Mailbag - Why Do You Use A Puppet?

Written and Performed by Dan Olson

[jlouzado]

I like how even minor elements are used to convey meaning in these videos... like with the jump cuts, if he's on the left it's literally a 'sidebar' comment, whereas a cut to him being on the right between sentences is just a normal cut.

Dan talks a lot about "The Text" and also seems to be aware of all the aspects of it. that kinda attention to detail is awesome. 😁

[TheNerdCloset]

I really want to see fanart now of Foldy as this ripped Tylor Durdin style model. Or maybe just a few clips from the film but with Foldy's static head poorly cropped and pasted into the flim. :P

[AConnorDN]

and Foldy was never to be seen again henceforth... so sad...

[dannolan]

I thought the reason was that it gives you a chance to show the Kuleshov effect via your editing skillz, like a shot/reverse shot between the two of you creating the illusion of a conversation.

[mireillelebeau]

The novels of Richardson and Choderlos de Laclos are epistolary novels, that is to say that the construction of the story is done by exchange of letters. It allows the author while sharing the same account to evolve the story while presenting two different points of view. I believe that the introduction of a character allows to see a situation from a different angle than the angle of the narrator. well I think that's why Foldy is important.

[jonknight]

As someone new to the channel with no previous attachment, I prefer seeing the puppet. It's AWESOME. It hails to the kind of aesthetic that plucks from my childhood love of Jim Henson's creative genius and it's a neat character in its own right, as an extension of you... and I just find it makes your videos feel different. Plus, it's AWESOME.

[TurbopropPuppy]

I miss the puppet. It was cool and unique and set you apart from all the other dark-haired bearded leftist YouTube men making videos about media and philosophy, and was the main draw for me when I first started watching Folding Ideas

[Frostfly]

I'm having the desperate urge to cosplay as Foldy....

[ffnendhgrgd]

i thought it was just a means of getting people to consider ideas they might otherwise instinctively ignore by giving them something to project themselves onto, thus making the ideas seem like their own. man, was I off

[FosukeLordOfError]

Maybe there will be that whole twitter thing

[jordanowen]

I still associated your voice more with Foldy than I do with you.

[RastafarianPilgrim]

Folding Canon: Dan has multiple personalities. Or maybe Foldy.... wait, what?

[Noms_Chompsky]

So wut ur saying then is...it's all 'bout you then innit?

[MannyCoon]

And we never see the puppet again….may I have it

[milesbrown]

I feel like I'm the only one who liked Foldy.

[johndavenport]

I like foldy as long as the hinges aren't audible, which was a problem for me before.

Obviously super late and irrelevant comment, but hey here's my 2 cents

[aturchomicz]

And just a few years later Foldy was sent into Retirement never to be seen again, I think he did that to appeal to a wider audience I assume?

[samwallaceart]

As someone new to the channel with no previous attachment, I prefer seeing you actually speak ... the puppet is creepy.

[smackerlacker]

I wish you would do an episode on Battlefield Earth. It's one of my favorites.

I'm not even joking. I don't get why people hate it.
The characters are believable, the visual design is interesting, the motivations and culture of the Psyclo in particular is fascinating to me. Why does everyone hate it?
The cop out answer is always "L. Ron Hubbard wrote it", which honestly doesn't seem like a valid criticism.

I think it was a matter of cultural and religious backlash, having nothing to do with the merits of the actual film. This is mirrored by the relative success of "The Passion of the Christ", which is objectively bad, but aligned with the religious ideals of the movie-going public.