do in this country. That and the fact that there are other people who wanted those people to think and feel the way they do about those statues and have gotten their way.
I got into an argument with a guy on reddit (I know, I know) over what happened after Normandy in WW2. He basically started with everyone should consider those troops badass. I pointed out how there was a problem with American GIs sexually assaulting French women following the event. He did the usual apologetics "war isn't supposed to be nice," to which I respond, "That's exactly why it shouldn't be romanticized." He tried to downplay it by saying "rape is never okay, but it was only a few bad apples. We shouldn't talk about it because it negates the good that the good soldiers have done." (Paraphrased) After I tell him that, yes, some good was done, but we can't overlook the atrocities some of our own boys did. We need to look at history critically, and objectively. I got some downvotes for that. He then goes on about how those French women should be grateful because there would be no France if the Americans hadn't saved them from the Germans. If it wasn't for those GIs being romanticized, we wouldn't see them as heroes and their efforts wouldn't be praised, and just talking about the terrible things some of them did would be disrespectful to the good ones." Okay.
This reminds me of a time when I watched "Saving Private Ryan" with my uncle. I saw him physically recoil in one of the early scenes when American GI's execute a German on the spot and then proceed to pick his pockets. He took issue with it, and legit thought it was communist propaganda or something. The severe lack of critical thinking in this damn country is just so infuriating.
Recently, a british historian said in an interview that Don Pelayo (legendary founding father of Spain) almost certainly never existed, as he almost certainly didn't. He also said that the "reconquista" is a myth built centuries after it finished to reinforce national pride and link it to catholicism, as it is. He received countless insults from some furious spaniards. It was shameful.
@@jimmyc42x Interesting question. Is there truth in the Dark Knight quote "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"?
The US government supported Franco after the war, can't say I'm surprised. After 1945, the US sides with fascism against any sort of revolution, every time. We should remember that
My friend, get your facts right please. El valle de los caídos is not a cenotaph. It was built by the victima of Franco, republican prisoners after the civil war. Republicans buried in the same place as the people who murdrered them and the dictator. That's not a cenotaph, thats not respect, that's a twisted mock at all who fought and died for the Republic. Lately they removed Franco from there and buried him in his family tomb... while republicans are still buried and unidentified who knows where because our Transition was a joke done by the same people whose bloody hands made Spain get stuck in time.
@@dairallan Please, even if the Spanish state acted rather authoritatively in many occasions, saying (it) operates as a fascist state is flippant at the very least. The current government is centre left (european style, which puts them there with the most progressive US democrats) and the police won't kick down your door if you're queer or communist. Access to healthcare is guaranteed and reasonably effective for the vast majority of the population. Comparing the current situation to Franco's Spain is ignoring the hard work of several generations of revolutionaries and progressives, even as today, actual fascists try to set it all back. So please, have a little respect and remember that there's actual fascists out there. All of this I say without any malice and with utmost respect, my intention is to provide a firsthand account of the situation.
I thought America didn't support Spain under Franco? Wasn't that the whole reason Spain didn't get aid from Marshall Plan while Portugal did, despite being under Salazar?
this episode is a perfect example of why it's so irritating when people describe the simpsons as "progressive" or "left leaning"; it lightly snarks at the status quo while ultimately siding with it and is really no different from south park in that regard
To be fair, it is much more like that than before. You can argue that it's not genuine in its approach but it is trying much harder to draw in the left side than previous years. Snark or not, it's quite obvious to observe.
For real, Plato's "good lie" was a widely accepted concept by the founding fathers which is why we have a plutocratic republic and not an actual democracy because they never trusted "the people" or their actual ability to self determine their communities, and why we have a giant american history propaganda machine, it's disgusting honestly
Mythologizing runs deep. I remember a college political science class I was in where the professor waxed rhapsodic about how the founding fathers were a "special group" and the U.S. Constitution was created during a "special time". This line of thinking seems antithetical to the science part of political science to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In Latin America, a territory which was under spanish rule for centuries people really don't care about Columbus. I Always wondered why a country founded by british settlers would care so much about him and this video clears my doubts. Thank you
I think veterans have also become mythologized; they're symbols of superhuman courage, resilience and *righteousness*, far removed from the humanity of the real people whose struggles were appropriated to spin a dubious narrative of war.
I just graduated highschool (the year of the Corona virus for future reference) and everytime Columbus has been discussed in my federally mandated education, it never been in a benevolent light. The way you speak of Colmbus I think is how people and public education think of Washington and the like. Anyway I just like to point out that there is progress being made in the deidolization of historical figures. Great vid thanks for making them :)
My mom is a professional psychic and does past life regressions. She's convinced that she was George Washington's slave in a past life, and she thinks he was a truly great guy because he let her, as his enslaved man accompanying him to war, let her sleep on the floor of his quarters instead of freezing in the deep snow. She didn't have much of a response for when I asked if he was that great of a guy, why didn't he just let you go? My mother also once asked me who my favorite president was, and I had to say none of them, lol. Anyway, love this video, I can't believe I never made the Columbus connection to this episode before! I must have seen it two dozen times, easy... Really great stuff, as always.
@@josan14basket Lincoln ordered the largest ever mass execution of indigenous people in US history. I for one dislike him. Did you miss the point of the video, on say, mythologising american historical figures away from fact and into heroic fiction. He worked to serve settler colonialism and the interests of the ruling class just like every other president has and will.
@@edwardfontaine7108 well, yeah which is why the 'Great Man' theory of history that focuses on famed individuals over movements and societal norms is inherently reactionary
@@edwardfontaine7108 He's only great because you choose to hold onto the notion that he is. There are many other great abolitionists in American history but Lincoln is so upheld because he gives legitimacy to the state and change from within. John Brown is a favourite of mine.
