So I'm sitting in front of every book I own, so I can trick people into thinking that I read. And I guess as a thank you slash in-honor-of? I'm not actually sure am I congratulating myself or am I, like, thanking you the viewer? Well, anyway, it's a Q&A for reaching 400,000 subscribers, and no the eyeliner isn't really on brand And no, the eyeliner isn't really on brand, but I just felt like it. Die mad. And thank you for smashing that like button, smashing that subscribe boy? It should dick tarantula button. by the way before we get started if you didn't catch it By the way, before we get started, if you didn't catch it, I actually have a new series on PBS Digital Studios Channel. It's called "It's Lit!" It's a YouTube video essay companion piece series to PBS' "The Great American Read." Ok, so I asked people on Twitter.com to ask me questions for a 400k Q&A. I haven't done it before...because I am really lazy and forgetful. But I'm doing it this time, and the way I'm actually remembering to do it is I'm actually reading these questions for the first time. I'm sure they're very nice and respectful. What is your favorite cinematic universe and why is it the Dark Universe? Honestly, I didn't really care about the Dark Universe until they announced before The Mummy came out that they were also going to do Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame. And the idea of a grimdark Hunchback of Notre Dame and the style of, like, Zack Snyder was the most amazing thing in the world to me. And I just wanted it like burning and I was honestly heartbroken that The Mummy tanked, because I wanted Ansel Elgort as Quasimodo in grimdark Hunchback. And don't even get me started on the Dark Universe Phantom of the Opera. You know, it would have to be modern. He's probably gonna be like Stuart Townsend in Queen of the Damned levels of camp. Ahhhh. So I- I think my hypothetical Dark Universe is probably better than it would have actually end up being. Or at least more interesting but since it only lives in my mind, there you go. in my mind, there you go. Transformers Animated or Transformers Prime, asks paperplane. Transformers Prime. Come on. What film do you really love but feel uncomfortable about loving because of whatever reason? Example the director is a creep, the message is toxic, etc. I have a really easy answer for that and that is the first two X-men movies, which are directed by Bryan Singer. And are kind of a source of consternation, because he was the one who really made the subtext of the coming-out narrative basically text. But he's also a gross creep. but the thing is this has been known for a really long time But the thing is this has been known for a really long time. Like, when I went back to finish my degree at USC, in the time since I dropped out and came back, they changed the critical studies department to the Bryan Singer Department of Critical Studies. They have since undone this, but the fact is that Bryan Singer has been a known creep for a really, really long time in Hollywood. What- what the fuck USC? Which Disney live-action remake do you think has the most going for it compared to the original? For that one, I have to go with the Jungle Book. I think that the new movie kind of actually explored like why fire is bad and dangerous. And why Mowgli is kind of uniquely able to wield it and why Shere Khan actually has a point. so that one I thought kind of had So that one I though kind of had a raison d'être, more than just, I don't know, progessive-izing the original. I thought it actually did something interesting with it. Do you have a specific set of guidelines for what you consider helpful criticism in regard to pedantic nitpicking? No, *laughs* not really? Because I think at the end of the day, like, Your feelings are your feelings. And I wish people would kind of own that. Feelings are not rational. You can rationalize them by having supporting evidence. But at the end of the day. Like if you have a criticism, it's probably because you had an emotional reaction. Finding words and supporting evidence, being able to articulate why you felt that react- emotion reaction is kind of the best you can do. and I think the worst people can do is have an emotional reaction and not really explore it And I think the worst people can do is have an emotional reaction and not really explore it And not really put words to it, not really articulate why they feel they way they feel. Either that or just delude themselves, which is also a really popular thing to do these days. What would you and Jenny Nicholson do during the purge? I don't know. I think she'd honestly have a lot of fun. I think it would be really disquieting to be in the purge with her, because she'd be like going around to, like all the rival games and being like, And being like, "Oh, the purge!" What