#i will admit i don't know all the nitty-gritty that goes into making shows

[awakefor48hours]

As I'm rewatching TADC, I'm beginning to realize that in the near future, we're probably going to see more indie projects and I actually think that it has the potential to be good for the entertainment industry as a whole.

As time goes on, more people are pretty much only using streaming services but streaming services have a lot of problems with their platforms. The subscriptions are getting more expensive, there's so many of them, and a lot of the shows are getting cancelled in their infancy (some after being greenlit for more) despite their popularity.

Since 2019, Netflix alone has cancelled dozens of shows such as Dead End Paranormal Park, Julie and the Phantoms, Inside Job, Lockwood and Co, Warrior Nun, The Baby-Sitters Club, Raising Dion, Shadow and Bone, The Oa, I Am Not Okay With, A Typical, Anne with E, and much more.

This list doesn't even touch on other streaming platforms but I'm choosing to focus on these shows from Netflix (probably the most well respected streaming service) because I feel like it gets to the root of the problem. A lot of these shows were cancelled in their infancy despite having had high ratings (once again, some of them were even greenlit for more seasons). I almost never hear about shows ending anymore, I only hear about how they get cancelled after a season or two.

With both streaming services and cable not really giving creators the most certain platform, doing indie projects seems like the best bet and it works really well for both the creator and the audience.

To go back to streaming services, the amount of streaming services in the world are only growing and not everyone has the ability to pay for all of them but even the people that do pay for a lot of streaming services can't watch everything. I've mentioned this once but my parents are subscribed to 5 different streaming services, that's so many but they still ask me for help to pirate about once a month because they want to watch a show that isn't available on the streaming platform they use. That is ridiculous and I fully believe my parents should be allowed to watch whatever they want. (Just like my parents, I'll gladly share the piracy sites I use but it's through DMs only, I promise I'm not scary I cry watching kids cartoons).

But when it comes to shows on YouTube, it's available to basically everyone with a Wi-Fi connection and I fully believe it's the main reason why shows like TADC, Lackadaisy, Helluva Boss, RWBY, RvB, and more were able to get their level of popularity. They're on a free to use platform and can be shared to other people just as easily. Also when creators post their show on YouTube, it's much easier for people to make gifs and edits (which, let's be honest, are the real advertisers of a show) because YouTube lets people take screenshots/screen record without any hassle.

*If you want to know how to screenshot/screen record DRM content (things like Netflix, Hulu, CrunchyRoll, etc), I do have a post about here.

Along with the fact that it's more available to the public, it's also more available to the crew and creators. A few years ago, Dana Terrace (creator of The Owl House) made a tweet introducing a new character to the show but the tweet got popular because admitted that she had to pirate The Owl House in order to watch it.

(Since it's cropped in this screenshot, in the top right corner is a watermark of a well-known piracy site for The Owl House).

Imagine working for a company like Disney and not have the ability to watch your own show. They couldn't even give her complimentary mp4 files or even a subscription to Disney+ despite the fact that without her the show wouldn't exist. It's really annoying to see this but when it comes to shows like TADC, that problem doesn't really exist. You can just watch the episodes for free on YouTube.

Also, the fact that the episodes take a while to come out really makes the fandom feel a lot more united. The wait time between episode really kills the binging aspect of TV and I'm in full support of that. Ever since streaming services started to become the default way to watch TV, binging culture has gotten really bad and it can be pretty isolating to people who have busy lives.

Take me for an example. Someone like me, a single adult who has no kids and a terrible sleep schedule (ignore username), can stay up until 3 in the morning binging shows without too many negative consequences. But I have friends who are married/getting married and have kids/planning on having kids, meaning that they don't have the same amount of time as me. I can finish binging shows in a day or two which isn't a pleasure my friends have and it also mean I can't talk to them about it because they're only on episode 2.

I also feel a lot more comfortable donating to these indie projects because the money goes directly towards the creators and crew. When the WGA strike happened, creators explained how they got paid (you can watch the whole video here), and the quick version of it is, they only get paid the amount of times someone watches and episode, they get paid thee residuals from the subscriptions which is so little that it almost feels criminal. When you really put it into perspective, donating to 2 dollars to a GoFundMe and watching the show three times on YouTube is going to do more for a show then paying for a 15 dollar subscription and watching it 10 times.

YouTube definitely has it's problems, I've been subjected to whole ass adults saying "seggy" for nearly a decade, but when you compare it to the current state of streaming and cable, it seems like the best option for both the creators and fans.

[jmdbjk]

Baby Stud Candy

JK still sounded very nasally. I hate it when they have to fight a cold while performing live. Yoongi had to do that too while on his tour.

JK said he felt worse the day of the One Show performance than he felt the day before and he was a little stressed about it but then all of that disappeared once he got in front of Army.

He said promotions were over and some of it didn't go as planned. It felt really limited but he was grateful.

He goes on for a few minutes about singing off key a little and messing up a little during the performance. He knows he can't be perfect all the time but he still had fun even if he made mistakes.

