The Jerma Dollhouse & Parasocial Horror
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- Sometimes even the silliest things can give you the most frightful pause. The Jerma Dollhouse is one such example of something that had me on the floor laughing, but at the end of it all, also gave me a lot of room for pause and consideration. I just want to talk all of you about why that is.
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CHAPTER LIST:
00:00 - INTRO
02:13 - PART 1
07:12 - PART 2
25:54 - PART 3
32:40 - PART 4: OUTRO
#NezumiVA #Jerma985 #Jerma
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. This video is protected under this clause. - Zábava
Pinned comment question: Who is your favorite streamer, and why?
Tough question, but probably Vargskeletor Joel
Penny Parker. Didn't start out a streamer, but I've been watching her for a very long time. She holds a special place in my brain for simply makeing me smile all these years :)
For reasons you're probably already aware of, it's got to be Jerma. He's so good.
violent J from ICP
@The Jerma985 Eh, I can take him or leave him. Juggles the great on the other hand ...
the spamton soundtrack throughout this whole thing. we all know
yes
I've got no strings
To hold me down
To make me fret
Or make me frown
I had strings
But now I'm free
There are no strings on me
no chat im not gonna [BE A BIGSHOT]
Earthbound as well!
Jerma's Spamton voice is perfection
"Spamton appeals to the audience with a festive jig!"
"Spamton begs to the audience, Spamton prays to the audience."
...
There is no audience.
exactly
@The Lonely Proto “BRUSH YOUR TEETH KIDS UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO TO FUCKING JAIL”
Live action Deltarune movie, starring Chris Pratt as Kris, Matt Mercer as Susie, and Jerma as Spamton.
@@theinternetpolice2078 the sus guy
spatom
I remember being in the first day and when Jerma started crying, everyone just started feeling really bad even for how goofy it is and then you'd see comments like "guys please vote to shower or play outside"
I've always thought jerma would do horror so well if he wanted to
Kinda like bdg
@@MariaHernandez-ps6rx EXACTLY.
Considering his Mr. Green bit, the only thing holding him back from horror is the ridiculous stuff he says
Jerma's acting for fear, dread, and straight up sadness was uncannily good
he is the american pyscho so why wouldn't he
Hey, so I am one of the people who worked on the Dollhouse stream with the rest of the crew. I was blue pants shadow demon, gorilla, creator of on screen assets, and the guy who shot all of the behind the scenes footage you see used here.
This video was incredibly surreal to watch because it touches on a lot of the feelings that I felt being a part of this and what it is like to be a creator nowadays. Full disclosure, I have been a fan of Jerma since I was like 12. The dude shaped the entirety of my sense of humor and his content got me through a lot of times. So as an adult being asked by someone Ive admired for so long to be a part of his most ambitious project yet, was both exciting and horrifying. This video you made touches on a lot of the feelings that I was going through during my experience working on this thing for literal weeks, and how insane and fun it was. I do want to say that the parasocial nature of it was something that was without a doubt an underline of it. Jerma loves interacting with chat while also pushing the boundries of the medium. In the behind the scenes I interviewed him about what exactly his thoughts were about this entire project, and he said he just thought it would be entertaining to have the chat come together as a community and pick the outcomes of the stream. It was a way of getting chat to feel like they were actually helping to take part in the direction of the stream.
One of my favorite things I contributed while working on the dollhouse was that I had the idea to help bring Uncle Ted back, and that it would be funny if there was an option to "call death" and have him take him away. What was interesting about all that, was that we still needed two other options in case chat did not pick that option. However, we still heavily planned around the idea of them calling death because we knew that is what they would choose. The same thing goes for when the option was there to "Call Bear" when the Gorilla attacked. We knew that was what the chat would chose, while also having back up options just in case. It brought this parasocial idea to the mix that chat really was creating something all on their own, while we were leaving them to their own devices. None of the options were ever faked.
This video essay was really fucking surreal to see, and I loved every second of it. As another video essayist that thinks too much about dumb shit, I really appreciated you dissecting and finding meaning in things that we didnt even really consider. At the end of the day, we just wanted to put on an entertaining and fun show. I'm really glad this dumb as hell project we made allowed you to think this deep about the nature of the internet as a whole.
Wow! Speaking of surreal, it's _incredibly_ surreal to see someone associated with the actual production commenting here. Thank you! I'm really glad to hear that it was enjoyable and even touched on some feelings that you find relatable in some fashion. I also just love hearing about things related to the creative process in general, especially for subjects like this that I was compelled enough to make a video about.
The Uncle Ted bit _and_ Gorilla attack bit _in particular_ are probably two of my favorites across the entire three streams, actually, so major kudos there for your involvement in them (but obviously just in general, too). I hope this was just as entertaining from the perspective of someone involved as from that of a general audience member, I'm incredibly appreciative to know that you got something out of it.
Leaving a note to read this.
@@nullpoint3346 shmeaving a snote to sneed this
@@GriffithFromBerk Thanks for that reminder.
