What I find wrong with Jim Sterling

[Farther than stars]

Why Jim Sterling doesn't work.

Please note, this isn't a hate-filled rant on Jimbo. I do realize that he's trying to do satire. I'm just trying to point out why it doesn't work.

So, a month or two ago, Jim Sterling rushed onto the Escapist with a herald of hisses and boos. Nobody liked him, and it was quite a while before anybody realized they were being trolled. Mission Accomplished, Sterling. You got everybody to hate you.

So aside from the cloud of hate hovering over his show, it seems that he's trying to fuse Zero Punctuation and Extra Credits. Cool, I like both shows and they both have content that I thouroughly enjoy.

What doesn't work... Is that he talks about difficult subjects in a very hostile manner. Generally speaking, people avoid difficult subjects, and when the speaker starts to become hostile about their work, peole are more inclined to rage back... Or ignore the speaker. In both instances, the audience generally doesn't listen enough to hear what you really have to say.

So while he has said that he encourages raging at his show (the ad says "get angry", after all), it seems to go against the whole concept of having a commentary on difficult subjects. When you talk about such things, you want people to listen, but when you get hostile, they don't listen. Especially when you get on your "holier than thou" horse.

But that's another issue for another time

I think you might find the word "defensive" more appropriate than "hostile"? Anyway, concerning that, I kind of haven't watched any of his shows since he did that thing where he creates that artsy-games character just to mock him. I already was only watching his show to see whether it was going to deliver any merrit at all (I was watching it for anthropological reasons, not because of its message) and then that was just the line in the sand for me.
An industry which already isn't being appreciated by mainstream media as an artform definitely can't do with people from "our side" mocking those who strive to promote its creativity, passion and innovation. What he is doing is just working counterproductively and gets the industry nowhere.
I'm sure he didn't mean to do that, but that's the point isn't it? Does he actually know what he's doing?

Oh and by the way. Welcome to the Escapist. Now, I think I should let you know that a thread like this is a little bit borderline as far as the forum rules go, so look out. Then again, I do know where you're coming form; I almost created an account myself to voice my dissatisfaction with Jim. But then I realised that his unrelentingly defensive and self-righteous characteristics mean that it is far more effective just to ignore him.

 

[Dogstile]

An industry which already isn't being appreciated by mainstream media as an artform definitely can't do with people from "our side" mocking those who strive to promote its creativity, passion and innovation. What he is doing is just working counterproductively and gets the industry nowhere.
I'm sure he didn't mean to do that, but that's the point isn't it? Does he actually know what he's doing?

This is something that really ticks me off.

You don't see any other medium, ANY OTHER, that has this argument. It doesn't make sense in the slightest. It reeks of self importance, it literally sounds like you're saying "you're not actively helping us? YOU MUST BE DESTROYING US!".

Its even more childish and petty than the mocking that Jim does (using satire, might I add). If there's anything that makes gamers look like whiney man children, its that argument.

OT:

I get that his humour is rather hit or miss, but that's the thing OP, its not for you. That hostile tone? The escapist hadn't tapped into that userbase yet and now they're actually doing so!

I don't see why people need to complain. Just don't watch it, the more controversy he generates, the more funding he gets.

 

[DiabloBub666]

If you can hear the message, then the tone doesn't matter.

 

[Zukhramm]

What doesn't work... Is that he talks about difficult subjects in a very hostile manner. Generally speaking, people avoid difficult subjects, and when the speaker starts to become hostile about their work, peole are more inclined to rage back... Or ignore the speaker. In both instances, the audience generally doesn't listen enough to hear what you really have to say.

I'm not so sure. I think plenty of people enjoying hearing about difficult subjects and especially someone being angry about them.

 

[Laser Priest]

I get that its a persona

[HEADING=2]But its a fucking bad one[/HEADING]

Persona's can be funny, like Stephen Colbert. Just as outrageous. Just as over the top. Just as unbelievable. But Stephen Colbert is LIKEABLE. Yeah, he's a douchebag, but he's also good looking, has a warm smile, and a golden laugh. His "better than you" attitude is still likeable.

