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Disrupting The Format

Late night is a diverse form of comedic television that allows the host and writing team to treat topics differently while distorting the “classic” format for their audiences. As a Black writer with a background in poetics, I find peculiar ways to tap into “my voice” as I study hosts and cultivate packets for submissions. While I was going through this week’s late night “briefing” I came across similarities between my favorite comic book character and one of my favorite Late Night hosts. Reading Deadpool comics and studying Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj affected my approach to monologue jokes and gave me permission to approach honesty in new ways.

I know what you’re thinking…

Imagine, Wade Wilson — the most chaotic neutral Late Night host that ever existed. We’d love to see it. (Or, maybe it’s just me). Deadpool’s presence in comics, cinema, and video games gave me a way to use his personality as an outline for what makes a show dynamic. What I appreciate in the comics about our beloved Wade Wilson, is that across many interpretations and adaptations, the creative team appeals to the senses of the reader, but will whisk them away into a different image, smell, or emotion often without warning. That amazing feeling. Keeping the reader on their toes, and taking them on adventures that will seemingly go one place but then it takes various sharp turns with the danger of crashing at any moment. I feel the same effects from the Patriot Act creative team and their ability to use visual media and research to take fans on a journey — taking a concept or topic we may love and absolutely destroying it by the end of the episode.

Hasan is Daring, Deadpool Holds no Regrets

When I read Deadpool comics, I am prepared. I might have read the summary before I read the comic, might have seen a couple of preview panels but I know what’s going to happen. I’m about to step in knowing one thing, and look back multiple times and ask: “What just happened?” One of the most important aspects of comedy is the element of anticipation. Comedy explores the identity of power politics. Anticipation creates a middle ground for expectations. Sometimes audiences are able to anticipate jokes, and it reaps a reward, but what I love about Patriot Act and Deadpool comics is their mutual ability to divert the tracks of expectation.

Both Wade Wilson and Hasan Minhaj paint you a scene, then diverge you into a separate image that pushes the limits of absurdity. An example of this in Deadpool is in Skottie Young’s Deadpool #14, War of the Realms Arc. There we see Deadpool and “the knockoff super squad” battling against a terrorizing group of Gremlins. Deadpool’s usual reaction to trouble is: Kill everything, leave nothing behind. By the end of the comic, we see Wade in a business transaction making money off the Gremlins that weren’t killed, turning them into an amusement park attraction. (Remember these Gremlins still have the ability to eat people.) The power dynamic between the gore of monsters that eat people versus the innocence of amusement parks is a strategic comedy method that torments the ideology behind blissful ignorance. Deadpool’s social ineptness is a punchline that begins from the first glance of a panel. The stability from set up to punchline is not linear, and it keeps readers on their toes.

In Patriot Act, Hasan is at his most powerful when he brings in unconventional comparisons to the dark concepts he explores. Like many Deadpool comics, Hasan and his team of writers take a play on knowledge and press it against popular concepts in order to produce witty results. In season one, episode two, the controversial episode surrounding Saudi Arabia, Hasan delves into the United States’ relationship with Saudi Arabia without holding back the bars of accountability. In this episode, the topic of terrorism, and the United States involvement with the Saudi Arabian government, got a visit from a pop culture reference people normally associate with joy. An example of this is when Hasan stated: “Remember, America hates terrorists. Saudi Arabia gave them passports. Saudi Arabia was basically the boy band manager of 9/11. They didn’t write the songs, but they helped get the group together”.

The similarities that I enjoy from Deadpool comics and Patriot Act is that neither shies away from the gore, but rather accompanies it with something seemingly innocent in order to heighten the bluntness. When I see this tactic used in Late Night, it is utilized in a way of comparing people’s relationship to the public eye, but Hasan connects broader concepts to tangible visual objects and themes. The play on anticipation is that you’re captured with facts that reel you in, and then you’re derailed into a comparison that’s seemingly absurd, but instead feels like a parable.

via GIPHY

Hasan and Wade Mock You with Words and Knives

Visual art has the ability to create different worlds for consumers and ignite an emotional pull by latching itself to the imagination. The award winning digital media team at Patriot Act utilizes images in order to create an immersive experience with their audiences. The audience has a relationship to the screen much like how comic book readers have a relationship to the color schemes on a panel. Images have the ability to inform characters of things they are not aware of, create gray areas, and plant emotional seeds for incoming events. When I read Deadpool comics, sometimes the comedy is hidden in the background, or it is expressed in the eccentricity of the kill. Blood is often accompanied with a chuckle, and that’s an important part in cultivating an experience for viewers. The words of Wade could easily be taken as something dark and pensive if accompanied by art that does not accentuate the words. In the same breath, with words in Patriot Act Hasan challenges the relationship the viewer has with the screen by moving away from simple picture in picture and allowing the screen to hold a broad space behind him. Much like movements through the panels of a comic book. Whether it is a graph or pictures of foreign leaders, many Late Night hosts could take example from Hasan’s innovative visual storytelling.