(Tips fedora.)
i really like when goofy silly things are discussed seriously, it always results in some really interesting stuff
Like when the Theorizer made a 22 part series on why Mort from madasger was an eldritch god
"Many a true word is spoken in jest"
poggers avatar poggers avatar
@@gummywormee41 it is funny how most of the stuff was actually from the show and not a theory that derailed way too far
the best comedy knows when to take shit seriously
another stream similar to this is RTgame’s watching paint dry stream. It initially started as a joke but became the most viewed stream he’d ever done up to that point, for what was literally just watching a youtube video of paint dry while talking to chat. In another series of streams he spent dozens of hours shiny hunting after one joke about getting a shiny wooloo. He is genuinely a great content creator thats ready to run with a bit to see where it goes and an audience thats along for the ride
I love rtgame. The cringe stream was very cool and i feel it might mean something
Bro RT deserves every ounce of praise 👏
DougDoug does this sort of thing really often, where a random comment will shift the stream into a different thing. like the time he was gonna do a minecraft stream, and then ended up spending an hour or two just looking up different elements to invest in.
@@ironwraith852 or the 3 hour argument that became a court debate about the spelling of a character’s name from a random 80s Star Wars cartoon spawned from someone in chat saying the word Poob
@@LeoMarciana ah yes, Poob.
its usually said that horror is just comedy without the punchline
So comedy is horror with a punchline? 🤔
@@DeathnoteBB havent you seen the Scary movie series?
_Well, you know the old formula: Comedy equals tragedy plus time. And you have been asleep for a while. So I guess it's actually pretty funny when you do the math._
@@fizzyegg glados?
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHhhhahHHhHhHaHhHahHahHahHHHHhaHhahaHhHHhahaHhaHHhah
The most terrifying part of The Truman Show is the moment at the end of the film when everybody asks what else is on
Apathy's a tragedy, Boredom is the crime
@@randomstranger9849 i always hated that line. Like I feel it should be switched, instead it would be "boredom is a tragedy" something we all run from on the internet, trying to find the next entertainment to run from the fear of boredom. And "apathys a crime" cause we don't let people be on the fence. You HAVE to have an opinion. Anyways, dabadedabadie I'm blue
I love Jerma, he's such a chaotically good guy
*disciplined emotional
He's kind of a psychopath. Did you hear about what he did to his mom's bed?
I love how contradictory this comment is to the video to the point that I can't tell if it was intentional or not
This dollhouse thing reminds me of immersive theatre, where the audience isn’t an actor, but can sometimes change plot lines. People get weird there, do transgressive things that they would never do because this is a show, not real. Right? But people are still people.
Finally, someone puts my fear of those streams into words. I was the only one riddled with anxiety as the chat starved sim jerma, left him dirty and lonely for comedy. It was funny to me most of the time, but the other times I felt so fearful and couldn’t really word why as a whole. Thanks for this
That stream can be summarized with one word: Uncanny.
Truman show two
Comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin. And it's the most clear in things like the dollhouse and inside. It's horrific. Fantastic. And strange. And I was gonna say something here but it's indescribable for me. Also, time to go think about this for a entire week. Holy shit that was good
Dark Comedy is just Horror + Comedy
Don’t ask what my point is, I don’t know either
Jerma is the definition of horror
Jerma's large LGBT following is very comforting to me, being apart of that community. His content always feels safe. He always puts tremendous effort to create a safe environment for viewers while also being himself and having fun.
I loved how he called out the assholes of his stream.
Yo is that an owl house character in your pfp
agreed its so sweet. also seeing an adhd content creator is always epic
Forgive me, but how is that relevent to this video?
@@Speed001 It's related to the community?
Boy, the concept of the parasocial relationship is genuinely a topic unlike any other. My earliest memories as a child were full of an ambition to be famous on the internet as a youtuber, only to get a glimpse at that life through one of the strangest, monkey paw-twists I ever could've imagined:
A youtube comment that would forever link me to a meme - a joke of sorts - based around my favorite video game of all time. Suddenly, a video that I effectively had nothing to do with would now define my entire legacy. Younger TJ, an opportunist, would see this as a means to grow his channel by continuing to produce videos he'd force a sense of comedy into with minimal skill to back it up, but to him, all that mattered is that he put his full effort into them - to a degree of decreased quality.
Eventually, losing motivation for all the work I'd put in for video creation, I went to streaming that same video game that made me famous. Fun as it was and as social as I was capable of being to the tens of people who showed up, it started to feel overwhelming. Any time there was a game I had a moderate interest in, I felt unable to play it unless I did so with the eyes if my "fans" to experience it with me.
Finally, as I entered college, between having less free time than ever before and these emotions invasively making me feel limited from enjoying what I loved, I decided firmly that this life as a big-name Internet Celebrity is not the life that I want.
I would also decide that I don't want to leave any part of my past behind me, nor did I necessarily want to stop creating. The result of all this is that I remain, not as an internet personality, but as an internet person.
No longer forcing myself to be or do _anything_ that changes how I must act but simply creating whatever I feel in the mood to create. Be it 6 months' worth of work for a cinematic video of Al Paccino advertising the Dunkin' Donuts in song form, or a stupid video of a touhou cat dancing to the mother 3 soundtrack that I made in 30 minutes.
Whatever it is I decide to do with my life, I can be sure that someone will be there to remind me that "An A press is an A Press. You can't say it's only a half"
The permanence of the internet is a blessing and a curse. Once you put something out there, it will likely be preserved forever. We leave past versions of ourselves whenever we post something online, ghosts. We forever live in the shadows of ourselves in this digital space, since every version of ourselves share the same playing field. The internet is weird. Best of luck in your future endeavors!
