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Given Vice's early print mag being simply hipster trash, it's somewhat remarkable where they've gotten to. The racist, mysogynist cofounder is gunna be a hard

Given Vice's early print mag being simply hipster trash, it's somewhat remarkable where they've gotten to. The racist, mysogynist cofounder is gunna be a hard thing for me to forget when I think about Vice going forward.

yowlingcat 6y ago
If it was hipster trash, how did it end up getting to where it ended up in the first place? There were many other mags that were similarly "hipster trash" that could have had the ascent Vice had. Why not them? You must admit that Vice took a similar approach to Gawker, of measured infotainment, that the pulp sold financed the hardboiled detective journalism. The latter elevated and diversified the empire's brand as a whole. Its cofounder (racist and misogynist or not) remained instrumental in launching it and bringing it to critical mass in the first place; to say otherwise would be revisionism.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- justinator 6y ago
  If it was hipster trash, how did it end up getting to where it ended up in the first place? This isn't a question I was trying to answer, and I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive. My only point is that Vice changed from being some free crap you picked up at American Apparel which most popular part was shaming people's fashion style, to what it is today. How did American Apparel get so large (and where are they now?)? All they did was sell very expensive t-shirts. My guess is fashion trends and marketing - much of that marketing done by, sigh another fairly controversial figure. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/nov/18/terry-richardson-fashion-shameful-photographer https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/nov/18/terry-richar... Perhaps making fun of people = visitors = website clicks (as their was an online version of this as well) = advertising moneys. I dunno. Someone saw value in that, and trusted this particular person. I could opt that successful businesses with little real worth are built with the hands of sociopaths (but I'm going that far).
  - DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
    > Perhaps making fun of people I like to think it’s because society at-large has improved - otherwise PeopleOfWalmart and other websites of its ilk would still be relevant.
    - iateanapple 6y ago
      I think it’s just turned from funny to depressing.
    - Mountain_Skies 6y ago
      Of maybe the novelty wore off. Either way, we're all probably better off now that it has run its course.
      - yowlingcat 6y ago
        I think that's the case. And in a way, I think this echoes my original point -- how fickle it is when the the entire thing that makes your product desirable is a novelty that has no longevity!
        DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
        It wasn't a new novelty though - besides PoW there was (and still is) plenty of classist and snobbish people-watching communities and their content, even on reddit - and it isn't anything new: "white trash" is an ancient term that's still in-use, and I don't think many people watch COPS for mundane police encounters.
        yowlingcat 6y ago
        Oh, for sure. I wonder where we can draw the line. I think that a flavor that is shared by Vice, COPS, PoW and its ilk is a gonzo journalism quality. And you know, now that you mention the classist, snobbish qualities to it, I think there's a key element I was missing in my original point: voyeurism. There's some really specific stuff going on in the way that a class observes the "trashy" mannerisms of a underclass, and it's necessarily veiled because discussion of it is deemed crude, base, or otherwise unbecoming of that class. Would you agree that there's an element of voyeurism there?
guevara 6y ago
He was the best part of Vice along with other early members. They used to have AMAZING stories and documentaries during his time. Afterwards, the company went straight to shit. Now, we're blessed with quality articles such as: 1)"Nintendo Switch's Joy-con Sync issue is Even worse if you put it in your butt" 2)"Three days of torture in a male chastity device" 3)"How to pick a chastity cage lock with a condom wrapper" 4)"Finally, a new emoji to mock men" I will be celebrating when Vice (along with BuzzFeed and Vox) file for bankruptcy.

yowlingcat 6y ago

If it was hipster trash, how did it end up getting to where it ended up in the first place? There were many other mags that were similarly "hipster trash" that could have had the ascent Vice had. Why not them? You must admit that Vice took a similar approach to Gawker, of measured infotainment, that the pulp sold financed the hardboiled detective journalism. The latter elevated and diversified the empire's brand as a whole. Its cofounder (racist and misogynist or not) remained instrumental in launching it and bringing it to critical mass in the first place; to say otherwise would be revisionism.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
justinator 6y ago
If it was hipster trash, how did it end up getting to where it ended up in the first place? This isn't a question I was trying to answer, and I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive. My only point is that Vice changed from being some free crap you picked up at American Apparel which most popular part was shaming people's fashion style, to what it is today. How did American Apparel get so large (and where are they now?)? All they did was sell very expensive t-shirts. My guess is fashion trends and marketing - much of that marketing done by, sigh another fairly controversial figure. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/nov/18/terry-richardson-fashion-shameful-photographer https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/nov/18/terry-richar... Perhaps making fun of people = visitors = website clicks (as their was an online version of this as well) = advertising moneys. I dunno. Someone saw value in that, and trusted this particular person. I could opt that successful businesses with little real worth are built with the hands of sociopaths (but I'm going that far).
- DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
  > Perhaps making fun of people I like to think it’s because society at-large has improved - otherwise PeopleOfWalmart and other websites of its ilk would still be relevant.
  - iateanapple 6y ago
    I think it’s just turned from funny to depressing.
  - Mountain_Skies 6y ago
    Of maybe the novelty wore off. Either way, we're all probably better off now that it has run its course.
    - yowlingcat 6y ago
      I think that's the case. And in a way, I think this echoes my original point -- how fickle it is when the the entire thing that makes your product desirable is a novelty that has no longevity!
      - DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
        It wasn't a new novelty though - besides PoW there was (and still is) plenty of classist and snobbish people-watching communities and their content, even on reddit - and it isn't anything new: "white trash" is an ancient term that's still in-use, and I don't think many people watch COPS for mundane police encounters.
        yowlingcat 6y ago
        Oh, for sure. I wonder where we can draw the line. I think that a flavor that is shared by Vice, COPS, PoW and its ilk is a gonzo journalism quality. And you know, now that you mention the classist, snobbish qualities to it, I think there's a key element I was missing in my original point: voyeurism. There's some really specific stuff going on in the way that a class observes the "trashy" mannerisms of a underclass, and it's necessarily veiled because discussion of it is deemed crude, base, or otherwise unbecoming of that class. Would you agree that there's an element of voyeurism there?

guevara 6y ago

He was the best part of Vice along with other early members. They used to have AMAZING stories and documentaries during his time. Afterwards, the company went straight to shit. Now, we're blessed with quality articles such as: 1)"Nintendo Switch's Joy-con Sync issue is Even worse if you put it in your butt" 2)"Three days of torture in a male chastity device" 3)"How to pick a chastity cage lock with a condom wrapper" 4)"Finally, a new emoji to mock men" I will be celebrating when Vice (along with BuzzFeed and Vox) file for bankruptcy.