The Struggle of PewDiePie and Other Individuals in Today’s Corporate Era.
There are soon to be 330 million Americans living in the US. Every person in this country has aspired to achieve the American dream. James Truslow Adams, author of The Epic of America believed, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”.
America is run on the foundations of capitalism. As Americans, we strive to attain the American Dream. We believe in meritocracy, where anyone can accomplish their dreams with the right work ethic. The vast amount of opportunity in this country gives the common man hope that he can do great things. This opportunity is needed for the success of a nation. As Studs Terkel, an American author and historian put it, “Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things”. This powerful message has been engraved into my peers and I. Our history teacher who grew up as a revisionist recites this exceptional concept with power.
It is believed this concept dates all the way back to the impact of the American Revolution, more specifically the Declaration of Independence. President Thomas Jefferson, a once active anti federalist and architect of the Declaration of Independence wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. The pursuit of the American dream or as Jefferson put it, “Happiness” is a right. The legal writing of this concept addresses its importance in America.
As an anti federalist, Jefferson also desired a true democracy. State rights which directly represented the ideas of the common people were more crucial than the power of the federal government. The anti federalists throughout history believed in civil liberties and freedoms. During America’s earlier years in the 18th century it was feared that a strong central government would deprive people of these values. Tyranny of the federal government was a concept that was dreaded. It was the very reason why we ceded from Great Britain and declared independence. The great Revolutionary War was used to achieve this goals by defeating the tyranny of Britain. Anti federalists saw the irony of this form of government because they had just fought a war to preserve the values that would soon be taken away.
We can see the continuity of this concept in the world of business. The anti federalists fear has become reality in major corporations all over the world. Amazon, the very successful shipping company and online store has become one of the nation’s biggest enterprises in recent years. This company which had been founded in 1994 has accumulated over 90 million Prime members in recent years. It has become so successful to the point where it is driving other smaller businesses that do the same things out of business. Two businesses that have been run out of business because of large corporations such as Amazon are Sears and Toys ‘r’ Us.
Although there is nothing inherently wrong with the growth of new technology and the beginning of a new era of online shopping it is the fact that Amazon is a large corporation that makes it difficult. In a sense Amazon is acting as a tyrant similar to King George III. Once Amazon became the number one business in shopping, it’s power was abused which deprived many small businesses and even other mainstream retailers out of business.
The problem of having one business with all the power is that it turns into a monopoly. In a monopoly people are forced into buying their products because all other competition does not exist. People will be indirectly forced into buying products from Amazon as the company grows and drives smaller businesses out. It turns into a monopoly because there are no competitors that can compete with it. In the future more and more retailers will continue to run out of business making it easier for Amazon to abuse its power as a business. Before the big surge of online shopping came retailers would be able to compete with each other showing a checks and balances in power. The loss of smaller retailing companies strikes a blow to people’s freedom of where they want to shop. People will lose the opportunity of starting smaller retailing businesses and the opportunity to shop at these places. It ends dreams of starting retail stores.
The US government is broken down into three sections that each have equally important roles. The three branches of government in this country are executive, legislative, and judicial. They run on a system of checks and balances that keep the government just and not tyrannical. These checks and balances are used to separate the power of the government. This democratic concept is not present in business. Since there is nothing with enough power to check the power of Amazon it will continue to grow. I am not implying that the US becomes more socialistic, but simply stating the evidence to support the growth of Amazon.
Amazon has recently reached a market cap of 1 trillion dollars. They are one of the most powerful corporations on the Earth. They need to acknowledge their own influence and take responsibility for the devastation they have caused countless of smaller businesses because there are no checks and balances in capitalism of business. Although this might not be the most profitable corporate strategy, Amazon needs to aid society and businesses as a whole instead of acting upon selfish interests. Amazon is in a position of power similarly to an important member of the government such as the president. It is their responsibility to ensure to the prosperity of other businesses and people around them.
A more recent struggle for power between corporations and individuals is occurring on YouTube. It has been enduring since late 2018. Two YouTube channels are currently fighting for the number one spot on the video platform of YouTube. Many people who have been following this struggle often refer to it as a race. Both channels are currently trying to be the first to reach the milestone of 100 million subscribers.
The channel that is currently in the lead is PewDiePie. PewDiePie is a channel run by a single individual, Felix Kjellberg. PewDiePie’s channel content is primarily composed of videos where he plays video games and more recently reviews memes. PewDiePie’s channel was created in 2010 where he began by playing video games. His channel slowly grew over several years until he eventually became recognized as an internet sensation. In 2016 he hit his most recent landmark of 50 million subscribers. This was an iconic and a crucial landmark in youtube’s history because it showed the power an individual can have in society. He had been working diligently everyday to post a new video on YouTube.
