TLDR;
This video critiques the YouTube channel "The Critical Drinker," arguing that his film criticism lacks insight, relies on misinformation, and promotes anti-intellectualism. The video analyzes several of Critical Drinker's popular videos, highlighting factual errors, misinterpretations, and a tendency to pander to an audience disinterested in genuine film analysis. It also discusses the potential dangers of bad faith criticism and encourages viewers to engage in more thoughtful and informed discussions about movies.
- The Critical Drinker's film criticism lacks insight and relies on misinformation.
- He often panders to an audience disinterested in genuine film analysis.
- Bad faith criticism can be dangerous and harmful to film discourse.
- Viewers should engage in more thoughtful and informed discussions about movies.
Introduction: RSA Prey and "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" [0:00]
The video begins by recalling RSA Prey, a comedy commentary channel that mocked YouTubers playing video games, eventually transitioning to mocking the games themselves. One notable game they riffed on was "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," a 1995 adventure game based on Harlon Ellison's short story. The story involves AM, a supercomputer that gains sentience, destroys humanity, and tortures the remaining five humans. The game expands on the characters, such as Nimdok, a Nazi scientist ashamed of his experiments, and Ellen, who has a fear of the color yellow due to a past rape. Despite the sensitive content, Ruts of Prey handled the game decently, providing content warnings and expressing discomfort with the topic.
Introducing The Critical Drinker [6:39]
The video transitions to discussing The Critical Drinker, a YouTuber who blends comical character with earnest personality, delivering cynical rants. Despite having over a million subscribers, his content lacks significant insight and consists mostly of whining, nitpicking, and rehashing old arguments. The video then examines his "Why Modern Movies Suck" series, pointing out flaws in his reasoning and analysis.
Analyzing "Why Modern Movies Suck" Series [8:01]
The video dissects several videos from The Critical Drinker's "Why Modern Movies Suck" series. The first video, about setup and payoff, is criticized for focusing on minor plot holes rather than the core concept. The second video, arguing that old Star Trek was better than new Star Trek, is dismissed as a simplistic comparison. The third video, complaining about the deconstruction of heroes, ignores the existence of traditional heroes in superhero films. The fourth video, about soft reboots, is seen as a generic rant lacking depth. The fifth video, discussing morally compromised movies, is considered somewhat credible but still lacks in-depth analysis. The sixth video, criticizing modern actors for being too vocal, ignores the controversial opinions of actors from the past. The seventh video, about CGI overload, reveals Drinker's lack of knowledge about visual effects, and the eighth video is about how modern movies hate the fans. The ninth video is the first of a two-parter about how modern Hollywood hates men.
Drinker Recommends: Surface-Level Praise [19:49]
The video shifts to The Critical Drinker's positive reviews, noting that his praise is often surface-level and based on what a film isn't rather than what it is. For example, he praises the film "RRR" for not being political, despite its themes of fighting English imperialism. He also praises films like "The Northman" and "Top Gun: Maverick" for having white, straight male leads, treating this as a rarity. Even when he admits a film is good, he still plays up vitriol for his audience.
Misinterpretations and Poor Reading Skills [23:04]
The video highlights instances where The Critical Drinker misinterprets information and demonstrates poor reading skills. He criticizes Peter Parker's character in "Across the Spider-Verse," misinterpreting his role and motivations. He also misrepresents a Disney Plus subscriber loss, claiming it was due to poor content when it was actually due to losing cricket broadcast rights in Asia. Additionally, he fails to understand the satire in "The Boys," misinterpreting a scene as a "girl power" moment.
Premature Criticism and Audience Expectations [33:40]
The video points out that The Critical Drinker often makes videos criticizing TV shows and movies based solely on trailers, such as his video on "Miss Marvel," which was released three months before the show debuted. He also incorrectly predicted that audiences would hate "Prey," only to be proven wrong. Despite this, he changed the title of his video to seem less provocative. When he interviewed the directors of "Miss Marvel," his audience was angry that he wasn't nastier to them, revealing the toxic expectations of his fanbase.
Inability to Recognize Cultural Nuances and Worst Video [38:44]
The video criticizes The Critical Drinker's inability to recognize cultural nuances, citing an interview where he incorrectly identifies Korean and Chinese films as Japanese. He also struggles to name recent Japanese films. The video then presents what it considers the worst Critical Drinker video, "How Not to Critique Movies," in which he devalues the importance of themes in film criticism, promoting anti-intellectualism.
The Dangers of Anti-Intellectualism and Bad Faith Criticism [47:29]
The video argues that The Critical Drinker's videos offer little insight and pander to an audience disinterested in movies. It warns against the dangers of bad faith criticism and the spread of misinformation. It also notes that such content can be financially motivated, with right-wing organizations willing to fund anti-intellectual narratives. The video encourages viewers to be mindful of what these types of YouTubers are saying and to challenge their incorrect assumptions.
Call to Action: Scream and Let Yourself Be Heard [53:27]
The video concludes by urging viewers to use their own voices and platforms to challenge incorrect and bad faith arguments in film criticism. It encourages them to engage in more thoughtful and informed discussions about movies and to create better content that changes the topic. The video references "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," noting that unlike the short story, the game allows players to stop AM and prevent his cruel games from continuing. Similarly, viewers can stop letting people like The Critical Drinker dominate the narrative by speaking out and sharing their own perspectives.