Film Theory: They Missed the Point (Try Guys Drama)

That's par for the course. We don't have any respect here. The real, much bigger problem with all of this and the real reason I had to sit on this couch was because both outlets horribly mishandled the core issue that led to Ned's ouster in the first place. The entire controversy leading up to this is framed simply as "Ned Fulmer sharing a consensual kiss and not telling his best friends." And let me be very clear about this, because no media outlets seem to grasp this concept. The Try Guys are not a group of friends. They're not just hanging out, making some videos for the lols on the weekend.

They are a legal and financial set of business partners who own and operate a very successful and popular media company. They have legal and fiduciary responsibilities to each other and, more importantly, to their employees, which, in layman's terms, for all the mainstream media writers who are simply overlooked by this means

they

are obligated to put the good of the company. group and the company ahead of individuals, not only because of morality, but because in a company with several owners, there is a legal requirement. Many people have affairs. Many people have open marriages. Frankly, we don't know the details of that relationship.

And guess what? Who cares? We don't need to know. However, Saturday Night Live makes it seem like breaking ties with Ned was an act of revenge by abandoned friends. But the truth is, workplace romances are not the office meet-cute circa 2004. As a business owner, a secret relationship between boss, dates, and employee is inappropriate in its power dynamic. But beyond that, if you don't even want to go that far, it presents a huge legal liability for everyone working inside that building. And if you're a homeowner who knows this and chooses to do nothing about it, guess what you're responsible for, too?

If that relationship ends badly, it is at best a wrongful termination claim and at worst a sexual misconduct claim. Now, you don't need to know the details of those two things, but the

point

is that one can easily bankrupt the company and put dozens of innocent employees out of work. So, as a responsible business owner, you simply cut your losses and put that employee, that offending employee, Ned, out of a job. It's mathematics, not intrigue. It's ethical and it's good business. However, the Saturday Night Live sketch not only attempts to clumsily diminish this relationship as a kiss between coworkers instead of what it really was; a   long-term relationship between boss and employee.

He then goes on to do what offends me the most: portraying Eugene, Zach, and Keith as angry, betrayed friends. Unlike what

they

really were. Angry and betrayed business owners trying to do the right thing. The New York Times article actually goes further and says that the Try Guys have to be so miserable that they have to keep lying to their fans and maintaining this facade. But Ned must be happy to have escaped. He took off his mask and survives to live another day. And you see, that's the strangest thing I can't understand with all this coverage.

You know who didn't get blame in any of these examples? Ned Fulmer In both pieces, it's the three remaining

guys

left on the couch who seem to be wrong. They are the overly

drama

tic, angry divas who expel their friend for pettiness. No, no mention of legally endangering the company. There are no references to making their co-founders implied accomplices, no talk of predatory behavior in the workplace, or how the entertainment industry has this huge problem with sexual misconduct. There's no mention of how Ned built his professional brand, all about being a loyal family man, and undermining that brand in a way that jeopardized the livelihood of literally everyone in the business around him.

I mean, those would all be very valid and important conclusions from the situation. Why not mention any of that? Why would you try to vilify people sitting on the couch trying to do the right thing? Well, it's because if outlets like SNL decided to talk about it, they could draw attention to the fact that Saturday Night Live has been accused of having a somewhat sexist culture against women during the '90s and 2000s. It's not a big joke. when it comes to you, hmmm SNL? For example, a woman was allegedly summoned to a producer's office and shown inappropriate photographs of him.

Other interns have supposedly been taken to after parties where, you know, you can use your imagination to figure out what's going on there. They are serious accusations. And this is literally just the tip of the iceberg in some cases. Lawsuits have also named SNL creator Lorne Michaels and former cast members such as Tracy Jordan and Jimmy Fallon, alleging that they were aware of this misconduct and enabled it in one form or another. Saturday Night Live has had these problems for decades and never have its owners or creators publicly addressed the audience to take any kind of responsibility.

Instead, you get sketches like this. Talk about things that haven't aged too well. It's no wonder they're making fun of the kids on the couch, because if they didn't, they'd have to admit that their own story has a lot more scandal and a lot less integrity than that of a bunch of "YouTube pranksters." .” And you see, that's what has made me so frustrated with all of this. That's what made me sit on the couch to do this episode. Everyone keeps

point

ing to the video the Try Guys made on the couch as if it were some kind of overreaction, some kind of over

drama

tization.

It was not. If anything, that sort of thing should be the new norm. It represents a generation of media companies that are trying to do better, to be better, that are unwilling to sweep scandals under the rug. Business owners who stay transparent and take real, meaningful action when someone crosses the line, no matter how high up they are in the company. You shouldn't make fun of Keith, Zach and Eugene. You should follow his example. At the end of the day, this isn't some strange fluke of the news cycle or some strange childhood obsession. This is the new generation of entertainment media companies that put their money where their mouth is.

Who are able to swallow their pride, admit their mistakes or those of their employees and then sit on the couch to have serious conversations when necessary. And from this couch, I have to say it looks like we're headed in the right direction. But hey, that's just the

theory

! A FILM THEORY! aaaaaand cut.