The value of being a "hater"

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, News, Politics, News Commentary, Philosophy

4.6 • 10.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Guest host Rebecca Jennings talks with Justin Charity, cultural critic and senior staff writer at The Ringer, about what it means to be dubbed a "hater" on the internet. Rebecca and Justin talk about the role of criticism and the evolving ways in which critics and fans clash online. They discuss how a bad review (or a review seen as bad) can spark a far-ranging backlash, how the meme-ified cry of "let people enjoy things" has been taken from its original context, and what — if anything — might change the dynamics between fans and critics. Host: Rebecca Jennings (@rebexxxxa), senior correspondent, Vox Guest: Justin Charity, senior staff writer, The Ringer; co-host of the Sound Only podcast References: "'Hater' doesn't have to be a dirty word" by Rebecca Jennings (Vox; Jan. 18) "2022 Was the Year of the Metaverse — Until It Wasn't" by Justin Charity (The Ringer; Dec. 29, 2022) "Why Did Everyone Claim to Enjoy Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly'?" by Justin Charity (Complex; Nov. 3, 2015) "Jake Paul Exposed as $2.2M Serial Crypto Scammer" by Robert D. Knight & Levy Prata (Beincrypto; Mar. 8, 2022) "Taylor Swift Super Fans Are Furious About a Good Review" by Gita Jackson (Vice; July 31, 2020) "The YouTubers are not okay" by Rebecca Jennings (Vox; May 10, 2022) "How 'let people enjoy things' became a fight against criticism" by Constance Grady (Vox; May 16, 2019) The original "let people enjoy things" webcomic, by Adam Ellis (Feb. 3, 2016) "Like This or Die" by Christian Lorenzen (Harpers; Apr. 2019) @talialichtstein on TikTok "Meet the most obsessive Bill Simmons fans online" by Luke Winkie (The Outline; Jan. 2, 2020) Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by: Producer: Erikk Geannikis Engineer: Patrick Boyd Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for today's show comes from the financial times, or better known as the FT.
0:05.9	We are living in challenging times, and the FT wants to help you make sense of global
0:10.0	issues like geopolitics, global inflation, tech, climate change, and more.
0:15.8	The FT investigates them many different and sometimes unexpected ways that stories interconnect
0:21.0	and combine to impact your life and career.
0:24.2	Visit FT.com slash the gray area to read free articles and save 50% off in annual
0:29.7	digital subscription.
0:59.7	Here are some things that I don't like.
1:01.3	People who, instead of clapping with their hands, they clap by hitting a part of their
1:06.5	body.
1:07.5	They'll hit their leg.
1:08.5	People who text me without getting to the point, text, hey, and just wait for me to
1:12.3	what?
1:13.3	You need a truck that I'm here?
1:14.6	She might come across as a little annoyed here, but I talk to tell you for a piece I wrote
1:19.1	recently.
1:20.5	She's not trying to be mean, and it's not just that she's trying to be funny.
1:25.0	She's doing important work.
1:26.4	It went a bad thing happens to you and people say, oh my god, I can't even imagine.
1:30.9	That's literally like the only thing that you can do.
1:33.3	Talia, like all of us who spend too much time online, is surrounded by this relentless,
1:39.6	uncritical, boring, positivity that is sapping all the nuance and all the complexity out
	...

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