are some movies you'd like to make videos on but are hesitant for some reason? Someone asked me about this earlier today. Shrek would be one, because I don't like Shrek but it is beloved by a generation. So, that would be kind of tantamount to like a Gen X-er explaining to 90's kids while Aladdin sucks. The Prince of Egypt would be another, cuz I really hate that movie, for a lot of reasons. But then I would have to be like getting into my problems with organized religion being adapted for pop culture And...everybody would lose. No one would win. I'm not touching that. see I just I just released a video about Disney See, I just, I just released a video about Disney, so that's all anyone's asking me about. Which of the Autobots is the sexiest? Well, that depends on what you're into. If you're into a bottom, there's Beachcomber. If you're into the arrogant prick type, there's Rodimus, but then I guess I'm going into the comics for that. A lot of people like Drift because he's like spiritual, but athletic. Personally, I still gotta go with Wheeljack. Sorry, Starscream, you're not an Autobot. This is my masterpiece Wheeljack. He's actually my favorite. He used to be transformed. He's getting dusty. What was the hardest video to put together and why? You know, at any given time, it's always the one I just released. Recently, would have to be the Marxism episode of The Whole Plate. But the thing about like Marxism and film theory, is that Marxism influences a lot of academics, but there are not that many film theorists that are like, I'm the Marxist one. So, it was actually really hard and that's why we ended up just go just go with Adorno. Because it was just, it was so much. Like, just applying the Frankfurt School alone was just so much, but then you get into, like, the 60s and 70s and the feminists show up. It's just a really, really, really convoluted topic and I wasn't really prepared for how convoluted it was. In my education, they didn't really teach Marxism as like, "This week, w're learning about Marxism," the way they did for like feminism and critical race theory, auteur theory so those were a lot easier to distill in a simple way Auteur theory. So those were a lot easier to distill in a simple way, because I had been taught them in my intro class back in 2003. So, like, having to distill that into an intro class type video was really, really hard and I don't- I don't think I successed as well as I would have like to but... As a Youtuber, do you follow other channels as a viewer/fan? Are there any that are your favorite or that you'd recommend to us? Well, actually I probably, right now, watch YouTube more than anything, except for RuPaul's Drag Race But on that note, like there are obviously a lot of people that do similar videos to what I do. Like, Movies with Mikey, of course. ContraPoints. I binge her videos all the time still and that's why I steal her jokes so often, sometimes with permission. Folding Ideas, obviously, Patrick Williams, CGP Grey. My honest, true, go-to is CakeTube? I- like, *laughs* cake decorating YouTube. Like, the two- the two I kind of obsess with the most are How to Cake It and Man About Cake. And, of course, everything that has ever spun off from RuPaul's Drag Race. The thing I keep watching over and over again lately is UNHhhh, starring Trixie Mattel and Katya. It ended, like, well over a year ago, but I only just discovered it, so it's new to me. Oh and Jennie Nicholson, too Oh, and Jenny Nicholson, too, I guess. Here's an easy one: is it truly possible for sexual violence to be depicted well on film? Oh yes, the easy questions for a YouTube Q&A. Well, here's the thing Well, here's the thing...Chris. A lot of this is gonna be, at the end of the day, subjective and I think the problem with a lot of film criticism And I think the problem with a lot of film criticism is that people kind of expect there to be like a moral barometer? When, at the end of the day, it's like there are things like context. Who is writing the thing? What- Is it on HBO? Like, personally, I think in isolation, you- there can be arguments to be made, but overall, the broader trend is...tends to dramatize pain in a way that I think is cliched. So I think it's really hard to separate isolated depictions of sexual violence with, like, the broader trend. And the other thing is like, that's changing constantly. So what's like, maybe this year be like, "Hm, that was tasteful" Ten years from now will be, like, unacceptable. So that's honestly basically kind of an impossible question to answer. Personally, I think it's overdone and not done well enough often to really justify it as a common enough dramatic device as it is, especially in the golden age of television, which were are apparently go...living through. Have you copyrighted "Thanks, I hate it" yet? No, that's