Shane Dawson is in the news a lot lately. Yes, there are allegations. While I did not wish to, in any way, impart my small opinion into the complex discussions of past mistakes, genuine vs. manipulative apologies, and ‘cancel culture’, I knew it would be amiss not to mention my relationship with his content. As a child, I watched and giggled at a few videos on OG YouTube. As a teen, I grew out of him. As a grown adult, I consumed and enjoyed his content, with an appreciation of how a content creator could ‘move with the times’. Sure, his treatment of the concept of the ‘sociopath’ in 2018’s The Mind of Jake Paul series was excessive, insensitive, and, well… badly conceived. Yes, his The Beautiful World of Jeffree Starr series was a glorified advertisement for his eyeshadow palette. However, he resided right atop my trash taste-bud. And I really did want to buy some of his make-up.
However, with new discussions on problematic content (and its creators) and accountability for past mistakes, my attention was directed to 2014’s reality television series The Chair. Since I do not live in America, and Shane Dawson was far from my radar at that time, I completely missed it. Through being well and truly engrossed in film-YouTube, I did hear about his trainwreck of a movie, Not Cool. I had never actually watched this myself; I had heard rumblings of it being an absolute atrocity, and I chalked this up to the fact that some producer tried to capitalise on YouTube content only to misunderstand it completely. Through discovering the origins of this shit-stain of a film, I realised that:
- Shane Dawson was definitely responsible for the myriad of horrible decisions that would have had to go into making this film,
- A female director was unfairly robbed of kick-starting her career due to this monstrosity, and
- I would love to see this concept for a reality series implemented in a less… unfair and problematic way.
I have a lot to unpack here. To avoid ranting, I’ll include some sub-headings.
The Chair, or, alternatively, why an adult stuck in the middle of a pandemic decided to care about an out-of-date reality television show.
The Chair, originally broadcast on Starz six years ago, was a competition reality show that pitted two aspiring directors against each other to create the ‘best’ film out of the same script. Basically the Project Runway of filmmaking, the series gave their aspiring amateur directors $950,000 and the ability to work alongside the screenwriter to rewrite dialogue and have control over the tone, cast, and aesthetic of the final film. While I really hope Netflix picks up the concept and rebrands it as ‘Next in Filmmaking’ or something, I understand the risk involved in such a production. Two feature films need to be developed during its production, as well as a plethora of other, regular TV-show-making costs racking up the bill. Obviously, The Chair was afraid of this monetary return, therefore, despite it going against its goal to create fair competition, decided to hire some known talent in order to guarantee ratings. Enter Shane Dawson.
YouTuber Shane (a man with millions of hungry pre-teen fans) was pitted against some… woman who seemed to want to be a filmmaker. In the end, audiences would vote on the best film. Fair, right? Even if it wasn’t, Dawson was sure to pull in more viewers, allowing for greater exposure for both filmmakers.
Unfortunately, nobody watched it. Heck, people hardly remember it. So why should we care?
Anna Martemucci; snubbed by the system before Greta made it cool.
More than ‘some woman’ who went against Shane Dawson, Anna Martemucci (or, A.M. Lukas as she goes by now) was “the child of a political refugee from communist Czechoslovakia and an Italian immigrant. Her grandfather is the late artist Jan Lukas, a revered figure in early Czech photography and filmmaking whose work is represented in MoMA’s permanent collection” (ripped directly off her IMDB). With a Sophia Coppola-esque familial background (unfortunately, I have used my two examples of mainstream female filmmakers to compare her to—what am I supposed to do now?!), I wouldn’t blame you for finding it difficult to see her as the ‘underdog’ of the competition. However, it is difficult to win an audience vote against a man who is, essentially, fuelled by a pre-established audience of millions. In essence, the competition—and the system it resides in—did my girl dirty.
Not Cool was, well, seriously uncool.
I am aware this sub-heading was low-hanging fruit, but to move on, I absolutely, vehemently, hate the assembly of moving images that vaguely resemble a lowest-common-denominator film that is Shane Dawson’s Not Cool. Yes, the jokes are ‘edgy,’ and ‘problematic,’ but they do not hold the slightest indication of humour to make them any more palatable than the insane ramblings stripped from the idiotic notebook of a 13-year old simp. I am unable to give a full review of the film here, as I would probably end up deconstructing the incompetency of every frame, keeping myself up far past bedtime and leaving me a broken shell of a human being. Here are some highlights, in dot-point form.
- It’s about some loathsome characters who are pushed through the generic plot points of bad teen comedies.
- Shane Dawson casts himself as the lead, a man that used to be the ‘most popular guy in school’ and everyone wants to tear his clothes off and have their way with him. Meanwhile, he plays it awkward and ‘shy.’ It makes no sense.
- The opening shot is of a girl’s ass. It helps set up the quality of cinema we are about to watch.
- A homeless, black man eats his own faeces seconds before an awful caricature of a blind woman stumbles in the frame. This is a true indication of the film’s humour.
- Shane’s girlfriend breaks up with him through a glory-hole.
- Everyone keeps screaming.