Jim reminds me more of this guys from futurama

And that's not a fat joke.

Low class, immature, and downright disgusting.

Yahtzee does the whole "brilliant and superior" thing as well. But he does it with a sense of class. A sense that he deserves this, backed up by a unique taste in games. Jim is like the guy that claims transformer's sucks and that therefore makes him a genius. Jim just kinda tells us he's better, but for no specific reason. He's NOT clever, he's not unique, he's not even funny.

He's not even that offensive. He's just low class.


No, I'm not one of those "Escapist needs to be high brow" people. I can appreciate "low brow" humor. But he's not. He's just low class.

I was with you up until Yahtzee. I find Sterling to be a hell of a lot less annoying than Croshaw, probably because of how ridiculous he is.

 

[Farther than stars]

An industry which already isn't being appreciated by mainstream media as an artform definitely can't do with people from "our side" mocking those who strive to promote its creativity, passion and innovation. What he is doing is just working counterproductively and gets the industry nowhere.
I'm sure he didn't mean to do that, but that's the point isn't it? Does he actually know what he's doing?

This is something that really ticks me off.

You don't see any other medium, ANY OTHER, that has this argument. It doesn't make sense in the slightest. It reeks of self importance, it literally sounds like you're saying "you're not actively helping us? YOU MUST BE DESTROYING US!".

Its even more childish and petty than the mocking that Jim does (using satire, might I add). If there's anything that makes gamers look like whiney man children, its that argument.

OT:

I get that his humour is rather hit or miss, but that's the thing OP, its not for you. That hostile tone? The escapist hadn't tapped into that userbase yet and now they're actually doing so!

I don't see why people need to complain. Just don't watch it, the more controversy he generates, the more funding he gets.

I'm sorry, I should have made it clearer. I'm not saying he's "destroying us" because I concluded that out of him not actively helping us. No, I'm saying that he's actively destroying us.
Not actively helping us is technically equivalent to doing nothing, which I would be fine with. But harming the image of video games as an industry and with that same message encouraging his viewers to take a similar stance? Now that I view very much as active destruction.

 

[Amphoteric]

His attempts at humour almost never work. He also just annoys me in general...

 

[Pimppeter2]

I get that its a persona

[HEADING=2]But its a fucking bad one[/HEADING]

Persona's can be funny, like Stephen Colbert. Just as outrageous. Just as over the top. Just as unbelievable. But Stephen Colbert is LIKEABLE. Yeah, he's a douchebag, but he's also good looking, has a warm smile, and a golden laugh. His "better than you" attitude is still likeable.

Jim reminds me more of this guys from futurama

-snip-

And that's not a fat joke.

Low class, immature, and downright disgusting.

Yahtzee does the whole "brilliant and superior" thing as well. But he does it with a sense of class. A sense that he deserves this, backed up by a unique taste in games. Jim is like the guy that claims transformer's sucks and that therefore makes him a genius. Jim just kinda tells us he's better, but for no specific reason. He's NOT clever, he's not unique, he's not even funny.

He's not even that offensive. He's just low class.


No, I'm not one of those "Escapist needs to be high brow" people. I can appreciate "low brow" humor. But he's not. He's just low class.

I was with you up until Yahtzee. I find Sterling to be a hell of a lot less annoying than Croshaw, probably because of how ridiculous he is.

Hm, why do you think so?

I dislike when Yahtzee does his "superior bit" as well, but its not always as heavily dominant in the series as it is for The Jumquisition. Its more demure, unlike Jim who draws out how "awesome" he is. Despite having no reason to think of himself that way. Most of the time, its from a normal every day gamer standpoint. If a bit more snarky, nit picky, and mean. Jim just relies completely on it. Which I CANNOT stand.

I can forgive Yahtzee when he does it (because its not all the time) and Colbert as well (because its funny and its also not dominant) but Jim is one dimensional. He has no heatwarming cute moments like Colbert, or genuine reason to be self righteous like Yahtzee. He's not creative, he's not clever, and he's not controversial.

