So… it sometimes seems like I have a contentious relationship with my own fanbase, particularly as concerns comments and feedback. It’s my own doing, I know, in as much as I decided early on that my approach to being an online personality would be to A.) engage the audience and B.) give as good as I got, within reason.
But, without getting into specifics, I’ve had some instances happen recently in terms of fan-feedback and general appreciativeness that reminded me that I don’t accentuate the positive nearly enough in that regard. In any case, in spite of a lot of general internet nonsense that often goes down around here, I really do have some of the best fans/readers/viewers in this business; and I want you to know it.
Thanks, and hope y’all keep watching/reading/etc 🙂
MOVIEBOB CENTRAL 
As a long time viewer and first time poster, I think you are not only one of the better commentators on the potpourri of geek iconography, but also that rare critic that has an unprecedented insight into our zeitgeist and through this insight, has the ability to give a through analysis and critique of it.
Despite this, I believe I write for most of your viewers when I say that we don't always agree with your viewpoints or remarks that range from videogames to American politics, this doesn't mean however that our relationship is necessarily antagonistic or contentious. Rather, this is the common outcome when you have a virtually open website that acts as a nexus for free thought and inquiry. While there are some trolls, most of your fans respect your work and thought that you place into your videos, but of course may dispute some points you make.
This is certainly the better alternative than the cult of personality that is shaped by heavily moderated websites for other “Z-list internet celebrities” that I won't mention or name.
By the way, I'm sorry for writing like a pretentious blowhard. It's 2 A.M where I live, and I write like I'm constructing a college application essay on Justinian erotica when I'm tired (extra points for knowing that reference).
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You're the best bob. Not alot of people really appreciate the thier fanbase. This makes following your posts and watching big picture and escape to the movies all the more worthwhile.
Keep up the awesome work!!!!!
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Bob, you're the first person I go to for intelligent, thought-provoking insights on films, games, and politics. I'm a huge fan and I hope you continue to make videos, and I'd especially love to see new episodes of American Bob.
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I wish some my readers would ever challenge me to a spirited debate. Maybe I need to be more controversial… or have more readers. 😛
As always Bob, I don't always agree with your reviews, but they're always interesting.
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Cheers!
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You keep up the great work Bob!
*Hats Off*
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The internet wouldn't be the same without you Bob, Keep up the good work 🙂
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Bob, there are a lot of times I'm in complete agreement with you (mostly movies, which is why you're my favourite reviewer). Then there are times I agree with your conclusions, but disagree with your arguments. There there are those few times where I think you're just flat-out wrong.
But I've never doubted your passion or your sincerity. Keep on keepin' it real, Bob!
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Kudos to you, Bob and all that you do. I may not agree with everything you say and do, but it's great that you have a chance to do what you do. I still remember your first vid fondly.
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You are a true inspiration Bob one of the few internet personalitys I can always count on for intelligent, thought provoking & genuinely fun commentary on Movies, Games & even politics.
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Long time fan of The Game Overthinker, then MovieBob. I was so happy when you won My Vids Don't Suck, and then you also started Escape to the Movies and then The Big Picture.
It's funny, but I finally stopped prefacing who you are to my wife when I bring up something you said. Now it's just “MovieBob said…”
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Don't ever change Bob. You keep your essays as objective as possible and when proof contrary or a well enough build counter theory presents itself you humbly acknowledge it. I find you commentary to be some of the most stimulating and thought out, keep doing exactly what you've been doing, stay classy Bob.
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built*
Kyle- ha, yeah same here, anytime I start talking about something game/movie/geek culture related to my fiancee pretty much the first thing she says is “another bob thing?”
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This blog is one of my favorite websites. Thank YOU, Bob.
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Another Long Time Listener, First Time Caller here-
You are very welcome, Bob.
I don't always agree with you, and I find many of your choices puzzling, but I have always respected your opinion and your colorful presentation of all things nerdy. Mixing politics with pop culture commentary is quite ballsy, and you seem to persist and do things your way regardless of the risks and the haters that, indeed, are gonna hate.