I've been on a crusade to educate myself about our history. For the longest time I've said "I don't care about American history", but more and more I'm coming to realize that I need to care. Your videos have been helping me a lot on this journey. Thank you.
I mean, I adore _Hamilton_ and all, but if someone buys into American Exceptionalism and the lionizing of the Founding Fathers, there's not a lot in the material that would challenge that.
K.M. Connor I mean it mentions Jefferson owning slaves but it drastically downplays Washington’s slave owning and a lot of Hamilton’s flaws are glossed over
Guys, I think Jeeves' joke was that if the Founding Fathers saw themselves being played by BIPOC actors in a rap musical, they would either challenge the entire cast plus LMM to duels or just die of rage aneurysms on the spot.
Thanks for the bonus old school ad at the end there. I'm an Aussie and have never had the chance to see a Simpsons ad that wasn't just snippets from episodes promoting the fact that one channel happened to get the contract for The Simpsons. Also the essay was very insightful into the bullheadedness I see online when these topics come up. Australia being founded largely by convicts has its own problems.
Back in 12th grade, I had a history teacher that would justify her own political ideology by using random quotes (sometimes out of context) from the founding fathers, random sentences (sometimes out of context) from US documents, and declarations from the supreme court. Her largest problem with me was I would correct her butchered quotes, put them into context, and then tell her that it was irrelevant anyway.
For some reason, I'm reminded of Russian people I encounter online who lionize Stalin. Not that Stalin and the Russian people didn't defeat Nazi Germany, but the lionizers basically reject Stalin's horrific cruelty. We do similar things with our founders, I guess... Columbus sold little native American girls as young as 8 years old into sexual slavery in Spain, and this isn't mentioned, for instance...
I was blown away when I learned that the Soviet Union was the frontal assault into the invasion of Poland while Nazi Germany was the vanguard. Growing up, I never heard that in school and it blew my mind to learn that Starlin and Hitler not only had a non-aggression pact but were military allies as well in college.
Some may look at this like your shattering a sacred stained-glass window... but really it's just rose colored glasses. The spirit of truth behind this pile of broken glass is more beautiful then the lie ever could be.
Yes, one myth about the founding fathers is that they were all in favour of slavery as that was so ingrained in society at the time. In fact a significant minority of them knew very well that it was morally wrong and campaigned against it. Great video, and all of what you say can be doubled in relation to the UK and the history of the British Empire.
New to your channel, found you from you Harley Quinn video. And subbed two videos latter. I have been binging them since, they are entertaining, eye-opening, intelligent, and coherent. And this channel and it's community are so respectful as well, keep up the amazing work.
Even before my political awakening, I remembered this episode getting under my skin. For decades, I grudgingly accepted its ending as I had other episodes from the show. Surely, in my youth I was naive as Lisa to think that what she was doing was the correct course of action. What a relief to know that my initial reaction was not so naive after all.
"The realm. Do you know what the realm is? It's the thousand blades of Aegon's enemies, a story we agree to tell each other over and over, until we forget that it's a lie." - Littlefinger, GOT "But what do we have left, once we abandon the lie?" - Lord Vary's, GOT
This is my favorite video you've done and one of my favorite things of all time. Thanks for the ever-important eye-openings and keep up the phenomenal work. *kisses hand like an Italian chef*
Something similar happened in San Antonio. There were people who inhabited southwest Texas down to northeastern Mexico called the Coahuilteco. They were major contributors to the building of the Alamo; either willingly giving themselves to the cause for defense against the other people’s in Texas, or by force. They quickly assimilated into Spanish/Texas culture and over time they were forgotten. Now the Alamo and city of San Antonio will not respect the burial sites of the Coahuilteco on Alamo land.
Monuments are rarely about educating citizens about deeper meaning of culture and history and more about bringing in tourist income for the respective city.
Out of curiosity how many of you have actually experienced Columbus defenders? I was taught the myth version first but it wasn't long before I started hearing more about his crimes. However I was raised in NYC so I'm aware my experience may be unique.
I'm about 30 miles outside D.C., and the prevailing attitude I've encountered is one of apathy. Not even my relatively conservative family will defend Columbus the man, but they will also turn a blind eye to the legacies that colonialism has left in the modern world. They seem to think that this attitude makes them non-radical, and therefore the Smarterest Ever™, even though it really just amounts to excusing yourself from the conflict.
I'm not sure what the writers of the episode intended to be the lesson learned. But i'd see it more as: Lisa doesn't have much of a choice but to go along with the ignorance of everyone else. The only way she finds acceptance within the community is by conforming. So i see it more as resignation rather than a lesson learned.
You people should read "Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat" by J. Sakai. It's a great book that reveals many of the lies that Amerika tells its people. It also has a strong Third-World Maoist rhetoric that many people wouldn't agree with, that being that the modern white working class of Amerika are not part of the larger world proletariat, but rather, are just a less exploitative part of the bourgeoisie. A rather thought provoking read.
What's this? A gringo who has a critical eye of their history and values as a country and even admits the wrongness of calling the USA "America"? I'm pleasantly surprised
I learned about how the Colosseum used to re-enact sea battles in between gladiator fights. I thought this was really cool and I mentioned this to an American teacher not in my travel group while we were in Rome and she made fun of me for it. Never mind that I learned this from a documentary made by a renowned engineer and one of the greatest Ancient Roman history experts of all time and showed proof of the water channels (sadly the name of the film’s not in my head anymore otherwise I’d share it). I was also 13 at the time so that certainly didn’t help things.
