i was watching this video because, idk, youtube has been a shithole of uninteresting videos lately. so guess i'll take a "satisfying fall" video about someone i've never heard of over watching actually good content produced by professionals on a streaming service i'm paying 10.99 a month for.
but as i was watching, a few questions bubbled up. why, in a post "Not Like Us" world, is no one questioning Drake's involvement in her career? he has a reputation for preying on young women by taking advantage of career ambitions. did her and drake's messy fallout combined with her real time relationship issues and career faltering not make anyone suspicious? apparently not. everyone just assumed she deserved it.
i'm not familiar with Bobbi Althoff's work (and this video is heavily biased) so I don't want to pass judgement, but I can understand some criticism of her. Keke Palmer's line of questioning about her being an industry plant highlights what i personally understand can be frustrating. as an entertainment industry professional, i'm so familiar with the feeling of watching someone soar past you and wondering "damn. i wonder which member of their family has a wikipedia page?".
but the hatred towards her online is SO vitriolic. people clamoring for her fall, asking "who was even watching this?", sexist comments about how "she left behind a good, traditional life", she deserved this because she sucked.
in my opinion? this critique is unfair. straight up, not even a bit of nuance to it. she's not the one who made herself famous. industry plant means *someone else* was responsible for her rise. So where's the hatred for them?!
where is the rage at the companies and algorithms that pushed her onto you?! at the people who planted her. why are we not frustrated by tech companies consistently presenting us with shows, music, people that aren't our tastes when a more customized experience was the promise of their platforms in the first place?
why do we hate the plant, but not the industry??
i believe this is because of the "it could have been me" fallacy. we see people we think are below us, less talented or less deserving than us, succeed and in a fit of jealousy and rage we shake our fists at the sky: "IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME!" it's only human, and i've felt that way before. plus, it's a lot easier to blame someone for fumbling an opportunity because they're "undeserving" than it is to confront that - "satisfying downfall" included - it could have been you.
especially in an age of social media where it feels like people are plucked from obscurity and brought to the upper echelon of fame overnight, the walls between who it "could" or "couldn't" have been are growing less and less visible. It's getting harder to recognize *why* someone got chosen for a life of fame, glory, and riches when their podcast debuts are like the audio equivalent of having low sodium oyster crackers for lunch. but those people aren't asking for it--it's being done to them. they're being selected by an algorithm (not at random, it certainly has a type and a profit-driven agenda), recognized by media companies who see the chance to grift off their virality, and set up on pedestals in spotlights with minimal guidance.
these creators make a bunch of money for a bunch of people, then get skewered online for their incompetence. meanwhile, the companies that promoted them count their cash, wash the blood off their hands, and (TW: gambling) start looking for the next big thing.
And yeah, that's Jake Paul's sports gambling company that produces Talk Tuah. Just so you know the type of person who's behind this.
If you are just tired of seeing this, if you are tired of having bland content shoved down your throat, if you're tired of watching your favorite artists get sidelined for someone with no work experience, STOP. Get off the fucking ride. stop letting algorithms decide what you watch. find comedians to support by going to local shows. find new music by going to concerts in person. find tv shows to watch by going to the thrift store and picking up a DVD that looks weird or cool.
and if you're a creator who's pissed off, you should be. Companies are intentionally choosing not to provide the mentorship, training, and support that used to come with fame. And why would they, now that can just cash out on creatives' futures for a quick buck. Imagine what these people could have done with their careers if they had been allowed to grow organically, instead of being skyrocketed to fame? Would half of them have even pursued it if fame wasn't offered to them on a silver platter? To me, these aren't "satisfying falls"--they're tragedies, real people being used as public effigies while companies sell tomatoes to throw. If you're a creator, you have to stop comparing yourself to other content creators and focus on your own self-improvement. Challenge yourself and crystalize your artistic voice for your own edification, not for an algorithm. Remove your interests and skill from the vampire cycle these companies have started, sucking the youth and potential from people who weren't ready for fame.
because, if this cycle continues, it COULD be you. it always could be you. and that *is* a threat.