Niche Thought
Having officially left Twitter, my mental health and average happiness has definitely increased. The amount of time I spend on my phone has decreased, but I do find myself trying to replace the space Twitter left with other social media - predominantly Reddit. This, I've found, is a lot healthier because I don't like Reddit and close it pretty shortly after opening it. It has, however, exposed me to this really weird side of the MBMBAM fandom.
For those unaware, My Brother, My Brother And Me (MBMBAM) is a podcast run by three brothers, Justin, Travis and Griffin. It's pretty popular and has spawned several offshoots including a TV show and The Adventure Zone, a podcast so popular it has a (really good) graphic novel. Most fans like the podcast because it's funny and lighthearted, with a consistent format and fun premise (originally answering bizarre Yahoo answers questions, now more varied but still question based). On Reddit, however, there is this bizarre contingent of 'fans' who are obsessed with the idea that the three brothers hate each other. Or, more accurately, that there is a simmering resentment between the three lurking just under the surface, and which can be exposed by reading between the lines in the podcast. This usually centres on the middle brother Travis, who has a slightly aggravating comedy style and sometimes delivers really, really bad jokes. These Reddit fans read way into any signs of aggression between the brothers, even when it's clearly for comedic effect, and spin it out into sweeping statements about their personal lives ("They're trapped into doing the podcast for money", "Travis is ruining it for everyone", that sort of thing). Which is super weird!!! Cause these are real people!!! There's nothing about the podcast that betrays any kind of animosity between the brothers, and even if there were, it would be none of our business as listeners. Even if the brothers were to stop doing the podcast together, they're all successful media personalities easily capable of starting new ventures. It's such a bizarre way of approaching the show, and I'm kind of obsessed with these people.
This is not, of course, a new phenomenon. As a teenager I really liked the Game Grumps. They're definitely a divisive channel given their early connection to known racist JonTron and Arin's refusal to actually pay attention during important gameplay moments. I recall stumbling upon a subreddit dedicated entirely to, in their words, 'circlejerking' and constructing a conspiracy that Arin's girlfriend Suzy is a control-freak, Danny is a sex pest, Arin is a malicious idiot and so on. Any kernels of truth the statements are based on had become entirely warped in the closed group, which was fascinating to peruse.
The strongest feeling these kinds of people give me is - why? If they really hated these people, surely they would stop engaging with what they make. They usually justify it as 'wanting them to improve' and having liked their stuff previously, but... their old content is still around. I feel bad for people who spend their days on subreddits and forums discussing the supposed fuckups of random, niche internet personalities. There have to be better ways to spend your limited time on Earth...