The water technology is great but were you also trying to make a point about the gladiator fights? Those weren't such a great thing in and of themselves. Not something to be proud of.
When I was a child I thought that within the founding fathers, there was an elite group of nation founders, and there were four of them. For a while I thought the fore fathers were the ones on mt rushmore, then I thought about roosevelt, who I constantly forget is even up there
My mom is nearly 60, and she makes sure to learn as much truth as she can about true American history. Because she was raised and taught to believe George Washington was a pure man who 'could not tell a lie' rather than a slave owner. American history taught in schools is insane how much they really rely on the bullshit 'the winner writes the books'. (Spoiler alert: the genocidal colonizers write the books, then keep rewriting them and shoved into 'patriotic americans' that want to believe in nationalism so hard they won't accept anything less than the Cherry Tree story)
It's very difficult to debate/argue with anyone who believes in these American Myths. They are so deep into it, it would be like arguing with someone on a show, playing on your TV. There is just a level of awareness-an entire dimension-that they do not have access to.
As a Canadian, I always found the way America idolized its founders, and Columbus among others, to be supremely uncomfortable, given what the nation did after said founding.
I get it, it s a sad truth within the world that we all have to live. But a truth none the less. If most people did more research they could come to the conclusion(s) That this video, which ultimately is Why Butterfingers are the best Candy bar.
Every person has their flaws. There's that saying that meeting your hero is a situation ripe for disappointment. Using other people as examples is bound to backfire.
It's the same thing in Australia when comes to Captain Cook. People still believe that he discovered Australia despite the fact the fact he wasn't even the first European to set foot on the country.
I shared a thing about how we shouldn't celebrate Columbus day because he committed genocide, and my grandmother blasted the comments section with a caps lock rant about how he discovered America and kids these days don't know history. I feel like patriotism is something approaching a religion to boomers.
At 8:05 i gotta point out that Columbus cannot be said to originate the Atlantic slave trade. As a boy in Genoa, he was already familiar with the slave trade which included slaves from the atlantic west african coasts as well as north African arabs. Transatlantic maybe. Otherwise great work
I just went to double check(which led down a bit of a google rabbit hole). There was ONE founding father that could be considered a “rags to riches” story. It was Ben Franklin and admittedly the man was a bit of a genius. He was also the man telling the King what he wanted to hear while the constituents in the states became angrier and angrier. So he also kinda LED us into a war on purpose too so…
Slavery was unfortunately not abolished in the United States. Slavery is the ownership of people, done almost exclusively for the production of goods by companies and the monetary gain of others, and America’s prison population is literally sold to private prison companies to produce goods for their own monetary gain.
It would have been nice to have seen a compromise at the end of the episode. Like the Springfieldians learned that the hero they thought they knew never existed but the way he inspired them was real, even if it came from a myth. Maybe if this episode was written today they would have leaned into that more, but Lisa’s story arcs were simpler in earlier seasons
I've enjoyed all your analyses, and this one prompted me to suggest another animated episode from an animated series. It's the 100th episode of "South Park," when Cartman gets transported back in time. I think it's right up your alley!
@@renegadecut9875 Fair enough. Given your interest in the intersection of politics and culture, I do think you'll find that episode intriguing. Keep up the good work!
Meh... I don’t like this episode myself. They could have let Lisa show how a bad man can change with the right cause and the cause of Springfield was enough to make a bad man into a good man. I hated the way this episode ended.
This episode has two great mainsprings: A hitchcockian mistery around a bogus historical figure And the strongly emotional ties between Homer and Lisa through the episode
This reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in the Sopranos. It's the one where Silvio, Bobby, Chris, Furio, and a few other characters are all sitting outside of the deli talking. Bobby is reading a newspaper, and reads aloud how there are people protesting Columbus day. Everybody is instantly outraged since they consider Columbus a great Italian hero. Furio (who is from Italy) literally spits on Columbus' name and explains that he doesn't like people from northern Italy because of wealth disparity. All of the mafia boys look and act so confused that Italy isn't this great, mythical cultural monolith like they've thought and heard about their whole lives. It really makes the audience realize that the American concept of Columbus only exists in America and is completely ridiculous from almost any outside view.
That scene was great.
Sopranos is sometimes rather woke.
Not sure if intentionally or not.
I'm a second-gen Italian-Canadian and that's my favourite episode of Sopranos, hands down. I might have cracked a rib from laughing when Furio yells "I fuckin' hate the North!" and the rest of them just sit there slack-jawed, and then the episode gets even better from there.
But we're not talking about Southern Italians.
We're talking about Americans who happen to have Italian parents/grandparents.
It's unreasonable to expect them to share all the biases specific to Italy that their forefathers had.
Also, being in the mafia could means loads of easy money, sex, and glory. And it's what their fathers did.
@@illerac84
Yes.
Present day discussion of Iraq amazes me.A million dead Iraqis, Destroyed infrastructure setting the country back, Generations lost time as Iraqi kids are on streets from Turkey to Germany.The only negative discussion amongst Americans is how the the war was expensive a few dead marines.
Qwerty3515 Hakim no then they would use that to justify escalation
"americans not only bomb you back to stone age, 20 yeaers later the come back to make a movie how bombing you made ther soilders sad" - a meme on the internet
@@MB-yk1qk that’s not a meme that’s every movie Hollywood makes about the Iraq war
The older I get, the fewer heroes I have, from historical figures to authors and artists to members of my family. The thing about heroes is.... there’s a line in Max Brooks’ “World War Z” that goes “...America is a very all-or-nothing society. We like the big win, the touchdown, the knockout in the first round.” We like our heroes, our unrealistic ideals. The rich, the famous, the talented, should all be admired because they figured out the game. And even their flaws are held up as pros. But really, heroes should, like faith, be kept personal. Have big parades and holidays for the seasons, for harvests, for a barn raising. Barns never touched anyone inappropriately or owned slaves.