Through the usage of anticipation, the relationship to innocence, and visual accompaniment to aid in storytelling I believe that many aspiring comedians and late night writers can learn from the world of comedy outside of sketches and stand-up. The beauty of storytelling has different gray areas to explore that aid in not only producing laughs but also pushing people to learn about concepts in unconventional ways. I hope to see more interpretations of Deadpool in ways that not only challenge the way we see comedy, but how we perceive gray areas in relationships and self reflection. In Patriot Act I hope to see the creative team challenge the way we ingest comedy. Going beyond just words and quick graphics but creating a story and cultivating an immersive relationship with the audience while using different artistic media.

via GIPHY

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The post Deadpool at the Dead of Night: A Late Night Breakdown with Wade Wilson appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

Newegg's Black Friday 2019 ad features deals on gaming laptops, PC monitors, and more computer building gear. (Photo Credit: Newegg)

If you need gaming and tech gear for everyone on your list, Newegg’s Black Friday ad is offering many discounts on gaming laptops, PC monitors, and other electronics.

The retailer hasn’t disclosed specific hours for Thanksgiving and Black Friday yet, but our sister site BestBlackFriday.com notes that there are no offline store locations. However, Newegg will likely drop more Black Friday sale details over the next couple of days.

✨ Our #BlackFriday ad is out! ✨ This year, we’re extending our sales, dropping the best deals on Nov. 25. More deals will be unleashed through #CyberMonday, ending on Dec. 8.

Take a peek at the #BlackFriday2019 and #CyberMonday2019 coming your way ► https://t.co/TcKiVpIxJd pic.twitter.com/CPe6FrpBuE

— Newegg (@Newegg) November 16, 2019

In the meantime, you can take advantage of some pre-Black Friday sales on Newegg’s website. (Items we’re eyeing include the MSI GL65 9SC-004 Gaming Laptop and the SkyTech Archangel Gaming Desktop PC.)

For a detailed forecast on Black Friday 2019, visit our general guide and if you need some last-minute tips on how to save money during the holiday season, you can read our Black Friday tips article.

Gaming

Photo Credit: Newegg

MSI GL Series GL65 9SC-004 Gaming Laptop for $599 (Save $200)

Skytech AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD RX Gaming Laptop for $639.99 (Save $110)

Acer 24-Inch 144HZ 1MS FHD Built-In Speakers Gaming Monitor for $149.99 (Save $50)

ABS Intel Core i7 NVIDA RTX 2060 Gaming Desktop for $1,199.99 (Save $250)

Tech

Photo Credit: Newegg

Samsung 28-Inch 4K UHD FreeSync Monitor for $249.99 (Save $100)

GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Elite Motherboard for $149.99 (Save $50)

ASUS 27-Inch FHD IPS Slim Bezel Monitor for $134.99 (Save $25)

Cooler Master H500 ATX Mid Tower Tempered Glass Computer Case for $79.99 (Save $40)

For more deals, including all of the latest Black Friday announcements, check out our sister site, BestBlackFriday.com.

More on Geek.com:

• Black Friday 2019: How to Score the Best Gaming and Tech Deals
• Sam’s Club Black Friday Ad: Top Deals for Gaming and Tech Lovers
• The Weirdest Black Friday 2019 Deals

Warning: This post contains major spoilers for episode three of His Dark Materials.

HBO/BBC

Lyra Belacqua’s world might resemble our own in some ways, but His Dark Materials is unmistakably a fantasy. It’s where human souls take form as animals, witches and talking bears live in the North, and magical flies act as spies. Yet the series has been emotionally accessible through three episodes because it focuses on its characters. And no one has done a better job of making a fantasy feel real and grounded than Anne-Marie Duff’s Ma Costa. Her moving performance this week was both heartbreaking and heartwarming; perfect for an episode that showed a mother’s love transcends all worlds.

