If you have been on any form of social media for the past month, you probably have heard of the 8 part series Youtuber, Shane Dawson is creating on Jake Paul, "The Mind of Jake Paul." Dawson announced this project weeks ago and instantly received backlash. People all over the web were angered that he was making a documentary about Jake Paul, a very problematic Youtuber. They felt like Shane would humanize him and try to make the audience feel bad for him since Shane's previous videos and series have included other controversial internet personalities like Jeffree Star and Tana Mongeau. In many videos, Shane is known to cry with the people he films. Fans and others took this reputation and said that he would just sit down and cry with Jake.
I can see why people believed that would happen. I think that if you are not a fan of Shane Dawson, you only see one side of things. You don't understand his intentions as well as the people who watch him every week. From the start, I believed in Shane and his intentions with this series. I knew that if he messed up, he would correct himself and that he would try to make the series as serious as possible.
I was bothered by the fact that so many people, even some fans of his were so against even watching the first part of the series. The old saying is true, don't knock it till you try it! It is not right to judge a book by its cover. I think those people should give the series a shot and then form their opinion on it. Personally, from the very first episode, I did not feel as though Jake Paul was trying to be shown as a good person. If anything, the video made me see what he did and made me dislike him even more.
Shane has released 3 parts so far. The first part showed us how it all began. The second part showed Shane speaking with a clinical psychologist about sociopaths, something he thinks Jake and his brother Logan, might be. Part 3 showed Jake Paul's family dynamics. I think that in the next few parts, Shane will be interviewing people to finish off the series.
You have to understand that Jake, along with his brother Logan are highly problematic YouTubers, yet almost everyone knows about them. They have risen to fame so quickly yet are doing such horrific things like setting their yards on fire and breaking windshields of nice cars. I think that this the reason why Shane wanted to film this series in the first place. He simply wants to get in the mind of Jake Paul so that he can understand WHY he does what he does.
I don't think he ever intended this to be a series that has the goal of making viewers feel bad for Jake Paul. Just because you learn that a murderer has a mental disorder does not make you feel bad for them. The same goes for Jake Paul. If he is a sociopath, it will be easier to understand why he does what he does. If he isn't, hopefully, the documentary will reveal something else that will allow us to understand why he does what he does, but understanding it will not make people feel for him.
I hope the rest of the series runs smoothly. Shane has tweeted that many people in Jake's life have texted him, asking him not to mention them in his videos, which I think shows how awful things must really be for them, but I still don't know much myself. Hopefully, Shane's series will allow all of us to have some insight on this guy and all the things that he stands for. Will Shane Dawson's Documentary on Jake Paul Be A Success?