- I feel bad for Drew Monson throughout. He is the only actor in this thing that has the potential to be remotely funny, and I feel like this film ruined his chances a bit.
- There are a lot of poo jokes. A LOT.
- Shane tries to be romantic, at some point.
- An Indian dude is presented as funny because… he is Indian. Fantastic.
- The film made me feel sick.
Apart from the tokenism, sexism, and ableism in Shane’s script (and I will blame Shane, as Dan Schoffer’s screenplay was heavily butchered by him in the rewrite phase. Also… Shane wanted a writing credit, but due to union rules, was unable to get it. He had a tantrum. Please people, watch The Chair), any try-hard emotional beat feels more like the horrific bile following the fact you sicked up your entire Thanksgiving dinner.
Basically, the film is bad. Moving on.
A brief aside regarding Zachary Quinto.
Zachary Quinto was a ‘producer’ of both of these films during the proceedings of The Chair. I like Zachary Quinto; he is known to be one of the nicest people working in the industry and gains points from me for being a Star Trek fan. A sub-plot of The Chair follows Zachary’s bone-chilling hatred of Shane Dawson throughout the entire thing. It is entertaining to watch. He called Dawson’s movie “ultimately a vapid waste of time.” He was too kind.
Hollidaysburg; a film that made me feel enough things to warrant this 2000-word rant.
I have seen a lot of first films throughout my time as a perceived ‘critic’ of ‘films’. Every month, we get a couple of submissions of independent features that, unfortunately, are not of a high enough quality to review on our website. We give them all a go—but the same trappings seem to occur in all of them: less-than-stellar acting, a confusing script, low-quality sound design, and an inability to bring anything new to the table. However, as most are first films, I usually do give them a little slack when giving them a viewing. Even Taika Waititi, one of my favourite directors, has a first film that, while showing promise, did not grab me in the way his other, more mature features did. To make a good directorial debut is an accomplishment, and A.M. was definitely accomplished.
Hollidaysburg is everything you wish for in a coming-of-age dramedy. Throughout the film, you are introduced to relatable characters, a picturesque setting, and a complimentary aesthetic that makes the setting seem warm, lived-in, and familiar. In contrast to Dawson’s trainwreck, A.M.’s foray into early college blues is something that, even as someone who lives thousands of miles from its setting, hits home. While by no means a perfect film (it can be a little meandering, and some small choices make its amateur status a little too obvious), it had something that hit me in my tiny, cold, critical heart.
I moved to Brisbane for university when I was seventeen. I spent my entire teenagerhood hating my small, Australian town for being too closed-minded and boring and dreamed of living in a bustling city. However, living in the big wide world when you are but a small teenage girl is scary, and you find yourself missing it. You also find yourself growing past the relationships you had nurtured there, and regretting ones you let go because of abstract notions of popularity during teenage years. You hope people will have missed you, with your mind wandering to the time where you can enter your school reunion and show how smart, sexy, and successful you have become. Then, at 25 years old, you realise that going to the school reunion scheduled for next year would be absolute hell, and you would much rather shout about a YouTuber’s six-year-old film into the void of the internet than try to prove your worth to people who have also grown into successful, strong adults in their own ways.
As a coming-of-age film, I may not have had a ‘direct’ character to relate to in Hollidaysburg, but I could see parts of myself in all of them. Moreover, I knew people who had similar traits growing up. I had been to the parties that were shown in the film. I had to grieve for my small-town high school life, which I never enjoyed during my time there, while trying to understand the need to flourish. I visit my parents in my hometown, and simultaneously reminisce and lament about my stupid teenage self. Growing up is hard, scary, and still-in-progress, and this film made me realise that. I wanted to see more from this director… what else she had to say. While her short film, One Cambodian Family Please for My Pleasure saw success and is now on my watchlist, I wish this small reality television show could have catapulted her into greater things. I wish I could think of more than four female directors off the top of my head. I am glad that she is now the fifth.
The Conclusion
Shane Dawson ended up winning the $250,000 grand prize on The Chair, but his film was panned by critics and now resides on ‘worst of all time’ lists. While he maintains the voting system was fair (he believes his fans would not go to the lengths of filling out a huge, lengthy document and cites that as a reason for his win’s legitimacy), I can’t help but think about how, as the documentary that started this whole thing faded into obscurity, a director with potential was not given adequate compensation for a lovely first feature. Was her gender a part of it? Not directly, but I do think A.M.’s journey holds some good metaphorical connection to the thousands of women of different races, creeds, and backgrounds that are unable to succeed due to lack of opportunity, lack of headstart, and lack of funding. Really, this is not something Shane Dawson was ever directly guilty of; he was a bit of a prick during production and did show a lot of entitlement throughout his stint on The Chair, but he never directly wished ill of his counterpart. However, I think he is a good symbol for a system that rewards powerful men and does not allow room for many promising newcomers.
In essence, I hope my long rant accomplished one thing; Anna Martemucci, or A.M. Lukas (whichever she prefers), should gain some praises for her wonderful film, and I hope some of you will seek it out.
Also, Netflix, please do a similar reality show. I would binge the hell out of it.
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