I've given the series a couple shots now, and each time I'm just left annoyed by his presentation than anything else. Croshaw may occasionally stick his nose in the air, but his comedy is (usually) decently clever and humorous, and his show is presentable. Jim is just... gah... he can't even speak into the fucking mike correctly, or speak without large uncomfortable gasps of air. Its just, its not professional. At all.

 

[Rabish Bini]

Nobody liked him

Who are you to tell me I didn't, or don't, like him. I've enjoyed his videos since the first one. Don't generalise your own opinion to others.

First line should read: "Why Jim Sterling doesn't work in my opinion.

There is nothing worse than having someone think that they can speak for you.

 

[Laser Priest]

I get that its a persona

[HEADING=2]But its a fucking bad one[/HEADING]

Persona's can be funny, like Stephen Colbert. Just as outrageous. Just as over the top. Just as unbelievable. But Stephen Colbert is LIKEABLE. Yeah, he's a douchebag, but he's also good looking, has a warm smile, and a golden laugh. His "better than you" attitude is still likeable.

Jim reminds me more of this guys from futurama

-snip-

And that's not a fat joke.

Low class, immature, and downright disgusting.

Yahtzee does the whole "brilliant and superior" thing as well. But he does it with a sense of class. A sense that he deserves this, backed up by a unique taste in games. Jim is like the guy that claims transformer's sucks and that therefore makes him a genius. Jim just kinda tells us he's better, but for no specific reason. He's NOT clever, he's not unique, he's not even funny.

He's not even that offensive. He's just low class.


No, I'm not one of those "Escapist needs to be high brow" people. I can appreciate "low brow" humor. But he's not. He's just low class.

I was with you up until Yahtzee. I find Sterling to be a hell of a lot less annoying than Croshaw, probably because of how ridiculous he is.

Hm, why do you think so?

I dislike when Yahtzee does his "superior bit" as well, but its not always as heavily dominant in the series as it is for The Jumquisition. Its more demure, unlike Jim who draws out how "awesome" he is. Despite having no reason to think of himself that way. Most of the time, its from a normal every day gamer standpoint. If a bit more snarky, nit picky, and mean. Jim just relies completely on it. Which I CANNOT stand.

I can forgive Yahtzee when he does it (because its not all the time) and Colbert as well (because its funny and its also not dominant) but Jim is one dimensional. He has no heatwarming cute moments like Colbert, or genuine reason to be self righteous like Yahtzee. He's not creative, he's not clever, and he's not controversial.

I've given the series a couple shots now, and each time I'm just left annoyed by his presentation than anything else. Croshaw may occasionally stick his nose in the air, but his comedy is (usually) decently clever and humorous, and his show is presentable. Jim is just... gah... he can't even speak into the fucking mike correctly, or speak without large uncomfortable gasps of air. Its just, its not professional. At all.

Well, I think of Mr. Croshaw as the single worst thing to happen to humour, so...

Frankly, I see Jim's ego as less irritating as it is so far over the top. Not particularly funny, but not nearly as annoying as Yahtzee.

 

[Pimppeter2]

I get that its a persona

[HEADING=2]But its a fucking bad one[/HEADING]

Persona's can be funny, like Stephen Colbert. Just as outrageous. Just as over the top. Just as unbelievable. But Stephen Colbert is LIKEABLE. Yeah, he's a douchebag, but he's also good looking, has a warm smile, and a golden laugh. His "better than you" attitude is still likeable.

Jim reminds me more of this guys from futurama

-snip-

And that's not a fat joke.

Low class, immature, and downright disgusting.

Yahtzee does the whole "brilliant and superior" thing as well. But he does it with a sense of class. A sense that he deserves this, backed up by a unique taste in games. Jim is like the guy that claims transformer's sucks and that therefore makes him a genius. Jim just kinda tells us he's better, but for no specific reason. He's NOT clever, he's not unique, he's not even funny.

He's not even that offensive. He's just low class.


No, I'm not one of those "Escapist needs to be high brow" people. I can appreciate "low brow" humor. But he's not. He's just low class.

I was with you up until Yahtzee. I find Sterling to be a hell of a lot less annoying than Croshaw, probably because of how ridiculous he is.

