The Goblin Hypothesis

Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins. Goblins? Goblins! Goblins.
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The Amazing Featured Creators:

I’ve fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole recently. Because here’s the thing — one wouldn’t expect an imaginary little creature from the 12th century to still hold relevance in modern society. And yet the word of the year was ‘goblin mode.’ So, what is it about these freaky dudes that have kept them a fixture of popular culture?

And what does it say about the human condition?

0:00 The Goblin Hypothesis
0:46 The Problem
2:09 Goblins = Monsters?
3:10 Goblins = Cannon Fodder?
5:08 Goblins = Tricksters?
6:48 Goblins vs. Gnomes vs. Fairies
8:04 The Big Question
9:31 Going Goblin Mode
11:58 Goblins = Enlightenment?
13:45 Meat's Back on the MENU!
16:16 Sympathy for the Goblin
17:31 The Goblin Inside
18:19 1m+ Subs Thank You!

Media Shown: The Hobbit (1977), The Hobbit (2012), Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Ghoulies, Gremlins, Adventure Time (The Silent King), Adventure Time (The Great Bird Man), Mandy (Cheddar Goblin), Clash of Clans (Ad), Clash of Clans: Goblin’s Eleven, Nekrogoblin, Unwelcome, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Styx: Master of Shadows, Warhammer II, Goblins & Grottos, Goblins of Elderstone, Labyrinth, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate II, Spider-Man (1967), Spider-Man (2002), Legend, The Black Cauldron, Troll 2, Hellboy II, Freddy Freaker Ad, Boglins Ad, Magic the Gathering: Goblin Weenie Ad

Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. All video/image content is edited under fair use rights for reasons of commentary.

I do not own the images, music, or footage used in this video. All rights and credit goes to the original owners.

♫ Music Used – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart), Demon Dragon (Zelda), Parasail (Zelda), Herd Game (Zelda), Four Seasons Spring Part 1 (Vivaldi), Sword Search (Zelda), Around the Fire (Skyrim), Waltz of the Flowers (Tchaikovsky), Deku Palace (Zelda), Sky Above, Voice Within (Skyrim), Skyloft (Zelda), Outset Island (Zelda), Inside a House (Zelda), An End Once and For All (Mass Effect 3), Rhizome (Cloud Gardens)

Sources:
“The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology” by Arthur Cotterell & Rachel Storm
“Goblin Mythology: A Brief Study of the Archetype” by Annliya Shaijan

[JonoSSD]

_"Do you think you could beat a goblin in a fight?"_
How big of a goblin are we talking? lol

[ZenGenEXQ]

World of Warcraft goblins are one of my favorite depictions of goblins. They were enslaved by trolls and forced to mine ore. But the ore they were mining had magic properties that expanded their minds and made them smarter and basically transformed their society into an industrial age. They are still wild little creatures but now they can build bombs and zeppelins, I love it.

[dennis_duran]

You had me at “a collective mental portrait of the contemporary goblin”

[anagatto]

“If I was friends with a goblin for a really long time and I was like ‘could you help me move this weekend’ and he was like: ‘yeah I’ll be there I promise’, I would like to think that I could trust him”. is one hell of a sentence

[HiddenDragon]

A goblin can be friendly, but a goblin should always be at least a little gross

[justusb.plorer]

Me before the video: "All right, he's officially lost it."

Me after the video: "Tell me more, enlightened one."

[PossumReviews]

The word "goblin" was originally an umbrella term for any sort of magical humanoid creature— similar to "fairy" or "gnome"— up until George MacDonald wrote _The Princess and the Goblin_ (1872). In that novel, the terms "goblin", "gnome", and "kobold" were used interchangeably for a race of ugly and malicious little people who lived underground. This was the inspiration for the goblins/orcs of Tolkien's writings which solidified the modern conception of goblins we have today.

[Fnt]

Goblins are weak alone but strong in numbers. Goblins are not good or evil, but chaotic. Goblins are the social pressure from your friends to do something stupid. If one of your friend asks "hey, do you wanna steal that traffic sign?" You say no. When a group of friends pressure you, then dance around said stollen sign, it's goblin mode. Goblins are our insanity let lose by our companions

[kevinmorgan]

Of course Quinn would kick the goblin. I’ve watched the man’s videos for years, and even though he has a sensitive and developed mind, there are very few people who have more ‘stomp the surprise goblin’ energy.

[justsomejerseydevilwithint]

0:04 One goblin? Absolutely. Goblins in their usual numbers? Probably not...

[Shovelchicken]

I always got the impression that goblins were supposed to represent unruly children, or maybe even children with no parents to teach them how to behave.

A lot of their stereotypical behaviors are very similar to things kids do. Pranks, getting all muddy and gross from playing outside, jibbering and jabbering as they continue to develop their language skills, the occasional streak of cruelty... being small...

Maybe peoples fascination with goblins is a yearning to be able to go back to that childhood wildness, to be able to run around getting into mischief without consequence.

[scruffles]

Not only did he source all the clips, he also sourced all the bgm.
What a absolute fuckin legend

[AphidKirby]

"Goblins represent the human nature we repress" is a spectacular conjecture! Great video!

[ShatteredAutomaton]

As a DM and long time goblin lover i feel that there is only a couple situations you'll see one goblin alone.
1: that lone goblin is bait and there are at least 10 more waiting in the bushes.
2: that lone goblin is Styx, in which case you will actually never see him.

[femoman]

It is fascinating how goblins have gone from wily, funny little wannabe tricksters to feral horde monsters, right back to funny little wannabe tricksters, but sometimes in an almost friendly kind of way. Like how an archetypal DnD party member now is the 'adopted goblin mascot'.

[piewar]

I feel like goblins live in the same area of my mind as pirates.

[AZALI]

raccoons and goblins have a good amount in common

if raccoons just had like opposable thumbs I feel like humanity would be in trouble

[ate_my_wheaties]

As someone who was homeless for a while, I have a certain fondness for goblins, and I think I’d be predisposed to gain their trust and friendship. I slept outside in the dark and scary places others avoided, I ate the things others threw away. Hell, I thrived on the trash society produces. I carried everything I own in a backpack and was ecstatic on the few occasions I found a safe, hidden place to stow my possessions. I spent much of my time in cities down on the ground, making grating music and heckling the common folk, who mostly saw me as some kind of dirty little rascal. I thoroughly enjoyed trespassing abandoned places. I mean, the list goes on.
I feel more connected to goblins than any other fantasy creature, I think. A goblin wouldn’t scare me, it would excite me. I’d ask what they’re up to, if they need anything, and if I was feeling particularly intrepid, I just might end up an accomplice in their next scheme (granted no one gets harmed).

[BellBOYd]

“I used to joke that he had been exiled for being too smart. Now I know why he never laughed.”

That’s my favorite Goblin relevant quote. When I first read that, and I saw the shockingly somber art, and that there was a Goblin story which differed from “step three: find another cousin, ” “the goblins, because it was shiny, ” or “hup two three four don’t know how to count no more…” I was honestly awestruck with just a smidge of tears.

To me Goblins are not green, even though they are in fact green. To me, Goblins are RED “We are goblin kind, heirs to the mountain empires of chieftains past. Rest is death to us, and arson is our call to war.”

[pipolwes]

No, orcs do not have a tipping culture, but they're very keen on making sure their boss compensates them fairly for their labor.