Goodness knows it's not easy being an Internet Content Provider- It demands a ridiculous amount of time and creativity, and most people on the other end will just complain and ask for more. I have dabbled in video creating myself, and I just wanted you to know that I deeply admire the passion and effort you put into your work. Somebody's gotta be on the front lines, and I'm glad it's you.
Cheers, Bob. See you at the Escapist Expo 🙂
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As a long time viewer/reader/listener I appreciate your intelligence. But as an amateur filmmaker, and someone who is also steeped in critical theory, I feel that a great deal of your writings are steeped too much in the notions of nostalgia and lack a critical theoretical base (modernist, post modernist, structuralist, poststructuralist) and so on. It makes the ideas that you are trying to express difficult to understand at times. Mostly because you lack the associated critical background and the lingual devices it employs. many will argue against this because the notion of speaking in terms derived and for the purpose of higher education will alienate and discourage readers who see such language as pretentious. The reality is the language of critical theory is the way it is simply because there is no other way to talk about it. Poststructuralist critical theory has helped me grow as a filmmaker over the last few years. It posits that all forms of narrative, language, and other creative endeavors such as film and games and so on is merely the manipulation of systems and structures (tropes and cliches essentially) that has existed as long as there has been language and narrative in our collective cultural consciousness. It is by breaking apart films and exploring the structures and how they relate to the narratives of other films and the metanarrative of the story telling medium as a whole that we can understand how the story is told and how these systems transcend our base understanding to reach the pseudomythological narrative (our repository of all narrative conventions that we understand implicitly. Its why a film like star wars is so familiar to us, so universal even though we may not have seen it before.)
The big thing that also bothers me is the notion of nostalgia. As a big proponent of post structuralist theory, I reject nostalgia as a fundamental inability to see the system for what it is, which is a constant repetitions (with variation of course) of the same narrative systems and conventions that has existed throughout all of history as long as someone told a story or played a game. They can't see that all things are attempting to copy or refining something that already exists. Or rather they refuse to see because the things that bother them that they rail against share more similarities than what they are comfortable with. What Is mario without Donkey Kong or Pitfall, What is Call of Duty without Contra. What is Alien without at the mountains of madness. What is star wars with out flash gordon, buck rogers, and kurosawa. Hell, even Kurosawa films were often restructurings of western narratives for japanese culture.
More importantly what is Micheal Bay without Alfred Hitchcock? No, I don't like him. But the systems that Micheal Bay and Hitchcock are allowed to exist are fundamentally the same. Both directors sell themselves as a brand, with a distinct visual style and set of narrative conventions (Hitch: thriller/melodrama interlaced with brevity and light humor/ Bay: Action/Thriller interlaced with brevity and light humor), Both have a penchant for casting attractive women with Hitch's cool blonds and Bay's fashion models. But this is the same structures that allowed filmmakers such as ridley scott, Brian DePalma, Cronenberg and other directors who we are able to discreetly observe and differentiate from the whole of cinematic cannon.
And the worst part is that when you are off put by a director or a genre, you often totally disregard the product you criticize. certain pros can not be disregarded simply because you dislike the rest of the package. For example, there are elements of Micheal Bay that should be praised. For example he has an excellent understanding of colour theory (not including some of the pictures that have been teal and tanned out such as revenge of the fallen. The editing style for which he is so aptly criticized also has a pre-existing origin in the form of Sam Peckinpah and Hitchcock's psycho who are the grandfathers of modern day quickcutting, slomo and so on.
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Awww that's sweet thanks
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Keep doing what you're doing Bob. Everything you write is either entertaining or makes me think (sometimes both).
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@ Bob
I think I should probably put a comment here.
It's always been my belief that ideas that aren't challenged are inherently false. It's only after an idea has withstood skepticism that we could possibly ascertain how true it may be. As such, I always enjoy and seek out intelligent arguments for positions I disagree with. It allows be to consistently reevaluate and revise my reasoning for my beliefs.
We may disagree on damned near everything, but that's the exact reason I watch your videos and read your blogs. Because, not only do you nearly always give an intelligent argument for your position, but you foster an environment for discussion and debate. A few outliers not withstanding, this blog as by far the highest average intelligence I've seen anywhere on the internet.
And, that's why I always come back.
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