While it's true they don't shy away from "offensive" or inappropriate jokes, I always thought they were pretty normie tier when it comes to their understanding of social justice topics. Like they probably believe in the wage gap and various other "systemic inequalities" touted by activists. Especially with how hard it's been pushed in the movie industry I'm not surprised if it's starting to affect them more.
Jack (bald) and Josh (beard) are both woke. No idea about Tim. Jim is pretty left wing and hates Tucker Carlson. I don't know about Colin but I assume the same.
The main three are pretty good about keeping their politics off of the internet so it's harder to say. Mike at least used to be pretty conservative (I think kiwifarms dug up old posts he had made) and some people have speculated that he still is. If I had to guess though I would guess they're all normie-tier centrist/left leaning.
Mike is a little bit of an aloof "above the fray" type in his mind. He likes to moderate from the sidelines and inject all the "good lines" with his zingers he's been stewing on while others try to have a conversation. When he concedes a point it is with massive caveat and 1000 word essays about how he was actually right though if you really think about it.
He dabbles in self-deprecation and embraces parody from time to time but he likes to convey that as a 'character' instead of as himself. In short, my read on Mike, is that he is very proud of himself and wants to be perceived in the best light he can manage as often as he can.
Contrast this with Rich or even Jay. Jay comes off extremely aloof on the surface and very unwilling to be wrong, but he will still concede a point in almost every conversation. He'll back off of aggressive stances and admit ignorance or hasty judgement with relative freedom and regularity. He doesn't mind being made fun of, and regularly buys into jokes about his height, facial hair, and weird taste in media which he constantly up-front says "this is my thing, don't worry, I don't expect anyone to agree with it." I will also say, this has been an evolution for Jay. At first he was VERY defensive and unable to take a joke directed at him, but he's mellowed significantly and seems to be much more relaxed and fun in the later years.
Rich can't avoid being the butt of every joke. Mainly because he's been friends with Mike the longest and has long ceded the position of the Clown to Mike's Ringmaster. He gets visibly tired of it sometimes and seems legitimately fed up on rare occasions and lashes out in anger, but he always comes back and laughs it off ultimately. The dynamic between Rich and Mike looks from the outside to be tiring and abusive, but they both lean into their roles for the sake of comedy and fun and I don't think they actually are hurting each other. I also don't think Mike could survive for a minute if Rich actually left.
All of this culminates, I feel, in Mike's development into someone who will use these grandiose-sounding political arguments to seem smarter, more detached, and more cultured than he is, because that is the persona he wants to present. He may mean it, or he may merely mean to be the outsider who isn't directly targetable by the angry mob who may dislike his real opinions. Either way, while Jay is the most likely to HOLD feminist opinions, Mike is the most likely to SPEAK them. Jay is far more willing to have a discussion in a hostile environment than Mike who wants to be right and pull out, or be wrong and dominate everyone into stopping the conversation.
I don't dislike Mike, but I think his ego is heavily attached to how he is perceived by others, and he most wants to be seen as positively as he can. That makes him most amenable to adopting the gestalt positions of the culture he markets himself to.
I trust Jay to say what he really thinks, and I trust Rich to be based most of the time. I always expect Mike to have a bad take that sounds good. Unless he's playing a character like Scientist Man or Mr. Plinkett: THEN he's probably got some good, reasonable, based things to say (because his ego isn't in danger if someone disagrees).
I hear you. Growing up I was in many ways an anti-Rich. I would heavily resist any deprecation or insult directed at me in a friendly setting, and would make things awkward for those involved until they picked a new target. I never realized this consciously until I was an adult and had stumbled into a social situation that was very familiar to all others I'd had in my life. There was the ring-leader whom the group centered on, there was the scholar (usually me) who was ready to go with clever sayings, insights, or stories. And then there was the clown: the guy who was at the butt of all of the humor from the ring-leader. Bullying him seemed to be the leader's greatest joy. And it bothered me enough to intervene on his behalf because I was disturbed by it.
But in this latest scenario I noticed something about the dynamic, that made me wonder why I wasn't in one of those roles myself. That is: the clown was very carefree and happy to be made fun of. He walked into situations carelessly and seemed to participate in manufacturing his own embarrassment. And the ring-leader was always the most energetic and most unleashed when that guy was around. He wasn't savage to be mean, he was legitimately delighted and entertained.
