Dan & Phil Part 100: full-time internet homowners

[LAshleigh]

I'm curious about something we already knew but I didn't think about until the video: Tyler was never told that dnp are gay, but we knew he was at their apartment at least twice. I'm not super familiar with timelines - they were in the first London apartment at the time, yeah? I don't want to speculate too hard, but I wonder whether they had to keep up an act of separate bedrooms, etc while Tyler was there or if they just sort of didn't say anything and let him think what he wanted.

[shan]

I'm curious about something we already knew but I didn't think about until the video: Tyler was never told that dnp are gay, but we knew he was at their apartment at least twice. I'm not super familiar with timelines - they were in the first London apartment at the time, yeah? I don't want to speculate too hard, but I wonder whether they had to keep up an act of separate bedrooms, etc while Tyler was there or if they just sort of didn't say anything and let him think what he wanted.

From one of Cat's vlogs it seems like they were pretty set on keeping the act of separate bedrooms. They set up the gaming room futon for her to sleep on so I would guess they did the same when Tyler was there.

[shan]

Wow, loads to catch up on today! Firstly, I would like to thank Dan for uploading this video at 6am on an epically full-on day for me. Nothing like losing sleep with nerves over a mysterious new hour-long Dan video followed by waking up at the ungod hour of 5.30am on a Saturday to kick start your day!

I got home around 7.30pm, ordered a pizza in honour of the stressful situation that was this video, rewatched it now that I’m actually conscious and… that will likely be the last time I ever watch it. At least in full. Don’t get me wrong, it was an enjoyable one-off viewing, but it’s not an inductee to the hall of classic Dan videos for me. I truly think that Dan works best when he is in complete control. Just him, his own words and a camera with the ability to edit footage to fit his vision. I’d be very interested to know how much involvement he was allowed at each phase of the production. I’m sure for the writing phase it would have been substantial but considering YouTube was providing him with a director, crew, budget for fancy sets etc. I do believe he wasn’t able to do or say whatever he wanted. We already know he didn’t edit it but I wonder if he was still able to contribute input to this at all? Because going by what the fans who took part in the meet and greet segment have said, their talk went for around an hour and I would bet that this was the same for most of the interviews. What was cut out? If the editors weren’t super knowledgeable on Dan, did they inadvertently cut out things that would have been far more interesting than some of the questions that were left in? Especially in Tyler’s segment, is that really the best they had from their talk?

Will Young’s segment was ok. I really enjoyed his rendition of Finally. I think the interview dragged on a touch too long and Will was maybe a little too sincere for Dan? The ‘what’s it like to have talent?’ joke being taken as a genuine question had me cringing through the floor.

I really liked his intro to the Tyler segment but the actual chat was very surface level and just fell flat for me. I really do want to know how long their full talk was and if maybe some more interesting moments were cut out in editing. The only take away I got from this segment is that I really, really want Dan and Phil to go to a surprise wig party at a roller disco. It sounds like the rollerblading event from Spain 2.0. Also, why on earth was his painting blurred out when it was clearly visible in the mirror??

Not much to say for the Abigail Thorn segment except; ‘It’s very hard for me to look forward to the future or even just enjoy whatever’s happening in front of me when my painful past is so compelling’. Well shit Dan, I’m feeling very attacked right now.

The most impactful moment of the whole video for me was Dan looking at his teen self and saying “I’m here. I’m still here.” I don’t even really have the words for how I feel about this moment, I just ask Phil to give him the biggest hug on our behalf.

On the topic of Phil, a couple of jokes that are the absolute lowest hanging fruit about wanting a hot boy summer are pretty much made redundant when, after such an incredibly powerful moment, he exits the room and immediately starts calling for Phil. Because why? He didn’t need to do that, that wasn’t necessary for the narrative at all. He chose to include him seeking out Phil for comfort and reassurance. That’s love y’all.

And while we're in Phil's corner, his acting may not be great but I have such a soft spot for his fidgety fingers when he’s nervous. Finally, please, please, PLEASE can someone give Phil the chance to create something with a budget like this? Phil has such a fantastically unique brain, I’d love to see what he would come up with if given the opportunity. A game show? A short film? I don’t care, just give the man a chance!!