Hm, why do you think so?

I dislike when Yahtzee does his "superior bit" as well, but its not always as heavily dominant in the series as it is for The Jumquisition. Its more demure, unlike Jim who draws out how "awesome" he is. Despite having no reason to think of himself that way. Most of the time, its from a normal every day gamer standpoint. If a bit more snarky, nit picky, and mean. Jim just relies completely on it. Which I CANNOT stand.

I can forgive Yahtzee when he does it (because its not all the time) and Colbert as well (because its funny and its also not dominant) but Jim is one dimensional. He has no heatwarming cute moments like Colbert, or genuine reason to be self righteous like Yahtzee. He's not creative, he's not clever, and he's not controversial.

I've given the series a couple shots now, and each time I'm just left annoyed by his presentation than anything else. Croshaw may occasionally stick his nose in the air, but his comedy is (usually) decently clever and humorous, and his show is presentable. Jim is just... gah... he can't even speak into the fucking mike correctly, or speak without large uncomfortable gasps of air. Its just, its not professional. At all.

Well, I think of Mr. Croshaw as the single worst thing to happen to humour, so...

Frankly, I see Jim's ego as less irritating as it is so far over the top. Not particularly funny, but not nearly as annoying as Yahtzee.

Fair enough. I enjoy ZP, but I'm not a fanboy.

Care to go into it more. Just to satisfy my curiosity?

 

[VonBrewskie]

Why Jim Sterling doesn't work.

Please note, this isn't a hate-filled rant on Jimbo. I do realize that he's trying to do satire. I'm just trying to point out why it doesn't work.

So, a month or two ago, Jim Sterling rushed onto the Escapist with a herald of hisses and boos. Nobody liked him, and it was quite a while before anybody realized they were being trolled. Mission Accomplished, Sterling. You got everybody to hate you.

So aside from the cloud of hate hovering over his show, it seems that he's trying to fuse Zero Punctuation and Extra Credits. Cool, I like both shows and they both have content that I thouroughly enjoy.

What doesn't work... Is that he talks about difficult subjects in a very hostile manner. Generally speaking, people avoid difficult subjects, and when the speaker starts to become hostile about their work, peole are more inclined to rage back... Or ignore the speaker. In both instances, the audience generally doesn't listen enough to hear what you really have to say.

So while he has said that he encourages raging at his show (the ad says "get angry", after all), it seems to go against the whole concept of having a commentary on difficult subjects. When you talk about such things, you want people to listen, but when you get hostile, they don't listen. Especially when you get on your "holier than thou" horse.

But that's another issue for another time

I can't stand the guy's persona. It's as bad a persona as the one Bill O'Riley uses on FOX news. I force myself to periodically watch FOX so I can see what the "other side" will be spewing at me later. I watched Jim's show in the same spirit. I was pleased to discover that, unlike O'Riley, once you get past Jim's blustering nonsense, he's actually very intelligent. I understand he's a fixture on some other gaming sites too. I don't know. I kind of wish he would just drop the crap and go with his own intellect. It's obviously strong enough to carry the show.

 

[LobsterFeng]

Another extreme example is the guy behind the Red Letter Media reviews on youtube (the Star Wars ones are incredible, I highly recommend them. That is clearly a persona and an abhorrent one at that, but he manages to be entertaining and respect his viewer.

Haha, I love Plinkett so much. What makes him great is he puts on the persona of a psychotic serial killer. And the fact that you're agreeing with a psychotic serial killer shows how bad the movie really is.

OT: Jim brings up interesting points sometimes and I sometimes agree admittedly. But I usually always find at least one counterargument to his points. For example: In his Nintendo of America video, he gave a graph about how Japanese games sell more copies in America, but he never seemed to take into account that America obviously has a much larger population than Japan. I agree with everything else he said about Nintendo of America though.

EDIT: "usually always"... I question my own grammar sometimes.

 

[Farther than stars]

Nobody liked him

Who are you to tell me I didn't, or don't, like him. I've enjoyed his videos since the first one. Don't generalise your own opinion to others.

First line should read: "Why Jim Sterling doesn't work in my opinion.