Hard to believe it was so long ago. I remember checking out your stuff around that time, and yeah. It definitely felt like you weren't really comfortable with it. Glad you decided to let it go and be yourself, though; it's been a pleasure seeing you around in recent years.
I had to go back to read yore name when I got to the second paragraph, because that video meme was so strong in my head I instantly knew who was writing. I hope you've found some peace in maturity. maybe it was less of it being overwhelming, and more of you not being of the right mind set at the time. Either way we support your endeavours
i still get fuckin elated when i see you man haha
reading the first two paragraphs before reading who this is was a trip. as soon as i looked up i immediately recognized you haha
hope you’re doing well, man!
It’s absolutely wild seeing this in my recommends as I’m currently writing an essay about the similarities between Jerma’s Dollhouse and the Stanford Experiment.
you have piqued my interest, if you’re willing to share anything about it I’d love to hear 👀
Please drop a link
Oh! If you're still writing, I would mention: In both instances, the environments are manufactured. When replications of the Stanford Prison Experiment use different demographics, the results aren't easily replicated. Recordings of Philip Zimbardo, the Stanford psychologist who ran the study, evidences that the guards in the experiment were coached to be cruel. Similarly, Jerma's Twitch chat has an expectation: the chat will abuse Jerma when it is funny. When put in a position of power, they believe their role is to be a (comic) abuser, just as the Stanford Experiment's "guards" were made to assume that "guard" meant "abuser". I think this comparison is really interesting!!
@@xanderguyer7512 I actually didn’t think of that! Thank you!
ah yes, one of them being that they were both dictated by outside decisions and not actually an insight into how people work?
Something also that I noticed is how ironic in a twisted sort of way that after Jerma got evicted that it was specifically Ludwig that moved in and was the new character for chat. Only a few month months prior he did a subathon where he non-stop streamed his life for an entire month. He did everything on camera, from cooking to sleeping and even showering. He was essentially the actual real-life version of the Dollhouse. I don't know if that was intentional or if it was Ludwig is very entertaining but I couldn't stop thinking about the parallels.
6:54 that transition from jerma using the nailgun in house flipper to the crew member using the nailgun to make the wall was crazy, good shit
Hihi! Also a member of the cast/crew here. This was brilliantly done, and I commend you on taking something meant for entertainment and using it to dive deeper into real issues.
I think Vinny did a good job in his comment explaining some insight to what we were thinking on set (hiiii Vinny!!!
And thank you so much for commenting! Always lovely to hear from people involved in the things I talk about, and very humbling to know that you guys can get something out of it as well.
oh my god this is the video i needed. i thought the dollhouse was really fun, but i'm fascinated to see a deeper look into some of its intentional or unintentional themes. give me the over analysis i crave thank you so much!!
I feel like the factor that some Crypto thing was funding this is a wrinkle to remember, too. Weird how something like this only happens because a bunch of rich weirdos actively destroying the planet funded it. I really do wish we got to see more from talented, independent creators, tbh.
Yeah, definitely.
muh crypto bad
I thought it was NFTs that destroy the planet?
@@DeathnoteBB the reason NFTs are terrible for the planet is because they use crypto to operate and sell. Cryptocurrency is mined using loads and loads of energy. The blockchain that "secures" NFTs and gives them their unique keys (the receipt), also uses loads and loads of energy per transaction. All part of crypto.
It would've happened anyway Dollhouse was already rolling at that point Ludwig entered in late-stage literally just weeks before it was happening and pitched the Coinbase sponsor who then covered out the rest of the budget So really jerma's battleship bet saved him from certain financial ruin
i did not expect to be legitimately infatuated with a video made by someone with a sonic profile picture.
all jokes aside, your in depth analysis of this whole…thing… is absurdly beautiful. taking the e-clown jerma and his silly little dollhouse stream where i voted for jerma to seduce ludwig’s character, and dissecting it in such a wonderful way is ultimately astonishing. your music choice was beautiful, and it really sucks you in.
keep up the fantastic work, and don’t get too down on yourself. this was amazing, and a stern but hopeful statement on these two pieces of media really makes me happy.
One of the lines in Inside that hit the hardest for me was the one where he was like “how about I sit on the couch, and I watch you this time” and I think you really managed to encapsulate what it meant to me the first time hearing it in this video
im sorry, but “harrington” sounds WAY too much like “elbertson” for either name to be real. thats just jerma’s brain coming up with a “real-sounding” last name
I thought elbertson was his name
Harrington is an actual last name
@@manintheline5331 So is Elbertson.
Damn, you really get to the heart of it. These fears are why I never did pursue a bigger Internet Presence myself. And even beyond that, I need to remember as a viewer that streamers and content creators are people too. And YEAH Inside was so good, not just for the comedy but the realism and commentary on mental health too ;v;
its so cool to see a video on this when ive been feeling a sort of "parasocial horror" on twitch over the past year. especially during ludwigs subathon when he watched the truman show and the movie felt surreal and horrifying in a way it never had before.
The way I see it, the reason why we feel that we have to be products online is because of how much capitalism has taken ahold of the internet; something that was made for everyone, but is now largely controlled by companies who's commodity are their userbase, and the more they can get people to treat themselves as products, the more money said companies make. Essentially, the only way to fix it is to decapitalize the internet.
this is what i’ve been saying too, like commodity fetishism has somehow extended to the literal people themselves, like it has evolved into an even more warped and disturbing version of what marx himself talked about.
not only do we not see the people behind the products we consume, but people themselves are products to consume. it’s so bizarre and wrong, on a fundamental level.
that said if we’re all products to be consumed, im louis vutton and yall are kmart, RIP
@@sonicthehedgegod
👁👄👁
"Jeremy Herrington" I love you
What is the flag in your pfp ?(if you don’t mind tellingm e)
@@flask223 Its the bi flag in green 'matcha' colors from a tumblr mood board. I thought it went well with the sprite so I edited it together.