[000dia000]

Dan smashing the bat to "I will Survive" was such a whiplash between his dorky poodle-self but then also my realization he's a 6'4 man and can kill me with his bare hands if he tried hard enough

[yellowsubmarine]

Dan smashing the bat to "I will Survive" was such a whiplash between his dorky poodle-self but then also my realization he's a 6'4 man and can kill me with his bare hands if he tried hard enough

He smashed that guitar In one strike and broke it to pieces!!! Never again will i believe him that he doesn't exercise.

[fruitcriminals]

Why is this making me laugh so much? Sharon is UNAMUSED Phil

[snoopysadie]

And while we're in Phil's corner, his acting may not be great but I have such a soft spot for his fidgety fingers when he’s nervous. Finally, please, please, PLEASE can someone give Phil the chance to create something with a budget like this? Phil has such a fantastically unique brain, I’d love to see what he would come up with if given the opportunity. A game show? A short film? I don’t care, just give the man a chance!!

i just want phil and that brain of his to make things. you will not find someone as annoyed as me that the interactive christmas adventure doesn't work anymore because annotations were removed and that's my favorite thing he's ever made. phiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil.

if i suggest we all tweet youtube and start a movement to get phil to create something, like 1D fans did to make "No Control" a single because they wanted it as a single, am i pathetic? i just want him to be creative. i hope they believe in him and they know what he's capable of.

:c

[fruitcriminals]

And while we're in Phil's corner, his acting may not be great but I have such a soft spot for his fidgety fingers when he’s nervous. Finally, please, please, PLEASE can someone give Phil the chance to create something with a budget like this? Phil has such a fantastically unique brain, I’d love to see what he would come up with if given the opportunity. A game show? A short film? I don’t care, just give the man a chance!!

i just want phil and that brain of his to make things. you will not find someone as annoyed as me that the interactive christmas adventure doesn't work anymore because annotations were removed and that's my favorite thing he's ever made. phiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil.

if i suggest we all tweet youtube and start a movement to get phil to create something, like 1D fans did to make "No Control" a single because they wanted it as a single, am i pathetic? i just want him to be creative. i hope they believe in him and they know what he's capable of.

:c

Yes this - 100% this. He is so creative. How do we petition youtube for this? Or netflix. Or anyone!?

Also I would love Phil presenting a gay dating show but like, a sweet silly one, like a dating show they used to have in the 90's that's a bit like that game heart throb. Not a mean one like the bizarre ones they have now where people are naked and weird stuff happens, just a really silly but sweet and cute one.

Phil would be SO good at that. There used to be one my mum watched when I was tiny that she loved so much. I can't remember much but the audience picked the person's date and randomly, for absolutely no reason at all during a segment break, a hot man with a six pack wearing tiny shorts would just come out and prance about. It made no sense, there was no reason for it, which just made it even more funny. He wasn't the presenter or a contestant, I still have no idea why he was there.

I feel like that with the addition of Phil's innuendos and him just being a total cutie, it would be so jokes.

[alittledizzy]

Timestamps!

