Pewdiepie and Trump: literally not the same!

Not long ago, Felix Kjellberg AKA Pewdiepie was accused of anti-Semitism. Well, to this day, he is still accused of it. Admittedly, he is known for his humour which can be extremely obscene, even for fans like me. But, a racist he is not.

I understand that jokes like his can be unpalatable and can be abused by bigots. But, I am one of those who differentiate vulgarity from bigotry. Of course, mainstream media outlets rebuff that. Their disagreement with this view compel them to perform shameless dishonesty.

Instead of analysing his videos in their entirety, the media extracted some parts and reported them…without giving any contexts! Many in the Youtube community, including fellow content creators and even his detractors, came to defend him and called out the so-called journalists who thought slander was journalistic! Traditional media keep trying to besmirch their digital counterparts; this case wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. The annoyance doesn’t stop there.

Some people who were on Pewds’ side compared him to Donald Trump. They believed both shared the same hardship in their public life. Admittedly, they also have to endure daily dose of dehumanising hatred. But, I still can’t see them equals.

First of all, Trump is not being slandered. The media simply report his words and actions that -in any given contexts- blatantly show rejection of the facts, childishness and inhumanity towards his fellow human beings. Admittedly, lies about him do spread around. But, they are minuscule in number compared to unsavoury yet truthful reports of him. That’s different case with Pewdiepie.

Even before the anti-Semitism accusation, people accused him of other horrendous things, like beating his girlfriend and stealing money from his numerous charity fundraising. The evidence? Well, their deep hatred of his videos. They couldn’t lay out circumstantial evidences, let alone the conclusive ones. But, despite all of the falsehood, his fans keep defending him, knowing how poisonous his haters can be.

About Trump’s fans, I notice a juxtaposition. While some do condemn the accusations as slanders, others hold unsettling stances. A portion of them are apathetic and that’s bad enough; apathy towards immorality, even when alleged, means one greenlights its existence. The others are far worse: his lack of morale exhilarates them.

They don’t see his childishness, sexual abuse of women, fear-mongering, rejection of facts, bullying and prejudice as sins. In fact, they believe a strong and powerful leader must possess those attributes. Level-headness, rationality and human decency are seen as sugary, vomit-inducing abnormalities that inherently weak humans crave for. Trump relishes on pandering.

He knows how much his fans fetishise over such sins. The more he boasts them, the more he empowers his fans. For him, popularity is far more important than the dignity of the masses he is sacrificing. As crass as Pewdiepie can be, he still believes in social responsibility.

In recent years, Pewdiepie lost a group of fans because he has stopped pandering to their immaturity, irrationality and lack of sophistication. As he matures, he realises how unprincipled his old self was for empowering his obnoxious fans. Nowadays, he is known for openly lambasting their behaviours. Having many admirers isn’t worth sacrificing the dignity of one’s self and the masses; thankfully, his self-improvement is accompanied by a counter-intuitively fattening fan base.

Many people still don’t realise that Pewdiepie is a satirical character created by Felix Kjellberg. Long time or observant viewers know how to distinguish them from each other. Entertainers aren’t obliged to confirm whether they are in characters or not. Yet Kjellberg has explicitly stated that Pewdiepie is fictional and doesn’t represent his true self. Predictably, not the case with Trump.

I have heard speculations about how Trump the politician is also a character. If that is true (if!), it’s problematic. He keeps convincing everyone, especially his fans, that the persona is a real person. He deliberately and dangerously block out the line between the real and the unreal. But then, what can one expect from a politician? A shred of decency?

Also, ‘normal people’ got consequences for their mistakes. When I said ‘normal people’, I meant people who don’t have extra privileges like fame, fortune or both. Pewdiepie has both and the consequences he got are quite severe.

Apart from the backlashes, he had his Disney contract eliminated, his costly and highly-anticipated web series cancelled and his videos temporarily demonetised. Not to mention mainstream media outlets are constantly thirsty of his blood, keep intentionally distorting his subsequent videos. Despite his fame and fortune, he’s still quite close to be one of the ‘normal ones’, unlike Trump.

From all the horrible things he has said and done, we punish Trump by creating meaningless backlashes…and making him one of the most powerful individuals on earth. If he is an ordinary person, he would have suffer greater consequences than Felix Kjellberg had. Heck, he would’ve suffered more than his detractors like Reza Aslan and Kathy Griffin had. What we’re doing to him are just a weak microscopic slap to the wrist.

He escapes all of the deserving punishments and still manages to act like the most prosecuted person in the world. Kjellberg suffers punishments harsher than he deserves. But, he acknowledges how undesirable he can be; he is a bigger man than Trump will ever be. Even professionally, he is of lower class than Pewdiepie is.