I was impressed with the clown's lack of defensiveness. His cavalier resilience appealed to my personal ideal of being stoic and unaffected. But I realized it clashed with my idea of being 'cool' and it was on that basis that I refused to take that role. I consider that a shortcoming of mine. I don't pity a clown, I'm impressed by him and wish I was him. I know it takes guts, and a healthy dose of trust that the people around you won't push you too far.
I can for sure see why you'd avoid it when you enter a new situation filled with strangers. Also, thank you for the kind assessment :)
Noticed it out the gate actually. I agree they are usually apolitical or politically incorrect, but the few times they seemed political was Mike, Rich, or the bald guy mocking characters in movies for being "anti-woman". Just random quips so I can't give you examples, but it goes all the way back to their earliest episodes of BotW. And Mike always had a feminist girlfriend AFAIK.
straight up parroting feminist talking points.
In fact, he'd usually be the one most likely to make a rape joke or something
Yes those two usually go hand-in-hand with feminist men.
I just watched the Black Widow episode, and I don't really remember anything feminist he says in it.
In fact, I remember a few vaguely anti-feminist talking points, like expressing hope that maybe people are finally fed up with being told they should like a movie because "stronk womyn," and he goes out of his way to express the (completely obvious to anyone with half a brain) opinion that Captain Marvel was a bad movie and a boring character.
That being said, I don't doubt for one second that basically all of the crew have at least some semblance of leaning left. But at least AIDS Moby is mostly offscreen nowadays.
It's not the past month or so at all. They've always embodied the most brittle aspects of normie ideological uncertainty.
They seem 'politically incorrect' because they're a bunch of down to earth guys whose success is built in no small part from watching shitty old exploitation movies full of rape and nudity, which is why they've always felt comfortable joking about that kind of thing, or making south park tier jokes back before that was verboten. But for years now, they've looked extremely uncomfortable going any further than that because they have no real ideological core, they just go with the currents. In any recent hollywood fandom subversion, they've criticised the shitty new SJW movies, it's true, but there's always a note of 'but the misogynists trolls who post shit about it are bad too!' They've never been more anti-PC than that. Without any firm ideological position, they're always liable to get browbeaten into towing the line.
Don't pick eceleb champions, these guys are average joes who found a moneymaking gimmick. Enjoy it for what it is; they're not much more compromised than they ever were, especially what with having some real SJW true believers on the staff like that Jack guy.
Red Letter Media always struck me as pessimistic normies. I'm not sure if it is a schtick or not, but it seems like Mike and Jay are becoming increasingly exhausted from everything going on in the world combined with the extreme corporatization of Hollywood. The Black Widow movie review felt kind of like a fever-dream for Jay and Mike. Mike throws in some jabs at Hollywood "female empowerment," and you can tell how much Black Widow represents everything they hate about modern Hollywood. They hate how little they can truly say about this movie. It's not a good movie, it's not a complete trashfire (debatably), the movie just exists.
In a climate where even the most politically-detached media goes out of its way to declare total allegiance to the woke cult, I appreciate the RLM crew for keeping their political views mostly absent from their work. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they're all some flavor of lefty, but there's hope for anyone who can put out an apolitical product in 2021.
Do you have specific examples from those 2 videos? I just watched them and I am struggling to remember any stand-out comments in regards to feminist talking points.
I remember them dismissing the whole taskmaster controversy in the black widow vid, which seems more a shot at fanboys than anything else. (I disagree with making any changes to a character from the source material)
They also pointed out how audiences may be getting tired of being guilted into liking a movie just because a female is the lead character. Didn't Mike even make the point of why even use woman as the assassins?
I can't recall anything stand out from the last Best of the Worst, beyond a bunch of jokes about David Carradine.
I only started watching RLM this year and I am somewhat curious where they land politically.
I only really watch Plinkett and bitchy takedowns of movies/shows I watch. Their movie re-views and worst of the worst are just boring to me otherwise.
