#but it’s a bit overwhelmingly depressing pour moi

[cheese-water]

Out of all the themes and messages that surrounded Generation Loss, the theory I can never fully immerse myself in is the one about the dehumanization of content creators. Don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware of its confirmation and canonization by Ranboo and other cast members, and I don’t think that anyone who believes or enjoys this concept is wrong for doing so. What am I, a hypocrite lmao? No, it’s that for me personally, it’s hard to view Genloss in that context without feeling weird, I guess. Here, let me give you an example:

Let’s look at the character of Sneeg in this mindset, since we have two episodes' worth of content from him to analyze. Right as he’s introduced, we learn Sneeg tried to complete Slime’s trials, failed, and was stuck in a cage while not being particularly angry about it. It's as if it’s understandable that he’s trapped, that it was his fault, and he knows it. And then, for the rest of the series, he acts as Ranboo’s funny sidekick, doing everything he can to get Ranboo, not himself, to the end. The only time Sneeg’s character shows any agency for himself is in episode 2, when he’s wearing the hat and, after reassuring Ranboo that he’ll come back for him, tries to escape the mall. But he gets caught, is forcefully brainwashed, and returns to his cynical yet helpful self again. So within the context of the audience's perception of CCs, Sneeg’s character only serves as a benefit to Ranboo, and without him (locked up in a cage), Sneeg is nothing, worthless even. Which to me makes the role feel so... icky.

Honestly, that’s probably why I don’t enjoy the dehumanizing cc theory all that much. It never fails to make me viscerally uncomfortable whenever I think about it for too long. “Wow, Genloss doesn’t have a happy ending and is supposed to make you uncomfortable? No shit sherlock.”Yeah, yeah, I know, but that interpretation is just too real for me. With the changing one’s perception leaves them with no choice or time loop theories, we can absolve ourselves of blame, since this is what Showfall wanted to happen. It's still not reassuring, but I’m used to not having control over what happens, be it social, politically, economically, etc. But by viewing the characters as their cc counterparts, their pain becomes so personal that we have no one to blame but ourselves for the suffering they endure. And while I know I wasn’t at fault for their trauma (I was a lurker on twitch, twitter, and tumblr at Ranboo’s "peak", so I couldn’t share my opinion even if I wanted to), I still feel a sense of responsibility knowing that I can’t do anything about it now. That I don’t know how to make it all better. I can’t stop random people from harassing Niki in the past, but I’m still ashamed that it happened at all. It’s like secondhand embarrassment cranked up to 1000%.

I want to watch Lex Cat’s video essay surrounding this topic so badly, but I have to wait until I’m in a good enough headspace because I know it will leave me feeling utterly desolate after. I haven't watched Ranboo’s playthrough of Killer Frequency, but I’ve been told that chat was a mess of people trying to help and others lying to him (telling them they missed something even though they hadn’t, saying that he picked the wrong options when they were right, etc.) and I believe them 100%. I know this because I was there for the late-night mining streams, having to sit through chat screaming DIAMONDS at Ranboo just for shits and giggles. No wonder Ranboo doesn’t trust us to pick the correct combination code for the mall exit when all we have done before is try to fuck him over.

If we choose to believe that Generation Loss was about the dehumanization of content creators by their fanbase, then all this tells Ranboo is that we, his audience, have learned nothing. If they view Generation Loss as Ranboo’s cry for help, a last-ditch effort to change their community, pleading, begging us to see him as a human being and not just a commodity, then why are we choosing to treat him exactly the same as before?

Maybe that’s why voting to kill Ranboo was so easy for me. I never viewed myself as their judge and jury, glowering over him as I decided his fate. As his blood began to pool beneath him, I felt more akin to his executioner, simply following the orders given from Showfall Media.

Maybe I was wrong to assume everyone felt the same way…

#generation loss #genloss #ranboo #ranboolive #generation loss analysis #have to get this in before gen 0 really starts chugging #just my feelings surrounding that theory #It’s very cool to look at gl through that lense #but it’s a bit overwhelmingly depressing pour moi #Ty anon in my ask box for showing me that gl can further rot my brain (affectionate)