11 votes

Modern Luddism and the battle for your soul

4 comments

  1. Akir
    Link
    So this is probably going to be the strangest recommendation you get today. The title of the video is actually "Bo Burnham vs. Jeff Bezos" and it's a two-and-a-half hour review of the concepts of...

    So this is probably going to be the strangest recommendation you get today. The title of the video is actually "Bo Burnham vs. Jeff Bezos" and it's a two-and-a-half hour review of the concepts of the Bo Burnham Netflix comedy special Inside.

    Sit back, relax, and take the time to watch the whole thing. I promise you that it's worth it. If you can't sit down to listen to the whole thing, rip the audio and put it in your podcast app so you can listen to it in pieces.

    While the whole impetus behind the video was the song in the special where Burnham talks about Jeff Bezos, he actually uses it to talk about a number of rather big and important topics, to the point that I was seriously considering titling this post "Life, the Universe, and Everything". This video bounces from talking about Amazon, to privacy, to capitalism, to attention and advertising, to addictive web platforms, to how we talk to eachother online, to how we perceive and interact with society, and how the medium has affected public discourse.

    I know it sounds very long and disjointed but I promise you that it all makes sense and is worth your time.

    7 votes
  2. [3]
    onyxleopard
    Link
    This is super long and brimming with ideas. I enjoyed it. I like long-form content. But, CJ could stand to edit this into several video essays. I have a pretty long attention span, and even I had...

    This is super long and brimming with ideas. I enjoyed it. I like long-form content. But, CJ could stand to edit this into several video essays. I have a pretty long attention span, and even I had to break this up over two sessions (with a break for a meal in between).

    I thought this quote that CJ pulls from Burnham after the last checkpoint is super insightful:

    The answer for [Trump] isn't better tweets. It's long form conversation.

    It is a much pithier invocation of the idea I tried to express here in response to Elizabeth Calamantessa's argument for sentimentalist democracy. Real politics can't be reduced to memes and feels. Real politics and governance deserves more serious media and scrutiny.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Akir
      Link Parent
      His videos are all like this; they always seem like they're just a long rant, but in the end it all comes together to make a greater point. I think it's rather interesting that he talked so much...

      His videos are all like this; they always seem like they're just a long rant, but in the end it all comes together to make a greater point.

      I think it's rather interesting that he talked so much about religion and spiritualism. Personally, I felt a bit alienated by it, but the surprising thing is how that feeling of alienation actually ended up furthering his point about understanding people who think differently than you do. And when he went further and talked about having a moment where he could identify with Ben Shapiro, I felt a sense of hope that I had lost over the past year or so.

      2 votes
      1. onyxleopard
        Link Parent
        I think the kind of self-editing that would improve the coherence and focus of such content is just the kind of thing that comes with practice and maturity. It's still good, but could be made even...

        His videos are all like this

        I think the kind of self-editing that would improve the coherence and focus of such content is just the kind of thing that comes with practice and maturity. It's still good, but could be made even better with good editing.

        I think it's rather interesting that he talked so much about religion and spiritualism. Personally, I felt a bit alienated by it, but the surprising thing is how that feeling of alienation actually ended up furthering his point about understanding people who think differently than you do. And when he went further and talked about having a moment where he could identify with Ben Shapiro, I felt a sense of hope that I had lost over the past year or so.

        It really drives home the point that reductive media only throw gas on the fire and more productive media (such as long form interviews) can help broaden our perspectives.

        2 votes