@عطاالله It's Elbertson
This is a very serious video for us to just talk about Homestuck in the chat.
wait.... is that why chat replay is disabled-
I have no idea why the house is still trapped.
There's an interesting similarity between Jerma's Dollhouse and the Stanford Prison Experiment. In both instances, the environments are totally manufactured. When replications of the Stanford Prison Experiment use different demographics, the results aren't easily replicated. Recordings of Philip Zimbardo, the Stanford psychologist who ran the study, evidences that the guards in the experiment were coached to be cruel. Similarly, Jerma's Twitch chat has an expectation: the chat will abuse Jerma when it is funny. When put in a position of power, they believe their role is to be a (comic) abuser, just as the Stanford Experiment's "guards" were made to assume that "guard" meant "abuser". I think this comparison is really interesting!!
19:46 oh, absolutely felt. when i moved out of my parents’ house to live with my partner it was only a few months (without internet) before we got forcibly evicted in the winter. we were stuck in between houses, effectively living at her grandparents’ house for half a year before we finally had a place to live again, and even then, it took us months again to finally get an internet service provider. i effectively had not had the chance to stream in a year, stopping in early november 2020 and finally getting the chance to make a comeback last week. when i left last year i had just made the jump to double digits in viewers, and my recent stream had a peak of about 3 viewers at any given time. it feels like all my progress has been wiped out tbh but i’m still going to give it my all 🥺 im relieved to know that i’m not alone in this feeling though.
I fucking adore Jerma. His streams never fail to make me laugh and between all the jokes and silly noises he seems like a genuinely good person. His dedication to the *craft* is inspiring. Truly.
I've watched Jerma for a long time, years before he became a streamer and still today. I've always tried to be polite and not mess with him as hard as everyone else. But something about the Dollhouse streams made me do the complete opposite, I joined the tidal wave of people who wanted nothing more than to ruin his simulated life. It was like watching my body do something without my mind's permission and I felt nothing but pure joy during the entire thing.
I've been in many stages of public attention over the course of my time on CZcams. I've been a Nobody(tm), I've been seen by millions of people, I've had more encouragement about things I've always felt self-conscious about, AND have worried about putting out something that doesn't meet the expectations set by a positive precedent.
It's an existential nightmare to think that so much can be tied to something that relies on something so completely fickle; public opinion. And I think that it's easy to look on people who have been broken by this culture and go, 'Ugh, they did it for ATTENTION', which ignores the very real psychological process that selling *yourself* as a product does. Anyone who pretends that CZcams isn't about selling yourself, piece by piece, probably doesn't even know the hundreds of thousands of people they've skipped over because the CZcamsr isn't yelling and overreacting to things.
I did Let's Plays for a long time, but they were never blind, which doesn't draw in the attention that blind playthroughs does, and even THOSE get drowned out by the people who jump at every slight noise or yell like their life is on the line. And if you sneer at people seeking "attention", I wonder if you're not someone who has had their work ignored and plunged into a void before-- or worse, someone who was IN the void, had a spotlight, and has to run faster than they're physically capable of just to avoid being pitched back into the void.
I'm not saying it's healthy. I agree with this video; it IS scary how easy it is to slip into parasocial dynamics, even being AWARE of parasocial dynamics. I wish CZcams itself didn't promote this impossible dance through their algorithm.
Great video, Nezumi. I appreciate this touch of vulnerability, because it certainly cuts to a truth that not everyone is willing to admit. Thank you for that.
I feel like a lot of this was intentional. The first idea discussion he said it was creepy, but also funny. I definitely felt for Jerma in a couple spots, knowing the feeling of being empty and forced to work. The whole spot with the completely empty bars then forced to stream, that's just how I go into a lot of work meetings.
Jesus this video was really good. Jerma's Dollhouse and Inside already seemed weirdly scary to me but this really put into perspective WHY they were scary. I've been addicted to the internet as long as I can remember and been through having parasocial relationships with content creators when I felt completely alone in reality. I've watched myself spiral into mental illness as I lost touch with real life, and even though I think about that a lot, I guess I've gotten used to not giving my own thoughts much credo. I wish I could've realized myself how horrifying all of this is, and believed my own realization. However, as backwards as it is, this video helped me with that a bit, so thanks, Nezumi, hope things are going well.
I am endlessly fascinated by jerma. the dollhouse streams stirred such a conflicting series of emotions in me that no other piece of media has ever done. the surrealness of it all. the crypto sponsor permeating the whole thing. everything you've described, knowing that jerma is just doing a bit yet the slight discomfort of feeling like he *is* completely at the audience's whim, and in fact his whole career and style of humor is based around humoring people at his own expense. there's that classic situation of jerma *saying* he isn't going to do something that chat is telling him to do, and then, inevitably, doing it.
the dollhouse IS kind of just a harrowing metaphor for his career as a streamer and in fact of all internet personalities. that said, I do love the guy. I think he has some level of awareness about all this. it's just all very uncanny, and sometimes while watching his streams I kind of take a step back and realize how bizarre it is that I'll willingly watch a guy I've never met take online quizzes for 5 hours just because I like his personality (or what he chooses to show of it). not to mention the things people will say in chat...it truly goes beyond overly familiar. parasocial horror, indeed.