like a phrase. There's like, there's even a really big Facebook group called "Thanks, I hate it." Which Starscream is best? Ooh, well, we've already been through this. While I am, of course, always deeply partial to the original Chris Lada, I think my personal favorite Starscream is the Transformers Prime Allaince continuity and... Oh, what's his name? Oh god. I've met him. I can't remember his name. The guy who- OK-- Transformers Prime Starscream. His name escapes me. I think it's Steve. Are there any essays you'd like to redo/update? All of them. When people come up to me and say like, "Oh my god, you said this thing!" Like, about half the time I have no idea what they're talking about Because the second I'm done with a thing, I very rarely, rarely watch it again. Every time I watch something I'm like, "Oh god, I should have done this, I should have praised this better. I should- oh, I'm repeating words. I hate this edit. There's a dropped frame, There's a dropped clip, my makeup's terrible. Oh god, that lighting, I look like a glowworm." But really, basically anything I did before I departed the channel that shall not be named. Except for, except for the Freddy Got Fingered review that one, I'm still pretty proud of. It's my legacy. If you can go back to your 18 year old you what would your advice be? If you can go back to your 18 year old you, what would your advice be? Don't ever mix Xanax and alcohol. I notice you seem to go to Disney Parks a lot. Super cool. What's your favorite attraction and why? Honestly, it's the goddamn Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. Fight me. But now it might not be because it's always gonna make me sad, because of this dumb James Gunn thing. #RehireJamesGunn What are all those books behind you? I went after Disney War after you citied it in an earlier video and loved it, so if you have other book recommendations, it would really make me happy. Since I shot this not that long ago, I haven't moved the books since I shot the Beauty and the Beast video. This is, of course, Disney War. As you can see it's really, really long. Like I said, that is the truth that, with Audible, I actually did listen to this one on Audible because I have a really hard time with nonfiction that's this long. So, it's better if I just listen to it over the course of like three months. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. It's out September 5th. And I just got sent this in the mail like two days ago, so I haven't read it yet, sorry Hank. It's funny that I'm schilling for Audible. And this this is not a sponsored video, but this was another Audible. This is one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time. The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Robert Moses and the Rise and Fall of New York. I have the hard copy because I need it. Because the hard copy has, like, all these cool maps and stuff in it. If I really like a book on Audible, I'll buy the hard copy just so I can have it for research purposes. And that's why I have a hard copy of Disney War. Here was a formative book: Deconstructing Disney. This one's actually from college. I mean it's it's basic, but there's some of it that's also dumb as hell. There's like an entire chapter about how Hercules is a parable of the Clinton Administration. (reading from book) "Hercules, as an inscription of Clinton, is the victim of a massive right-wing conspiracy." "Hades, god of the underworld, is planning a hostile takeover bid and is told by the fates that should Hercules fight, you will fail." "The conspiracy narrative favored by the more distraught Democrats during Clinton's impeachment process," "was that Kenneth Starr's politically motivated prosecution was also underpinned by the tobacco industry..." See, Hades smokes a cigar. See, this book was honestly where I realized that academics could be utterly full of shit. This is my favorite book by Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower. Of course, it's Awoken by Sarah Elinsen, the most important book ever written. The Girl with All the Gifts. I didn't actually see the movie, but I really loved this book. Stephen King's On Writing. Also very good. I'm just going by what's convenient over here. I have other books on other bookshelves, but that would mean I'd have to get up. Is there a movie that genuinely surprised you, be it an expectations, twists, or what you believe it would be before you actually watched it? The first movie that genuinely surprised me was Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black, 1997. I thought it was gonna suck, but it changed my life because I loved it so much. But another recent one would be Mad Max: Fury Road, but I think that one just surprised everybody. Where does your sharp fascination with exploring Disney come from? Honestly, it probably comes