JK wants to have an ease and openness with us. He wants to just be himself and say whatever is on his mind... honesty. That's all he wants with us. Honestly, he's been that way for a while now.

He said if he didn't have that heart, he would just be done with work and just have fun getting drunk. But here he is telling us what he truly wants.

Mr. Unserious.

He apologizes if the sculpture has some sort of cultural significance...

I'm afraid someone in the hotel's housekeeping staff got fired yesterday...

the unseriousness...

He reiterates what every member has said... that after solo activities, when BTS comes back together as a group...

He contemplated again, why do Army love him so much? He said he would try harder to live up to our love that he feels.

He doesn't care. Think what you want. He just wants to be comfortable being himself when he is with us like this.

He reads a comment about growing a beard and he says he has very little facial hair... a true baby face. Which adds to his Giant Baby Villain label.

And now we get to the nitty gritty...

His reply? "Tell me why is that a dirty version? Explain yourself." And he looks a little perturbed at that question. Like about to throw hands or something. Then he says people have different attitudes about what the explicit version means and there's nothing he can do about that.

He went on to say he's been in this business for ten years, please respect his age, and that unless he shows us something new using his own free will to do so, he knows he won't be acknowledged. It's only something HE can do. He has to be the one to set things straight because AS WE'VE SEEN when things are not said clearly and in detail, people will run with whatever narrative suits their know-it-all-glass-half-empty view of life.

He goes on to say he's had the image as "youngest" and he knows we've loved that. But he is not the youngest amongst idols anymore. He admits he lived up to his maknae image but now he wants to break free of that. It's HIS life that HE needs to change.

HOW. MANY. TIMES. HAS. HE. ASKED. TO. NOT. BE. BABIED?

He questioned if he and us could be happy until the end if nothing changed. Realistically, no. But there are those out there who don't want anything to ever change. I've heard people say they wish BTS would make music like they used to do in the first few years... which is antithetical to everything they've been telling us this past year. Things change, people change, everything changes.

JK says he was fearful of trying new things/changing but he decided to stay true to himself. It is unclear to me if he meant we created this circumstance or we created the motivation for him to change.

He says his choices may make some of us uncomfortable and he will try to keep that in mind. He is using his lives as a way to listen to what we want, how we feel, our reactions. He wants us to be honest, to give honest words back at him. He is trying to tell us to grow up and mature along with him. He has said this before.

He wants to feel like he can collaborate with us in some things. That would be cool except for the people who think they can run his life better than he can. But he does have an idealistic way of wanting to relate and communicate with us. This desire of his is sweet and authentic.

He pretty much admits he is just rambling his stream of thoughts to us at that moment.

We should all know that everything is not always a one-sided proposition. That some people might get "hurt" and he never wants that to happen but he has to balance what he wants and what we want. And surely we understand that. I can't get over how frank he is. I love it. I want Jimin to come here and speak to us like this.

He says he is just a 25 year old man speaking his thoughts and though it might not be "broad-minded" (I disagree, he's been very broadminded this live) he wishes us to "get" where he's coming from... to understand his point of view on these things. He's been very tolerant and patient with us.

He mentions why he stopped using Instagram. What he says is that Instragram has its usefulness but it's not as real and authentic as he wants to be. Its true, IG is great for communicating and its strength is visual but sometimes the images or video clips are not really showing authenticity in its whole. It is a very skewed way of presenting things, which is why companies love it for touting their products.

He read a comment for him to just do whatever he wants, but he says he wishes he could, however in reality, who can really do everything they want? He refers to what he's doing as his job. I think people forget that this is his job. And he can't do EVERYTHING he wants, that would also be unrealistic and we should know better.

And apparently he answered a comment that asked if he was drunk... and he said yes and that's why he was saying all this though even if he wasn't he would be saying it anyway because:

He doesn't want to worry about what we think or what the company thinks he just wants everyone to be comfortable with being real.

He says those who don't approve, thanks for being here while you were here but he's going to continue being himself whether anyone likes it or not. In other words, there's the door, don't let it hit your ass on the way out.

He became interested in the bad lighting in the room and all of a sudden turned on the light on the device he was using...

Does this mean he is done sitting in his dark house with only his Mikrokosmos lamp on and the light from the television screen the only illumination in the room? Please?

Right before stepping away to use the restroom he looks at some notes he wrote...

He made talking point notes which is very endearing and also shows he has a purpose when he comes to visit us

... again, he sings while he pees...

Still keeping it real in replying to a comment about how soft his skin looks...

He expressed his desire to meet up with Army, have a drink, shoot the shit... someone says "would you be able to handle Army?" ... ... ... was that a challenge? Thou shalt not challenge thee Jeon Jungkook to a drinking contest me thinks. The man could probably drink anyone under the table. Except maybe Jimin.

He suggests he make a program in which he can converse comfortably with Army ... and he says the company is going "wtf JK"... a JK version of Suchwita but with Army... could be like Jin on Young Ji's Youtube show except JK with Army... see who passes out first:

TMI: Vodka gets JK drunk fast... (files that away in my fun facts)

He goes on to say maybe one day we can get together and talk about it all like the adults we are... he'll just continue being himself even though...