Completely disagree with your anxiety-filled overthinking that being vulnerable would appear as part of the charade of it all.
So as someone who works in this space also and knows people who are legitimately two-faced when the camera is off: there is something about genuine expression that is an effervescent quality. Maybe it's subtle perceptions and body language, tone, etc, but if you're attuned to it you'll notice. And the thing is a TON of people won't notice and think it's real. And sometimes you'll never convince them. So if these liars can make it then someone who's being real absolutely can too. And the other genuine ones will notice. Eventually this wave of chasing after genuine connection will evolve or fade into something else. Stressing yourself so much over it won't do you any good. You really should be yourself and if you feel compelled to be open, you should. Those people calling it a facade aren't worth listening to, and frankly are part of such a minority. I've seen it firsthand.
I appreciate you already being open about things here. A ton of people are using the distance and anonymity (like jerma) to their benefit, but it's worth being whatever you feel you should be. Second guessing everything will continuously further yourself from that actual genuine core.
This is a great video and I've loved a ton of your other ones too. Not in a great position to support financially as I'm in that same D-list celebrity boat but you're doing the right thing.
What I find unique about the Dollhouse is... Jerma is essentially playing two people. Jerma, the in-character puppet man that the chat controls around, and Jeremy, the person; and it feels like they're both fighting for the same spotlight. Jerma, the character, is at the whims of the "rules" of the Dollhouse, he's always exhausted, he's manic and sad, he's starving... he's... pissing himself because chat won't let him do anything. But Jeremy, the person, is AWARE that Jerma is feeling these things, and in a way he's feeling these things too, but he has the weird, 4th-wall-breaking sentience to SCREAM at chat to give him, Jerma, a break. The breakdown leading up to Jerma streaming CoD in his bathroom is a perfect example, or even when Jerma calls someone outside, then it almost seems like JEREMY says something along the lines of, "Yeah, you know where I live! Cause I'M the only God damn person in this wack neighbourhood!"
Damn this video was INTENSE. I can see why this could have been a tough topic to vocalise since the whole issues of media, and how we make/consume it is incredibly difficult to fully understand, its intensely abstract. Thanks for making this funky video
baby this my JAM. dissect the hidden meaning behind this psycho's streams
This gives me the same vibes as the Schaffrillas Ratatoing video, as this video is so well made and ties the content so well into something that the original vision obviously never considered. It is genuinely impressive how you have made this comparison seem easily logically deductable.
man. this hit harder than i thought it would
I've been obsessed with that interview with Burnham. How kids are easier to relate to now for me as someone trying to make content than other adults my age. Being intrinsically online and performing all the time. It's exhausting and feels like no one sees. How you nit pick at yourself to try and make a palatable, relatable you. When you feel anything but.
I hear you loud and clear, and it feels so nice to listen to someone else say this.
Your third eye is wide open.
This video isolated an aspect of these streams I've had floating in my head. Jerma is a true pioneer and artist, in my opinion at least, and these streams embody everything that draws me to his content. However, something creepy lurks within the foundations of his projects. He blurs the line between audicence and actor to a frightful degree.
He immerses his audience in his own world and then shows us a mirror. He is at once the fool and the straight-man. "Jerma" is at once a characature of Jeremy Elbertson and of ourselves. When the focus leaves him, our own power leaves also. The empty and ransacked sets transform from something chaotic and envigourating to something still and eerie.
We realise that we are making him (his character) suffer for our own gratification. He comes back, beckoning us to do things "the right way". The power to change things is once again in our hands and a mental switch is flipped... we, the audience, NEED to see Jerma suffer. MORE CLOWNS! MORE GORILLAS! BURN DOWN THE DOLLHOUSE!
Jeremy is a genius because he doesn't emphasise his own comedic excellence but rather he makes the audience itself into his funniest character.
This took me an hour to type holy fuck
Another thing I noticed toward the end of the video is that the difference between Jerma's Dollhouse and Burnham's Inside is the level of commitment each makes to being "genuine".
Each work has the exact same theme but one is hilarious and the other is tragic. How?
I think that the difference between the two is that Burnham puts his real self into his work whereas Jeremy actively distances his personal life from it.
Jerma is a character, a part who frolics on a stage, but Bo is a person. Jeremy can enjoy his work because he doesn't see himself in it, he sees a performance whereas Bo sees only himself.
14:46 putting john mulaney as an example lmao i respect that
god i love it when youtubers put a little fading text for when they play their background music
If the Truman show was the Sims
Watching this video somehow reminds me of Marina Abramovic's 6 hour performance piece Rhythm 0. In it, Abramovic has placed herself in a room with a table containing 72 objects, among them water, honey, a rose, scissors and even a gun. Basically she stood there for 6 hours, not doing anything and being told the audience could do whatever they wanted with her. Basically it was an experiment to see what humans would do if they did have control over another being. While it did start very nicely, with her being offered a rose, the atmosphere did turn more agressive and hostile during the six hours. Even disturbing at points. After the six hours of being tormented, Abramovic just stood up and left and everyone who was there ran away, not wanting to be confronted with what they've done.