from the fact that the very first film studies class I ever took was about Disney And therefore it's just kind of hardwired into my brain that Disney equals a thing to be constructed. Which is funny, because I was just throwing shade at Deconstructing Disney over here. But also, honestly, just because I- you know, Disney was really important to me growing up and the older I get the more still emotionally involved I am And, also, I living in California now, I just spend a lot of goddamn time at the parks and going to Disney World is like the thing I look forward to every year. Why do all of your Elon Musk memes make me feel cursed? Probably because they are...Jesse. The worst Disney sequel in your opinion? Well, I've actually done a video on that, but since I don't watch my old stuff I can't remember what I said. I'm pretty sure it was either Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Enchanted Christmas or Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical world. I know that all the comments are gonna be telling me what I said. What are your feelings on the slew of 80s, 90s, 2000s nostalgia reboots in recent years? I mean it sucks because it's, like, kind of gone from it being a trend to it being, like, all there is, especially with Disney. But at the same time it's nothing new and at least, it's sometimes there's, like, a quality thing that comes of it. So, I don't know. What are some of your canceled video projects, assuming you have some, and why haven't they seen the light of day? Most of the ones that I started but gave up on would be dated? Like, or there's already way too much of this hot take. I think really early on I was gonna do something about why girls love Twilight, not realizing that they were a million of those already by 2009. There was another one about Fifty Shades of Grey and the male gaze and does the female gaze exist. And I ceased that one because I was so sick of hearing about Fifty Shades of Grey. I got a lot of comments for like, "do something about gender and Game of Thrones," so I started that and then I hated it and killed it. So it's mostly stuff that's just, like, not interesting enough to warrant existing, at least in my mind. Will you hire me? No, sorry. What do you think of Hank's book? Well, I think this this thing is pretty cool, that they did with it. I don't know what it means Cuz I haven't read it yet. I just got it in the mail like yesterday. Who is sexier Starscream or daddy? Well, which daddy? They're like eight of those now. Starscream Thiccest animated daddy, and why is it Ratigan? See, I wouldn't categorize Ratigan as daddy. See, I know it's like once you have to explain the joke, it's not funny. But this was obviously, the daddy thing was something coined by Contrapoints in her video about Jordan Peterson. (Contrapoints:) Sometimes boys just need a daddy and sometimes girls do too (Lindsay:) Honestly, Elon Musk talking about the authorial intent of sci-fi authors on Twitter is just like *kiss* daddy. (Contrapoints:) So Jordan. Sorry, Dr. Peterson. Professor. Daddy. So, so really it's a very specific thing for an unearned facade of arrogance. And I think Ratigan is deservedly arrogant. When is a plot hole worth pointing out? When should it be ignored in favor of suspending disbelief? Well, I think I hate the term plot hole now, because the Internet's killed it. But in general, to me, it's a question of: Is this bad writing? Is it lazy writing? Is it contrived? Which is why I don't, I try not to use the word plot hole. To me, I'm just like, Well, it's contrived. They obviously needed to get to an end point and just kind of, wrote in something late, lazily to get us there. Over the course of your career - *laughs* "career" - what's been the biggest change in how you perceive, frame, and critique media? When I first started we didn't really have the meta text of how the internet was going to popul-ize the discourse? And I know this sounds snobbish, but like back in the day, the people who had a platform to talk in a film critique way were people who, you know. Like journalists, people who are educated, and now just anyone can do it. The problem with that is, of course, capitalism. People fall into ruts and you have these clickbait channels like MovieNitpicks.com That just kind of do the same thing over and over and because they have to rush out content, they end up having these really shallow observations that huge audiences just kind of see and regurgitate and that's kind of where film literacy begins and ends with a lot of people. And I think in some part I contributed to that, if in a very, very, very small way by being a part of these, like, nitpciky channels that we shall not name here. I think now it's more about like being careful about shaping trends. Because I know I'm, by no means, anywhere near the