:55 - Dan contemplates what it means to be proud. He puts a lot of emphasis on confidence in your own identity and being able to change your life, and how he doesn’t have pride. The first mention of his ‘hot boy fantasy’.
1:40 - He had plans to make things for his channel that didn’t involve sitting in his bedroom.
2:40 - He calls his life before coming out a ‘pantomime performance to protect myself’ and says he doesn’t hate himself, but he also doesn’t love himself yet. He is “fundamentally scared.’
3:20 - He blows a kiss to the straights. I’m uncomfy.
3:40 - He puts gay bars and political rallies in the same category as things he’s been afraid to do.
4:33 - Dan refers to it as a ‘tour of regrets’ which I think is a better way of phrasing it than the what-could-have-been angle I interpreted descriptions (prior to seeing it) as. I think the theme is much easier to parse when you consider it as just a series of moments that Dan didn’t feel proud, with no (or minimal) interpretation of what that same moment had looked like if he had been proud.
4:50 - One of two times when Dan promotes the charity.
5:48 - Phil is behind Door Number One of his existential mind doorways.
6:07 - Phil shows up as a “trap” to make Dan pass the rest of his life in a state of ‘moderate content’ instead of exploring his past.
7:00 - Mention of a time at the BBC when a pop star felt his bum in the lift.
7:05 - Dan enters a set that represents backstage at tours. He calls it a weird and amazing (no pun intended) period of his life, and talks about hoping no one would ask him about his sexuality. One journalist did (shoutout Sunday Times).
8:18 - The segment with fans starts. This is definitely a highlight of the show, imo.
10:20 - Dan talks about how people were real with him because he seemed accepting, and he has regret that he didn’t come out sooner. I find it interesting that he side steps that while he didn’t come out he was very open about same sex attraction in the couple of years before he made that official announcement.
11:20 - He says, “You guys had pride before I did.” which feels really poignant to me.
12:27 - They introduce questions from fans with a very Phil-esque consequence if he doesn’t answer a question.
13:13 - First fan question: What was his first kiss with a guy like? He tells the story about it being during a game of spin the bottle.
14:30 - Second fan question: Was there ever a time he was close to giving up his career because the pressure was too much? He says every single day. He reminds himself that negativity and doubt is not the only perspective.
12:20 - Third fan question: Biggest faux paus someone has made after him coming out. A relative said, “Oh, well, I think it’s fine that you’re gay. It’s a shame you can’t get married because it’s wrong.”
16:08 - Fourth fan question: who was the first person he came out to, and why did he choose them? He talks about the teenage emo friend who told him he was bi, and he saw an in and said he was bisexual too. He also adds: “Twenty years later, I have a completely different identity.”
17:34 - Fifth fan question: Who is your least favorite youtuber? He refuses to answer and the fans tweet from his account.
19:09 - “[The joke tweet] will destroy my career just as I’m excited about it.”
19:23 - Phil cameo as Dil? I swear it sounds like Phil’s voice.
20:06 - He walks into the next room, which is pride themed. His intro to this segment delves into how he felt scared and also angry about pride in the past, because people were out there being proud and living their lives and he wasn’t. He’d never participated in gay pride before 2019. He spent two days hot gluing sequins to an outfit, made a sign, and refers to that day in pride as an experience that ‘felt religious.’ It was the first day he ever felt proud. He encourages people to go to pride and wishes he’d gone much earlier.
24:05 - Will Young segment; he was the first person Dan saw as representation. He does a song before they go into a conversation segment
27:07 - They talk. The conversation is awkward and they don’t seem super on the same wavelength. Whoever said Will Young is too sincere for Dan, that’s really the vibe I get. Dan aggressively jokes while Will seems to take everything quite sincerely. This is my least favorite section of the show.
28:39 - Dan says he had a weird relationship with his sexuality, and Will’s coming out was formative for him because it was the first time he saw people in his life (specifically mentions his grandma) reacting to someone being gay.
30:26 - Dan’s been terrified his whole life that people would bring it up and put it on the table before he was ready to ask. Journalists, friends.
31:26 - Will talks about constantly having to come out.
32:10 - Dan asks Will what he thinks about pride month as a concept and their respective opinions of what pride is like for them.
34:30 - Will talks about shame and pride being a time for people to look at the shame they carry and give it back.
36:20 - The segment with Will ends. Brief interlude with a physical embodiment of his random phase, and a door he’s not ready for yet.
37:21 - The ‘Hollywood’ segment begins, where he talks about conventions and influencers. A mention about Phil being the ‘only person in the world that tolerates me’ and how hard it is to find friends after school. He repeats Phil’s joke that if there are giant youtuber orgies, he’s never been invited.
39:12 - He intros Tyler as someone he might like but wanted to stay far away from. They really do blur that painting even though you can clearly see it in the mirror lmao what the hell.
40:04 - Tyler’s first impression of Dan was “Adorable, but quiet as can be.” Adorable and reserved. They talk about how it wasn’t a secret that he had a secret. Tyler says it was a “non-spoken secret” and Tyler figured it wasn’t his business until Dan said something to him, which Dan never did. Dan says he did want to and Tyler is someone that he really liked and wished he could get to know them better, but at the time because of his ‘effed up relationship with sexuality’ that if people saw Dan having fun with people like Tyler they’d start speculating.
42:00 - Tyler invited Dan to his birthday two weeks after Dan had come out. It was a gay roller disco and Dan’s reaction was, “Who are you talking to?”
42:50 - Dan says he’s never seen a drag show in person. I guess that means he wasn’t at the one Cornelia and Phil were spotted at?
43:27 - The segment ends rather abruptly. Really disappointed they didn’t go further with that conversation/concept because it had the most potential to me.
44:04 - Dan approaches the final door and it’s teenage emo self. He steps back quickly. He talks about how he can’t wear those clothes or listen to MCR anymore without feeling like he’s back there. He never specifically mentions this being about when he attempted suicide but it feels fairly pointed that this is what it’s about.
45:00 - He’s in an empty dark space and talks about being there a lot trying not to feel. He talks about the fun he could have had and friends he could have made and people he could have helped if he weren’t trapped in the ‘damn closet.’
46:12 - The Abi segment! She appears as Dan’s spiritual subconscious to tell him to stop being Eyeore and get off his bottom before she gives him a spanking. Dan references the sexual tension between them and, lbr, I can get behind it. He makes a comment about not defining the next decade with casual sex and she redirects him back to the point being to stop looking back by seeing the positives in his past and that it wasn’t his fault. “Depressed, teenage, little emo Dan - it wasn’t his fault. Don’t hate him. Don’t hate yourself.”
49:00 - Dan goes into the bedroom of his teenage self and talks at himself for a few minutes.
51:26 - He leaves through the emo closet and immediately calls for Phil. Phil doesn’t come, but it does give Dan a moment to promote the charity again.
52:16 - He comes back with the popcorn and Phil comes back through. Dan asks Phil if he could go back ten years and make different choices. Phil says if it was Dan he’d be a lot less funny or interesting. Phil tells him to go through one last door and he’ll be fine. I really like Dan repeating ‘I’ll be fine,’ before walking into the final room - a giant pile of crap that makes up Dan.
53:16 - Just have to timestamp Dan referring to Abi as ‘the dom top angel.’
53:40 - Dan’s wrap up chat talking about how he can be proud of who he is and his journey over youtube and how he is finally free to start living the life that he actually wants to, and that’s something everyone should fight for.
55:41 - He picks up the bar and I Will Survive starts to play and… I just really enjoy this final part a lot.