He had other stuff he wanted to say, he thinks he is bad at saying what he wants to get across. He'll say it again next time. lol.

He continued on as if we were saying our good byes ... "tell your parents I said hello (lmao)" and for us to call him, or wait, he'll call us first... let's have a meal next time (I've heard this is a common idiom in casual Korean conversation and doesn't really mean let's go have a meal, its just polite conversation)... but it appears he'll be hard to contact because:

Don't know how anyone could hate him...

Though he'll always be the baby of the BTS family, we now have this bonified Stud Candy walking the bora streets.

So does this mean I can't call him Kookie-pookie anymore? The Bun? Giant Baby Villain?

He came to this live with a purpose. He has seen the feedback over the song, of course he has, he said he was wondering whether to release both versions and then decided to just go for it so of course he was going to monitor the results. He will certainly keep moving in this direction of a more motivated, more forthright and authentic Jungkook in the future. And he's told y'all if you don't like it, it's ok, just step aside while he and the rest of us come on through.

[apocalypticvalraven]

terminology note- Tiffany Blue is the official name of the actual color. Semple named his knock off, literally, "Tiff*** Blue." Also, I tried to use British spelling whenever I was using his words but stuck to American spelling outside of that. I may have slipped up.

Got a marketing email from Culture Hustle (Stuart Semple's company) talking about a BoGo deal where you get Tiff*** Blue if you buy White 2.0. Supposedly because Semple got an email from Tiffany and Co. saying he needs to stop selling Tiff***.

And... his wording just doesn't sit right with me.

Like, ok, first of all, this is just a fucking marketing email, not Martin Luther's 97 Theses. It's not the Braveheart speech. It's not even St. Crispin's Day. It's a fucking marketing email trying to get people to buy his shit.

Does he have a broadly good and correct point about companies owning colors? Sure. But "colours that have been colonised by corporations?" Fucking please. Unless a company literally finds a particular color used by a specific culture and appropriates that color, to the point where they claim it is literally their color and theirs alone and they own it, it's not colonization. I'm not one for defending the IP of big corporations, but Tiffany Blue is not colonization. And Semple, who is, so far as I can tell, a white man, and I know for a fact is British, does not fucking get to just throw the word "colonised" around.

to say nothing of his role in creating a vocal hate mob against the Indian/Iraqi/Jewish Kapoor, even if Kapoor is also a dick

But also, lets be fucking real. Semple is not "democratizing" anything. He's not breaking the model of private ownership of colors. If a color is only available to one company, and another company manages to copy it and turn it into a usable product for people to buy, that color is still privately owned, it's just now the property of One Company and something you can buy from a scalper. People who hock tickets to shows aren't "democratizing" shows and breaking the "colonization" of tickets by Ticketmaster, they're dudes profiting off of a resource that the law arbitrarily says only one entity is legally allowed to profit from.

If Semple wanted to "Democratize color," he would be making the information needed to formulate these privately owned colors freely available. He could maybe have a leg to stand on if he was saying "ok, here's how to make this color, and you can do it with any paint, but if you want the easiest way to do it, here are a line of paints you can buy from me that are the exact formulation you need." He could sell Black X.0 and say "I can't democratize Vantablack yet, because the very method of creation and application is entirely the domain of specialized, expensive, high tech machinery, but I want to work towards democratizing it, and as part of that work, here is the blackest paint I've been able to make, and if you buy it, proceeds go towards my work to democratize Vantablack." If he wanted to democratize art, he would be providing a way for people who can't afford his not-inexpensive paints to get them. Like, bare minimum, a "buy a bottle for a starving artist" thing on the site where you pay for a paint and it gets sent to someone who signs up as too broke to afford it.

I have to admit, he has done some good, philanthropic work outside of the splashy "hey, I'm using this color that Big Corporate Suits say I can't!" stuff that gets talked about. Maybe some of the money he makes through Culture Hustle goes towards these kind of projects. But I do also want to point out that it's very Liberal Proper Charity shit. Like The Creative Therapies Fund he cofounded with the charity Mind, where a specific project gets some funding each year (disclaimer, I don't know the nitty gritty details, this is my impression of how it works). That's... not democratic. That's just patronage. It's better than nothing, sure, but it's not democratic.

Semple's model of activism and philanthropy is "raising awareness" and "create and support organizations that people can go to for help." Which is great. But as a Fat, Trans, Satanist, I'm not exactly about to trust that Organizations are going to actually deign to give me the help I need, and I would much rather be able to just get the physical resources I need to do my thing.

Is he a horrible person? I don't know. I don't know him as a person, but I would guess he's actually probably a good guy, all things told. But he's also clearly a bit of a dick, and doesn't necessarily think through the flamboyant shit he does (ie, the result of his beef with Kapoor), and he gets put on a pedestal as this, like, shining beacon of Free Art! And that pedestal needs to be knocked down, imo.