His hard work and efforts were finally recognized by YouTube when he was granted the Custom Play Button award by YouTube for this achieving this milestone. It was an iconic moment knowing that an individual had gained the support of an unprecedented 50 million people. His achievement set a precedent and inspired other creators to grow their channels. His success gives other individuals the opportunity and hope of achieving similar feats. It can be said creators such as PewDiePie helped create the YouTube platform and gaming movement that so many millennials can relate to today.
The other channel competing is called T-Series. The T-Series channel mainly releases Indian music videos. It is a huge corporation in India that relies on major artists for content. The company was founded by Gulshan Kumar in 1983 where it first made profit by selling pirated Bollywood music. In 2017 T-Series began dramatically increasing in popularity. In September of 2018 T-Series reached the milestone of 50 million subscribers and also received a Custom Play Button.
The Custom Play Button or more previously known as the Ruby Play Button has symbolized success in the YouTube community. When PewDiePie received it he did an unboxing in his home. His subscribers felt connected to him and felt like there were there with him. They felt genuinely apart of the 50 million people community. However, when T-Series received this precious trophy it was broadcasted as a show hosting popular Indian singers. There was lots of press and media present at the huge show. The show was hosted on a stage which many people have found this to be metaphorically condescending. The award did not seem genuine to their fans because the show was high up on a stage looking down upon all the people who supported them. The award belongs to the fans who supported the channel and made it what it is. Why didn’t T-Series do a wholesome unboxing of the award?
It is obvious that the channel that represents the individual is PewDiePie and the channel that represents corporation is T-Series. Now both channels have over 90 million subscribers and the end game is approaching.
T-Series has been using the people of their country and force them to subscribe to there channel in order to overthrow PewDiePie’s channel. In India when people sign up for internet the many companies are forced into creating a YouTube account for that person and subscribing to T-Series. Many people see this as unjust because it gives that YouTube channel many underserved subscribers because of contracts. India is a developing nation with a population of 1.3 billion people. This corrupt corporation is abusing the power of it’s country to outcompete other creators on YouTube. T-Series can be seen as the Amazon of India because they are forcing people to subscribe to their channel through sketchy internet contracts. Many smaller music companies cannot compete with this entity. T-Series has become an international conflict.
Many people try to defend this corporation by stating it raises awareness for other Indian creators because it boosts the countries nationalism. But when has this conflict of individualism and corporation ever been about race. Indian people have always been able to create YouTube videos and channels. Having a monopoly corporation in one industry actually makes it more difficult for individual creators in India.
YouTube was made successful because of individual creators. Without their constant uploading and quality content YouTube would not have been the same platform that we all love today. Since individuals built the company they should be the ones that YouTube supports. Instead, YouTube has been recently trending late night show hosts, movie trailers, and other corporations that pay well. These late night shows have no personality and are not genuine. There has been a shift in type of content supported by YouTube. After the dubbed “Ad-Apocalypse” individual creators such as PewDiePie have felt targeted and betrayed by the company they work for when they started to lose all revenue on their video content.
Now the race to 100 million subscribers is important because it may very well be the last milestone for the two channels to beat. It would mark the pinnacle of awards on YouTube. If PewDiePie wins the race it opens up possibilities for other creators to reach that same goal. It would become a statement to the corporation of YouTube that tells them they do not get to chose what the platform stands for. YouTube would be forced to acknowledge PewDiePie as an individual creator and give him the 100 million subscriber award. YouTube would be one step closer into becoming the company that they once were.
There is an overwhelming amount of hypocrisy in major businesses that continues to be ignored. These corporations were built by individuals who pursued their dreams yet, these same corporations are choosing to ignore the struggle of other individuals when they become powerful. Success blinds corporations into making selfish decisions that only benefit the smallest amount of people. Corporations are morally obliged to help individuals succeed in their businesses. Let the hardworking individuals of the world enjoy their right to the “pursuit of happiness”.
Works Cited
Amadeo, Kimberly. “What Is the American Dream? The History That Made It Possible.” The Balance, Dotdash, 19 Feb. 2019, www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-american-dream-quotes-and-history-3306009. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.
Ashe-Edmunds, Sam. “Corporate Vs. Individual Work Ethics.” Work — Chron.com, http://work.chron.com/corporate-vs-individual-work-ethics-24559.html. Accessed 9 March 2019.
“Custom Play Button.” Fandom, youtube.fandom.com/wiki/Custom_Play_Button. Accessed 14 Mar. 2019.
“8 Fascinating Amazon Statistics to Know in 2018.” Mediakix, 9 Aug. 2018, mediakix.com/2018/08/amazon-statistics/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.
Lukes, Steven M. “Individualism.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Feb. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/individualism. Accessed 14 Mar. 2019.
“Pewdiepie vs T Series and Why Pewdiepie Has to Win.” YouTube, 6 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMnRzhNRiOY. Accessed 9 Mar. 2019.
“Why Pewdiepie Needs to Hit 100 Million Subs!” YouTube, uploaded by Andrei Terbea, 20 Jan. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YhK_7h3d5c. Accessed 17 Mar. 2019.