[Levitating]

You see, keeping with the title of the video, I thought the part of the video filmed on this set would touch upon his career. How not being proud affected his videos, but also all the other million jobs he had taken on over the years. And maybe even those he hadn't? You can't tell me he doesn't have thoughts about his time at BBCR1, with so many openly gay DJs as colleagues. I'd love to hear about it. Instead we got something about conventions and YouTube friends... I guess that is vaguely work related. But then Tyler showed up and the whole thing kinda lost me there. I saw some people criticizing Tyler being presented as 'good representation' but a white gay looking up at another white gay during those years isn't really my issue (though it is a valid one since the video was already overwhelmingly white). I don't even have a strong opinion on Tyler. It's just that the conversation added nothing for me. I think the entire thing could've ended up on the cutting room floor and it would've made no difference to the narrative of the journey. What a waste of a pretty set.

You seem to know what you're talking about so please share more! I would love to know/see the "flaws" in this production, me being a complete ignorant in the subject. As an ignorant, I love it. I love the parts with Phil and how, overall, it was a tale about regret, acceptance and encouragement towards the future.

I did perceive some sort of awkwardness in Dan: his voice was in control, but his body was not and you could sense his nervousness, in a way that made me thought that having a real actor/an animated version would have improved it greatly, professionally speaking (although of course, would it have the same impact? And if it would have the same impact, then it means that the script itself was not good enough).
I also laughed every time he kept looking at the wrong camera which I know it's a mistake that is not supposed to be there, so it's a sign of his amatorial presentation skills
Having an actor for the young Dan would have been such a good use of production money!! It was definitely a bit harder to keep focusing on the message while having to look at 30-years-old Dan pretending to be a teenager

Yet, overall, I did love how his speech/central message speaks to anyone who feels like they've waisted their life compared to others, to anyone who feels they've not done enough, and how it is useful to have pride, whether for your sexual identity or anything else!

