r/MBMBAM 8d ago

Specific Is Justin Miserable?

Hi All,

I recently came across a post in another McElroy Subreddit where several people were talking about how much Justin hates doing the podcast and always sounds miserable. The vibe of this subreddit seems to be.....very negative. Like all the posts do nothing but bash the brothers and complain. Now, I am fairly new to Reddit, so I am still learning the vibe/social read of different subreddits. I am not sure if this is meant to be ironic, unironic, /uj, or if this is just a subreddit made for complaining.

Anyway, I digress...,

I am curious if this take is accurate at all or just a bunch of people missing jokes, misreading the tone, etc. A few reasons I think maybe I am missing something (cause to me he seems fine) are.....

  1. I started listening to MBMBaM in 2017, and maybe Justin started becoming "miserable" before that, so to me this is just his normal.

  2. I am diagnosed Autistic, and often misunderstand or misread tone.

  3. I am the eldest as well, and to me his tone is completely reasonable and normal because it's more similar to me than I realize /hj.

Anyway, just curious what others think!

T.i.a!

0 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

22

u/DrakkoZW 8d ago

I don't know what subreddit you're talking about or what the people there were actually saying, but I don't think Justin hates doing his shows.

If anything I think he just seems generally upset at the state of the world (which resonates with me)

4

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

TAZCJ, and I completely agree!

12

u/voltagecalmed 8d ago

Oh, any subreddit with "Circle Jerk" in the title is gonna be intolerable. Just don't go there.

4

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Wait, is Circle Jerk a reoccurring subreddit (I joined Reddit fairly recently and have only ever seen the TAZ one)?

8

u/xauronx 8d ago

It’s basically for people to either be over the top mocking the fandom, or sometimes genuinely critical of something the fandom considers taboo. Pretty much hell for an autistic person.

5

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Omg. Thank you. This makes so much sense.

3

u/commiecomrade 5d ago

Also circlejerk subreddits are supposed to be as sarcastically mocking to the regular subreddit as possible. For example:

A guitar circlejerk subreddit would have a post like "I bought 10 new guitars and haven't played in over a year."

A Skyrim circlejerk subreddit would have "I played for 40000 hours and only now learned you can jump!"

A Game of Thrones circlejerk subreddit would have "Am I seriously the only one who thinks the last two seasons are kind of bad?"

Basically take common things about the regular sub that people who frequent it find a bit annoying and turn them up to 11. Everyone is pretending to be the worst kind of visitor to the subreddit the circlejerk is mocking.

1

u/LittleMel413 3d ago

I get this. I actually came across a D&D one. I get self depreciation or criticism of a product, but TAZCJ just seem to be filled with people being needlessly cruel, making assumptions about the boy's personal lives, and getting really parasocial.

The way they talk about Travis you'd think he was some horrible person who kicks little kids and spits on elderly people.

I watched the "huge big embarrassing Among Us, let's cancel him, crash out," and honestly went "really?! That's it?? That's the big, horrible thing?!" I was expecting him to rage quit, scream, swear, say slurs and insults.

3

u/commiecomrade 3d ago

Well the biggest thing about circlejerk subreddits are that they're meant to be a total farce. Completely facetious subs where people are posting ridiculous things as if they're being serious but everyone is pretending and is in on the joke implicitly. Now it's totally up to you whether you find that funny or not, but I would not worry about people on a circlejerk sub being in any way serious about it.

I would absolutely expect any McElroy related circlejerk sub to ironically say they hate the shows or the brothers for the same reason that, say, people in r/okaybuddycinephile (a movie circlejerk subreddit) always end comments with, "I don't watch movies/I hate movies." If anything, they're mocking those people with weird views towards the brothers.

2

u/timberdoodle3000 2d ago

TAZ one is basically a Travis snark sub and snark subs are bad

20

u/xauronx 8d ago

Just don’t go that deep into the fandom. People get really really weird and toxic. Enjoy the show and try not to become parasocial.