I think we have a very flawed concept of what a hero is. No one has an impeccable record because we as humans are complex, and that should be considered when we choose the people we look up to.
We've all gone through that time in our adolescence when we realize our parents aren't as amazing as we thought, and now we are going through that period as a society. Learning that Newton constantly abused his power shouldn't deter you from believing his contributions to science were instrumental in our understanding of physics, for example.
And that's not even considering the people we've thrown into the hero category because it's easier to call them 'brave' than to acknowledge the faults in our system.
Underrated comment
This is a great comment. Very well said, mate.
I'm ponder that "no one really wants to be a hero.
Ho chi mihn is pretty cool. He still a historical hero to me
"Your comfort is not more important than the truth is the lie is weaponized to hurt people."
Powerful words.
I think that quote is amazing. I just wish more people could see the wisdom in it.
I would shorten it to "Your comfort is not more important than the truth".
*if
Words to live by.
My first thought whenever someone says "What would the Founding Fathers think?" is usually something akin to "Doesn't matter; they're dead. They don't have to live with this shit."
The thing that would disgust them most would be the large standing army, which of course would be a sign of military tyranny. Like to see the GOP deal with that bind lol.
@@cmbeadle2228 depends on which one. I think a lot of them would find women and non whites voting even more disgusting
"You freed the WHO?"
My strict constructionalist rationale for ignoring what the founding fathers would think: the founding fathers included in the constitution the ability to amend the constitution. If they wanted their word to be the only word on how the US would function, they would never included the ability to amend the constitution.
Besides, that whole "interpret the constitution as the founders intended" is a BS excuse to not change anything. I'd go so far as to say it was a catchphrase coined as way to make rolling back the liberties granted under the Warren court sound American. I wouldn't be surprised if it was invented in a Federalist society think tank by people going "we need to find a way to get rid of that pesky Miranda decision without making it sound like we're taking away rights for no reason."
@@timothymclean honestly, the one bright spot of thinking about how the ~founding fathers~ would react to modern society is imagining Ben Franklin geeking out over all the ways we use electricity nowadays and bragging to all the others about how he 'basically invented all of it' lol.
Pretending bad things didn't happen in the past prevents healing and prevents reconciliation. National pride can still be found in being an honest nation that accepts the terrible things that have happened in the past instead of burying it. Great video as always.
True the whole point of history is to learn from it
Respect.
Yes I agree. Every culture does this. Like the myth that America invented slavery. A slave culture existed in Africa for thousands of years before it found its way to America. This is no excuse just a good example of shameful acts being mythologised.
This is something that worries me about modern day germany. They try to act like their past didnt happen, instead of openly talking about what happend, and being an advocate of the dangers of nationalism.
Yup ,worded it perfectly we can be prideful but we can also respect ALL dead warriors by being honest and true to ourselves.
It baffles me how often Americans will use the argument “this is what the founders wanted.” As if our modern laws should be beholden to what some slave owners who died hundreds of years ago thought.
100% agree. My response to anyone who says anything along those lines is "The founders of our country made sure that we COULD change things as time goes along. They're called ammendments".
I think we should rewrite the constitution every generation or so.
The 2nd amendment, for example, needs to go.
And it’s basically unique to ‘Murica. In Europe, for example, where the various nations have exhaustingly long lists of figures who qualify as candidates for “great men” for the ignorantly idle to entertain in their minds, it isn’t common practice to praise every single thing they did in their lives and entangle those actions into a gold standard of principles for whichever nation. Well.. it was common practice for a time, and that turned out fantastically for the entire world to enjoy. Most nations aren’t perpetually stuck worshipping a roughly 50-year time period when men wore tights and powdered wigs.
Yup, this world is COMPLETELY different from the one they lived in. They wouldn't know left from right in today's society. The notion that we, the people alive today, should be sticking like glue to the ideas written on a document nearly TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, is incomprehensibly narrow-minded, and borders on religious ideology. 1/4 of a thousand years... There's a very fine line between that and saying that we should be living our lives according to an even older book, like the Bible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing religion - you are free to believe what you want to believe, you can live your life within our society however you want as long as it's not disruptive to society or the lives of others.
But the moment you say "this is what we ALL should be doing because this is what THEY wrote, and if you don't agree, YOU'RE wrong", you are no better than a religious extremist forcing your beliefs on the lives of others. We need laws and guidelines grounded in the reality of the world we live in today, not how things were 250 years ago. bBesides, America was literally founded on the idea of transformation and change. That was the entire point.
They didn't even have cars, man. They didn't have CARS. COMPLETELY different world....
People (including myself in this) want things to be easy. It's easy to impulsively say "I don't want this as law because someone long ago said it was wrong". It's harder to sit and think about why we believe what we believe. And it's comforting to feel that there are unshakable rules in the world.
“The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.”
~Maximilien de Robespierre
Golgotha_Mythos69 *becomes a tyrant*
The irony with that quote made by him
@@kinggwyn3056 True, but Robespierre died soon after the French revolution, so he had little time to be a tyrant, or in service of such men.
That comes from a guy who would have enforced thought crimes if he had the means to do so.
Also he was killed by his own government during the revolution because he spiraled out of control.
@@juhonieminen4219 I mean, the dude definitely was a tyrant. The length of rule doesn't change that
Nationalism is basically a religion. The founding fathers are God, Columbus was the prophet, the president’s the pope and the constitution is the Ten Commandments.