While it's true they don't shy away from "offensive" or inappropriate jokes, I always thought they were pretty normie tier when it comes to their understanding of social justice topics. Like they probably believe in the wage gap and various other "systemic inequalities" touted by activists. Especially with how hard it's been pushed in the movie industry I'm not surprised if it's starting to affect them more.
Their one baldo beardo friendo Whatshisname is totally woke and might have influence on the rest of the crew without even them noticing.
I somehow fused the baldo with the beardo. It's the baldo.
https://www.piratesandprincesses.net/red-letter-media-personality-seemingly-endorses-alt-right-star-wars-conspiracy-theory/
Jack (bald) and Josh (beard) are both woke. No idea about Tim. Jim is pretty left wing and hates Tucker Carlson. I don't know about Colin but I assume the same.
The main three are pretty good about keeping their politics off of the internet so it's harder to say. Mike at least used to be pretty conservative (I think kiwifarms dug up old posts he had made) and some people have speculated that he still is. If I had to guess though I would guess they're all normie-tier centrist/left leaning.
Mike is a little bit of an aloof "above the fray" type in his mind. He likes to moderate from the sidelines and inject all the "good lines" with his zingers he's been stewing on while others try to have a conversation. When he concedes a point it is with massive caveat and 1000 word essays about how he was actually right though if you really think about it.
He dabbles in self-deprecation and embraces parody from time to time but he likes to convey that as a 'character' instead of as himself. In short, my read on Mike, is that he is very proud of himself and wants to be perceived in the best light he can manage as often as he can.
Contrast this with Rich or even Jay. Jay comes off extremely aloof on the surface and very unwilling to be wrong, but he will still concede a point in almost every conversation. He'll back off of aggressive stances and admit ignorance or hasty judgement with relative freedom and regularity. He doesn't mind being made fun of, and regularly buys into jokes about his height, facial hair, and weird taste in media which he constantly up-front says "this is my thing, don't worry, I don't expect anyone to agree with it." I will also say, this has been an evolution for Jay. At first he was VERY defensive and unable to take a joke directed at him, but he's mellowed significantly and seems to be much more relaxed and fun in the later years.
Rich can't avoid being the butt of every joke. Mainly because he's been friends with Mike the longest and has long ceded the position of the Clown to Mike's Ringmaster. He gets visibly tired of it sometimes and seems legitimately fed up on rare occasions and lashes out in anger, but he always comes back and laughs it off ultimately. The dynamic between Rich and Mike looks from the outside to be tiring and abusive, but they both lean into their roles for the sake of comedy and fun and I don't think they actually are hurting each other. I also don't think Mike could survive for a minute if Rich actually left.
All of this culminates, I feel, in Mike's development into someone who will use these grandiose-sounding political arguments to seem smarter, more detached, and more cultured than he is, because that is the persona he wants to present. He may mean it, or he may merely mean to be the outsider who isn't directly targetable by the angry mob who may dislike his real opinions. Either way, while Jay is the most likely to HOLD feminist opinions, Mike is the most likely to SPEAK them. Jay is far more willing to have a discussion in a hostile environment than Mike who wants to be right and pull out, or be wrong and dominate everyone into stopping the conversation.
I don't dislike Mike, but I think his ego is heavily attached to how he is perceived by others, and he most wants to be seen as positively as he can. That makes him most amenable to adopting the gestalt positions of the culture he markets himself to.
I trust Jay to say what he really thinks, and I trust Rich to be based most of the time. I always expect Mike to have a bad take that sounds good. Unless he's playing a character like Scientist Man or Mr. Plinkett: THEN he's probably got some good, reasonable, based things to say (because his ego isn't in danger if someone disagrees).
I hear you. Growing up I was in many ways an anti-Rich. I would heavily resist any deprecation or insult directed at me in a friendly setting, and would make things awkward for those involved until they picked a new target. I never realized this consciously until I was an adult and had stumbled into a social situation that was very familiar to all others I'd had in my life. There was the ring-leader whom the group centered on, there was the scholar (usually me) who was ready to go with clever sayings, insights, or stories. And then there was the clown: the guy who was at the butt of all of the humor from the ring-leader. Bullying him seemed to be the leader's greatest joy. And it bothered me enough to intervene on his behalf because I was disturbed by it.
