Dan & Phil Part 36: Wholesome Howell and AmazingPhlegm

[malday]

The loud overreactions were kind of cringy to me, especially to the choking video knowing it's not the first time he's seen it.

eta: sorry for topping the page with a complaint.

[confusedpanda]

also, I hate to be the one to say it, but his reaction to the choking kink between him and Phil was kind of cringe. Not really an anti-phan moment but more so an anti-kink moment that he found weird between him and Phil and it was kind of weird. Less to do with them overall, more so to do with him and Phil on his channel. Again, hilarious how Phil was basically Beyonce'd, he needed no introduction, just showed up, made a significant supporting role in the production (and if this was the Oscars would have won while Dan was snubbed for all his screaming )

this summed up how I felt about that part. I wasn't really sure how to explain it because it just felt weird to much but it summed it up very well.
Overall though, the video was really entertaining. It was a nice look back at a few things from last year. While it wasn't the best thing ever and didn't really have as many memes as last years, it was quite funny. I can't believe he was actually almost crying at the end, dear god. and I did love how Phil needs no explaination anymore. Makes me wonder what new comers must think of who Phil is if this is their first dan video they've ever watched. I bet they are quite confused as to why he's mentioning this random person named Phil constantly till the end of the video.

[000dia000]

The loud overreactions were kind of cringy to me, especially to the choking video knowing it's not the first time he's seen it.

http://pseudophan.tumblr.com/post/15457 ... e-me-daddy
http://www.tumblr.com/liked/by/danisnotonfire
It's in his likes from months ago ffs that wasn't his first-time reaction what a surprise

[papierklemmen]

i'm still not a fan of dan's overexaggerated delivery, but i found the video funny (and cringed a lot). i still insist that very few of those could be considered memes... but w/e i think he used the word loosely in this case. it was more like "a trip down 2016 memory lane in moments when people made fun of me".
lolz @ him discarding the choking kink, i'm sure all the breathplay fic writers are disappointed right now. about his reaction to the video - i didn't find it weird. i'd seen the video before too and it's not even featuring me or my friend, but i still had to look away and cringe because i felt so much secondhand embarrassment. but yeah, none of his reactions are "live", he'd seen most of the stuff before and had to compile it for the video too.

[rizzo]

I'm trying to form my opinion of this video, but it's tough, so forgive me for this word vomit.

I love Dan. I love a lot of what Dan does. I love that he appreciates the fan culture around the fandom, but I.... I do not love this video. A lot of the chosen memes felt like they were reaching and almost every single one of his reactions were over-acted and obnoxious... and loud. All of that made for this video feeling too unnecessarily long and a very genuine cringe-fest for me.

Also, while in 2015 I felt like I had seen a lot of the Dan memes circulate through the Phandom, these were all mostly made exclusively for the video, which just made it all a lot less sincere? (Maybe this is just me.)

Things I loved and/or found interesting:

• Dan has mild agraphobia. Hm.
• The evolution of Phan dabbing. That was cute and I loved getting reminded of it.
• The cut to the bamboo leaves clarification had me rolling.
• Acknowledgement of him beating Kanye was A+++
• Shout-out to Hector!!
• "Now that last year's crazy adventure is finally over, I'm looking actually quite forward to spending quality time with you here." More frequent vids???

I still very much loved getting a Dan video and whatever, I'll accept unnecessary bants if it means 23 minutes of him on his main channel.

[lurker]

i was a bit wary of the video, but i liked it, it made me laugh out loud several times. i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they? of course a meme video is not the place for nostalgic recapitulation (although i feel like the video was actually nostalgic in some way), but at a few instances i feel like it could have been a bit less. however that was made up for by the genuine cringe and actual tears at the end i suppose. last year's video was more of a surprise for me because i hadn't actually seen the memes, but i think while i liked last year's as well, i thought this year's was funnier. it made me laugh, i'm happy, thanks daniel.

re: the choking part, i personally didn't feel at all like it was particularly weird on phil's behalf. the reaction was ingenuine because he didn't see the video for the first time, not only did he like it on tumblr, he also commented "what great community content!". but i mean, he probably saw most of these floating around, and i personally think the format would lose part of its appeal if it were presented in a "now to the next thing that you can find in my tumblr likes because while it's weird as heck, it's also genuinely funny" way, because it would probably result in the video taking itself more seriously. but i'd be interested in hearing other opinions on that.

[alittledizzy]

On first watch, not my favorite video. He seemed too genuinely unhappy with some of the things that were mocked by phandom (weed shirt, peace signs) and overacted responses to some others.

But there were moments that made me smile. Not laugh, so much, but I appreciated the ones that Dan seemed more actually amused by. I sort of wish he'd ditched the formula of last year's and just done a whole video of actual memes applied to them, I can see him thinking those are genuinely funny.