I think that's something to keep in mind and why Bo Burnham's piece hits so hard. Burnham definitely confronts his audience. I haven't seen Jerma's stream so maybe he does, but it does make me wonder how his audience would respond to a confrontation like that.
Yes yes yes you're so right
A lot of jerma's content makes me feel the way I think you're about to describe so I'm excited for this. (I don't watch him myself but my boyfriend does and I can't help but be mildly horrified at how sadistic his chat can be.)
On the subject of Bo Burnham’s Inside, I think that All Eyes on Me is the pinnacle of the dissociation of the special, but That Funny Feeling is the pinnacle of the hopelessness the special sets up.
There’s a reason That Funny Feeling comes before All Eyes on Me. For there to be dissociation, there needs to be boundless hopelessness and helplessness.
didn't think i'd get this emotional given the subject matter!! amazing work as always ✨
this video was weirdly relieving to see, in a way-- i used to have a decently-sized social media following for my art, but during the quarantine i was in my senior year of high school and had to focus most of my energy just on keeping my grades up, much less applying to colleges and starting to think about the future. i hardly had the time to draw between assignments, and even after graduation when i had the free time to do anything i wanted, i sat down at my desk and found that i just... couldn't. drawing had become an ordeal for me. every piece i started i threw out halfway through the lineart, and i just stopped giving updates on social media altogether. i couldn't stop thinking about how everyone was starting to unfollow me, and that if i didn't post something soon the algorithm would pull my account back into obscurity, and i felt so guilty for just allowing myself to become nobody instead of working harder to build my social media presence back up. i could hardly open twitter without feeling some bitter jealousy towards all the artists on my feed who had the ability to keep going through the pandemic, the artists who built professional careers instead of achieving bare mediocrity and then disappearing forever. i missed the validation of likes and retweets, of having an audience to express some curated version of "myself" to. it's been a while, and i'm only now starting to get back into drawing when i feel like it and not pressuring myself into making it perfect for others, or even showing it to others at all. i'd like to think i'm getting better at that, but man it still fucking hurts and this video hits different at 3 am
One of the things i enjoy most about your videos in general is that you talk about what **you** love. I always get a vibe from your vids that you had a blast making them. Its just really comfy, i dont know how else to phrase that lol.
I think my overall favorite thing about your videos is that in theming, they are very coherent, but sometimes there will just be a whole detour from the previous section. For example, the sudden switch to Bo Burnham's works, its just so,,, refreshing. Its almost like having a conversation where you start off talking about how excited you are for breath of the wild 2, and somehow you end the conversation talking about the "i eat little babies icecream" video. Its really special and i enjoy the detours :0
Sorry this may have been a bit of a ramble fest omg, its like 12 am and coherent thoughts arent exactly happening rn
One massive thing that got me thinking all throughout watching these sorts of videos is that I've been somewhat on a binge of CZcamsr popularity, interested in how many old/new creators either retired and left behind a legacy of nostalgia and happiness, grew an "invincible ego" and "kept succeeding" and doing what they do with their prideful fans supporting them, or got caught up some drama or mental illness that destroyed them, either their friends/family or their FANS demanded truth, money, entertainment, etc...
When I was watching this, I thought a lot about how stressful BEING the entertainment can be.
But also, since "getting closer" with fans and celebrities has become a reality, people also seek "genuine" people, like you spoke about in this video.
I guess in this day and age, there's a somewhat thin line between people WANTING entertainment and WANTING a friend.
Personally, I think that focusing too much on BEING the entertainment, upping the stakes and sacrificing more of your humanity can really also bend your mind into thinking that all you are IS entertainment.
A circus animal trapped in a cage. A simple stupid beast designed to be laughed at.
Most transgirls i know are jerma fans (including me) and I don’t know what to take away from this
didn't he say trans rights once? ik the term alone doesn't mean too much but still
@@xemiii he got real pissed and ranted briefly one time when some of his chat started say some transphopic things as well. Dudes good
idk he sounds based
support jerma from angola 🇦🇴✝️
@@xemiii he also dated Kim who I believe came out as nonbinary during their relationship? idk i don't tend to pry but Kim's twitter was recommended to me before they broke up and they had they/them in their bio.