[vincentian]

hi, long time no see!
I kind of got over my bitterness after DnP quit posting on gaming channel, and from time to time started sneak peeking at their content again.
(Their content is so sparce now, I just wonder what they were doing day to day job wise, or do they live out a retired couple life off merch sales.))
I appreciated Dan's new video for what it was. It was clearly formatted and produced in a specific way because of whatever youtube's budget / resources were allocated for it, so it looked different from Dan's typical video style. Wonder how much time and planning actually went into it and how long it took to film (it looked a bit rushly made). I cringed quite a few times for a video in 2021 when the word cringe is cringy itself. But there were some wholesome, spirit-lifting parts as well. Probably won't rewatch. Narrative was all over the place though, which is typical Dan
Maybe I missed it, but in this video Dan didn't mention that a lot of popularity his content, tour, book etc. owe to people's interest in phan which is related to lgbt (be it interest in their personal lives, or shipping, canon, fanon, fanfic, fanart etc.). He could just state it without delving into his private life details. I mean, he's more open now than he's ever been and this subject is a tricky one, kind of their last horcrux. But hey, 2022 is a year away, there is still time.
Noticed increase in Dan's confidence presenting material clearly co-created with other people, which was new to me. Looked like he lost some of the usual sarcastic tone in his manner of speech (which he tended to overuse imho) and generally looked more mature as a presenter. I still think he shines more in half-improvised content (gaming and joint videos, bbc radioshow etc.) rather than in such a strictly structured one.
Enjoyed Phil's cameos. He didn't have to eat handfuls of popcorn, he could just pretend for the shot, but he went for it lol

[alittledizzy]

hi, long time no see!
I kind of got over my bitterness after DnP quit posting on gaming channel, and from time to time started sneak peeking at their content again.
(Their content is so sparce now, I just wonder what they were doing day to day job wise, or do they live out a retired couple life off merch sales.))
I appreciated Dan's new video for what it was. It was clearly formatted and produced in a specific way because of whatever youtube's budget / resources were allocated for it, so it looked different from Dan's typical video style. Wonder how much time and planning actually went into it and how long it took to film (it looked a bit rushly made). I cringed quite a few times for a video in 2021 when the word cringe is cringy itself. But there were some wholesome, spirit-lifting parts as well. Probably won't rewatch. Narrative was all over the place though, which is typical Dan
Maybe I missed it, but in this video Dan didn't mention that a lot of popularity his content, tour, book etc. owe to people's interest in phan which is related to lgbt (be it interest in their personal lives, or shipping, canon, fanon, fanfic, fanart etc.). He could just state it without delving into his private life details. I mean, he's more open now than he's ever been and this subject is a tricky one, kind of their last horcrux. But hey, 2022 is a year away, there is still time.
Noticed increase in Dan's confidence presenting material clearly co-created with other people, which was new to me. Looked like he lost some of the usual sarcastic tone in his manner of speech (which he tended to overuse imho) and generally looked more mature as a presenter. I still think he shines more in half-improvised content (gaming and joint videos, bbc radioshow etc.) rather than in such a strictly structured one.
Enjoyed Phil's cameos. He didn't have to eat handfuls of popcorn, he could just pretend for the shot, but he went for it lol

Welcome back!! As far as their content goes... I think Dan's book was what he was considering his job for at least the past 6-9 months, and Phil's content has always been pretty regular. The two months of joint liveshows (on the stereo app) that Dan and Phil did earlier this year probably came with a pretty nice paycheck, too... and totally warranted. I loved that dose of twice weekly joint content.

I think you're definitely right that the shipping/phan as it relates to lgbt and how that influenced their audience is definitely a "last horcrux" (#fuckjkr but still love that phrasing, too, it's so perfect and fitting). And I hadn't thought of it like this but you're right that Dan shines most with half-improvised content. This was too structured and his nerves were pretty apparent but for what it was, I do think he did a good job, yeah.

[lefthandedism]

I think this is an excellent trailer for the video.

[alittledizzy]

I do love that trailer. I also loved some of his replies. I think this may be as close as we get to that dream scenario of a sit down deconstruction of the video.

[fruitcriminals]

Is it wrong I like the trailer and the tweets more than the full thing. Probably. But it's true.