“The Spies” finally confirmed what non-book readers likely suspected after last week’s episode. Mrs. Coulter is Lyra’s mother. That revelation only makes her actions so far more confusing and malicious, though. We learned Lyra was born out of wedlock, and the resulting shame and scandal nearly destroyed both of her parents. But why did Mrs. Coulter wait so long to take her child home from Jordan College after abandoning her? And why would she do something as unthinkable as torture Lyra via her daemon? The currently distraught Mrs. Coulter clearly cares about Lyra, but she has no understanding of what it means to put someone else first. She doesn’t know how to love someone, even her own daughter.

HBO/BBC

Ma Costa knows what it means to love her children. She’s been a powerful voice for her missing son Billy and a fierce protective of her eager-to-act son Tony. She’s done that despite her overwhelming grief. And somehow during all of this, she has even found the strength to look after a lost little girl who has no one else in the world. It’s what she did when Lyra was a baby, something we discovered in the show’s most powerful scene yet.

Lyra learns about her real mother and her own past with Ma Costa in a very different way in the books. Yet that moment, more than any other on the series so far, exemplifies why Philip Pullman‘s novels have such a profound connection with readers. Lyra lives in a magical fantasy world, but the people who live there experience the same feelings of love and hate, of hope and fear, as any of us. All of that was on display during that painful conversation; Anne-Marie Duff had to tell a scared girl a terrible truth while carrying her own impossible burden. Ma Costa isn’t Lyra’s mother, but she cares for her like one. And what’s more, that means giving her all of the love she’s capable of. Even when we’d understood if she couldn’t.

HBO/BBC

Her genuine love is why Lyra didn’t need to be told the name of the Gyptian nurse who hid her as an infant. It was clear from Ma Costa’s broken voice and the look on her face she had been the one Lord Asriel had turned to when his daughter was in danger. While Mrs. Coulter was afraid for herself, Ma Costa risked her own life to protect Lyra when she held her all night, She’s still holding her now, despite even worse danger, all while she suffers through a parent’s worse nightmare. It’s all so awful for both of them, which is what makes it all so powerful. Ma Costa’s love is enough to keep them both moving through the darkness, together.

With the Gyptian boats heading North to meet with witches and fight Gobblers, His Dark Materials will only feel more and more like a fantasy. The story will get further away from our own world. But as Ma Costa shows, even as it does it will still feel real, because there’s no magic that can match a mother’s love.

Featured Image: HBO/BBC

The post How Ma Costa Makes HIS DARK MATERIALS Feel Real appeared first on Nerdist.

On September 4 of this year, a settlement was reached in a lawsuit brought against YouTube by the state of New York and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which required the goliath video sharing platform to pony up $170 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). The settlement not only resulted in the fine, but a slew of new rules that YouTube, and therefore YouTube kids content creators, must comply with. Now, in a brief video, YouTube has outlined the new rules, and they are infuriating YouTubers, especially those who produce videos aimed at children.

The brief video announcing the new changes that will affect YouTubers making kids content. 

After the settlement, numerous YouTubers started pumping out videos decrying it, declaring the new rules to be a major, perhaps fatal, blow to people who create kids content on the platform for a living. The YouTubers’ complaints were mostly focused on the fact that the terms of the settlement called for YouTube to stop collecting data on, and aiming targeted ads at, child viewers (children defined as anyone below the age of 13), which would necessarily mean a decrease in many of their channels’ revenue. And while the YouTubers themselves didn’t have much clarification as to what the new rules would be, thanks to the above video, they now do. Kind of.

First off, one unquestionable result of YouTube’s changes to its kids content policies is a sizable loss of revenue for most, if not all, of the people making content aimed at children. Because YouTube is no longer allowed to target ads at children based on data collected from them (specifically “cookies” that track their history of online activity), YouTube channels that have kids videos as their bread and butter will take a serious hit—targeted ads based on data collected by YouTube pay more to content creators versus general ads that are not targeted. Which means anybody who marks their content as aimed at kids—a mandatory decision that will need to be made before posting videos—will almost certainly make less money than they did prior to the changes.

A video from the FTC announcement of the September 4 settlement with YouTube. 

On top of an inability to show targeted ads, YouTube videos aimed at child audiences will also be hamstrung by a bevy of other adjustments that will make the mass sharing of that type of video much less likely. The video explaining the changes (top) notes that videos aimed at kids will no longer have as options features including comments, info cards, and end screens; channels producing kids content will also have stories, the community tab, the notification bell, and the ability for viewers to add videos to watchlist or save to playlist, disabled.