And the pledge is the Lord's prayer.
@Orson D'Orange New boss is just like the old boss; nothing really changes.
It's really similar to Colombia in Bioshock Infinite
"Why would you say something so controversial, yet so true?"
The REPUBLICAN presidents are the pope
Try the sheer audacity of suggesting Winston Churchill didn't ride a griffin into Berlin and single handedly drive Excalibur into Hitler's heart to your average Englishman....
Were not all that bad.
I have to draw this.
You’re denying historical FACT??
That's a very entertaining visual, ngl
Honestly, as a German I am so glad we lost the war...
Not only because of the nazis (and that’s a freaking good reason alone), but also that we can’t be proud of the thing our ancestors did. That’s a really good thing to have...
Renegade cut embiggins us all
It's a perfectly cromulent video
I prefer to wallow in my own crappulence
"We just created the greatest democracy on Earth, you low-born commoner!"
When I was in middle school, my teacher showed the class a film about what Columbus *actually* did when he landed in the Americas. The idea of celebrating that man in any way has seemed disgusting since then.
People like to say that Canada is somehow better, somehow more ‘civilized,’ but we’re just as blindly patriotic and violent towards the truth of this nation. We stole indigenous children from their homes for generations to torture them in catholic schools, and when those were closed we let the utterly chilling system of children services’ remove indigenous children from their families to torture them in foster care. The accounting needed for this great crime is so mind boggling most people feel far more comfortable remaining in the negative peace. It’s a real joe-mentum feeling.
I used to believe in the myth of Canadian people being courteous to a fault until I heard about them forcibly sterilizing indigenous women.
Canadian here! Yup, it's true. Also systemic racism, xenophobia and police brutality are rampant here.
@@wombatkidd We know. That is literally the point.
This feels a lot like the people who say "You can't take down a statue Jefferson Davis! You're just trying to erase history!", or "The Confederate flag doesn't represent racism! It's a part of southern culture!"
I prefer the REAL Confederate flag: a plain white banner.
@@blaidencortel thank you as a southerner myself I never understood my region keeps trying to glorify a horrific time of our past the Confederates were traitors plain and simple
It's not even the real flag it's the naval banner.
The confederacy literally had like two ships. I'm not sure how two sailboats that existed for a year or two can be a major part of a culture
I am a firm believer that the people who get their "history lessons" from these kinds of statues instead of books, is a big part of why we have the problems we do in this country. That and the fact that there are other people who wanted those people to think and feel the way they do about those statues and have gotten their way.
@@brandonhann1508 The same type of hate is rising again. It's not exclusively "the south" but "the right" this time.
I got into an argument with a guy on reddit (I know, I know) over what happened after Normandy in WW2. He basically started with everyone should consider those troops badass. I pointed out how there was a problem with American GIs sexually assaulting French women following the event. He did the usual apologetics "war isn't supposed to be nice," to which I respond, "That's exactly why it shouldn't be romanticized." He tried to downplay it by saying "rape is never okay, but it was only a few bad apples. We shouldn't talk about it because it negates the good that the good soldiers have done." (Paraphrased) After I tell him that, yes, some good was done, but we can't overlook the atrocities some of our own boys did. We need to look at history critically, and objectively. I got some downvotes for that. He then goes on about how those French women should be grateful because there would be no France if the Americans hadn't saved them from the Germans. If it wasn't for those GIs being romanticized, we wouldn't see them as heroes and their efforts wouldn't be praised, and just talking about the terrible things some of them did would be disrespectful to the good ones." Okay.
"Sure they got raped and scarred for life, but they were brats anyway if they didn't like daddy America."
Hm, yes.
America role in ww2 is already owerblown.
.
This reminds me of a time when I watched "Saving Private Ryan" with my uncle. I saw him physically recoil in one of the early scenes when American GI's execute a German on the spot and then proceed to pick his pockets. He took issue with it, and legit thought it was communist propaganda or something. The severe lack of critical thinking in this damn country is just so infuriating.
Recently, a british historian said in an interview that Don Pelayo (legendary founding father of Spain) almost certainly never existed, as he almost certainly didn't. He also said that the "reconquista" is a myth built centuries after it finished to reinforce national pride and link it to catholicism, as it is. He received countless insults from some furious spaniards. It was shameful.
If you're a British historian looking to tear down mythologised countries, you could find one closer than Spain.
I think the BLOODIEST term in the English language is "MANIFEST DESTINY".
Right after Doctrine of Discovery
The Simpsons now only reminds us of the fear of our own mortality. Not a fear of death, but rather a fear of living too long.
Does time corrupt all?
@@jimmyc42x Interesting question. Is there truth in the Dark Knight quote "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"?
This reminds when some Americans were furious when the Spanish turned Franco tomb into a cenotaph for the victims of Facism.
That happened? Holy crap
The US government supported Franco after the war, can't say I'm surprised. After 1945, the US sides with fascism against any sort of revolution, every time. We should remember that
My friend, get your facts right please. El valle de los caídos is not a cenotaph. It was built by the victima of Franco, republican prisoners after the civil war. Republicans buried in the same place as the people who murdrered them and the dictator. That's not a cenotaph, thats not respect, that's a twisted mock at all who fought and died for the Republic. Lately they removed Franco from there and buried him in his family tomb... while republicans are still buried and unidentified who knows where because our Transition was a joke done by the same people whose bloody hands made Spain get stuck in time.
