The Video Essay Podcast: discussing Fake Friends 2 and the Plinkett reviews

Hey thank you AJ! I appreciate it! I remember I would get really into topics on the forum and write like long rambling posts about stuff. I joined a decade ago next month (WHAT??). Didn't people come in and just hate Half in the Bag when it started or they just kept yelling about wanting more Plinkett or whatever? Anything new they hated

Shannon Strucci

Hey, this is AJ from the RLM webzone. I recently finally found some time to watch the FF2 essay and it's a really impressive and (I think) important piece of work. I didn't expect to be crying today and a couple parts caught me off guard! I just wanted to comment about the part regarding the youtuber giving himself completely over to the fanbase and crying about not wanting to let anyone down because it reminded me of discussions that happened in the rlm forum, years ago, and speaks to what made me enjoy their work so much. Basically how they never seemed to give into that impulse to pander and just did what they wanted and that's such a big part of what makes them good. Back when the board still had some participation so much of it was people coming on to complain that the guys weren't doing the things they wanted them to do. Like, in a general sense, but also very oddly specific stuff, too! Like they wanted complete creative control over these people that they came to see make videos. It didn't get to the extremes of some of what you cover in FF2, but I just recall how even back then and on that level it all seemed so invasive and entitled. This sense of ownership over people they don't know and will never meet and the influence that they feel they should have is breathtaking to me. I can't help but wonder if this sort of thing is even being addressed from a mental health perspective by people in that field but it seems like it's not adequate or talked about much if it is. I guess in the case of that youtuber, it's like if you take your classic people pleaser coping mechanism and introduce this element of massive engagement and endless validation and reinforcement. It's really quite daunting and disturbing to consider! Anyway, I don't see many people even talking about this stuff so I wanted to thank you for giving it such a thorough and insightful exploration. I sincerely hope it helps some people to gain some perspective and self awareness and I will recommend it whenever it seems appropriate!