Also: not sure how much more clear he can make it that he is not joking about the furry thing.

i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they?

I had the same reaction, but I think this is just another example of Dan having a laser focus on the negative things sometimes to the exclusion of positive. I feel sure in the moment he reads nice tweets he genuinely understands the meaning behind them but three months later the ones he remembers are the ones that made him feel self-conscious or bad.

[rizzo]

i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they?

I had the same reaction, but I think this is just another example of Dan having a laser focus on the negative things sometimes to the exclusion of positive. I feel sure in the moment he reads nice tweets he genuinely understands the meaning behind them but three months later the ones he remembers are the ones that made him feel self-conscious or bad.

While generally, I agree with this and definitely think Dan is this way, I think in this context that's not the case. I'm sure he saw everyone get emotional over the BONCAs and it probably stands out more, but "all you guys cared about was how sweet Phil was" doesn't quite fit the tone of the video and it's not what Hector painted either. IMO, that part of this vid was him reaching for something more meme-y just to include the BONCAs in it. Plus I don't think he particularly regrets that suit, but that's just my POV.

[SquishPhan]

I liked this video, but didn't like it as much as the one from last year.
Somehow it came across as less genuine, which made it less enjoyable for me. Though there were still a few moments that made me laugh; such as the email from Janice.

[MoonPride]

I enjoyed the video but the over reaction to the kink video was annoying esp as he had seen it before. Also found him very shouty at times.

[000dia000]

i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they?

I had the same reaction, but I think this is just another example of Dan having a laser focus on the negative things sometimes to the exclusion of positive. I feel sure in the moment he reads nice tweets he genuinely understands the meaning behind them but three months later the ones he remembers are the ones that made him feel self-conscious or bad.

While generally, I agree with this and definitely think Dan is this way, I think in this context that's not the case. I'm sure he saw everyone get emotional over the BONCAs and it probably stands out more, but "all you guys cared about was how sweet Phil was" doesn't quite fit the tone of the video and it's not what Hector painted either. IMO, that part of this vid was him reaching for something more meme-y just to include the BONCAs in it. Plus I don't think he particularly regrets that suit, but that's just my POV.

Yeah, I felt that Dan painted a very "woe is me" kind of tone for the video, for the sake of entertainment and comedy, and I noticed a few confused casuals who felt that Dan was genuinely upset about this year. I feel as if this person has missed a lot of significant context such as Dan expressing genuine happiness about the response to TATINOF and the BONCAS etc, missed things like him crying on stage, sappy tweets, actual moments from the documentary that showed how much Dan actually appreciated the last year? But yeah, this doesn't really suit the approach he was going for, nor the content he was trying to make.

I found as well that there were a lot more genuine "memes" that came out of 2016 that featured a lot more in the video, but those of which was more phan related such as "wtf even is your sexuality", "I spent the majority of 2016 with another person..." (Phil, but you know what I mean) and the infamous and unmentionable bedgate. If these were included, this would have projected a much different tone for the video, some of these demanding context he would have not been able to provide to a casual audience, and may go beyond his comfort zones.

[malday]

i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they?

I had the same reaction, but I think this is just another example of Dan having a laser focus on the negative things sometimes to the exclusion of positive. I feel sure in the moment he reads nice tweets he genuinely understands the meaning behind them but three months later the ones he remembers are the ones that made him feel self-conscious or bad.

Why would people focusing on the disco-suit make him feel bad or self-conscious when he said he chose the most obnoxious suit on purpose?
He was clearly being facetious.

[alittledizzy]

i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they?

I had the same reaction, but I think this is just another example of Dan having a laser focus on the negative things sometimes to the exclusion of positive. I feel sure in the moment he reads nice tweets he genuinely understands the meaning behind them but three months later the ones he remembers are the ones that made him feel self-conscious or bad.

Why would people focusing on the disco-suit make him feel bad or self-conscious when he said he chose the most obnoxious suit on purpose?
He was clearly being facetious.

His point was that people cared about the suit more than the awards they got. Just like he made the point that people cared about walking more than the documentary, or that people cared about Danger Men at Work more than TATINOF. And yeah, there's definitely some level of being facetious, but I think it's not a stretch to say that a lot of Dan's jokes are rooted in truths or at least things as he sees them.

[pilotlight]

Overall I genuinely enjoyed the video and it did make me laugh, but I felt the same way about the overreactions. Bit much, and I did find myself quickly trying to lower the volume a few times. It might just be because he's already seen the material repeatedly over the course of the year and is trying to show a bigger reaction for the sake of the video, but I think less would've been more in this case.
It was a nice recap of the past year though, and some of the earlier memes were genuinely new to me. Like, I knew about his potato sack jumper (I actually like it on him) but hadn't saw the edits of him as a literal potato. I don't even know why that strikes me as particularly funny, honestly, but it did.
I also definitely wasn't expecting the video to be 20+ minutes, so that was kinda a nice surprise (or less nice if you weren't a fan of it, I guess).