Trump is a so-called master for the dimwits. They believe him when he said a million dollar loan from daddy is small. They think him hiring multiple bankruptcies and conning people show money-savvy he is. Don’t start with his lack of political experience. Bring that up and they will call you petty for having a decent standard; don’t you know that making political tweets counts? But, there is one expertise he masters: showmanship.

Love or hate him, he is a fantastic reality show star. I even religiously watched The Apprentice at one point. If they want to brag a talent of his, why wouldn’t they bring up this fact? Oh, right. That would make him a politically-illiterate obnoxious celebrity. You know, what they have been accusing anti-Trump celebrities of. They would hate to see their orange calf as someone who doesn’t know his place. You know who does? Felix Kjellberg

You may abhor his aesthetics which, as I’ve said before, can be too jarring even for his fans. But, the man behind the character is skilled. The excessively unpalatable editing is actually time consuming. Some of his shorter videos (less than ten minutes long) are produced out of seamlessly-edited hours-long footage. Don’t forget his photo-shopping skills. Yes, every Youtuber needs it to create thumbnails. But, few expand theirs even further.

In some videos, he has fun with photoshopping; occasionally, his fans request him to photoshop their own photos. The results are usually either hilarious or freaky enough for you to scream ‘KILL IT WITH FIRE!’. When you look at them, you will think they are just results of high technical mastery of computer softwares. No aesthetic profoundness whatsoever. But, before his Youtube career took off, he already made lots of photoshopping works and boy, they are beautiful.

Just look at them. You would think they were created by an actual artist. Of course, you wouldn’t have guessed that artist is the same man who play video games, screams like a little bitch and make Nazi jokes for a living. With that fact, it’s surprising how his videos’ visuals lack any pleasing aesthetics. But, his artistry brings depth to another aspect of his Youtube works: his commentaries.

Every time he seriously remarks on a pop culture phenomenon or reviews a video game, his words always contain valuable insight that provoke level-headed and intelligent individuals to ponder about. He does those while still making self-deprecating jokes. The result? An unpretentious and down-to-earth intelligent Youtuber…who also knows his place.

As a content creator who craves variety, he has made commentaries with a wide range of subject matters. But, if you look closely, almost all of them are concerning pop culture and the media, digital one included. Unlike Trump, Kjellberg is aware what he is knowledgeable and ignorant about and he builds an indestructible (and actually beneficial) giant wall between them.

…

Even at many paragraphs ago, it was already obvious how different both men are. But, I will end this article by briefly talk about a slightly tangential and borderline ad hominem distinction: their true selves.

As celebrities, both have met many people in-person and each of them receives two contrasting receptions. One has people judging his appalling treatment of his fellow human beings since ever. Another has been complimented by others for his surprising good-natured bearing, juxtaposing his infamous public persona. Guess which one is which?

Yup.

…

Sorry, I forgot to include this.

I have seen Youtube comments that assert non-existing parallels between Pewdiepie and Trump. Each comment received dozens of likes. As irritating as it is, I sound like I am exaggerating its presence, making it sounds more widespread than it really is.

Yes, there are possibly hundreds or thousands of individuals who believe in such comparison. But, such belief is still a fringe. From my (admittedly limited) observation, the believers have yet to reigned over any comment sections of Facebook posts and Youtube videos that are tackling the Pewdiepie scandal. The reason why I accidentally inflated is how much I am personally annoyed by those people’s lack of wits. It’s simple as that.

I promise this article really ends here.

Or does it?

Quantico: a myriad of (personally) lovable characters

I didn’t expect to like it. Yet, here I am, craving for new episodes. Why was it unexpected?

Well, it’s an action TV show. I can’t stand the genre. Never intrigued by imaginary physical actions. I can love action…if it’s mixed with other genres. I love Hot Fuzz because it’s humorous. I love Inception because it’s surreal. I love Quantico because it’s a suspenseful mystery.

I’m a sucker for the “ scary unknowns”. In the first season, almost every major character is suspected as the villain. It’s unpredictable. It’s terrifying. It’s helping me stay grounded in reality while being entertained at the same time. Sounds too far-fetched, I know. But, that’s what entertainment like Quantico does to me.

So far, the “scary unknowns” aren’t present in season two. But, the mystery is still strong. Also, season one showed how the characters aren’t what they seem. I hope the theme lingers. It’s a useful life lesson for all of us.

Speaking about the characters, I’m intrigued by three supporting ones in particular (nope, not a fan of the main one). One is Raina Amin, a hijabi Muslim. The lack of pigeonholing intrigues me. As a Muslim, I find it refreshing. Even in Indonesia, portrayals of hijabis are still stereotypical.

This character won’t be praised by conservative Muslims because she’s had pre-marital sex with more than one men; one was a Jew with whom she fell for. She’s also flexible with her hijab; she’s willing to take it off in certain situations. The best thing of all, she’s not a preachy B.

