i am about to talk about this
a pretty consistent guilty pleasure of mine since its rise during the lockdown has been jubilee youtube videos. these videos are fucking huge on the internet, to the point where i'm seeing them clipped aside sensory videos, or better yet, reaction videos to these jubilee videos clipped aside sensory videos above another sensory video (free us!). in particular i tune into the ones where shit's being ranked, ex. 'can strangers rank themselves by IQ,' or by physical strength, wealth, etc. i'm obsessed with the breakdown and justification of strangers' perceptions OF themselves TO other strangers AND an entire audience of anons. when the theme is impossible to accurately measure the video gets real interesting-- awhile back strangers ranked themselves in order by attractiveness and then a group of people of the opposite sex also ranked these same strangers in order (something we have all taken part in the comfort of our own external circles through some form of smash or pass, or fuck marry kill, coming to a decision we would never disclose to the subjects' faces. don't act like you're above it). this wasn't, at least to my knowledge, widely critiqued as a concept. since the participants were all depicted as having their own preferences, noticing different physical features to stand out, the audience of anons and myself probably disagreed with some conclusions in the final ranking. in watching, i feel like a secret participant. i recall having the fleeting thought that this was a somewhat degrading video, but it's not like the whole world weighed in on the ranking.
CUT TO: the whole world weighing in on the ranking. uh oh! a few days ago (on international national women's day, might i add) jubilee uploaded a video as part of their series 'the one' in which one hundred female participants uploaded a bikini photo for a panel of thousands of viewers to rank, placing them as a number on a 1-100 scale measuring ideal to least ideal body type. then, these women were placed in a circle where they were given the autonomy to stay in the circle if they thought their rankings were high on this scale. eventually the circle was narrowed down to one person-- if she was ranked number one by the voters, the circle would turn green. spoiler alert: the circle turned red, and the woman ranked as having the 'true' ideal body was revealed.
videos like these don't trigger me now, but they remind me of how lucky i am to engage with media through a critical lens that wasn't always present. i'm twenty one years old and my relationship with my body is as complicated as the next, to the point where the idea of submitting a bikini photo of myself to be surveyed by thousands is one of the more terrifying things i can imagine subjecting myself to. these videos are gigantic (my guilty pleasure is not niche in any way), therefore when i watch a video like this i think of the wide age range of people watching. when i was sixteen i know i would have started this video bright eyed and bushy tailed and ended it not feeling miserable, but rather envious, fantasizing about participating and discovering my number rank. in my fantasy i would have ranked high, but i control all of my own fantasies, of course. the idea of any children watching and wanting to figure out their body rank makes me want to throw up.
the main issue within the enactment of a ranked survey is the illusion of objectivity. subjectivity turned graded objectivity rejects any disagreements present-- specifically those from the viewer when participants in these videos have faces and speak in full sentences as they rationalize their rankings. presumed objectivity of physical traits does not make any sense when there is a second audience present, which is the multiplied audience of millions engaging in this content. this second audience goes, "are we CUCKS, jubilee? are you CUCKING us? does my opinion mean nothing to you anymore? am i the secret participant no longer?"
oh god, and these poor girls. one girl in the video was adamant she had an elite physical body type, only for the light to turn red on her, revealing her body is in fact 'not elite', i guess-- god forbid a woman expresses any confidence in her body online, ha ha! i've seen the comments. they might as well want her dead, boys and girls alike. jubilee's formatting has always worked this way-- the addition of suspense, relieved by a symbolic red or a green light, is textbook psychology. if the light turns green, the woman is clearly and CORRECTLY gyatted! she must be an elite baddie, or the lights wouldn't have turned green. she's obviously mid, or the lights wouldn't have turned red... the viewer is satisfied when their internal judgements are reinforced. but if the answer is as objective as jubilee makes it out to be, why would there be any skepticism in the first place? the final ten women had voted on who had the best body. the votes were not unanimous.
btw, a very sweet, humble girl was ranked number one. i'm glad, honestly, because i could have seen the video ending two different ways:
a. the girl who was adamant she would be ranked number one was indeed ranked number one, and every single comment would disagree, the internet coming to a general consensus not that the voters represent subjectivity, but that objectivity is incorrect.
b. a girl with a body type that not everyone liked would be ranked number one, and every single comment would disagree, the internet coming to a general consensus not that the voters represent subjectivity, but that objectivity is incorrect.
there is nothing positive to be gained from this video. if you want to watch a video with a positive message, it probably isn't guilty pleasure content anyway.
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