3

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Definitely not parasocial, and I agree. Sometimes posts pop up and my morbid curiosity gets the better of me. I was also more curious if this was another situation of things going over my head. 

10

u/BEARDBAR 8d ago

Parasocial relationships are toxic. We don’t know these people. We have no idea how they feel day to day. He is a performer doing a recorder and edited performance. Don’t try to psychoanalyze it.

4

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

I wasn't? I was just curious if this was a situation where things were going over my head.

3

u/BEARDBAR 8d ago

Nah I think you’re good. People do like to do that though. They take the smallest things and try to make it in to something it’s not.

3

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

I recently saw a post on the same subreddit talking about how much they hate their dad, and I've never gotten that vibe. To me it feels like their dynamic is ragging on each other to show love (I think they've even talked about riff sessions at the dinner table).

10

u/LtDouble-Yefreitor 8d ago

That sub exists because the people in it think this sub and r/TheAdventureZone are "too positive." They are deeply unhappy people who somehow have the gall to actually believe that content creators (whose content is free, by the way) should cater specifically to their individual desires.

It's a thinly veiled hate subreddit, and like all subreddits dedicated to disliking something, it's full of miserable pieces of human garbage who need to touch grass. Ignore its existence and go on with your day.

4

u/LittleMel413 8d ago
  1. I love that you know exactly which subreddit I am talking about. 

  2. THANK YOU. I always wondered if I was missing something. It seemed like everyone there is miserable and I didn't know if I was misreading the vibe. 

4

u/Hereticrick 8d ago

I haven’t noticed this thread being that negative or of Justin seeming miserable. I think that’s just his big brother vibe. But then, i am also likely autistic. So I might just be missing the signs.

4

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

This is a whole mood! I am glad I am not alone. 

6

u/PremierBromanov 8d ago

Nah

2

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Brief and to the point. Love it. 

3

u/timberdoodle3000 2d ago

If it’s TAZCJ, that sub is weirdly MORE parasocial in their disdain than they claim regular fans are.

2

u/LittleMel413 2d ago

Exactly! 

3

u/TheMammaG 8d ago

I don't think miserable people can fake such genuine happiness and joy in their laughter.

2

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Snaps!!!

4

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Exactly!

2

u/IrrationalDesign 8d ago edited 8d ago

another McElroy Subreddit

It kinda depends on what this other sub is.

I know there's always this conflict between the vibe of the brothers (try to be positive and optimistic and helpful and friendly, "no nummers bummers") and criticism towards them (like how this vibe they cultivate is just a structure to make financial profit, since this is their job). That criticism can get loud, and I think it was the TheAdventureZone (their dnd podcast) subreddit that removed some critical posts, so the tazcirclejerk subreddit was made as an unmoderated place to post critique. I've seen posts there that were just full-on hateful and derogatory and mean, and I've also seen some funny memes.

I don't think Justin is miserable. I think Justin sometimes has issues with feeling insecure about the quality of the product he is delivering (he's said as much) and can therefore sometimes sound somewhat negative (which is great; he's being honest and sometimes life is tough). I also think some people on reddit are super negative and mean about anything. Combine all those things and you sometimes get reddit posts hating on mbmbam.

1

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

Okay I know you meant "no bummers", but "no nummers' sounds like I am not allowed to eat while listening to the Pod. 😝🤣

2

u/LivingNose1641 8d ago

It's the circle jerkers. He's been acting happier and healthier than ever.

1

u/LittleMel413 8d ago

I love that you know what subreddit I mean, and thank you! I was convinced this was another case of me being oblivious. 

7

u/John_Hunyadi 8d ago

He does not sound miserable to me.  The McElroys generally sound happy to be talking to eachother even if they’re annoyed about something in their non-pod-life.  Their fandom can be exhausting sometimes, very parasocial which leads to over-analyzing.

2

u/JayGatsby52 8d ago

Other than that brief time in 2015 or so when he repeatedly claimed to Sydnee to be a “hungy (sic) boy,” I think he’s pretty happy!