@@dairallan Please, even if the Spanish state acted rather authoritatively in many occasions, saying (it) operates as a fascist state is flippant at the very least. The current government is centre left (european style, which puts them there with the most progressive US democrats) and the police won't kick down your door if you're queer or communist. Access to healthcare is guaranteed and reasonably effective for the vast majority of the population. Comparing the current situation to Franco's Spain is ignoring the hard work of several generations of revolutionaries and progressives, even as today, actual fascists try to set it all back. So please, have a little respect and remember that there's actual fascists out there.
All of this I say without any malice and with utmost respect, my intention is to provide a firsthand account of the situation.
I thought America didn't support Spain under Franco? Wasn't that the whole reason Spain didn't get aid from Marshall Plan while Portugal did, despite being under Salazar?
Whacking Day is the better version of Lisa The Iconoclast. I like how Lisa was right and was able to change the town awful holiday
this episode is a perfect example of why it's so irritating when people describe the simpsons as "progressive" or "left leaning"; it lightly snarks at the status quo while ultimately siding with it and is really no different from south park in that regard
To be fair, it is much more like that than before. You can argue that it's not genuine in its approach but it is trying much harder to draw in the left side than previous years. Snark or not, it's quite obvious to observe.
Jebediah Springfield lost his head in this debate
Best comment!
I have always disliked the idea of the myth being more important than the truth. Why can't people be good without fiction?
Because the truth is frightening and most people can't handle the truth, to coin a phrase.
For real, Plato's "good lie" was a widely accepted concept by the founding fathers which is why we have a plutocratic republic and not an actual democracy because they never trusted "the people" or their actual ability to self determine their communities, and why we have a giant american history propaganda machine, it's disgusting honestly
Mythologizing runs deep. I remember a college political science class I was in where the professor waxed rhapsodic about how the founding fathers were a "special group" and the U.S. Constitution was created during a "special time". This line of thinking seems antithetical to the science part of political science to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In Latin America, a territory which was under spanish rule for centuries people really don't care about Columbus. I Always wondered why a country founded by british settlers would care so much about him and this video clears my doubts. Thank you
I think veterans have also become mythologized; they're symbols of superhuman courage, resilience and *righteousness*, far removed from the humanity of the real people whose struggles were appropriated to spin a dubious narrative of war.
As a daughter of a veteran I agree. My father didnt even want to fight in a war. He probably would have been a track start. Ridiculous.
I just graduated highschool (the year of the Corona virus for future reference) and everytime Columbus has been discussed in my federally mandated education, it never been in a benevolent light. The way you speak of Colmbus I think is how people and public education think of Washington and the like. Anyway I just like to point out that there is progress being made in the deidolization of historical figures. Great vid thanks for making them :)
My mom is a professional psychic and does past life regressions. She's convinced that she was George Washington's slave in a past life, and she thinks he was a truly great guy because he let her, as his enslaved man accompanying him to war, let her sleep on the floor of his quarters instead of freezing in the deep snow. She didn't have much of a response for when I asked if he was that great of a guy, why didn't he just let you go? My mother also once asked me who my favorite president was, and I had to say none of them, lol. Anyway, love this video, I can't believe I never made the Columbus connection to this episode before! I must have seen it two dozen times, easy... Really great stuff, as always.
@@josan14basket Lincoln ordered the largest ever mass execution of indigenous people in US history. I for one dislike him. Did you miss the point of the video, on say, mythologising american historical figures away from fact and into heroic fiction. He worked to serve settler colonialism and the interests of the ruling class just like every other president has and will.
Does she have historical evidence of that slave she was?
@@edwardfontaine7108 well, yeah which is why the 'Great Man' theory of history that focuses on famed individuals over movements and societal norms is inherently reactionary
@@edwardfontaine7108 He's only great because you choose to hold onto the notion that he is. There are many other great abolitionists in American history but Lincoln is so upheld because he gives legitimacy to the state and change from within. John Brown is a favourite of mine.
Your mother sounds like the Ultimate Karen
Great episode, thanks for reminding us of the dangers of myths and that so many early Simpsons episodes have not aged well.
I still see it as a good episode. You may not entirely agree with its conclusion but it's still both entertaining and thought provoking.
The Simpsons has been a pretty conservative show for most of the time.
I honestly shed a tear hearing your closing statement. Love this channel.
I've been on a crusade to educate myself about our history. For the longest time I've said "I don't care about American history", but more and more I'm coming to realize that I need to care.
Your videos have been helping me a lot on this journey. Thank you.
"What would the Founding Fathers think of this?!
By the way, I just saw Hamilton, big fan"
I mean, I adore _Hamilton_ and all, but if someone buys into American Exceptionalism and the lionizing of the Founding Fathers, there's not a lot in the material that would challenge that.
K.M. Connor I mean it mentions Jefferson owning slaves but it drastically downplays Washington’s slave owning and a lot of Hamilton’s flaws are glossed over
Guys, I think Jeeves' joke was that if the Founding Fathers saw themselves being played by BIPOC actors in a rap musical, they would either challenge the entire cast plus LMM to duels or just die of rage aneurysms on the spot.
At the end of the episode, Lisa realized Jebediah should be honored for almost killing George Washington.
"If he's so smart, how come he's dead?"
Check and mate.
Thanks for the bonus old school ad at the end there. I'm an Aussie and have never had the chance to see a Simpsons ad that wasn't just snippets from episodes promoting the fact that one channel happened to get the contract for The Simpsons.
Also the essay was very insightful into the bullheadedness I see online when these topics come up. Australia being founded largely by convicts has its own problems.
Back in 12th grade, I had a history teacher that would justify her own political ideology by using random quotes (sometimes out of context) from the founding fathers, random sentences (sometimes out of context) from US documents, and declarations from the supreme court.
Her largest problem with me was I would correct her butchered quotes, put them into context, and then tell her that it was irrelevant anyway.
