Jaames Caliborune performs an incredible vivisection of the spiritual character of America through its most lovable soccer dipshit Ted Lasso. It's the story of an American who can do anything, even things he's wildly unqualified for and knows nothing about through sheer force of charisma, good nature, and hard work. In retrospect, the implications on how "The Good American"™ can insert themselves into a bad situation overseas and turn everything around is an incredibly obvious fantasy among the more liberal hawks our nation has produced. I even kind of like Ted Lasso, it's a show where a nice man does nice things and wins. There's an obvious appeal in that when you're too exhausted by the horrors, but wearing you down is another way the broader American culture industry can get away with reasserting itself and creating the miasma you don't engage with critically. NBC producing Ted Lasso initially as an advertisement following their purchase of the broadcast rights to Premier League Football has a sardonic sting to it.
Jimmy is one of the smartest people currently writing about Video Games. His video works are paced with a disciplined intentionality that reads as a bit slow and even self indulgent at first, but you realize that you've actually been able to keep pace and think about his work as you're watching it. I love the quick cuts and rapid pace of wider YouTube content as much as anyone, but if you're like me, eventually it just dissolves into noise. Jimmy has something important to say, and he wants you to hear it, have time to chew on it, and then move on to the next thing once you've been able to internalize the message a bit. His Cruelty Squad and Pay To Win videos are standouts in this regard, and his writing on Platform Monetization essential reading if you're interested in how video games are going to be utterly subsumed by capital, along with probably everything else you like.
James reframes Tim Curry's Concierge character as the story's tragic hero, unable to stand up to the exploitation and deceit of Kevin McAllister, who's weaponizing of the image of America's ruling class makes Tim unable to act even when he knows he should. It's very serious and should be taken as such.