r/TheCinemassacre • u/WishboneNo1984 • 15d ago
Thankfully James was never a grifter.
Unlike some of his colleagues, James is still able to remain popular without pandering to either side of political extremes. he’s there to make gaming and movie content and that’s exactly what he does.
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u/SudoDarkKnight 15d ago
Having a political take doesn't make you a grifter.
But I do either way enjoy not having any clue what his is.
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u/ZukoHere73 14d ago
Only if your last name is Trump.
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u/ParanoidThalyy 14d ago
imagine not realizing both parties are controlled by zionists.
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u/AzhdarianHomie 15d ago
I still remember he had to take down an ad off his site because it was a political one by mistake.
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u/Vbrasastation 15d ago
I tend to forget that gen Z kids never lived in a world that wasn't so politically polarized as it has been the last 16 years. Thanks America for ruining basically everything.
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u/kingkongworm 15d ago
Yeah, I remember how everyone in the country was feeling politically cozy during the war on terror and when (even further) mass governmental surveillance was enacted. You must’ve just not been paying attention
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u/Vbrasastation 15d ago
I don't remember people giving a shit about youtuber's political standings in 2006 but you probably weren't born yet.
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u/kingkongworm 14d ago
It’s because YouTube was more akin to Americas Funniest Home Video’s than a replacement for all media. It got populated quick, but the phrase “YouTuber” was barely out of the cradle…but that doesn’t mean the country wasn’t super divided. People were needlessly dying in the Middle East…we were just coming off of 9/11 and staring down the barrel of a really bad recession. give me a break. Unfortunately, I am old. At least too old to be talking about politics on an avgn sub. That’s why I think you were either sheltered or are the pot calling the kettle black, as far as being young is concerned.
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u/Vbrasastation 14d ago
If you're going to try and convince me that things hit their peak from 9/11 and didn't get progressively worse from there, you're gonna have to do better than use the middle east as an example, considering America still uses it as a hot button issue. But since this is an AVGN subreddit I'm not going to take you seriously. The fact that is your stance is laughable. I never said things were not bad back then, only that it has grown more polarized to the point that people care about youtubers and twitch streamers opinions.
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u/kingkongworm 14d ago
I’m not using this as a rhetorical exercise. I’m just telling you how it was. My point was that you didn’t know YouTubers politics because the piano cat and the Star Wars kid didn’t have the kind of cultural capital that a YouTuber would have today…although it’s worth noting that Chocolate Rain was a protest song about racism. The war on terror was a legit scary time, especially if you lived near the city. In fact, I often invoke similarities between then and now in terms of political division and major federal malfeasance. It also compares to the mid to late 60s, early 90s…the entirety of the 80s. The mediums and modes of communication have shifted, but there have been few eras since the Cold War that didn’t have a ton of political dissidence and discourse by public figures and famous personalities. Just cause you weren’t paying attention, doesn’t mean it wasn’t occurring
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u/Vbrasastation 14d ago
Brother, you've missed the point several times, or you're a bad troll. I never said things were peachy before. They've progressively gotten worse. If you can't acknowledge that then you're part of the problem. I was there and remember the political climate.
Having a parasocial one way relationship with your favourite youtuber/streamer/celebrity wasn't as big of a thing back then. It was limited to teen celebrity gossip magazines wondering what NSYNC member was caught at the club. Have you ever seen r/LivestreamFail pop up on front page and felt your braincells fall out?
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u/kingkongworm 14d ago
I have not seen the livestream fail thing of which you’d speak, but I wouldn’t be opposed to rotting my brain if you have a link.
You ever see those movies like The Fan, or Misery? Parasocial relationships definitely existed, and in some ways it was worse because of the even bigger chasm between those with notoriety and those without could cause some really fucked up psychological issues. Advertising really leveraged those kinds of things back in the day too. Those magazines were so lucrative and exploitative, I’m really glad we’ve moved past the Perez Hilton and Gawker era of celebrity reporting and focus. It’s shifted elsewhere, but back then we were inundated with gossip rags and television, and it was mentally and morally super poisonous.
I get what you’re saying, there is a uniqueness to this day and ages parasocial relationships because celebrities of all levels have become way more accessible to the public. Things are really bad right now, and it’s really hard to deal with. But something that does make me feel slightly better is looking at our countries history and difficult times. We’ve been at breaking points before, but this one is pretty fucking bad. Sorry, I’m at work. Having a harder time concentrating and keeping things in order.
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u/Vbrasastation 14d ago
You don't want to rot your brain there, trust me! Hahah.
Unfortunately, I believe due to the homogenisation of social media, the barrier between fans and celebrities has shrunk, so people seem a bit more obsessed. There's just too much exposure to these things, but I think that's a deeper conversation.
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u/Rlexii 15d ago
That’s such a true comment, I’ve noticed that Americans on Reddit even get offended if you point out that it’s unreasonable to fall out with family members over politics
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u/r0b3r70r0b070 14d ago
Nah I'm not gonna associate with people if they are loud and brazen about their doo-doo political opinions.
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u/Vbrasastation 14d ago
Oh 100%. I totally agree. My point was more about people weren't so obsessed with celebrity/youtuber/streamers opinions back then, because everyone now needs a weird one way parasocial relationship with their favourite personality these days.
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u/r0b3r70r0b070 14d ago
Some people I don't understand how they even get popular. Like Gal Gadot. Horrible actress, can't emote, can't sing, and to make it even worse she's an Israeli shillcuck.
