The internet has forgot about Logan Paul filming a suicide victim in a forest and it wasn't even

Whilst doing some research into YouTube for my upcoming film project (stay tuned) I looked into the recent fiasco with Logan Paul. From what I've deducted from this research, it seems that everybody has already forgot what he's done, and I feel it's important to remind ourselves of incidents like this. Another topic of conversation is when Pewdiepie said the N word live on stream, which seems to have got lost over time. These are incidents where I feel that everything that can be said has already been said already, so to be constantly sending these people hate is counter-productive and a waste of time for everybody involved. What I do feel is useful is some reflection on these incidents from time to time, to remind people of the actions of these influential people and to potentially view how these events have aged, and whether or not people involved have learned from their mistakes. It was seen by many at the time that the original video by Logan Paul was something that could end his YouTube career, and it's clear to see since then that there has been little effect on the longevity of his channel. Below is the research I conducted this afternoon:

Logan Paul is one of the fastest growing YouTubers on the platform. In early January of 2018 he made a video exploring a suicide forest in Japan. Moderately unsurprisingly he discovered a man who had hung himself from a tree. He says in the video they came to “explore the haunted aspect of the forest” but decides to put in several shots of the body. Within 30 seconds of him talking about how suicide shouldn’t be an option, you can see him laughing. He continues to shoot the body, and as they leave the forest they hint to some passers-by about the location of the body, more so in giving them directions to a tourist sight as opposed to trying to conceal the location or provide emergency services with information as to the man’s whereabouts and unfortunate fate.

There was a lot of backlash in regards to this content and he removed the video after a matter of days. After that he uploaded an apology video. It’s speculated that he looks slightly left of the camera and people are suggesting that he is reading a scripted apology, although this is difficult to prove with evidence. What can be used as evidence against the legitimacy of this apology is that the apology video was originally monetised, meaning he was generating income from this video, until further backlash prompted him to remove the ads.

Logan Paul then went on to create a video about suicide prevention. The video in itself promotes a good view on suicide prevention and it’s clear that this video could help thousands of young people dealing with depression and other mental illnesses that could lead to suicidal thoughts. The issue that I, and a few other YouTubers have with the video such as WillNE and JaackMaate, is that it seems to be very self-absorbed. There are cinematic shots throughout the video, showing Logan swallowing his own saliva whilst listening to the story of a real survivor of a suicide attempt. This could be a genuine reaction, but some of the other content of this video puts this into question. There is a short montage of news reports in regards to his video, with comments about how ignorant he had been. This is immediately followed by an 8 second shot of him washing his hands and face, as if he is almost cleansing himself, and washing away this past. This connotes that he has made an attempt to change his views and behaviour, but through the power of editing as opposed to actual change.

Other actions include footage of him shaking hands with Dr John Draper, who was the director of the national suicide prevention helpline, with a soundbite playing from the start of their interview before the footage of the interview is shown. This comes to show the audience that Logan seemingly has the approval/respect of the man in question. I would argue whether that shot is needed, as it doesn’t add to what the man is saying, it just paints Logan in a more positive light. It’s similar after he talks to suicide survivor Kevin Hines, where they shake hands and share a supportive hug after the interview. There are other shots where they have arms over each other’s shoulders and there’s another handshake. I feel the same could be said about the interaction with Kevin Hines as I said previously with Dr John Draper.

Logan does finish the video by saying he is going to pledge 1 million dollars to suicide prevention charities, and it’s hard to have a negative view on this. The worst that could be said is that he is doing something right for the wrong reason. That money will make a substantial difference to these charities and save lives. The question I ask is that would this money go to these charities if Logan Paul wasn’t under pressure from mainstream media to apologise for his previous actions?

The next video that Logan Paul uploads starts with a comedy sketch, and then as the vlog begins 3 and a half minutes into the video he talks about his new merchandise releases, and how his fans need to buy it as YouTube has cut his ad-revenue, so that he can keep his mansion. It seems he is already back to his overly energetic self. He does make a short 20 second mention of his previous pledge to donate the money, and then immediately follows it up with a mention of his future content of him subscribing, his brother’s birthday, the fact his dad became followed by Cardi B on Instagram, and telling people to subscribe. He makes jokes about a petition to get him removed from YouTube due to his previous actions. The rest of his uploads since then have continued the format of his daily vlogs.

It's hard to say that Logan Paul doesn’t feel remorse for his actions, but the fact that his documentary was shot and released within 3 weeks of his apology video doesn’t seem like enough time for somebody to properly reflect on their actions. The amount of video production quality behind it questions the authenticity of it, as it suggests to me there were directors giving input, cameramen aiming for cinematic shots as opposed to the content of the language being prioritised throughout, and it is things like this which, to me, dilute the content of what should be a very important video.

But it seems that the internet has almost forgotten about this incident. The like/dislike ratio on his apology was close to 50/50, and the documentary he made was slightly better but still had a 1/5 dislike ratio. His most recent content mainly consists of likes, and by surrounding himself in a new topic of discussion, an upcoming boxing match with YouTuber KSI, it seems that the reflection period for his suicide prevention videos has passed. His fan base has either forgotten, forgiven, or just don’t care about it anymore. Logan Paul is on a new venture into the world of boxing, and it’s clear that he himself, as well as the YouTube community have moved on from the previous drama, in the promise of excitement of this new content from him. I feel that all of this just goes to show how fast the YouTube community moves, and how much effect one short documentary has at clearing a big YouTubers name, proving ultimately that these people are untouchable.