But, she will be hated by many liberal Muslims who think hijab is inherently oppressive or political. It doesn’t matter if the actual oppression or politics is there. Hijab triggers them. They think symbols only have one universally-accepted and never-changing meaning. You know, pretending to be open-minded.

Her major strengths are kindness, warmth and sensitivity. Her empathy is blind to human differences. She’s the complete opposite of her twin sister.

Nimah is irreligious…….and the winner of Ice Queen pageant. Seriously, it’s either she’s emotionally suppressed or she’s an android. She deserves “Mean-Ah” as a nickname. For me, she’s “that Lebanese C”.

Okay, I’m being too hard on her. Despite everything, she cares about her sister. Her “coldness” makes her a good FBI agent. She just wants the best for her sister, who often let emotions taking over. Oh wait, never mind. She was so mean to another character, the one that I also like. Yeah, still a big C.

That other character is Simon Asher. Unlike him, I’m not interested in the military or the law enforcement. I’m not being eaten by remorse. I also don’t have his strong sense of humanity. But, like him, I’m a bitter persona non grata.

We are deeply misunderstood who have done many good-intentioned actions. But, the bovine, reactionary, self-decepting and pseudo-pragmatic majority (which Nimah belongs to) only care about our “unacceptable” approaches. Our intentions never matter. They immediately staple damaging labels on us. Then, they are shocked by our antagonism, as if they deserve our altruism after this whole time.

Okay, it sounds like self-pity. But, I’m sick of the swollen-heads around me. Simon Asher’s existence as a character of a popular show restores my faith in mankind. I feel less lonely because of him.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have two other reasons to like him. First, Reina was the man she fell for; I love how the feeling was mutual. Second, he was the one who called Nimah “Mean-Ah”. He shared my habit to bad-mouth others.

The last character is Caleb Haas. He first appeared as an arrogant stud who have unwittingly turned someone suicidal. Very one-dimensionally unlovable. Of course, he veiled his own insecurity.

As the show progresses, his intelligence starts showing. The audience start seeing him as a capable law enforcer. He is trustworthy. Then, he starts showing his heart.

It’s kind, warm and sensitive, comparable to Raina’s. It’s the source of his insecurity, provoked by the familial troubles. But, it also makes him an ideal boyfriend (debatable) and friend. You can count him with his help, whether you ask for it or not.

He may be less interesting and a bit formulaic as a character. But, he’s still lovable and kind-hearted. I can see myself in Simon Asher. But, I also want to be Caleb Haas. A part of me want to be kinder.

…

Season two is still ongoing. As I said, the characters aren’t what they seem. My feelings for them may get more hostile, more affectionate or stay the same.

I have my share of art works and entertainment. Quantico is one of the few where I immerse myself in character anatomy, kindling contemplation about myself and how I judge others, especially the ones I hate. I learn a lot.

How to be a modern and global citizen

*puts on a mask*

Do you want to be a person of global capacity? Are you tired of belonging to people with backwarded cultures? Do you want to belong to people who hate their roots with a passion? Well, I can show you how to be culturally genocidal. First thing first, only embrace important cultures.

When I said “important” cultures, I meant the most popular ones. It is just logic that popularity equals worthiness. Popularity trumps over anything. In globally-adored popular culture, they are often portrayed as the most superior. We should just take that for granted. There is no reason for the people involved to be culturally bias. Why would they? As I said, their cultures are more important. So, it is impossible for them to be wrong.

As languages are a part of cultures, we should also stick to the most spoken languages like English, Spanish, Arabic, Indonesian/Malay, Mandarin, French, Russian, Hindi…….

…..Wait, no! Just stick to English! Because it is the most learned language on earth, why bother learn the rest? English is obviously the winner. In true competitions, losers must not only be ignored, they also must be viciously destroyed.

I am tired of retards who defend those backwarded cultures. They either cannot bring development or they are almost forgotten. Reforming them? Bitch, please! Cultures are rigid, never-changing and entirely black-and-white objects; only imbeciles who don’t study history would think otherwise*. Replacement, not reformation, is the only solution. Also, as I said before, a culture’s worth is superficially defined by its popularity. We should prey the ones that are on their deathbeds. They are so vulnerable, it would be so easy to murder them! If only more of them are this vulnerable. That would be nice for the cowardly weaklings among us.

Why do I choose this brutal method? Why can’t we both traditional and modern? Both local and global? As I said before, cultures are rigid and entirely black-and-white entities that cannot evolve. They also cannot fuse with or influenced by each other. That is just impossible! Just give me one culture that interacts with another! Just one! See? You can’t give me one.** So, we have to make a choice. It is either you keep embracing that backwarded regional identity of yours or you choose to be modern and civilised with the global identity. I hope….

*points gun at your head*

….you choose the latter.

*takes off the mask*

*Find me a culture that never changes. Not even the most isolated ones are static.

**Find me a completely isolated culture. Just one.