Means trans girls have good taste 😌
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was "inspired" by the parasocial nightmare that was this goofy stream, so much so I used as a springboard for a poem I made for a workshop
YASSSSSS HLVRAI WAS MENTIONED!!. .. it. haunts me
while i see it as all good and fun, i couldnt put into words as to why i wasnt eager to see it. tho seeing theres other people besides him in on it and how everything is thoroughly planned behind the scenes made me feel like hes really the entertainer hes meant to be. seeing him with alot of people was wholesome asf. this was really a bigger and bolder project than the last. at this point i understand him retiring after that but i doubt it since he loves what he does. the dynamic between jerma and the chat is something new to me when i found him back in 2019. his humor with chat is kinda symbiotic in jerma's expense. it can be scary to see if youre not in it like its a club full of lore and inside jokes (that includes me since i dont understand most of his years worth of lore). whenever i feel bad about him, theres always the thought "maybe i just dont get it yet"
when I read the word Horror in the title I thought about how my 2nd watch of the dollhouse made me think "imagine being the character Jerma"
Having to deal with the stress of work and zany characters inconveniencing you whilst 1000's of eldritch sky beings yell commands at you. Commands that you have no choice but to follow
Oh hell yeah, this is going to be a RIDE
I was originally going to make a joke like 'You know he's obfuscating his past when he says he's American yet Jeremy Harrington is the most British name ever', but after watching this vid the whole way through, I now feel kinda bad about that
if you haven't, you should definetly check out jerma's meet the alberstons stream
This video is great. Not just from the quality alone, but also the subject it touches upon. I'm a big fan of Jerma985 and i've been for a while now, so seeing a video about one of the biggest Twitch Streams and funniest broadcasts i've ever seen was really great. But this also made me think and notice some things about that stream and the paralells you explained, and even made me emotional. This is a great video for reflection and even some self thinking, props for that, since it is not an easy task to make something like that, and expecially in this detail. Overall, a great analisys. Keep up the good work! :D
Fear and comedy go hand in hand, so even though the dollhouse is super goofy it’s definitely eerie. It almost has the same kind vibe as the ridiculous finger family videos that were trending a while back. Funny because it’s ridiculous, but creepy because that’s what gets views. Of course Jerma is doing it on purpose though haha
I really loved this look on things! I am always happy to see people doing new and intresting things, even more when someone else can take that and really think on it. even if the media isnt "that deep" I love seeing what it makes people think about. I really loved this please keep up the good work!
"NO HAT NO BATH."
This is such an interesting video, and it leads me to ask my own questions as an artist. I feel like two extremes on the spectrum now, to either do my own work completely alone and make art that pleases me, but possibly nobody else, or to get constant feedback and possibly lose my own vision.
Being a modern artist, even if its me just making a game in rpg maker, or video creation, or even more “traditional” works like paintings, is such an incredibly weird and honestly senseless thing. All art will be compared to other work because of the sheer quantity that exists today, it could be quickly written off as derivative by people you want to try to touch or make think.
I dont really know, and I dont even know why Im writing this. I guess to try to find my own answers? I dont really know what art even is in this modern world anymore, and whats a healthy amount of external feedback when making art
This is interesting because I know I've wrestled with some similar things myself. I'm making a sizable comic and I used to constantly worry about whether or not staying true to my vision will result in a very low readership, or if I would need to sacrifice my artistic intent for the sake of getting some consistent feedback and suggestion.
I've sort of just decided it's best for me to make the kind of story or art I would enjoy or want to experience. I also think it can be really good to embrace your influences without overly worrying too much about if it's redundant or derivative. There's a really big difference between using some common tropes and just copy-pasting someone else's story ideas, after all, and everything is sort of just building off of something else.
I worried a lot about my own work, but just realizing that I'm never going to appeal to everyone and it's best to dedicate myself to my vision really let me open up new possibilities, stuff a more timid or anxious me never would have shot for. I think it's good to see how people are reacting to it - if you want your main character to be sympathetic or your main romance to be very sweet, it's good to know how people are reacting to those things. If your aim is to unsettle people, hearing their thoughts on those moments can be useful. If they're not freaked out as you had hoped, it's a sign to revamp that sequence.
Generally I try to find people who would enjoy what I make, take note of their feedback, and just see if I am getting the desired effect. I don't tend to change my story too much over small suggestions ("I think so-and-so should date this guy instead!") but if someone comes back with feedback like "I feel like the main character is pretty mean-spirited and I don't really like her", and then I hear that from multiple readers, then I know I'm not really living up to my intentions. Having an extra set of eyes on things like politics and representation can be really useful too - people who will tell me if I am misrepresenting someone or something important.
Stay true to your vision and use feedback as a marker to gauge your success on that front, I guess, is my tactic.
Not sure if any of this rambling made sense, but it's just how I am approaching it now. Best of luck to you and your endeavors.
i feel the same way and thinking of things like this was one of the reasons why i nearly took my own life 3 times.
dude, hold on i gotta watch this again, im so thankful i clicked on this fucking video cus its so interesting. i usually just click on long ass videos and leave because i use them as background sound while i draw but damn this was so good
FANTASTIC VIDEO!! This is exactly the type of thing I was hoping someone would make about the Dollhouse stream thank you
allowing anything to be able to give you pause is an extremely important part of keeping your mind going, and imo it is necessary
Thank you for this indepth video. It made me aware of these ideas and I'm truly thinking about it.
I'd watched Jerma's stuff way back when in the TF2 days, never really knowing what he was up to recently. Thanks for this extremely thoughtful video. I hope you get what you want :)
This is something that haunts me as my channel grows, but I can't discuss with friends and family or be met with empathy because it's hard to dodge sounding so full of yourself--"You're worried about fame? That seems conceited."
But this. Really helped me feel understood. Thank-you
Glad it helped in some fashion! Would now be a bad time to say I really liked your recent Ralsei animation, by the way? LMAO.
