anakinisvaderisanakin

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

so the only mention of any of The Drama was when they were talking about going to the warren museum, and how they were told not to touch annabelle’s glass case. they were warned someone who did tap it later died in a car accident. so shane said he did fully tap on it but that got cut out of the final episode so people wouldn’t be encouraged to copy him lol

anyway he said he was like, ‘how long after doing it did they die?’ and joked that it was like six years. ryan was poking fun at him saying like oh so how long do you have left and shane pretended to think about it and said, ‘you know, i have a feeling it was exactly six years ago on friday’ and that was literally the only mention of the whole thing lmao

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

This is what Charlie has posted in all of the rooms of the hotel.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Maybe hot take but I don’t think most of the hate directed toward Steven was racism. It was a proportional (if extreme) reaction to their public personas. Shane and Ryan are why everyone follows watcher, so of course they’re going to get less hate automatically. But even excepting that, this is how each of the boys is perceived:

Steven: CEO (meaning he’d likely be the one making the final decision here, and in the general public consciousness the assumption is that the CEO makes the most money), drives a Tesla, gets goop (notoriously expensive) salads door dashed (notoriously expensive) every day and admitted it without shame, wants to bring back a series that does not include Ryan and Shane (the reason people watch and the content they’d be most ok paying for) and that is at its core is a show of wealth and that previously included gold-flecked ice cream - something obviously expensive and ridiculous

Ryan: neither flagrantly anti-capitalist, nor a flagrant spender, a net neutral in terms of money

Shane: anti-capitalist, regularly tells you to steal from the rich, told you in the goodbye video to steal from the company (share passwords), has never spoken to any degree about what money he makes or what he buys with it, has spent years building this persona by joking directly with fans

I don’t think this is racism, I think this is a direct reaction to perceived classism judged by how each of the boys has shown their wealth and crafted their online persona over the years. The guy with the Tesla was always going to get the most shit. The guy who told you to share passwords was always going to get the least. I don’t think it’s right, all three made this decision together and they all believed in it enough to take it this far (they shot expensive overseas episodes of ghost files - Shane and Ryan’s show - already for god’s sake) but I think crying racism to make justifiably upset fans feel bad is a stretch

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Crazy thought: what if we...normalized forgiveness when someone makes a genuinely good apology to you? Like actually forgave? I know, I know, sounds wild but just a suggestion.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Absolutely AMAZING response by Watcher imo.

They acknowledged that they made a mistake, made the wider context more clear, and addressed basically all of the criticisms brought forward by the community as far as I know.

Anyone who already subscribed to the streaming service who no longer wants it gets a refund.

Patrons get a free subscription to the streaming service.

The service now only offers early, ad-free episodes that will still be released on YouTube.

They acknowledged the insensitivity of the original pitch and how the price is not something that everyone can afford.

THIS is how you respond to backlash, especially this widespread. Take time to collect your thoughts, take the criticism into account, and change your actions going forward.

Great job Watcher 👏

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

*john mulaney voice* the youtubers listened to the fans and genuinely apologized?.... i didnt know they knew how to do that

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Alright. I saw the Watcher update/apology video. I can vibe with it. I think people are way too quick to cancel other human beings in this culture. Did they fuck up? Yup. Big time. But they've apologized, walked it back and this is the only thing that could be done to sort it. The mess could have been avoided but it wasn't. Thus, this is what we got. I'm good with them, forgive but never forget. I know I won't be unfollowing them because people make mistakes. At the end of the day, we are all human. We move on and learn from it. People not thinking before speaking is not the same as a personal attack, people being out of touch with what they don't know is normal. Hell, I'm one of the people thinking 6 bucks is nothing but I wouldn't have paid it either way. So, there. This got blown way out of proportion imo.

#watcher #watcher entertainment #shane madej #ryan bergara #steven lim #shane and ryan #ghoul boys

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Personal reaction to Watcher's newest update:

Ok, nice.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

EWAN MCGREGOR | Vanity Fair | 2024

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

The Dropout/Watcher comparisons have all kind of been made at this point - i.e., why Dropout TV is almost universally beloved vs the pitchfork mob ready to set Steven's Tesla on fire over the Watcher TV announcement - and I think most of the key differences have been touched on. CollegeHumor had a bigger brand leading into their Dropout launch, the transition was gradual, IAC screwing CH over rallied a lot of fans to their cause, Sam's production experience and business acumen gave them a competitive edge, etc.

But I think another big difference is that CollegeHumor didn't cultivate the same kind of parasocial relationship with its fans that Buzzfeed did. Maybe because it was predominantly sketch comedy and not reality tv, there was always a distance between the performers and the audience at CH. There was way less fan interaction, and the characters the comedians played (even when they were playing themselves) were clearly not their real personalities. It seems like nobody took it as personally when they started moving new shows behind a paywall, because people thought of them first and foremost as performers working for a media company. Compare that to the number of people I've seen comparing the Watcher situation to a breakup or losing a close friend.

I say that Buzzfeed cultivated this relationship with the fans, because I think Watcher has been very ambivalent about it, if not actively trying to move away from it, since its inception. One of the chief criticisms I've seen of Watcher's content vs Buzzfeed is that the new Watcher shows feel less like hanging out with a group of friends and more slickly produced, but I think this was always by design. I don't think the guys want the typical YouTube fame, which can get deeply, uncomfortably personal (again, I direct you to the unmitigated, frankly racist vitriol being aimed at Steven).

Watcher wanted, above all else, to stop being just "YouTubers" and to be entertainers and producers taken seriously in the rest of the industry. That's a hard move to make, and I don't think they've done a great job of navigating it. As a result they've alienated most of their fans, who had a very different understanding of the relationship between creator/audience.

Basically, I think there is a sharp dichotomy between the relationship Watcher wants with its audience and the one it carried over from Buzzfeed, and the guys are not adept enough at navigating this industry to make that transition cleanly. YouTube thrives off of parasocial relationships, as toxic as they can be for all parties involved, and they tried to toe the line (pretty unsuccessfully) between having a personal, emotional connection with their fans to build loyalty, versus a professional connection based purely on the entertainment value of their product. It's pretty clear to me that they are in over their heads, and they need to hand over the reins to a professional (especially somebody with PR experience).

I think there is a world where they can make a Dropout business model work, but they didn't lay any of the groundwork first to get there. Ultimately, I believe in their talent and intentions, and I can afford and am willing to follow them to Watcher TV. I just hope they have hired or will hire somebody who knows what they're doing from here.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

My nuanced opinion is this: they're not the most evilest greediest capitalist pig dogs to ever exist let's get out the guillotine etc etc, HOWEVER Watcher TV is still the dumbest fucking decision they could have possibly made

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

I have a lot of thoughts about Watcher’s Choice but mainly, I don’t think this is them being greedy, I think it’s genuinely TERRIBLE business management. The phrasing in their announcement video sounds like they aren’t making money, they’ve mentioned how high their production costs are kind of a lot in the past, and throughout the last 2-3 years they’ve barely promoted or tended to their patreon (the “perks” of which has also turned into a joke btw), and Shane and Ryan are so uninterested in actually running their own business that they stepped down from their co-ceo positions???? Sorry guys but that was a dumb move, don’t start a company if you can’t/don’t wanna run it

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Just a few of the comments from YouTube that amused me.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

#THE POSE

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

They forgot to tell him