• Phish [he/him, any]
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    4 years ago

    It's pretty funny. I wouldn't call it great I guess. I know I shouldn't be laughing but I do anyway. It's pretty easy to see why it attracts shitty people and probably reinforces their shitty beliefs. They also just do the same like 5 bits over and over again. I have no idea why anyone would pay for their premium content. I guess I like it because it reminds me of hanging out with my friends in middle school trying to think of the stupidest shit in the world to make each other laugh.

    • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      I think their appeal is similar to Felix's appeal. They're mostly for guys born in 1988-1992 who want to live in 2004-2007 again.

      • Zodiark
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        4 months ago

        deleted by creator

      • Phish [he/him, any]
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        4 years ago

        Yeah I think that's exactly right. There's definitely the parasocial element as well, especially since those jokes are taboo in real life conversation these days.

        • CEGBDFA [any]
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          4 years ago

          deleted by creator

          • Phish [he/him, any]
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            4 years ago

            I suppose I should have said in "polite conversation" since I know many people just don't give a shit or feel like somebody is persecuting them when they aren't.

            One of my best friends is Chinese. We've been saying racist shit to each other since grade school. We don't mean any of it, that's just kind of how our relationship developed. We even talk about how weird that is on occasion. That said, I'd never talk that way to my mom or at work.

      • Phish [he/him, any]
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        4 years ago

        Of course there's a way to be raunchy without targeting marginalized groups.

        I do honestly believe Nick is targeting the people who believe racist and misogynist things with his humor, though I also think it's a bit of a crutch for him at this point. He just defaults to it to fill air time.

        What I don't think is that he's actually a racist or endorses racist beliefs or behavior. I think he's extremely cynical towards much of the discourse around racism, sexism, etc and finds it disingenuous. That doesn't mean people are wrong to be offended by his bits, I just don't think they're problematic for the cosmetic reasons a lot of people seem to.

          • Phish [he/him, any]
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            4 years ago

            I don't know if he's actually a racist or not, just giving my read on it after listening to him. I will say that pointing out the absurdity of a concept by engaging in it is not an endorsement of that concept. Whether you believe that's what Mullen does on cumtown is up to you.

            I think there is a lot of disingenuous discourse around sexism. Like when libs called Bernie a sexist, for example. That kind of thing can do more harm than help to a movement to actually combat sexism. I think there's a lot of nuance. I'm certainly open to and interested in other interpretations though because I don't have a lot of personal experience with it.

              • Phish [he/him, any]
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                4 years ago

                You may be right about the fans. I think it's still possible they're just too stupid to realize they're being satirized. I also think there's a big incentive for Nick to not stop what he's doing despite many of his fans being racist/sexist... the money. So if that's the case his indifference is certainly problematic.

                Fair points about the discourse. I think I still read the show the same way I did before, but I understand where you're coming from. It's a definite negative that it contributes to or reinforces toxic ideas.

                  • Phish [he/him, any]
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                    4 years ago

                    I appreciate you sharing your perspective. That's a big part of why I engage in these conversations, because I know I'm not seeing the full picture.

                    It kind of makes me wonder if they'd be successful otherwise. Aside from Stavy I don't really think any of them are very successful comedians. This stuff might be their only bit to be honest. There's also this whole thing in the comedy community where they feel like they should be allowed to say whatever they want without facing any criticism for it, which I've always found kind of stupid. They act like backlash is an attack on their free speech rather than their ideas. A lot of times that seems to make them double down, but I guess there's a real audience for the whole 'oh i'm sorry did i trigger you?' crowd.

                      • Phish [he/him, any]
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                        4 years ago

                        Yeah that stuff is the worst. It's not only unoriginal but I just don't think it's very funny, even without the offensive stuff. It's just pretty lousy material. That's an interesting point about comedy and bullying. I think we do that a lot here actually, but we're not bullying marginalized people, we're bullying politicians and conservative/liberal politicians. I guess that might not be considered bullying since they're bullies? Haha I'm kind of working through this in real time, sorry if I'm getting away from the point.

    • Prole_Strongman [none/use name]
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      4 years ago

      Exactly. I can’t cram intellectual information in my head all day every day. Listening to cumtown and just shutting my brain off and drooling is relaxing

    • yikesmydude [fae/faer]
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      4 years ago

      I know I shouldn’t be laughing but I do anyway.

      jesus christ

      • Phish [he/him, any]
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        4 years ago

        What? You've never laughed at a guy taking a football to the groin or something?