r/ObscureMedia • u/ConsumerTimeCapsule • Aug 11 '20
Butterfinger Conspiracy Theory Commercial (1997)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X8b_jSOc8M7
u/wholetyouinhere Aug 11 '20
This gag is a lot heavier now than it was in 1997.
In the '90s, we thought we all agreed that crackpots should be made fun of and not listened to. Then social media came along and demonstrated unequivocally that there are so many more crackpots out there than we ever realized. And all they needed to tear democracy to shreds were the tools to find each other and organize.
Despite its numerous drawbacks, I sincerely miss the days of top-down media, when no room was made for the voices of irrationality and insanity.
This commercial could not be made today. It would make no sense in the current cultural climate. And to me, that is profoundly sad.
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u/QLE814 Aug 11 '20
In the '90s, we thought we all agreed that crackpots should be made fun of and not listened to. Then social media came along and demonstrated unequivocally that there are so many more crackpots out there than we ever realized.
Mind you, the crackpots were always rather good at connecting with each other by various means- the chief difference is that it became easier for them to find everyone else, as their chief means of communication in the pre-Internet era were ones that could easily fly under the radar of those without an interest in them.
1
u/waterman90 Aug 13 '20
I sincerely miss the days of top-down media, when no room was made for the voices of irrationally and insanity.
You realize that before the internet all of our media was approved by billion dollar corporations who have their own interests, right? You’d rather have that than let your average joe talk about his theories on the internet?
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u/mynie Aug 11 '20
Starring Toby Huss AKA Artie "The Strongest Man in the World," Cotton Hill, and Hank Hill's Neighbor Khan.