There is nothing worse than having someone think that they can speak for you.

That made me laugh.
You know? Speaking of generalisations, "There is nothing worse"; think about that again for a minute. ;P
My point is, the "in my opinion" is implied and the literation is just adapted to be more attractive stylistically speaking. The same goes for "nobody liked him". The communis opinio is commonly used to make a message more concise, if not 100% accurate.

 

[Thaius]

I agree with the OP on pretty much everything. I was really upset that Jim got to the Nintendo stuff before Extra Credits: he made some good points, but no one will listen to him because of his persona. Had Extra Credits done it, it might have actually been listened to and considered, but not like this.

 

[Aeokirr]

I especially enjoy news that pisses people off. Because i like people to find out that no, the entire world doesn't agree with you. And frankly, i dislike dancing around subjects and i do like it when people get to the point. I also hate when people don't say things for fear of offending(and no, i dont mean blatant trolling or racism or sexism or whatever isms people are going to radicalize to attempt to invalidate this point). I enjoy the subjects of his 'quisitions, and the way he goes about it.

As for the unprofessional part, so the fuck what. Thats like graphics vs gameplay in games.

 

[hotsauceman]

The whole problem i find with him is he all seems so fake and just not funny. Yahtzees persona of some self absorption is funny. Jim just seems sad and to disgusting. Not to mention he switches in his videos. At one point he is joking then he is all serious. No cohesiveness in his videos at all. While some of his points are true he just seems behind the curve on ALOT of subjects.

 

[Jumplion]

I dislike when Yahtzee does his "superior bit" as well, but its not always as heavily dominant in the series as it is for The Jumquisition. Its more demure, unlike Jim who draws out how "awesome" he is. Despite having no reason to think of himself that way. Most of the time, its from a normal every day gamer standpoint. If a bit more snarky, nit picky, and mean. Jim just relies completely on it. Which I CANNOT stand.

I can forgive Yahtzee when he does it (because its not all the time) and Colbert as well (because its funny and its also not dominant) but Jim is one dimensional. He has no heatwarming cute moments like Colbert, or genuine reason to be self righteous like Yahtzee. He's not creative, he's not clever, and he's not controversial.

I've given the series a couple shots now, and each time I'm just left annoyed by his presentation than anything else. Croshaw may occasionally stick his nose in the air, but his comedy is (usually) decently clever and humorous, and his show is presentable. Jim is just... gah... he can't even speak into the fucking mike correctly, or speak without large uncomfortable gasps of air. Its just, its not professional. At all.

I think the thing about Yahtzee and Colbert that I find more enjoyable than Sterling is that even though they go on to be all haughty and self righteous, they also make fun of themselves every once in a while. Yahtzee does the whole snarky thing, but he makes fun of himself and his whole personality all the time (he's made more than a few cracks at his "less-than-adequate" bedroom shenanigans). Guys like Colbert are parodies in themselves and they know it. Sterling doesn't really have that charm to him. Whenever he does that "Thank God for me" line it comes off like it's from an arrogant prick rather than a loveable narcissist.

I don't really hate Sterling, though he hasn't completely grown on me. While I get that it's in his whole persona, the persona doesn't work in places and it just comes off as a desperate attempt to start up controversy to rake in the views. As you said, I'm not against low-brow humor, but this is really just low-class.

 

[Rabish Bini]

Nobody liked him

Who are you to tell me I didn't, or don't, like him. I've enjoyed his videos since the first one. Don't generalise your own opinion to others.

First line should read: "Why Jim Sterling doesn't work in my opinion.

There is nothing worse than having someone think that they can speak for you.

That made me laugh.

I try

You know? Speaking of generalisations, "There is nothing worse"; think about that again for a minute. ;P

...shit, you got me there

My point is, the "in my opinion" is implied and the literation is just adapted to be more attractive stylistically speaking. The same goes for "nobody liked him". The communis opinio is commonly used to make a message more concise, if not 100% accurate.

To me, it seemed more like he was forcing his opinion down my throat, like I should everyone should have the same opinion as him, rather than explaining to me why he doesn't like Jim.