Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the summer but these breadtube kids are popping up everywhere these last few weeks.
And they consistently have ignorant, bad takes to share. They don’t understand anything about everything but think that because they’ve watched some guy yell at his screen for a few hours they’re suddenly
They’re people who don’t want to read theory because it’s boring (I think it requires time but it’s very interesting, just needs some motivation to get started) but they will happily watch 3 hours long debates that turn into random shit halfway through.
I don’t mean to rant but I’ve just had a Destiny stan tell me “holocaust denialism on the left” for not believing the uyghur thing. Destiny despises communists and anarchists, the latter of which that person identifies as. They don’t understand what holocaust denialism even is, they don’t understand how people could come to different conclusions than them, they literally just want to feel superior because they’re pure and we’re not, somehow.
They think this will score them points with libertarians and neolibs (and maybe even fascists, as they don’t even understand fascism), by pushing under the bus the only other people who are tangentially related to them. But the libertarians don’t give a shit. They’ll line up anarchists against the wall all the same. We’re all godless commies to them, it doesn’t matter your specific brand.
When was the last time an anarchist called you a Marxist-Leninist? They just say tankie now, as if it had any useful meaning (everyone has their own definition). It’s clear that they they acquired this word through memetic usage and don’t even know what it means. In some cases, I kid you not, people will say tankie but then ask “What’s ML mean?”.
Breadtube was a mistake, cancel that whole shit and get people back in books. Or at least watching important people, not some random bloke from a big city who started a youtube channel.
^ if it’s not high-effort or serious enough for c/communism please tell me where to repost, I’m not sure where else it can fit. Maybe my own c/comradelyrants lol but it’s dead :(
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I actually don’t mind this. The problem I have with people watching long vids are that they’re not watching the correct long vids. I’d happily take one and a half hours of my time to watch an interview revleft or media roots does with Ian Goodrum on the PRC. I’d happily take that time to watch the Understanding Marxism lecture Wolff did last year which, I’ll be honest, was the best damn thing I’ve heard from him. I don’t know how people sit through those online debates without getting a headache.
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So the question here is why flock to Vaush instead of the anti-imperialist Empire Files or Media Roots or Grayzone?
Those things aren’t comparable. People want to listen to or watch something entertaining, something they can laugh out loud to. Marx Madness is a good podcast along those lines and if there was a YouTuber with a similar energy they might do well.
Eh, with the exception of hbomberguy, I’ve never found any of them particularly funny or entertaining. Seeing how nonsensical imperialist media and capitalist society however does amuse me somewhat so I’m drawn to those types of content.
Hell, if I wanted to be entertained, I’d get a movie or something. Why would I sit there for 2 hours watching some western chauvinist rant about whatever country the CIA is targeting next?
Thought Slime is definitely funny and contapoints is funny and entertaining.
Watching a worse than useless warmongering radlib may be funny to you but as a person who takes US imperialism deathly seriously, I do not share your amusement and appreciation for these types of content creators.
Seems like you’re intentionally missing the point to pull a holier than thou. The question is “why do people watch breadtube instead of the grey zone” and the answer is that Vaush and Thought Slime and all them are funny. Even if you don’t personally find them entertaining, that is objectively why people watch them. If you offer something that is not attempting to be funny or entertaining to replace it, people won’t take it.
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Do you believe we should insert ourselves in that culture? Participate more in those spaces? Be a “gamer or nerd” Marxist-Leninist?
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I feel like for many ML folks, this seems like a petty bourgeois affectation and hence something not worth doing. I’m not even sure if it’ll take hold even if you do it since there’s no guarantee anyone will even watch you. More likely, you’ll just be ignored by the algorithms.
Even now, since we’re mentioning it, I can’t imagine what an ML-ran gaming channel would look and sound like.
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I know FinnishBolshevik on YouTube tried it to do a gaming thing but he’s not that large. Either way I encourage people to read first and then watch videos, not matter how averse you may be to reading I feel like you have to read the material yourself first then use videos augment your understanding of what you read better. Like as I read Wage Labor and Profit and Capital I used videos that sum up what I read in more simpler fashions. But it’s true that everything is digital now and comrade MLs and especially MLMs(they’re often so serious) need to engage in more less serious meme warfare, spooky scary socialist did a few videos and he’s great at the sort of meme thing. The larger left youtubers unfortunately are mostly either radical liberals aka SocDems or Anarchists and to me an Anarchist view of leftism is too basic, then again Anarchism is usually a lot easier to swallow than the deep dive and details of Marxism Leninism and Marxism Leninism Maoism. Like muh tooth brush is a meme that always makes me laugh.