biggest voice on film YouTube but being expected to say and do the same thing over and over leads to shallow, bad film criticism. You mentioned being a fan of ContraPoints before befriended her. How did you stumble upon her videos and which was the first you saw? The first I saw, and she will tell you not to watch it, was her video about The Golden One. It was called "What is an Alpha?" or something about being alphas and I think I just, recommendations filtered that went to me. If they (god forbid) gave the Great Mouse Detective a live-action remake- No! No, I want to stop you right there. No. No. Mm-mm. Will video essays ever reserved the same standard is printed essays Um, probably not anytime soon. Having, having spent some time in the hallowed halls of academia in the last couple years, most academics don't actually know what a video essay is. I think we have to get to a stage where like your average film professor knows what a video essay is before we even start talking about how to get them peer-reviewed. How do you feel about Reylo? *silence* It's fine. How do you approach your research? Basically the way you research any essay. Although, for me, it helps to have a knowledge base in the topic at hand, just because then I'm more interested in it and more confident. Outside of phantom, which musicals do you like best? Cabaret. How do you think would last longer in The Hunger Games you or Shadow Todd? And how long would that person last her would they win? He'd be the first to go, cuz he'd be looking at his phone the whole time. Why are you putting Elon Musk erotica in my feed? I don't know, Jason, why are you reading it? What's your favorite lipstick? Well Sarah. I'm actually wearing it. It's called Maneater by Smashbox. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy? Jeopardy. Culture and media changes. How do you think we should view media from the past? How do you think our society can reconcile past media, especially as it relates to marginalized groups, with our present selves? Do we analyze or do we ignore? I honestly think that Disney had the best idea and the rightest idea whenever they did their release of wartime cartoons. Because, basically, they released them as they are, in their entirety. Stuff like Der Fuehrer's Face and Education for Death - propaganda films that Disney produced during the war. And all of these, like, had nice little introduction by Leonard Maltin conextualizing them. And obviously, they were very corporate and on-brand, but I think that this is, like, the right idea. And I- I think that moralizing these things, like it's some racist guy who lives down the street in 2018 is just...it's not very helpful? Because obviously erasing your past is not going to help us learn anything or grow from it. So even been putting things in a context like that is important, but honestly, I would just like to see more people compartmentalizing. Because it's not the same thing as if you have something, someone like a celebrity, let's - I don't know - let's say someone like James Woods, who says really evil things on the regular, Who is still alive and still has a platform and still has a position of power, and uses his position of power to do awful things. Or compare that to like a movie like Song of the South, which was made in the 1940s. I really think Disney is wasting an opportunity not releasing that and like contextualizing it and talking about how, like, why it was the way it was how culture has changed over the years, why they thought that this progressive, which they did. Maybe donate a portion of profits in the NAACP or something. I think there is too much shame around media history and I think contextualizing it is what's much more beneficial than saying like, "Oh it's evil and it needs to go away and be brushed under the rug forever." How do the Transformers video come about? Like, what made the idea pop? This was actually something Dan Olsen and I developed as a concept, like, back in 2013, 2014. We made a really, really long Google Doc about Mikaela, and from there it just sprung like, well, this would be a great way to talk about feminist theory, this would be a great way to talk about all sorts of film theory. But Dan is, he's kind of hard to get a hold of. So I just decided to do it myself. If you could wave a magic wand and make one trope/stock character/plot device disappear forever, what would it be? I think my least favorite trope of all time is like the one where a ch- like the While You Were Sleeping, I'm lying about my identity trope. Because it always ends at the end of act 2 with, you know, The Fern Gully "You lied to me!" Hate that. Hate it. What's a topic you're dying to make a video about but probably never will? SpaceX. Will we ever get a full tour of the daddy wall? Well, I am nowhere near close to tired of the