Stakhanov wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:30 am
That's a remarkable statement imo, I don't really see the link between eating pizza and Dan monetizing his suffering. The way I understand Dan, you have to be careful with taking his words literally.
When I went to bed last night I thought to myself: Was monetizing his suffering really the
best phrasing I could have used there? So like, thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify what I meant. I was concerned someone might read what I wrote and think I disapprove of Dan talking about suffering or his mental health in videos. I hope that no one did, or if they did they also happen to read this and know that wasn't what I meant.
What I was trying to refer to was a specific tendency Dan has to dissect himself and his personality in the process of making a video. I wonder and I worry whether he sews himself back together once the cameras are off. If asking 'do I have a personality?' is opening a wound, has that wound been left open to bleed out or is it being properly cared for with like, stitches and frequently changed bandages and conversations with his loved ones and therapist?
Stakhanov wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:30 am
I don't understand why you blame him so much then for saying food comforts him.
I don't.
Stakhanov wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:30 am
I don't think he specifically said it makes 'his anxieties go away'
It's an interrupted sentence, but he does between
13:30-13:45
Stakhanov wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:30 am
but even if he did, what's so bad about food as a coping mechanism, not liking to eat before his youtube audience since he views mukbang as something potentially sexual and kinky, and then make a video eating a pizza with Phil? I'll grant you that there is an inconsistency there, but it's hardly the only thing where he claims to hate or not like something, then goes on and does it anyway.
Dan not wanting to do the mukbang because he views it as kinky is an interpretation that I hadn't personally thought about. From my perception, both he and Phil seem fascinated and amused by kinks and fetishes.
I think you've hit the nail on the head by pointing out that Dan often claims to dislike something (or explains why it is painful for him) and then goes on to do that thing, sometimes with the implication that he is doing it "for" the audience. It's often but not always played for laughs. I don't take him entirely literally, but it's a joke he's been making for ~9 years and after that long it's clear it isn't
only a joke. There's some lasting truth or meaning in it that makes it relevant over that kind of period of time. It's more the overall story they're telling than just Dan saying food is a coping mechanism for anxiety, eating food on camera makes him anxious, and then watching him eat food on camera that triggers my 'er, do I want to be a part of this?' senses, though that's the easiest concrete example to point out.
But I'm aware I'm taking a particularly gloomy outlook because that's just where I'm at at the moment. So now I'm going to list some mukbang moments I appreciate.
lovely things~
0:25 From the very beginning they're talking about easing themselves into 'main channel' videos as if dinof and AP are one (shared) entity and the gaming channel is another. Phil says Dan is being lured onto a main channel video "like a mysterious animal. Come on, I've got snacks."
5:20 Dan telling the camera "he can't, he's. he can't get it" in the middle of teasing Phil about getting the pizza.
Phil's "he looks like Zac Efron I can't go" is a callback to the iconic "i can't I don't have legs'"
7:00 Dragon Dan and his Den of Dips. P: "He hordes them like Smaug. I can't even get near it."
7:25 The importance of tearing boxes neatly is explained.
8:20 Phil realizes that stopping to discuss the width of Dan's hips and Dan's need to explain each part of the pizza order means the food is going to get cold but it's too late to do anything about it now.
10:00 I do actually find it very sweet that Phil acknowledges Dan's discomfort while also keeping it light and playful. P: "Dan doesn't like eating on camera so I'm hoping I can just eat the whole thing."
11:25 D: "This is very interesting. The first thing I went for was a wedge in bbq sauce." P: "You're a fascinating guy."
I adore a sassy Phil.
12:25 Dan would like to know if the penises were French. Phil claims he didn't look at the penises for too long. Dan eyerolls.
13:23 Dan finds something embarrassing but tells Phil "you do you."
13:25 D: "The bread is so good." P: "A poem by Dan."
16:40 Phil suggesting Dan do a silent mukbang where he just does faces is one among many examples of how fascinating Phil continues to find Dan--and Dan's face.
17:45 Dan telling the camera "The trainer had his work cut out with Phil." P: "He was like what's happening?" D: "Right hook! And Phil would be like left uppercut! Are you paying attention? You're gonna get bopped." This whole exchange may be the loveliest of all. Dan seems so fond when he's describing the trainer's confusion around Phil and his lefts and rights. This is the low-key, authentic version of Dan proudly describing himself as Phil Trash #1.
18:05 This is as painful as it is lovely, but I can't leave it out because Phil is truly being lovely here, staying attuned to Dan and praising what he sees as success even if Dan doesn't.
P: Hey, you're doing well. You're eating, and people are watching.
20:45 Phil comparing Dan to a hibernating bear pleases Dan. I am noticing a trend here.
21:25 Dan preemptively defends Phil's enjoyment of live shows against imagined criticism.
22:40 Can I just have Dan's soft "You brought my candle over?" play on loop please?
23:10 I'm not really sure why Dan laughs and thanks Phil here but it is cute, as is 'you're really messy' combined with thigh touching.
24:25 Phil's tone and Dan smiling before Phil's even finished saying to just choose the next outfit along the line makes me think they've had this conversation enough times to agree that they're just too different in this area to really relate to each other. Dan's "That's how you end up with ensembles like this!" sounds like the usual quip he makes to a running joke. It's also sweet how quickly he's willing to admit Phil's t-shirt is actually great.
25:05 Phil was harrowed by the Handmaiden's Tale and I'm proud of him for it.
25:45 Dan has been compared to a mysterious animal, a dragon, a bear, and now a cocooned creature (assuming butterfly based on his feelings on moths) in this one video. You do you daniel.
26:10 Anyone else just feel proud of Dan for addressing the possibility that people he once knew might be watching this video and clarifying that he avoids them because of his own problems and not theirs?
27:15 Lets all just appreciate Northern Phil and his little head tilts.
28:38 Phil chooses to take Dan's comment about personality seriously and (tries to) reassure him.
30:05 "Get those guns out for the North" and Phil shifting so he's sitting closer to Dan.
30:15 D: "Can you finish a cookie right now?" P: "Hell yeah." Their faces and tones here are just everything that is sweet and good and lovely about the universe.
31:00 Dan is a rebel who microwaves cookies for 10 seconds instead of 8 and he cannot be stopped.
33:00 I didn't notice until now, but after Dan says "I'm on there" (the gaming channel) he says "I'm on here" (Phil's channel). So that's. That happened.