Watching someone else watch something has become a meta-category of popular media. Reaction videos to movie trailers, music drops, or even other reactions generate billions of views. It is entertainment about entertainment.
Instead, we live in an era of niche bubbles. Streaming algorithms curate personalized universes. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max (now Max) offer vertical slices of reality. One viewer may be deep in a K-drama romance, while their roommate is absorbed in a true crime documentary about a scammer. Both are consuming , but they exist in different realities. Justice.League.XXX.An.Axel.Braun.Parody.2017.DV...
However, this constant consumption has a dark side. The phenomenon of "doomscrolling"—the compulsive consumption of negative news and content—has heightened anxiety across generations. Because algorithms prioritize engagement (clicks, comments, shares), they often amplify outrage and controversy. Calm, rational discussions do not go viral; fights do. Watching someone else watch something has become a
This title refers to a high-budget adult film parody directed by Axel Braun, released in 2017. Braun is well-known in the industry for "big-budget" parodies of comic book properties that feature high production values and costumes meant to mimic the source material—in this case, the DC Comics Justice League characters. Instead, we live in an era of niche bubbles
Cable television and the early internet began to splinter the mass audience. Suddenly, there were 500 channels, then forums, then blogs. People could self-select their entertainment content. The Sopranos and The Wire proved that niche audiences could sustain premium storytelling. Meanwhile, Napster and YouTube ripped the distribution model apart. Popular media was no longer delivered; it was discovered and shared.