John Oliver and Internet Subculture (Blog Post #8)

              John Oliver may have just gone from internet hero to villain with one short segment. Known for his recent success on HBO’s Last Week Tonight, many of his daring and hard hitting segments over topics like FIFA, government torture, and even Japanese mascots have gone viral online. Last night, he aired a segment which began on the topic of the internet, and focused on feminine harassment through the digital space. To my surprise, the video on YouTube has a very high amount of dislikes and angry comments.

              Many avid internet users seem to be up in arms about the fact that he generalized men online and briefly mentioned videogames and female violence. Many users claimed that this would be the downfall of his career, and they would not be returning to tune in next week. What I find most interesting about this is how John Oliver’s reporting style did not change, only his topic for this week did. However, many people joined together as an internet culture and took his report personally.

              The modern age has introduced us to a time where people can group together behind screens and through the digital medium. Race, gender, and even age do not matter as long as your viewpoints match up with that of the online group you aim to join. The internet has brought upon its own subcultures, one blind to the physical but reactionary and easily offended none the less. For John Oliver, his true points about the status of federal laws and harassment online may fail to hit as hard as his other stories, purely because the Internet culture seeks to remain as the golden child of our society. 

Please give the segment a watch, then check out the comment section below. What do you think of how people are reacting to this news?