Also

Just adding in a few bits that were said on twitter/tumblr:

- they asked Dylan to sit on that sofa with the tablet in the fan section, it wasn't a personal choice
- it was also a direction from dan's script/ director that they do that 'hi my name is dan' thing not the choice of the 3 fans
- they were also asked to state that they were a accurate representation of fans and that videos were submitted from all around the world and they didn't know the videos were white europeans only until they saw the videos at the same time Dan did
- the forfeit tweet was written by someone doing the production, they submitted suggestions and that's what was approved and changed a bit as far as I can see
- Phil voices Dil in the video but it wasn't him in the outfit/head
- Dan scripted Abigail's section (as confirmed by Abigail in response to someone praising the advice)

[Catallena]

You see, keeping with the title of the video, I thought the part of the video filmed on this set would touch upon his career. How not being proud affected his videos, but also all the other million jobs he had taken on over the years. And maybe even those he hadn't? You can't tell me he doesn't have thoughts about his time at BBCR1, with so many openly gay DJs as colleagues. I'd love to hear about it. Instead we got something about conventions and YouTube friends... I guess that is vaguely work related. But then Tyler showed up and the whole thing kinda lost me there. I saw some people criticizing Tyler being presented as 'good representation' but a white gay looking up at another white gay during those years isn't really my issue (though it is a valid one since the video was already overwhelmingly white). I don't even have a strong opinion on Tyler. It's just that the conversation added nothing for me. I think the entire thing could've ended up on the cutting room floor and it would've made no difference to the narrative of the journey. What a waste of a pretty set.

You seem to know what you're talking about so please share more! I would love to know/see the "flaws" in this production, me being a complete ignorant in the subject. As an ignorant, I love it. I love the parts with Phil and how, overall, it was a tale about regret, acceptance and encouragement towards the future.

I did perceive some sort of awkwardness in Dan: his voice was in control, but his body was not and you could sense his nervousness, in a way that made me thought that having a real actor/an animated version would have improved it greatly, professionally speaking (although of course, would it have the same impact? And if it would have the same impact, then it means that the script itself was not good enough).
I also laughed every time he kept looking at the wrong camera which I know it's a mistake that is not supposed to be there, so it's a sign of his amatorial presentation skills
Having an actor for the young Dan would have been such a good use of production money!! It was definitely a bit harder to keep focusing on the message while having to look at 30-years-old Dan pretending to be a teenager

Yet, overall, I did love how his speech/central message speaks to anyone who feels like they've waisted their life compared to others, to anyone who feels they've not done enough, and how it is useful to have pride, whether for your sexual identity or anything else!

Make no mistake, I never know what I'm talking about

As for the points you raised, I think it's pretty noticeable that this was filmed in one day especially now that Dan confirmed it. Because yeah he did seem a bit nervous and on edge. Some of that was probably due to subject matter, but especially in his monologues he seemed like a stand up comedian who forgets to pause after every joke to let the audience react. I wonder which take they went with or even how many takes there were. In a time crunch I guess you're not gonna let him have another go if the take you have is good enough but maybe Dan would've been able to relax a little more.

Interesting point about actors! I'm the opposite, because part of me even wonders what it would've been like if Dan has played the fairy godmother himself. Abigail was wonderful in the role of course. But something I always really liked about Dan's videos is how he played almost every role himself. It's why I enjoyed Dan playing his teenage self, because yeah it's silly and kinda distracting (though apparently a lot of people didn't even notice it was Dan?) but it's also reminiscent of Dan's old video making style. I wouldn't have minded if he had gone all the way with it and played a mirror reflection type of fairy godmother. Perhaps the narrative really needed it to be someone else giving him that message though.

[Catallena]

[glitterintheair]

I just answered my own question, the view count is hidden because it's a yt original!

Here's the embed for anyone that missed it:

If you watch the video from the Pride playlist on YouTube Originals, you can see the view count. Dan’s vid is currently at 438k views

[Levitating]

A couple of things are increasing my sadness, which started with Youtube not advertising the event more in the front page. The Pride-Icon only appeared during the hours of the stream

- the comments under Dan's video are only 900?? Which to me appears to reflect poor views (438k seems a low number compared to 1M-videos that are around)
- the donations are so low! 3 days left and it hasn't reached half of its target. Is this normal?

