Mr. Beast: A Symptom of Capitalism

Content creators don’t appeal to everyone. Some people would rather read a good book, watch the news, or even watch a show from the plethora of streaming services that you can choose from. Although this form of media might not interest you, what is going on in the content creator space is indicative of what our youth is consuming. Meaning that a lot of us should be concerned for who exactly is babysitting our children within their phones.

YouTube’s golden boy, Mr. Beast, has been under more scrutiny the last few months. If you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Beast (also known as Jimmy Donaldson) he is a 24 year old content creator based in North Carolina. He has built an empire off of his success, creating a chocolate brand, restaurant chain, and amassing a fiercely loyal fanbase. His claim to fame comes from his grandiose content, reminiscent of a game show more than anything. Doing videos that cost thousands to create, commonly featuring his friends, or even, everyday people. With huge sets, and the overall effort involved in these videos, it’s no shock he has found success. While this may be entertaining at face value, a lot of these videos have begun to demonstrate a rather alarming shift in content creation.

One of the most recent of Donaldsons’ video’s features 1,000 Americans afflicted with cataracts, a condition in which the lens of one's eye is clouded by worn down proteins. This is a fairly common condition in the U.S. that causes blurry vision and in some cases blindness. However, this can be treated by a simple and relatively safe surgery. This condition was the recent topic of a Mr. Beast video where the title claimed “1,000 Blind People See For The First Time”, where he paid for the removal of 1,000 people's cataracts. While on paper this seems like a very selfless act, it's important to note that Donaldson profits off of all these videos regardless of how charitable it presents. Featured in the thumb nail is a child seeming very shocked and elated with bandages on his forehead while Donaldson is pictured behind him smiling, with his hand placed on the child's shoulder. Many joked that this thumbnail and title was reminiscent of religious imagery depicting “Jesus curing the blind”.

The claim of allowing 1,000 people to see for the first time is false due to the nature of cataracts. Most people suffering with this condition don’t develop it till much later in life, meaning a lot of the people featured in the video could see for a majority of their life. However, lying in a title isn’t something that's new or even severely frowned upon. It's commonly done to increase the amount of traction to a video, ultimately increasing the profit. The reason the clickbait title was more questioned in this instance is due to the seriousness of the subject matter. The exaggerated nature of the title to increase profit contributes to the main issue that a lot of people had with the video. The ethical nature of documenting and ultimately profiting off of a “charitable act” puts into question just how “charitable” it actually is. Donaldson’s character was scrutinized and also defended by masses of people online. A lot of onlookers deemed this content as exploitative and a scary indicator for how dystopian our society has become. A lot of viewers called for Mr. Beast to have made a point in the video that all Americans afflicted with cataracts should have access to this procedure regardless of their finances. Others praised Donaldson for his “selflessness” and claimed he was promoting philanthropy to his young audience.

Overall, Mr. Beast’s brand pushes a pro-capitalism agenda whether he intends to or not. The amount of resources he uses in his videos, and the rate at which he uploads them paints a very consumerist picture. Rich individuals using their money to gain public approval is something that has been done for decades, but the appraisal of someone for using a resource that they have millions of is a symptom of the disease that is capitalism.