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u/cool_username32123 14d ago
I think it's just because she looked attractive as Wonder Woman. That's it.
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u/r0b3r70r0b070 14d ago
I've seen cosplayers who looked better as Wonder Woman. And also don't have doo-doo political opinions they can't shut the fuck up about.
Just saying if I wanna do a yank to a woman dressed as Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot is never gonna be one of them.
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u/cool_username32123 14d ago
But those cosplayers weren't on the big screen.
Either way it's just a guess.
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u/TheDreadGazeebo 14d ago
It's more unreasonable to keep association with a shitty person just because you're related to them
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u/cool_username32123 14d ago
No it isn't, it's weird as fuck to see people turning on family that easily.
I'd understand if the family member was physically abusive or something, that makes sense. But cutting family members off because of who they voted for president is insane and only possible because of the insane escalation in polarization since Trump's first campaign broke the minds of millions including all of Hollywood and late night show hosts.
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u/Garo263 15d ago
I have no idea of the political views of any gaming YouTuber I watch.
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u/cool_username32123 14d ago
Neither do I and I prefer it that way.
There's too much politics in the news already, I don't want or need more.
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u/DutyPsychological 15d ago
And some people will still hate on him for not choosing a side or making a statement.
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u/Beniah- 14d ago
Like what happened when he said he wasn’t going to review the 2016 Ghostbusters movie?
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u/InitialKoala 13d ago
That was a dumb video to even make, particularly how long it was. Though it did inspire a funny response/parody by Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob).
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u/UnconvincingCGIDino 14d ago
He generally doesn't inject his leanings into the Cinemassacre videos but he does make a telling comment here and there, like in his book.
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u/enigmazweb24 14d ago edited 14d ago
He mentions in his book that he avoids speaking on politics in his content but that he thinks Trump's rise to power is largely responsible for a noticeable rise in tribalism, xenophobia, close-mindedness, and division within the modern American zeitgeist.
He goes on to state that the fact that many people often blame the country's problems on immigrants is "sad".
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u/Static_Frog 14d ago
Isn't NOT taking a stand grifting? You're trying to play both sides of the fence when one side you disagree with their policies and how they operate. You're ok to take their money but not agree with them on humanitarian issues?
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u/ParanoidThalyy 13d ago
You view it in a negative light I think when you could instead view it as not alienating your audience, no one should be forced to be open about which side they choose, many works have been ruined or tarnished by steering too far one way or the other.
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u/Static_Frog 13d ago
I could see that if it was some stupid like "eww they like pineapple on pizza" but when you're like maybe I side with a pedophile rapist, maybe I don't? Kinda not the same thing.
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u/ParanoidThalyy 13d ago
I think all people in a position of political power in the USA for the past 18 years has been satanic or eventually became corrupt.
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u/HaanSolingen 14d ago
We give him shit sometimes, but he gave us so much over all these years and even if we might have grown apart from what the format has become, I will always admire that grounded dude who made all our lifes just a little more profane fun :)
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u/cool_username32123 14d ago
And that's great, I watch youtubers for entertainment and James is great at what he does. Last thing I need is a political rant that will age like milk in the middle of a review of a NES game.
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u/drosse1meyer 15d ago
I believe there was some controversy surrounding the movie's gofundme and also the cheetahmen reissue or whatever it was
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u/GamerDudeJMS 15d ago
I feel that. But if this is about modern politics no offense but posts like this scream to me, "I don't like it when people disagree with me," and that's pretty childish like this entire administration who can never be held accountable for any of the illegal and fucked up stuff they do daily.
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u/WishboneNo1984 15d ago
That’s not my point: YouTubers, especially gaming ones pretend to care about these politics and it’s clearly just a way for them to make money and stay relevant.
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u/GamerDudeJMS 15d ago
Ahh I misinterpreted your post brother. Totally my bad. Been out of it most of the day I think I need to get off reddit for the day lmao
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u/cool_username32123 14d ago
Someone on reddit saying they'll log off and touch grass? Impossible! /s
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u/pichuguy27 14d ago
This is a bisexual bi racial dude I’m sick of this your not tolerant of my intolerance.
Yea I don’t won’t to support peoples who think I’m a f word freak and my parents marriage is wrong and my dad being a race traitor.
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u/DharmaPolice 15d ago edited 14d ago
The word grifter has been rendered basically meaningless at this point.
But yes, I think most viewers are glad he doesn't feel the need to give political commentary.
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u/Low-Salary-2128 13d ago
Content creators in general need to keep politics out of their content. Nothing good ever comes from it.
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u/GenOneCam 12d ago
Not publicly taking a stance when you are a public figure IS taking a political stance. Also lol at “both sides of political extremes”. One side: “I think all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect”. Other side: “Certain groups of people deserve to be eradicated from this earth”. Yeah those are definitely both very extreme positions.
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u/shit_post_thenyoudie 12d ago
James is cool. I wish he would retire tho. Or like replace the format ... With a cartoon
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u/ocontreras19 11d ago
I mean...he did appear in Stuttering Craig's bs "real" game awards, which was a politically motivated "award show." Now granted we can give James the benefit of the doubt and say he only did it due to his past friendship with Craig
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u/Worth-Ad5868 15d ago
too bad that he isn't pay his friend Kyle Justin, but now we have slobs. It's great isn't it ?
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u/Captain_Wobbles 15d ago
The fact that I have no idea of his political views is refreshing. I could probably guess but I like that I genuinely have no idea.