Beyond that, many of the changes that have been announced by YouTube imply subjective guidelines that will likely make consistent compliance from YouTubers difficult. For example, it seems unclear what exactly constitutes content aimed at kids. This is especially true of gaming videos, which could be considered kid-targeted, or just aimed at a general audience with kids making up a significant portion of the viewers (think Minecraft). YouTube says that it’s going to deploy machine learning algorithms to help decipher which videos are aimed at kids, but this will likely, in part, only further confuse matters—many of the decisions made by the algorithms will likely be questionable or even blatantly wrong, and YouTubers will lose out on revenue before incorrect judgements by the algorithms can be rectified.

YouTube is marking videos for kids VOLUNTARILY, their AI’s decisions do not represent the law. Just because your videos did not get marked does NOT mean they are COPPA compliant.

This is real. The penalties are real. This is not some small youtube update like you’re used to. pic.twitter.com/LEPmVwkvi3

— Chadtronic (@Chadtronic) November 16, 2019

Perhaps the biggest hit to YouTubers creating kids content, or even those creating content that could be misconstrued as targeted toward kids, comes from the possibility of being fined directly by the FTC. As CNET points out, “Channels that post kids videos but don’t identify them as such run the risk of getting hit with their own ‘aggressive’ FTC fines, according to the commission.” YouTuber Dan Eardley, the creator of Pixel Dan, a YouTube channel focused on reviews of collectible toys, told The Verge that “If the FTC decides that [we] are indeed targeting children, we’ll be fined. [And that is] frightening.” He added that “It’s especially scary because the verbiage of ‘kid directed’ vs ‘kid attractive’ isn’t very clear,” which means it will be hard to tell if he’s in violation of the FTC’s regulations or not.

In regards to support from YouTube for content creators who are trying to decipher if their content is targeted at kids according to federal laws, the platform, which is a subsidiary of tech giant, Google, says that they should consult a lawyer. A suggestion that seems ludicrous when considering the amount of videos posted by YouTube channels, as well as the cost of lawyers.

So the new YouTube COPPA compliant rules are rolling out and cool – most of my channel got auto-flagged as being “for kids” because pokemon and cartoon characters. Meaning 60-90% of my revenue will disappear. Very cool. Thanks YouTube. This will destroy my channel. pic.twitter.com/LuhwJZMFnf

— VERSY (@Versiris) November 13, 2019

Looking toward the future, it seems that there may be some kind of exodus, of questionable scale, from YouTube to other video streaming platforms such as Twitch or Mixer. In another article from The Verge, YouTuber Een Forester said that “It’s kind of like [YouTube is] killing video game content.” Forester added that “Now, we can’t make videos on more mature video games because they’ll get demonetized, but if we make videos on child-friendly games, they’re also now going to get demonetized. What do we do?” He told The Verge that he is considering moving to one of the aforementioned alternative platforms as a result of this conundrum.

YouTube Kids, an app YouTube has made specifically for content aimed at people aged 13 and under, may also provide a refuge for content creators who currently produce videos for YouTube, although a transition from YouTube to YouTube Kids poses challenges as well. For example, channels that already have an established presence on YouTube will have to reform their audience on YouTube Kids, and may never earn as much audience attraction as they did on the main platform. YouTube Kids has also faced harsh criticism from advocacy groups, which say that the app isn’t effective enough at weeding out content not suitable for children. YouTube has said that it’s responding to these criticisms with reinvigorated efforts to review and filter out unsuitable videos, and presumably this could lead to a similar loss of revenue even for those kids content creators who have already switched to YouTube Kids.

A video from YouTube channel Yawi Vlogs, which says it will be no longer be incentivized to make content. 

At this point it’s impossible to say how exactly YouTubers will be affected by the new content regulations, as the changes announced by YouTube won’t go into effect until January of 2020. But if your favorite YouTube channel focused on kids content, or even content simply geared toward gamers, disappears from the video platform, at least you’ll now know why. Which is more than can be said for how creators themselves are going to know which of their videos are and are not “made for children.”

What do you think about these changes to YouTube’s policies regarding content aimed at kids? Do you think the FTC has done more harm than good with its demanded changes to YouTube’s regulations, or do you think this is the best way to protect children from predatory marketing practices? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Feature image: Marco Verch Professional 

The post YouTube’s FTC-Mandated Rules for Kids Content Infuriate Creators appeared first on Nerdist.