But in this latest scenario I noticed something about the dynamic, that made me wonder why I wasn't in one of those roles myself. That is: the clown was very carefree and happy to be made fun of. He walked into situations carelessly and seemed to participate in manufacturing his own embarrassment. And the ring-leader was always the most energetic and most unleashed when that guy was around. He wasn't savage to be mean, he was legitimately delighted and entertained.
I was impressed with the clown's lack of defensiveness. His cavalier resilience appealed to my personal ideal of being stoic and unaffected. But I realized it clashed with my idea of being 'cool' and it was on that basis that I refused to take that role. I consider that a shortcoming of mine. I don't pity a clown, I'm impressed by him and wish I was him. I know it takes guts, and a healthy dose of trust that the people around you won't push you too far.
I can for sure see why you'd avoid it when you enter a new situation filled with strangers. Also, thank you for the kind assessment :)
Noticed it out the gate actually. I agree they are usually apolitical or politically incorrect, but the few times they seemed political was Mike, Rich, or the bald guy mocking characters in movies for being "anti-woman". Just random quips so I can't give you examples, but it goes all the way back to their earliest episodes of BotW. And Mike always had a feminist girlfriend AFAIK.
Yes those two usually go hand-in-hand with feminist men.
I just watched the Black Widow episode, and I don't really remember anything feminist he says in it.
In fact, I remember a few vaguely anti-feminist talking points, like expressing hope that maybe people are finally fed up with being told they should like a movie because "stronk womyn," and he goes out of his way to express the (completely obvious to anyone with half a brain) opinion that Captain Marvel was a bad movie and a boring character.
That being said, I don't doubt for one second that basically all of the crew have at least some semblance of leaning left. But at least AIDS Moby is mostly offscreen nowadays.
I laughed at AIDS Moby. Bravo.
They're from Milwaukee.
They're default liberals at the very least.
It's not the past month or so at all. They've always embodied the most brittle aspects of normie ideological uncertainty.
They seem 'politically incorrect' because they're a bunch of down to earth guys whose success is built in no small part from watching shitty old exploitation movies full of rape and nudity, which is why they've always felt comfortable joking about that kind of thing, or making south park tier jokes back before that was verboten. But for years now, they've looked extremely uncomfortable going any further than that because they have no real ideological core, they just go with the currents. In any recent hollywood fandom subversion, they've criticised the shitty new SJW movies, it's true, but there's always a note of 'but the misogynists trolls who post shit about it are bad too!' They've never been more anti-PC than that. Without any firm ideological position, they're always liable to get browbeaten into towing the line.
Don't pick eceleb champions, these guys are average joes who found a moneymaking gimmick. Enjoy it for what it is; they're not much more compromised than they ever were, especially what with having some real SJW true believers on the staff like that Jack guy.
Red Letter Media always struck me as pessimistic normies. I'm not sure if it is a schtick or not, but it seems like Mike and Jay are becoming increasingly exhausted from everything going on in the world combined with the extreme corporatization of Hollywood. The Black Widow movie review felt kind of like a fever-dream for Jay and Mike. Mike throws in some jabs at Hollywood "female empowerment," and you can tell how much Black Widow represents everything they hate about modern Hollywood. They hate how little they can truly say about this movie. It's not a good movie, it's not a complete trashfire (debatably), the movie just exists.
In a climate where even the most politically-detached media goes out of its way to declare total allegiance to the woke cult, I appreciate the RLM crew for keeping their political views mostly absent from their work. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they're all some flavor of lefty, but there's hope for anyone who can put out an apolitical product in 2021.
Do you have specific examples from those 2 videos? I just watched them and I am struggling to remember any stand-out comments in regards to feminist talking points.
I remember them dismissing the whole taskmaster controversy in the black widow vid, which seems more a shot at fanboys than anything else. (I disagree with making any changes to a character from the source material)
They also pointed out how audiences may be getting tired of being guilted into liking a movie just because a female is the lead character. Didn't Mike even make the point of why even use woman as the assassins?
I can't recall anything stand out from the last Best of the Worst, beyond a bunch of jokes about David Carradine.
I only started watching RLM this year and I am somewhat curious where they land politically.
I only really watch Plinkett and bitchy takedowns of movies/shows I watch. Their movie re-views and worst of the worst are just boring to me otherwise.