Carmen Puchulu, Columnist
A few weeks ago, Jimmy Kimmel made a comment concerning people who watch videos of other people play videogames, videos known as “Let’s Plays.”
“Watching another person play videogames is like going to a restaurant and having someone eat your food for you,” he said. In the aftermath of the comment, many people expressed disapproval with Kimmel.
Many people who watch Let’s Plays felt that they were being bashed about something they love doing by a person who didn’t completely understand why they would in the first place. Comedy is one thing, but comedy without understanding is another. You can make fun of something without insulting it; to achieve that, you must first understand the topic in question.
At the time of the comment, Kimmel obviously had no understanding. But, on his show for the week of Aug. 31, he talked to a few of YouTube’s famous Let’s Players about this issue and to take a look on their side of things.
Watching a Let’s Play is similar to watching any kind of sport. Many people watch them because they cannot play the game themselves. Sometimes it’s because they don’t have the gaming platform required to actually play the game or because the person isn’t good at playing video games, but would still like to see what the game is like. Sometimes, people are actually playing the game, or get stuck at some point and are watching for help or are looking for better ways to complete a level.
There are some people who like watching other people play video games because of the person playing it. There are many gamers out there who put Let’s Play videos that have commentary on the game they are playing. They bring in a charisma into their videos that make the game even more fun. Arguably, that is the prime reason as to why people watch Let’s Plays: it’s because of the people playing them. People watch sports for the same reason.
There is always this big disconnect between gamers and sports people. One is seen as nerdy and weird, while the other is seen as normal and acceptable. In the end, both do the same types of things. Both bring people together, and most importantly, give people a sense of community. They give people something to talk about, debate about.
The only real difference is that the two come in different forms. Instead of insulting one another, people from both sides should respect that this is someone’s entertainment and way of life and let it be.
That being said, you can still make jokes, as the world would be a scary place without laughter. But before doing so, make sure that what you are saying isn’t completely harmful or completely bashing the people involved.