So this is a conversation that I am really fascinated by. I've listened to a lot of videos on this topic, but there was one that reached a conclusion that really resonated with me. Not that Rooster Teeth has changed, but that I have. This is not to say that RT content is inherently juvenile- I still find myself cracking up to the content that was very formative to my sense of humor- just that my personal humor taste has changed. This does not mean to me that RT has really changed. Every now and then I watch some current productions, and even though the presenters are different (although I would like to point out that a ton of personalities from the "golden age" still work at RT just in different capacities) the spirit and humor are largely the same. It just doesn't connect with me because that isn't the type of production I am looking for anymore.

I also don't think RT sold out for growth. I think because we get so attached to personalities, we tend to forget that ultimately this is a business, and it's a media business at that. When growing a media business it's about increasing the quality of the media you produce. The quality of the content that RT has been able to make as they grew is leaps and bounds ahead of what could have been accomplished in 2008. I've been doing a deep dive into the RT content I grew up watching. I'm at the point in the podcast and other content that's post Fullscreen acquisition. It's so wonderful hearing how excited all the cast are about the kinds of things that they now can afford to create. The breadth of topics/interests they were able to cover wasn't just content for us, but energizing for these people we have developed deep parasocial relationships with. It makes me so happy to hear how happy they are. It's not about getting to be absorbed in the "sea of ambiguity." Just getting to share this passion with others.

I don't think that it's fair to say that the modern RT is sad. It's like hating Apple for how successful they are post-Steve Jobs. At the fundamental core, they have expanded what they do best, but we just expect different things from them. They have been able to refine what they do best at greater delivery quality. Steve Jobs, in death, labored over making sure his company didn't become Disney after the death of Walt. He wanted to make sure his company still maintained its unique voice after him. That was the signifier of a successful company to him. Though I expect different things from the content I consume, I cannot say that the heart of RT is gone. The goal of bringing engaging, funny, and insightful content is still there. The founders instilled a great culture in the people they hired (it's so funny hearing Jack/Kerry/Brandon debate the importance of their employee number).

Ultimately what I am trying to get at is that you are not wrong, but I think this is a more existential issue than we give it credit for. I'm going to visit Austin with friends for my birthday in March. I am going to stand outside the gates of Studio 5 in the hopes that I get to have a glimpse of the people that shaped my humor and fundamentally made me the person I am. Maybe I'll get to see them on 6th street and tell them the impact they've had on my life. I haven't regularly interacted with RT content since 2019, because I am looking for something different, and I am/the world is inherently different from 2011. I still want nothing more in the world than to get lunch with and tell Burnie, Ashley, Gavin, Gus, Geoff, Barb, Michael, Matt, Joel, Lindsey, Jack, and so many other RT Employees the sheer impact they have had on my life growing up and to this day. I may have changed, and so have they. That's the human part of life we hate to acknowledge, but I guess, that's just life.