[lunias]

> There was a half wall of skibidi toilet merch

Pretty crazy... My hypothesis is that it's popular because it feels more authentic and grassroots than most things being foisted upon them. It has surreal comedy and doesn't take itself seriously; both traits that are in extremely low supply in the recent / current zeitgeist. It was not designed by a committee pre-conception to appeal to the most-profitable possible audience. It is now however, produced by a studio which has just partnered with the Creative Artists Agency (a major Hollywood agency). We'll see if they ruin the vibe or ride off into the sunset akin to Minecraft.

[vintermann]

There was some scandal about rights. As I understand it, the guy who started this used Garry's mod assets (actually of characters belonging to Valve), then turned around and threatened the Garry's mod author for those same assets. So, I can think of more authentic and grassroots things. Maybe that's also why, as far as I can tell, this meme show has had its 5 minutes of fame already.

[asielen]

> feels more authentic and grassroots than most things being foisted upon them.

And then corporations squeeze any last drop of authenticity from it through merchandising it to death.

[lunias]

Yup. 100%. As soon as a big fish swallows the little fish you would do well to stop consuming.