For some reason, I'm reminded of Russian people I encounter online who lionize Stalin. Not that Stalin and the Russian people didn't defeat Nazi Germany, but the lionizers basically reject Stalin's horrific cruelty.
We do similar things with our founders, I guess... Columbus sold little native American girls as young as 8 years old into sexual slavery in Spain, and this isn't mentioned, for instance...
Get the pitchforks ! The time when I first learned of this was in college, never as I recall from my grammar or high school years.
I was blown away when I learned that the Soviet Union was the frontal assault into the invasion of Poland while Nazi Germany was the vanguard. Growing up, I never heard that in school and it blew my mind to learn that Starlin and Hitler not only had a non-aggression pact but were military allies as well in college.
@@wdcain1 I'm surprised, I learnt that in secondary school. Interesting.
WDCain no, they werent ever allied, that is a myth. they only had the nap to bide time until either invaded the other.
Botchamania JEEZUS
They were co-belligerents.
Every time Renege Cut makes a video using the Simpsons, it creates GOLD content.
One my cats was delivered to us with the name "Bart". He loved this video. He apparently wants more videos where you say "Bart" a lot.
Some may look at this like your shattering a sacred stained-glass window... but really it's just rose colored glasses. The spirit of truth behind this pile of broken glass is more beautiful then the lie ever could be.
Yes, one myth about the founding fathers is that they were all in favour of slavery as that was so ingrained in society at the time. In fact a significant minority of them knew very well that it was morally wrong and campaigned against it. Great video, and all of what you say can be doubled in relation to the UK and the history of the British Empire.
New to your channel, found you from you Harley Quinn video. And subbed two videos latter.
I have been binging them since, they are entertaining, eye-opening, intelligent, and coherent.
And this channel and it's community are so respectful as well, keep up the amazing work.
Even before my political awakening, I remembered this episode getting under my skin. For decades, I grudgingly accepted its ending as I had other episodes from the show. Surely, in my youth I was naive as Lisa to think that what she was doing was the correct course of action. What a relief to know that my initial reaction was not so naive after all.
I always hated this episode as a kid, & you nailed why
I loved this episode, but hated the ending so much
@@AeromaticXD I'm glad I hated the ending as a kid, it felt like a cop out.
beautiful as always brother. My favorite videos on youtube.
"The realm. Do you know what the realm is? It's the thousand blades of Aegon's enemies, a story we agree to tell each other over and over, until we forget that it's a lie."
- Littlefinger, GOT
"But what do we have left, once we abandon the lie?"
- Lord Vary's, GOT
This is my favorite video you've done and one of my favorite things of all time. Thanks for the ever-important eye-openings and keep up the phenomenal work. *kisses hand like an Italian chef*
You know I like to imagine the Founding Fathers' answer to the question would be.
-"Not our problem! Figure it out for yourselves!"
"If this were happening in Dallas or Boston" --- March 2020
Just wait a couple months
It’s the same here in Canada - even the most calm criticism of John A Macdonald will make everyone in Conservative circles lose their mind.
This was an exceptionally cromulent episode. Thank you for embiggening my understanding of American history.
Something similar happened in San Antonio. There were people who inhabited southwest Texas down to northeastern Mexico called the Coahuilteco. They were major contributors to the building of the Alamo; either willingly giving themselves to the cause for defense against the other people’s in Texas, or by force. They quickly assimilated into Spanish/Texas culture and over time they were forgotten. Now the Alamo and city of San Antonio will not respect the burial sites of the Coahuilteco on Alamo land.
Monuments are rarely about educating citizens about deeper meaning of culture and history and more about bringing in tourist income for the respective city.
Very good work. I am sorry 4 my english do not let me say how awesome this text is. Top you have a fan.
Out of curiosity how many of you have actually experienced Columbus defenders? I was taught the myth version first but it wasn't long before I started hearing more about his crimes. However I was raised in NYC so I'm aware my experience may be unique.
I'm about 30 miles outside D.C., and the prevailing attitude I've encountered is one of apathy. Not even my relatively conservative family will defend Columbus the man, but they will also turn a blind eye to the legacies that colonialism has left in the modern world. They seem to think that this attitude makes them non-radical, and therefore the Smarterest Ever™, even though it really just amounts to excusing yourself from the conflict.
I live in AZ and the "patriotism" is strong in people. You can basically fit them in the same lot with the turbo Christians.
I haven't thought about these episodes in a long time. It's so dissonant looking back at these episodes now
IN CONCLUSION,
Have a Butterfinger.
Thank God you uploaded, I ran out of good content to watch... love ya vids man keep it up :DDD
I'm not sure what the writers of the episode intended to be the lesson learned. But i'd see it more as: Lisa doesn't have much of a choice but to go along with the ignorance of everyone else. The only way she finds acceptance within the community is by conforming. So i see it more as resignation rather than a lesson learned.
You people should read "Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat" by J. Sakai. It's a great book that reveals many of the lies that Amerika tells its people. It also has a strong Third-World Maoist rhetoric that many people wouldn't agree with, that being that the modern white working class of Amerika are not part of the larger world proletariat, but rather, are just a less exploitative part of the bourgeoisie. A rather thought provoking read.
Lisa knew that a noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.
What's this? A gringo who has a critical eye of their history and values as a country and even admits the wrongness of calling the USA "America"? I'm pleasantly surprised
hello, I'm a fellow Hispanic and also an American.
This was soooo good and educational
As usual, Renegade Cut has cut through the baloney and exposed the baloney as processed industrial materials and not as real meat!
