I've been asked to share my critique of the youtube video "The Jacob Wysocki Effect: A Dropout Video Essay" by Deadmen Ink Productions, so here it is! 

I adore Jacob Wysocki. He has quickly become one of my all time favorite comedians. He has been incredibly inspiring to me, specifically as a fat transmasc who loves performing and writing comedy (literally spent an entire session with my therapist discussing the ways his visibility has helped me genderwise) - because it's refreshing to see a guy in the spotlight who is so cool, kind, funny, charismatic, and also happens to be fat. It's obviously wonderful and novel to see a fat person be as celebrated and as loved as Jacob is without size being the focus of his comedy. 'Nuff said. 

I ultimately know that this is the point that the author of the video essay is trying to make as well. The video is almost one hour long, comparing Jacob's choices as a comedian to the careers of other fat actors like Chris Farley, Jack Black, Lindsay Hollister, and Danny DeVito. It's not that I necessarily disagree with what he's saying. It's clear he's coming at this from a surface-level awareness of systemic anti-fatness, and what I wished was a video about Jacob's strengths as a performer became a video about his strengths in spite of his size. At the end of the video, the author says, “While I’m not the same size in real life as Jacob, I have a handful of people close to me and dear to me that are. And like many other issues, I can say that while I always felt and knew that fatphobia was bad, it’s different when it’s personal.” I think what bothers me about the tone of this video is that it's coming from a thin person who thinks it's groundbreaking to arrive at the conclusion that fatphobia is a barrier for fat performers, and that the ones who 'break the mould' (unlike Farley) are either special or smarter for working the system in a better way.

He uses the other actors and examines them as a case by case study, which, to me, doesn't seem like there's any throughline that connects them, especially not with Jacob. Farley was self-deprecating, "making the best out of a flawed system," Jack Black was "embracing his size" (was he?), Lindsay Hollister was pigeonholed into accepting a horribly offensive role, and Danny DeVito "didn't let his unconventional looks stop him" from playing dynamic roles. So, what conclusion did we make from all this? There are various ways to succeed while fat and some of them are bad and some of them are good? I'm not sure. 

It seems like the author wants to talk about other fat performers for educational value, or to talk about how fatphobia has impacted their careers, but doesn't really delve into anything deeper, or about why entertainment is such a fatphobic industry. I can't help but feel like the impulse to sit down and compare Jacob to other fat comedians may be, on its own, unchecked fatphobia. Is the best way to celebrate the way Jacob breaks stereotype by... Categorizing him? I recall reading about Josh Gad's experience of always being compared to (and even mistaken for) Jonah Hill, Jack Black, and John Belushi. You already can't escape the prison of association when you're a fat actor. I think this video comparing Jacob's physical comedy to Farley's (unless Jacob explicitly said that he took inspiration from Farley) accidentally fans the fire of living in other fat actors shadows, although the intentions were good.

Fat performers are always expected to open up about their struggles with being fat, no matter what. Yeah, of course it's hard, but what if you’re making it worse by harping on their body as this huge setback that they have to overcome? What if we didn't ask them, "What's it like being a fat celebrity? How did you gain popularity despite your weight?" It's the exact same thing as the forever dread-inducing "You're so brave for existing in that body" comment. 

My biggest takeaway is this: I don’t think the conversation should revolve around Jacob’s spectacularness for breaking Hollywood typecast. The conversation should revolve around Dropout being a size inclusive studio. Dropout is not Hollywood. Hollywood still has made next to no progress in fat representation. Jacob is one of MANY fat performers in Dropout, all of which are incredibly talented and popular. The author did acknowledge this last point, but I wish it wasn't one sentence in an hourlong video. 

I hope that the whole point of the video was to say that Jacob's visibility feels different to us because he's a talented performer who found a weight-neutral environment that didn't exploit his body. It's clear that the video essayist wants to discuss Jacob's strengths, but seems entirely focused on how he was ABLE to become a fan favorite as a fat person. The answer is that fat people, just like anyone else, are capable of being liked when they’re given the same opportunities. It’s good to be inspired by that! I think that the video serves as a decent jumping off point - What if the conversation became about how we can make more spaces as inclusive as Dropout?