I found UT’s whole world view simultaneously too focused on pop culture but also not particularly deep in it’s analysis of pop culture. He often attributed the rise of the far right in America to a pessimistic and nihilistic underlying theme in popular television, melting the brains of the American people and turning them towards the alt-right, and openly called for media that was more optimistic, wholesome, and straight forward and blatant in it’s moral messaging.
But the American people’s brain’s have always been melted, what was causing it before the advent of prestige TV? Some really nihilistic vaudeville plays? Media is part of the broader cultural hegemony but only one small part of it, the relative level of cynicism in media is dwarfed by the broader history of settler colonialism and deeply ingrained racism. The rise of this current, vulgar expressions of fascism, MAGA and the alt-right, to me seem more a reaction to the declining status of America as a global empire than due to Breaking Bad’s popularity.
Even if media is as powerful at UT claims it to be, his analysis of it was often just wrong, or at least very one dimensional. There was the famous Barry incident where he just straight up said things that were factually incorrect about the show only to then admit he had never watched it (and never intended to). Also, his analysis of the overall media landscaped seemed caught a decade or two in the past. He had a particular hatred of Breaking Bad and Fight Club, but the latter ended in 2013 and the former 1999. If anything I’d argue our current media landscape isn’t defined by cynicism and darkness, but saccharine feel good vibes and light irreverent comedy. The biggest media empire in the world right now is Disney, who’s whole brand is wholesomeness. An anecdotal survey of the Chuds in my life reveals more Disney adults than Fight Club fans. But UT’s defense of the wholesome often lead him to dismiss any substantive criticism of it, he was convinced that the dislike for the character Barney was born of some edge-lord hatred of love and kindness, but would never engage with anyone who tried to point out that Barney is an extremely one dimensional character who behaves almost like a parody of a children’s show protagonist, his saccharine continual bubbly-ness grating even to a lot of young children, myself being one of them. I myself tried to contrast the distaste for Barney with the fondness most people have for Sesame Street, a children’s show with a far more interesting and engaging cast of characters who actually have emotions beyond ecstatic happiness, but he refused to engage with this argument.
It was difficult to debate UT on anything because he was very arrogant and sure of his own opinions, and interpreted even the most politely worded disagreement as people either slavishly defending their “treats” or trying to “silence” him (despite him posting more than anyone else here at the time). Even when people weren’t defending any treats, just criticizing it from a different angle, that was still treat chasing, since any criticism besides his own was illegitimate and born purely out of an addiction to pop culture. It’s not a surprise most people who disliked him ended up blocking him leaving only those who had positive interactions with him in the crowd when he made his exit.
Dude thought TVs were literally the machines Jim Carey’s Riddler made in Barman Forever. Media isn’t a hypno ray and while they did reprogram Alex in clockwork orange by making him watch TV, there was more than just that going on there. Very agreed on the datedness as well, we are living through the consequences of saccharine anti-irony pablum right now and here’s something from the current front page to prove it
Nihilistic edgy people don’t think these thoughts. And the far right, and I’m talking more online and farther right than punisher logo poster Maga guys (boomers), the imageboard genuine fash are just as bad for it in their own way. Things get shittier and shittier and the art that people have clung to for the last while has been hiding from it, not reflecting it. Everything on TV is written by a millionaire on their third marriage who’s in therapy and it shows in the writing or it’s a ‘heartwarming’ ‘inspiring’ drama disguised as a comedy series. Ted Lasso and The Bear would have been mid as hell Oscar bait films in the past and not marketed as comedy. And I don’t think everything needs to be slimy and grimy but everything thst isn’t specifically trying to be dark has this pastel veneer that seems so fucking faked to me.
Oh yeah totally, well less so now since Ronnie D went on a whole “Disney is WOKE” campaign, but before that I knew a fair few. And even after, CHUDs can be pretty selective in what parts of the culture war they get mad about, if Trump or some other ghoul goes on a tirade against a thing they really like they just ignore it or talk themselves into thinking he didn’t really mean that and was just worked up.
Feel like shit, just want him and his excessive emojis back.