joke, so probably. How did you originally imagine you'd use your degrees? Like what area of film did you want to do? Also, what's your favorite city that you've lived in? New York, but the New York of a few years ago. Like the proliferation of Uber and the degradation of the trains have made the city basically fucking unlivable. To the question of how I originally imagined using my degrees. I don't know. I mean, do people in college actually think that far ahead? You're just like, look I got it. I have a degree, so now I'm gonna work minimum wage until I die, while I write a lot of fanfiction. I was not ambitious Favorite line/song Howard Ashman ever wrote? (singing:) I'm especially good at expectorating. What are the risks and advantages of being an individual figurehead for your videos when they are often - pretty much always, except for this one - the production of a talented group of people? And are there particular benefits to that kind of setup on YouTube as a platform? Yeah, and honestly, I don't know what to do with it. A very small sect of people kind of understand, like, my editor Angelina. Like her style and how it is distinct from my editing style. So I definitely get comments that are like, ooh, that's a really good edge edit by Angelina and like yes, correct, that was her. But most people still have this idea that it's all me and it's not. Cause peop - I will get credit for things like I didn't write or didn't do but on the other hand I get to take all the heat. So, I don't know. I think the people who work for me right now are more comfortable with me having the bigger profile, because then they don't have to deal with all the bullshit I do. What do you think about the Disney acquisition hunger? I think it's bad. There's nothing good about it. Is there anyone you would like to collab with who you haven't yet? And if so, who? Again, like I tend to restrict myself to people I've actually met, because I think it's kind of creepy to be like, Oh, I'd love to collab with Poppy. Maybe CGP Grey? I don't know what we would do. I think also I'd like to just do more stuff with non YouTubers? Like people who aren't strictly on this platform? Or maybe some of my former classmates at USC, who are like, actually in the industry. Like the video I did last year with David McCracken talking about filmmaking was fun, and I'd like to do more stuff like that. Like I think John Scalzi would be fun to do something, some video with. Like, he's a- he's a good sport and he has like a good presence. Okay, one more. If James Gunn is not rehired for Guardians 3, would you support and promote a total boycott of the movie? No. Like here's the thing: boycotts don't work. Like there are actual studies on this. Or rather specifically boycotts alone won't work. Like let's look at the recent Amazon Prime day. People were promoting a boycott of Amazon and it was their biggest day ever. Like the truth is most people don't care about disrupting their normal cycles, and if they're gonna see Guardians 3, they're gonna see Guardians 3, including me. What does work is making a big stink and making it clear why you're making a big stink. Which is why I support the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy and I think the whole James Gunn getting fired thing is bullshit. But I think boycotting a movie that's not gonna come out for another three years: A) that's gonna make such a non-existent dent that no one will notice, and B) kind of ignores the problem, which is not the movie itself, it's what's going on now. So no, I wouldn't support that but I will make a big stink in the meantime. Thanks for sitting all the way through this and thanks to everyone who stuck with me up to four hundred thousand. We did it. Oh and I have one more announcement If you're wondering, "Oh, wow, your Nostalgia Chick videos have mostly disappeared." Yeah about that. Basically, I want to consider this channel a new era and anything that is affiliated with certain former affiliates, I don't really want on this channel upset That said, I know if I just delete it, people are just going to upload it and monetize my content and, you know, we can't have that. So, we started a new channel and we're going to be uploading a new video every day. And I won't have the comments turned off. Go wild. I don't care. Of course, I'm not thrilled about this because I'm basically hideously ashamed of pretty much everything I did before 2015, But it's the internet. Nothing dies. So go watch my horrible old content and feel free to tell me how problematic I am. You're not wrong. I wish I could end this on a more positive note. Enjoy
I love her so much, she’s the reason I decided to study film :)
She did make comments on capitalism with her video on the postmortem analysis of The Hobbit, but is she an ardent leftist?
She's so wonderful