@@NezumiVA I literally, hand over heart, couldn't be more honored 😭
i wish there were more videos like this out there, i like just hearing people's thoughts on things and it was really nice to hear your takeaways from the jerma dollhouse and inside
I remember when Adam Sessler did a stream where chat dictated all of his actions and it resulted in him interrupting an office meeting at Rev3 Headquarters.
it's weird. seeing parasocial relationships from both sides, it's an odd mixture of blessed and cursed. even with a very small audience, people start to think of you as a friend when you've never met them. there's this expectation that you care just as much. it's harrowing.
yet, on the other side, why would you waste so much of your time and energy and money and fanart on a stranger who wont give anything back? who wants to constantly say "im not your friend"? yeah, its true, but it almost feels unfair. like you've supported this person and, in exchange, you'd like them to pretend a little.
there almost *needs* to be this false connection for either to benefit from any of it. the creator wants to be seen. the audience wants to see. the creator wants money. the audience wants to give money to someone that means something to them.
but the weird irony is that a genuine connection is *literally impossible* for either party. a creator can't befriend a thousand faces. a fan can never really know the actual person behind the entertainer's mask. the creator becomes this weird middle between a real person and a fictional character. like a tomogachi. they have needs and wants and desires and boundaries that must be met, but no real love can ever be given from them or to them. the audience becomes this pseudo-friend that "loves" and supports, but really, can never be known because the human brain simply cant hold that many connections at one time.
and even if you become an Ascended Fan and befriend (or date) your beloved content creator, there's always going to be this weird barrier. do you really love the person, or do you love their persona? are you really in this for them, or for what they symbolize? would you have ever loved them if they hadnt been that creator first?
maybe it would be less of a burden if there was a common understanding that none of it is real. none of the things either says is true. "you will make art. I will give you money. and in exchange, the two of us will pretend to care about each other." that sort of thing. an acknowledgement of the dollhouse. that the person inside the dollhouse isn't real enough to love, but real enough to bleed.
Its so good to see this more thought filled perspective of the Dollhouse, and i really loved your comparison to Inside, its really fitting
We basically got 2 videos in 1, and yet, these parts complement each other
You got yourself a new sub mate, cant wait to see more of your content, Old and New
This was a really deep and thought-provoking video, thanks for putting so much of yourself into it!
WAIIIT I JUST GOT INTO RHIS CHANNEL FROM THE TOBY FOX VIDEO AND I DIDNT KNOW THERE WAS A NEW VIDEO COMING OUT SO SOON CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A QUICK BACKROUND ON THE JERMA DOLLHOUSE LIKE WHAT WAS IT I WANNA KNOW B4 THE VIDEO
Don't worry too much about that, I give proper context in the video itself and the topic discussion this time isn't as reliant on knowledge of the source material. You'll be good. 👍
NezumiVA thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu I’ve played all of Toby fox’s games so I got all that suuuuper easy (and it was wonderfully made btw) but idk wtf this is but I love a Halloween special
everytime a spamton soundtrack plays in this video i receive whiplash
Thank you for making this! Well done
I was literally about to comment how CJ the X's essay on Inside complements this a lot, but then part 3 with Bo started playing ggs
a beautiful vidio essay that opened my eyes I was invested all the way though this. this reminds me od highschool english class when I was a junior and was forced to analyze exaples of "good" writing , this entire essay feel like it should fucking be in a hall of fame up there with great poets and shit holy fuck man.
I appreciate you too, Nezumi. Great video and great introspective on this topic.
Brilliant video, thanks for making it
god seeing u paralell inside and having a piano cover of goodbye play really makes me feel some kind of feeling since i just listened to songs from inside
I WAS WAITING FOR A VIDEO LIKE THIS, YESSSSS
This video's fantastic! Thank you for making it. ♡
Hilarious video that highlights the struggle of creators. I’m so glad you covered Jerma. No joke, he’s been one of my favorite streamers of all time since I started watching, and the dollhouse really blew my mind. I think he’s an interesting person that creates interesting “art”, if you will, through streaming.
Excellent producion, didn't expect a 40 minute long jerma video thie well done.
I was already really enjoying the video, felt myself sinking into it as you described everything so intricately and perfectly. Then suddenly Ape Escape. I couldn't have smashed the subscribe button quicker.
This was a really fascinating video. I almost skipped by it, I didn’t want to see another video with a person misunderstanding the word “parasocial,” especially not a video about a stream I really liked. But you hit the nail on the head and brought up concepts that I wouldn’t have connected to parasocial relationships before. I’ll be sure to check out more of your stuff :)
You’ve also inspired me to finally watch Bo Burnham’s Inside. I’d been avoiding it for sooooo long because I didn’t want to watch a piece of depressing media all about quarantine, especially since I’d been struggling in quarantine for so long. Plus I think Bo Burnham is a little self-important. But you’ve inspired me to give him another shot.
This video was really a fantastic watch. Also, my favorite streamer is prezoh :)
Loved this video. Many parts of it personally resonated with me and put a lot of my feelings about parasocial interactions right now into words as well as some new insights. Leaving this comment here as a placeholder for when I inevitably rewatch it to try and verbalize my thoughts on it later on.
great video, i enjoyed hearing your thoughts! keep up the great work! i appreciate your honesty
I'm glad you created this, I'm rethinking some things about content creation as a result. It was nice to hear you're thoughts and I'll keep them in mind as I think about art going forward for sure!
This was all so amazingly put. My friends and I often discuss the nature of modern parasocial relationships and what today’s standards of that makes of the various forms of social media influencers; you have just cultivated my own otherwise messy thoughts so perfectly!
I absolutely loved this and as another small creator, hearing your personal perspective on CZcams and the algorithm meant a lot. It’s the first time I’ve really heard someone feel the same about the way the CZcams algorithm can beat you down. Just subbed and I hope this video does well for you!
this was a very good video
it gave me a new perspective about what is happening to our world right now
we all seem too connected but also distant at the same time
definitely going to watch Inside