I have recently been having discussions with independent creatives online, and a topic that frequently comes up is the notion of hate watching. The origin of this term comes from the practice of watching a show to see how bad it is, usually for ironic enjoyment or mockery at the media’s expense. More frequently, it now refers to the attention people give to that media online as they criticize or condemn it.
There are a few main demographics who engage in hate watching. Perhaps the most notable on the internet are the YouTube critics. The content of these channels ranges from video essayists to short reviews to self-styled takedowns. Nevertheless, nearly all of them carry a self-satisfied air that they are either hurting the bottom line of Hollywood studios with their negative reviews (they are not), or that their critiques will somehow improve the production of media in Hollywood (also untrue).
Another big group are what I’m going to call nostalgia slaves. They are the bulk of people who hate watch online. They are those who want to re-experience the joys of the original product, and are thus bound to whatever products Hollywood releases. The nostalgia slaves are led on by scraps of good scenes inside overall bad productions. They then whine about the media online, or more curiously, defend mediocre content as good because they have nothing else to clutch at.
The third main group are more of a theoretical than what I would call a solid demographic. These are the people who unironically watch Hollywood for the woke elements in modern productions. While some people might claim this group doesn’t exist, they almost certainly do in some capacity. These are the people who stepped out to vehemently defend The Last Jedi when it was getting lambasted online.
I find this third group to be the most interesting and pitiable. They cannot ever publicly admit that the productions of Hollywood are bad, but no one can watch these movies and call them good fun. Maybe they can get some value out of the self-indulgent fantasy, but these emotions are fleeting and empty compared to real artistic meaning. They are shackled to propaganda, and for this, they have nothing but contempt for those who dare to break their illusion.
Some might say this third group doesn’t fit within the category of “hate watching”, but I don’t think there’s a difference between defending a product and criticizing it—not to modern Hollywood anyway. They serve the same basic purpose as the YouTube critics, that is, to promote attention. And besides, I think they secretly despise watching the toxic vile of Hollywood more than anybody. They are the ones who have to defend it.
The problems of hate watching are patently obvious. Hollywood controls the dialogue of society. Even in reacting against it, hate watchers are merely feeding the beast. Remember, clicks generate revenue for these people as much as filling seats. As long as Hollywood maintains this control—even while the system is burning down—they have a de facto monopoly on what is culturally relevant in the West.
Independent artists are the only ones trying to break free of the system, but this comes with severe challenges. In trying to create our own spaces, these communities are necessarily small in scope. Few are interested in pursuing things outside the mainstream, and those that are have little recourse in connecting with like minds.
Most disturbingly, those that hate watch have no interest in promoting anything independent. The YouTube critics will make videos mocking Hollywood all day, but they hardly spare a thought to those trying to create something new. Meanwhile, the nostalgia slaves are uninterested in anything that isn’t Star Wars. And the less said about the third group, the better.
This is a circular problem. Lack of attention means no funding or support for indie artists. Meanwhile, no funding or support often means a lack of attention. The indie community remains small because very few people are interested in it.
I am not making a call for aid from the hate watchers. Whatever we build, we are going to have to ourselves. However, I have recently been reconsidering some values I once held in my own activities. I regarded hate watching as a bit of a faux pas. I didn’t engage in Hollywood content because I wanted to strangle it by ignoring it, and I know many others in the indie sphere take a similar stance.
However, with every year that passes, it seems rather that Hollywood is ignoring us. We are excluding ourselves from a conversation for no meaningful benefit. While we might be separate, we are also silent in the mainstream discourse.
So, here’s my proposal. The main problem with the YouTube critics is that they never promoted anything new when they made their critiques. They could only comment on the disintegration of modern entertainment, never building anything valuable of their own. But we cannot ignore that they did build massive audiences for themselves. They attracted attention, and that is what we need so desperately.
I think we need to take up a little bit of hate watching for ourselves. It’s too useful of a tool to ignore. However, that being said, I think hate watching always needs to come with a stipulation. Hate watch only to promote your own content—your own real content. Whenever a new movie or tv show comes, make the commentary, and then point to your own projects as an alternative. Many already do this, but I want to put forward a more extreme idea I’ve been stewing on.
This admittedly will require a good use of time and planning, but it’s not impossible. I have long thought of writing a book as a reaction to a certain movie or tv show, and I am certain many others have as well. But this cannot be done for past releases, as cultural energy is always the most powerful in the moment. It doesn’t make sense to write a reactionary version of Avatar when it was released in 2009. But what about Avatar: The Way of Water? (Well, it’s too late for that now, but the point stands). We often get a heads up about these movies a year or so in advance. So why not use that time preparing?
Done properly, I think it’s possible to ride the controversy to build an audience. When the Last Jedi released, one video alone could garner a million views and skyrocket an obscure channel to success. I am simply advocating for a smaller version of that. Of course, culture is unpredictable, and these sorts of events are hard to pinpoint, but I think this is still an idea worth exploring at the very least.
I don’t expect this solution to fix all our issues, but I think it embodies a strategy going forward. Our goal is to take as much energy from Hollywood and redirect towards ourselves. We may not be able to drain the churn of Hollywood controversy, but we may be able to skim off of it. And if for nothing else, someone should show Hollywood how to write a proper story.
I’d love if some of the mavens of the bitch-and-moan economy used their gigantic hate-watching platforms to promote us indies!
You make a good point. We do need to be engaged with the culture. I recommend pirating if one must hate-watch. I also recommend any commentary be focused on (a) what doesn’t work about the bad product and why, and (b) realizing that your favorite past franchise will never be fixed. Nobody in charge cares, they’re not listening to us, and they probably hate us.
This is the issue I always had with the hate-watching crew. Let’s say the people in charge of their favorite franchises listened to them and the products were good. Bang, there goes the hate-watchers’ audience. And without those eyeballs, there to those ad clicks.
You see the issue obviously, given the article you wrote. Hate-watch with a purpose, sure, but it’s the risk of giving time, attention, and money to people who hate you. Take the last aspect out of the equation as best you can, if you can.
It has always been easier to criticize culture than to create culture. It's easier to tear down than to build up. I think it is best when we can engage in dialogue, looking for and praising insights and positive elements while challenging the bad ideas and pointing out negatives. Take the opportunity to teach and build up the audience so that they have something of value to take away from your content instead of just wallowing in shared hate of something that is obviously bad.