this post was submitted on 09 May 2026
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A Boring Dystopia
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For context, Bob Ross is a well-respected painter who passed away in 1995. His "The Joy of Painting" broadcast, originally made for the PBS channel, has been re-streamed on Twitch by the site, making him a notable figure online.
While nowhere near the ongoing existential polycrises we're battling, there is something disturbing about a real person's legacy being used to promote a cash-grab video game that squeezes money from kids. I'm certain Bob Ross would not want anything to do with Epic Games or Fortnite. To have one's existence and fame used in this way is on-par with running crypto scams with deepfakes of a public figure.
That's a good thought.
I think my point is more, that this is not "Bob Ross." As in "a person." It is a franchise that exploits his name.
The dystopian part already happened. The fact that a company like Epic happily joins that is not surprising, nor anything that is worse than any other capitalistic joint venture.
I think people would not perceive it as dystopian (or even "bad" tbh) if they made a joint venture with Louis Vouitton. However, this also was once a real person. One with integrity who made rock solid suitcases btw. ๐