[Amiaw]

I liked the video but it's not one of rewatch. Last years meme video was genuinely funny and he seemed more genuinely amused- this years didn't leave the same impression.

It's strange because if I didn't watch his live shows, read this forum, and follow his twitter I probably would have thought that last year was a stressful, upsetting time judging by the tone of the video and the memes/moments he chose to comment on (also the "crying" that happened after hello internet/subtle rubbing/jabbing of his eyes)

BUT since I am a person who sees the liked tumblr posts, the "fond" moments, the comments about how great last year was- this video was meh because it was very "on brand" and less the Dan Howell we've been seeing since Mid-last year. I wish he would drop the persona just a little but if he's not going to do that on Danisnotonfire, Then I'm glad that both he and Phil are so committed to the gaming channel because at least there we get more "Dan" and less dinof.

Also- it's been mentioned but loved the "our" and "we" comments sprinkled through the video - and I was actually surprised that he didn't make any comments that could lead to another #bedgate moment (although given the last few months I should give him more credit)

[pastelspectre]

i actually quite liked his new video! i found it a little..cringe at times that he shouted and stuff, esp at the choking video bc i knew he had seen it before but other than that i quite liked the video! i will admit i enjoyed last years more but, this one was still cool too.

[pearshaped34]

I liked the video but I agree with others some of them were questionable "memes". It was more like a round-up of the little thing his fans made fun of him for that year/things they did that made him cringe.
Ultimately though I did find I liked the actual video more then I liked the idea of it and I'm glad DINOF is back in action and hope it continues.

i sometimes had to roll my eyes a bit at dan for all the "obviously all you guys cared about was this thing", especially with the disco ball suit / the boncas, because, no dan, most people were genuinely emotional over the boncas or happy for you guys, weren't they?

Yeah the BONAS suit was an odd inclusion because people actually *really* cared about their awards and the things they said accepting them far more then anybody did his admittedly jazzy suit.
Plus feel like you wear a suit like that to an awards show so people will comment on it. Whereas the potato sack and "weed" jumpers are probably genuine articles of clothing he liked and bought for his day to day wardrobe not expecting the fans to turn them into big jokes. That suit on the other he bought expecting it to be talked about. Nobody wears that to blend into the crowds.
And a lot of the suit talk was positive because while most people thought it was a ridiculous item of clothing in general they accepted for the event it was perfectly acceptable attire and most thought he looked good in it overall.

i'm sure all the breathplay fic writers are disappointed right now. about his reaction to the video - i didn't find it weird. i'd seen the video before too and it's not even featuring me or my friend, but i still had to look away and cringe because i felt so much secondhand embarrassment.

Yeah I agree. Generally Dan's go-to reaction to anything in a video is to go big so his reaction is always going to be a little OTT but I don't think the fact his seen it before means he should be able to watch it without cringing. There are certain things that even after multiple attempts and years passing I still can't watch without cringing. Sometimes that feeling never goes away.

[secretagentphan]

Because of Dan's self-deprecating attitude I went on tumblr and just got hit by a WALL of "Be nice to Dan !!! You're bullying him and hurting his feelings with memes!1!" Like.... cmon man, he's 25. I find it baffling how these people enjoy/watch Dan while not getting his sense of humor at all.

[Sakura Selfie]

I quite liked that video, but I think I've been so spoilt by gamingmas and then what felt like an eternity until phil uploaded that I'd take anything. I love that he gave shitty watercolour a shoutout that was nice of him, and being unfollowed by Pete wentz clearly has upset him bless him, I wonder how many times he's sniped at phil about that

Mildly OT: what is that gold statue next to the fireplace? I've never noticed that before?

[alittledizzy]

Because of Dan's self-deprecating attitude I went on tumblr and just got hit by a WALL of "Be nice to Dan !!! You're bullying him and hurting his feelings with memes!1!" Like.... cmon man, he's 25. I find it baffling how these people enjoy/watch Dan while not getting his sense of humor at all.

Ehhh I kind of feel like you need a middle ground with that attitude. Yeah, everything Dan says shouldn't be taken at 100% sincerity, but on the other hand - him being 25 and having a sarcastic sense of humor doesn't mean it's open grounds to mercilessly mock anything that he might be proud of, or anything he might express he has issues with. I think phandom sometimes a problem not understanding the difference in "sarcastic" or "roasting" and "actually just mean."