It makes me sad because to me it reflects the internet's attention towards queer issues

[shan]

I'm not all that surprised the views aren't particularly high. It's actually a pretty great number for an hour-long video that mainly caters to his active fanbase. The first segment was a longish chat with fans, if I didn't know who he was I don't think I would have stuck around tbh. It was sweet but I can't imagine it being very interesting to a random viewer.

For the fundraiser, it doesn't look like it's open world-wide. For me it says it's not open yet in my region so it could be expanding to more countries later on.

[snoopysadie]

I'm not all that surprised the views aren't particularly high. It's actually a pretty great number for an hour-long video that mainly caters to his active fanbase. The first segment was a longish chat with fans, if I didn't know who he was I don't think I would have stuck around tbh. It was sweet but I can't imagine it being very interesting to a random viewer.

For the fundraiser, it doesn't look like it's open world-wide. For me it says it's not open yet in my region so it could be expanding to more countries later on.

I am allowed to donate from my Latin American country and actually considered donating but I am not 100% sure if the options shown are in my currency. If they're in dollars, donating would be an absolute pain because I have to multiply for a lot more than 20/50 and also taxes and I haven't used that card for anything unusual yet, I'm a bit scared.
Anybody knows if the options shown for donating are in a currency according to where the person donating is from? For Phil's membership I can always see my currency.

Also a bit disappointed on YT handling pride like this.

[liola]

A couple of things are increasing my sadness, which started with Youtube not advertising the event more in the front page. The Pride-Icon only appeared during the hours of the stream

- the comments under Dan's video are only 900?? Which to me appears to reflect poor views (438k seems a low number compared to 1M-videos that are around)
- the donations are so low! 3 days left and it hasn't reached half of its target. Is this normal?

It makes me sad because to me it reflects the internet's attention towards queer issues

The comment number is low, but the video was also streamed so a lot of people who usually would leave comments right away probably reacted in the live chat during the event. The view count isn't stellar, but it's the highest out of all the pride YouTube originals so far, even considering performances from Demi Lovato and Trixie Mattel.

YouTube didn't promote this even remotely enough so it shouldn't be surprising that the views aren't what you're used to. The video titles aren't exactly algorithm teaser either so.. all in all, it's not a bad result at all. And i doubt views matter in this case

As for the foundariser, again it wasn't promoted nearly enough and we are still in the middle of a pandemic, I'd say 100k raised (and doubled by YouTube) is still a great thing

[Levitating]

So you don't find it worrying and a symptom of a re-growing societal homophobia the fact the this event was not advertised as it should have been, that it is not collecting the money it aimed to collect?
Because I know that there are a lot of talks about how corporations celebrating Pride are just masking their internal homophobia/they only join the ride because of profits, yet they simultaneously give it prominence, they help normalise it.

I don't know. I was expecting more. It feels like "queer issues" are a thing of the past.

[alittledizzy]

Dan did an ig story about his thing with John Green - which starts in about 25 minutes if you happen to see this when I make the post.

I don't think we can risk putting it on youtube but there may be other ways to acquire it afterward, if it doesn't end up being public! (And I'm inclined to think it won't be since this is a for-profit site it's being streamed on.)

[kavat]

I've been offline most of the weekend (damn Daniel how dare you upload on Midsummer, one of the biggest holidays in sweden) but I've been slowly catching up. First thing I'll say is that I'm very proud of Dan. The video is the biggest production he's ever done on his own and you could tell he put a lot of effort into it. I had no idea what it was going to be because the advertising for it was pretty unclear, but I liked the different segments and the overarching story. I loved the bit with the fans, Adzie was the first phandom member I ever followed back in 2016 so it was a wonderful full circle moment for me personally.

There definitely are things to criticize about it; it was a bit awkward at times, it really annoyed me that he had like 3 cameras to look in and it was never the right one, "accurate representation of the fanbase" was absolutely a lie, there were some editing choices that felt weird etc. I think there maybe were some things that were a bit rushed in production, plus the fact that Dan doesn't like to give up control which I think made for some parts not living up to it's full potential. I do think it was a great comeback to dinof but I hope he feels like he can go back to his old style that he does so well.

I was also watching the Dan & John thing and, boy oh boy do they work great together. It was such a lovely chat and they both made me tear up at different points. Dan's bear story