Philosophy in Current Media - Reid Robertson (Section #12)

For my final report, I wanted to explore how philosophy influences current media. In today’s society, mass media heavily impacts our day-to-day life and I wanted to share and explore different topics and levels of influence philosophy might have on what we consume. 

My first example is within the music industry, specifically with one of the most successful young artists of today: Billie Eilish. She is known for her alternative style in both music and fashion. She was born on December 18th in 2001 (20 yrs old). Her most popular songs include her 2015 viral debut “Ocean Eyes” and “Bad Guy” off of her album When We All Fall Asleep, Where do We Go?. Her song “Think Therefore I Am” was a huge hit, with the music video gaining over 210 million views in one year. The song is from her point of view on having to push through constant commentary on every choice she makes, specifically on the clothes she chooses to wear to cover her body. She describes her frustration with media outlets using René Descartes’ argument “I think therefore I am.” Descartes had originally coined the term in his search for proof that he existed. He reasoned that if he was aware enough to doubt his own existence, he must exist, thus proclaiming he thinks and therefore is. Eilish uses the phrase as both an attack and a shield from constant criticism. She argues that she is an individual and has her own sense of self, and she won’t change just because some people don’t like what she gives them. She also pokes fun at the media and reporters, implying that because they choose to comment on her choice appearance, they are unique individuals. The song both pays tribute to Descartes and also pokes fun at the pretentious wording.

Billie Eilish “Therefore I Am” 

The next example is a web series on YouTube that covers a variety of different topics that we all struggle with from time to time. The creator is Thomas Sanders, a singer, actor, songwriter, and internet star mostly known for his content on Vine. More recently, however, he has made himself popular on YouTube and as a voice actor on various animated shows. He is known for his wholesome content that is available to all audiences, and is also an active member of the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for equal rights, and for mental health awareness. All of this shows in his online series Sanders Sides, which addresses day to day relatable problems his main character “Thomas” endures. He does this by creating characters based off of different assets of his personality, similar to Pixar’s Inside Out. The characters are Patton (Morality), Logan (Logic), Roman (Creativity), Virgil (Anxiety), Remus (“Dark” Creativity), and Janus (Deceit). Throughout the series, Thomas deals with common issues such as lying, motivation, and dealing with anxiety by talking with his different assets through playful, clever banter and heartfelt conversations and admissions. It’s also pretty common for a philosopher or researcher to be brought up and discussed. Usually it’s Logan that does this, but Janus also has his moments. There are two episodes in particular I wanted to discuss, one about lying to an external persona and the other about lying to your own internal persona.

In the episode “Can Lying Be Good?” Thomas struggles admitting an ugly truth to a close friend and debates lying to cover his tracks. Janus, disguised as Patton, appears and offers his knowledge of Immanuel Kant and how he strongly believed one should never lie. Janus then explains how another philosopher, Benjamin Constant, approached Kant with the dilemma of a known murderer entering your house and asking if you knew where your friend was so they could kill them. Should you lie then? This conversation starts a debate between the different sides as to whether or not Thomas should lie to his friend. From there, they analyze and experiment with different types of lies (omission, commission, character, etc.).

In “Selfishness v. Selflessness,” Thomas struggles to pick between attending a callback for an acting role and attending his friends’ wedding, both occurring on the same day. Janus believes Thomas shouldn’t prioritize his friends in this instance as it costs Thomas greatly. He discusses the philosopher Max Stirner and the concept of egoism, the idea that everyone is equal and no single person is more important than another. 

Thomas Sanders’ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/ThomasSanders/featured

“Can Lying Be Good?” Start at 3:34

“Selfishness v. Selflessness” Start at 28:19

My final example is also on YouTube, and it features two popular channels merging to set a creative example. One of the hosts is Mark Fischbach, or Markiplier, best known as a gaming YouTuber, with famous Let’s Plays like Five Nights at Freddy’s and various scripted series such as A Heist With Markiplier and In Space With Markiplier, both nominated for awards. Ethan Nestor, or CrankGamePlays, the second host, is also a popular gaming Youtuber, but he originally started as an editor for Markiplier’s videos. He frequently streams on Twitch, collaborating with other YouTubers such as JackSepticEye. 

On November 15th, 2019, Mark and Ethan launched the YouTube channel Unus Annus. The name is latin for one year, and true to the name was only active for one year. The two posted a video every day for a year and deleted the channel at midnight on November 14th at 12:00 AM. The point of the channel was to emphasize memento mori, or “remember your death.” The videos, while absolutely ridiculous, were meant to inspire people not to waste the time they have, and to take chances and get creative. The term “memento mori” is most commonly associated with John Donne, an honest and happy man who kept death close to his heart. He believed that the only way to truly live was to remember how little time you have left. Memento mori itself is an artistic philosophy that usually uses symbolism to remind the viewers of death, and Mark and Ethan never let any opportunity to remind their subscribers of their upcoming deaths pass. And oddly enough, it was strangely reassuring to hear them talk about the end of everything.

In conclusion, I find incorporating philosophy into our media to be very beneficial. It allows the common population to find relatability and wisdom in the questions that have already been asked, so that we may all answer them in our own ways. And we can even derive our own new set of questions to ask. Philosophy is all about figuring out ourselves and how the world works around us, and since we constantly evolve, it makes sense to find references to philosophy in our media that consistently reflects us.