[coffeepenguin]

On first watch, not my favorite video. He seemed too genuinely unhappy with some of the things that were mocked by phandom (weed shirt, peace signs) and overacted responses to some others.

this I've rewatched the last year's meme video too many times to count, but don't think I'll be rewatching this one. And this kinda attitude "you only care about stupid things" frankly seems a bit strange to me at this stage? Like, remember when people were upset about "questions" were sent to for PINOF 8, I'd understood it then, but Deppy seemed to handle it well, Dan especially seemed quite happy afterwards with bloopers and stuff, and then Gamingmas happened with all its relaxed attitude...

I agree that Dan's just often a negative person in general, but I wonder what triggered it this time. Is it a reaction to the Gamingmas "you're here for the eye contact" thing? But he was OK with it in December and they continue to promote it as a thing they both are genuinely proud of. Or is it about the #busgate that he saw while preparing the video? Only speculation at this point. Also, I didn't find Dan's reaction to the choking thing particularly cringe either, it just seemed very OTT and like he wasn't maybe even watching the video at the time, just acting. His face is too expressive really, I wonder what his genuine reaction is while watching phan edits and gifs (throwback to one of the tumblr tag videos and Dan's prissy!face at the drawing of them kissing at the radio station)

Lost it at the furry thing, though

[secretagentphan]

Because of Dan's self-deprecating attitude I went on tumblr and just got hit by a WALL of "Be nice to Dan !!! You're bullying him and hurting his feelings with memes!1!" Like.... cmon man, he's 25. I find it baffling how these people enjoy/watch Dan while not getting his sense of humor at all.

Ehhh I kind of feel like you need a middle ground with that attitude. Yeah, everything Dan says shouldn't be taken at 100% sincerity, but on the other hand - him being 25 and having a sarcastic sense of humor doesn't mean it's open grounds to mercilessly mock anything that he might be proud of, or anything he might express he has issues with. I think phandom sometimes a problem not understanding the difference in "sarcastic" or "roasting" and "actually just mean."

That's actually very true, I find myself thinking they go too far with a lot of "jokes" and I worded that post badly/didn't think it through. I feel like it's weird to think he wasn't okay with anything in the video though considering his reactions were clearly campy and he put it in a video. I agree though the Phandom's teasing with Dan gets too much sometimes, and I shouldn't of used age and sarcasm as signs he was cool with it. (I have a tension headache from TMJ and it is very apparent I was in pain while writing my last post and way too grouchy lol sorry)

[misakichan274]

I laughed aloud at more than a few parts during this video and found it entertaining over all. While I do think the reactions were a bit exaggerated, Dan does tend to be loud and dramatic in general
What I did notice was that like last year's video, rather than actually compile only the funny memes and shitposts of the year, it served more like a lookback upon the happenings of the year (but more comedic than emotional/genuine). He did say he'd rather do this than be genuinely open about his feelings (and the fandom does make it easier for him to revert to self-deprecation, to an extreme extent )
The BONCAs and the TATINOF bits stood out as where despite being aware of what the audience did go crazy about, he chose to pick upon the troll aspect on purpose. As some of you mentioned earlier, for someone who hasn't seen their tweets, live shows etc wouldn't know of his genuine heartfelt reactions but would instead become informed of the funny aspects only now and find it hilarious (re, the choking vid, I imagine seeing it for the first time must have been hilarious/appalling) and he might have aimed for that towards the broader audience.
Speaking of, I loved and on my second watch was pleasantly surprised at the 'we', 'us' and Phil mentions constantly and so casually considering how scripted the rest of his speech seemed to be Also, the teen magazine bits cracked me up as I hadn't seen them before
All in all, while I did not love this ( as much as a casual viewer with little previous knowledge might), it still made me laugh and quench my thirst for content for now

[secretagentphan]

okay I actually fully watched the video and now I feel extra guilty for how I expressed myself a few posts ago because Dan admitted to having social anxiety and mild agoraphobia both of which I can relate to. Even though I think he can laugh things off I know how much that sucks

[coffeepenguin]

I had this in my drafts for a while, but as I de-lurked for once and we are talking about potentially hurtful fannish behaviour and not knowing the difference between sarcasm and being mean, I though I'd bring it up.

I read an article some time ago about how using different languages affects our moral judgement and it turns out, when we use a foreign language, we tend to make decisions more based on rational thinking, than on our morals (here's the article if someone's interested https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... -language/), which got me thinking about invasive and mean fan stuff. Like, it seems less serious when it's not in our native language ? I also think that English has been somehow "sterilized" on the Internet where it's used by non-native speakers a lot, so that might explain, together with their young age, why many fans don't really empathize with their faves and do things that can be even viewed as harassment.

About the video: just remembered another thing that stood out to me, Dan's comment about sniffing crack off someone's arse, is it a promise of more adult-like rebranding? A girl can hope (only partly joking)