How do you feel about the mythology of the Wild West ?
th-cam.com/video/4dN1e7lGefQ/w-d-xo.html
I learned about how the Colosseum used to re-enact sea battles in between gladiator fights. I thought this was really cool and I mentioned this to an American teacher not in my travel group while we were in Rome and she made fun of me for it. Never mind that I learned this from a documentary made by a renowned engineer and one of the greatest Ancient Roman history experts of all time and showed proof of the water channels (sadly the name of the film’s not in my head anymore otherwise I’d share it). I was also 13 at the time so that certainly didn’t help things.
The water technology is great but were you also trying to make a point about the gladiator fights? Those weren't such a great thing in and of themselves. Not something to be proud of.
When I was a child I thought that within the founding fathers, there was an elite group of nation founders, and there were four of them. For a while I thought the fore fathers were the ones on mt rushmore, then I thought about roosevelt, who I constantly forget is even up there
My mom is nearly 60, and she makes sure to learn as much truth as she can about true American history. Because she was raised and taught to believe George Washington was a pure man who 'could not tell a lie' rather than a slave owner. American history taught in schools is insane how much they really rely on the bullshit 'the winner writes the books'.
(Spoiler alert: the genocidal colonizers write the books, then keep rewriting them and shoved into 'patriotic americans' that want to believe in nationalism so hard they won't accept anything less than the Cherry Tree story)
Tell that "Your comfort" line to every Baby Boomer you see!
Not all of us 'boomers' subscribe to the myth.
I'd love to see you tackle the mythology vs reality of the meat industry.
Nice, Love the videos man. Keep it up!
Following on from this, it would be interesting to see peoples opinions on Hamilton the musical.
It's very difficult to debate/argue with anyone who believes in these American Myths. They are so deep into it, it would be like arguing with someone on a show, playing on your TV. There is just a level of awareness-an entire dimension-that they do not have access to.
So happy I stubbled across your videos you make great content. Keep it up man!!!
The reaction to Bart cutting of the statues head reminds me of the recent vandalism of Plymouth Rock.
Mattteus Well Eric Andre gonna be happy about that.
Amazingly good analysis. I will be using this info in discussions in the future.
Listening to what you have put together is very refreshing...
can anyone recommend any books on Washington that don't smooth over the bad stuff?
"Lies My Teacher Told Me" American history in general I think not just Washington
As a Canadian, I always found the way America idolized its founders, and Columbus among others, to be supremely uncomfortable, given what the nation did after said founding.
Canada is just as bad.
1:35 she literally saw snipers aiming at her; of course that ending is questionable! the episode vaguely resembled "the china syndrome"
I get it, it s a sad truth within the world that we all have to live. But a truth none the less. If most people did more research they could come to the conclusion(s) That this video, which ultimately is
Why Butterfingers are the best Candy bar.
Every person has their flaws. There's that saying that meeting your hero is a situation ripe for disappointment. Using other people as examples is bound to backfire.
excellent renegade cut my dude
It's the same thing in Australia when comes to Captain Cook.
People still believe that he discovered Australia despite the fact the fact he wasn't even the first European to set foot on the country.
I love your work. Greetings from Mexico.
I shared a thing about how we shouldn't celebrate Columbus day because he committed genocide, and my grandmother blasted the comments section with a caps lock rant about how he discovered America and kids these days don't know history. I feel like patriotism is something approaching a religion to boomers.
Great video!! Thanks for making it!
I think the people of Springfield will get more from the idea he represented than from the Jelly Bean he actually was.
Great angle on the topic of nationalist myths in the USA
At 8:05 i gotta point out that Columbus cannot be said to originate the Atlantic slave trade. As a boy in Genoa, he was already familiar with the slave trade which included slaves from the atlantic west african coasts as well as north African arabs. Transatlantic maybe. Otherwise great work
I just went to double check(which led down a bit of a google rabbit hole). There was ONE founding father that could be considered a “rags to riches” story. It was Ben Franklin and admittedly the man was a bit of a genius. He was also the man telling the King what he wanted to hear while the constituents in the states became angrier and angrier. So he also kinda LED us into a war on purpose too so…
Slavery was unfortunately not abolished in the United States. Slavery is the ownership of people, done almost exclusively for the production of goods by companies and the monetary gain of others, and America’s prison population is literally sold to private prison companies to produce goods for their own monetary gain.
Great video, very eye opening too
Thanks for your videos :)
It would have been nice to have seen a compromise at the end of the episode. Like the Springfieldians learned that the hero they thought they knew never existed but the way he inspired them was real, even if it came from a myth. Maybe if this episode was written today they would have leaned into that more, but Lisa’s story arcs were simpler in earlier seasons
Are you doing a vid on Disco Elysium??? I noticed your pic! One of the best games I've ever played
Yes, I announced it on social media and on a TH-cam post in January: twitter.com/renegadecut/status/1214316023459041280
@@renegadecut9875 thanks! I'm very excited for that!
I've enjoyed all your analyses, and this one prompted me to suggest another animated episode from an animated series. It's the 100th episode of "South Park," when Cartman gets transported back in time. I think it's right up your alley!
I'm sorry, but I don't take requests.
@@renegadecut9875 Fair enough. Given your interest in the intersection of politics and culture, I do think you'll find that episode intriguing. Keep up the good work!
@@wowbanjosrock I'm not going to watch South Park. Take care.
Meh... I don’t like this episode myself. They could have let Lisa show how a bad man can change with the right cause and the cause of Springfield was enough to make a bad man into a good man. I hated the way this episode ended.
Silvio Dante: “It’s anti-Italian discrimination.”
This episode has two great mainsprings:
A hitchcockian mistery around a bogus historical figure
And the strongly emotional ties between Homer and Lisa through the episode