I found UT’s whole world view simultaneously too focused on pop culture but also not particularly deep in it’s analysis of pop culture. He often attributed the rise of the far right in America to a pessimistic and nihilistic underlying theme in popular television, melting the brains of the American people and turning them towards the alt-right, and openly called for media that was more optimistic, wholesome, and straight forward and blatant in it’s moral messaging.
But the American people’s brain’s have always been melted, what was causing it before the advent of prestige TV? Some really nihilistic vaudeville plays? Media is part of the broader cultural hegemony but only one small part of it, the relative level of cynicism in media is dwarfed by the broader history of settler colonialism and deeply ingrained racism. The rise of this current, vulgar expressions of fascism, MAGA and the alt-right, to me seem more a reaction to the declining status of America as a global empire than due to Breaking Bad’s popularity.
Even if media is as powerful at UT claims it to be, his analysis of it was often just wrong, or at least very one dimensional. There was the famous Barry incident where he just straight up said things that were factually incorrect about the show only to then admit he had never watched it (and never intended to). Also, his analysis of the overall media landscaped seemed caught a decade or two in the past. He had a particular hatred of Breaking Bad and Fight Club, but the latter ended in 2013 and the former 1999. If anything I’d argue our current media landscape isn’t defined by cynicism and darkness, but saccharine feel good vibes and light irreverent comedy. The biggest media empire in the world right now is Disney, who’s whole brand is wholesomeness. An anecdotal survey of the Chuds in my life reveals more Disney adults than Fight Club fans. But UT’s defense of the wholesome often lead him to dismiss any substantive criticism of it, he was convinced that the dislike for the character Barney was born of some edge-lord hatred of love and kindness, but would never engage with anyone who tried to point out that Barney is an extremely one dimensional character who behaves almost like a parody of a children’s show protagonist, his saccharine continual bubbly-ness grating even to a lot of young children, myself being one of them. I myself tried to contrast the distaste for Barney with the fondness most people have for Sesame Street, a children’s show with a far more interesting and engaging cast of characters who actually have emotions beyond ecstatic happiness, but he refused to engage with this argument.
It was difficult to debate UT on anything because he was very arrogant and sure of his own opinions, and interpreted even the most politely worded disagreement as people either slavishly defending their “treats” or trying to “silence” him (despite him posting more than anyone else here at the time). Even when people weren’t defending any treats, just criticizing it from a different angle, that was still treat chasing, since any criticism besides his own was illegitimate and born purely out of an addiction to pop culture. It’s not a surprise most people who disliked him ended up blocking him leaving only those who had positive interactions with him in the crowd when he made his exit.
GOOD post
Dude thought TVs were literally the machines Jim Carey’s Riddler made in Barman Forever. Media isn’t a hypno ray and while they did reprogram Alex in clockwork orange by making him watch TV, there was more than just that going on there. Very agreed on the datedness as well, we are living through the consequences of saccharine anti-irony pablum right now and here’s something from the current front page to prove it
Nihilistic edgy people don’t think these thoughts. And the far right, and I’m talking more online and farther right than punisher logo poster Maga guys (boomers), the imageboard genuine fash are just as bad for it in their own way. Things get shittier and shittier and the art that people have clung to for the last while has been hiding from it, not reflecting it. Everything on TV is written by a millionaire on their third marriage who’s in therapy and it shows in the writing or it’s a ‘heartwarming’ ‘inspiring’ drama disguised as a comedy series. Ted Lasso and The Bear would have been mid as hell Oscar bait films in the past and not marketed as comedy. And I don’t think everything needs to be slimy and grimy but everything thst isn’t specifically trying to be dark has this pastel veneer that seems so fucking faked to me.
there’s overlap between Chuds and Disney Adults?
Oh yeah totally, well less so now since Ronnie D went on a whole “Disney is WOKE” campaign, but before that I knew a fair few. And even after, CHUDs can be pretty selective in what parts of the culture war they get mad about, if Trump or some other ghoul goes on a tirade against a thing they really like they just ignore it or talk themselves into thinking he didn’t really mean that and was just worked up.