this might have been discussed but what is with phil downplaying any mention of anything hip; lingo/streamers/artists/media/memes etc that are relevant he will just play off in some autistic way like its some absolutely foreign thing example : ____ has just gifted a sub to armor...rat?...ammorath? ammourath? well i dont know who that is but thanks for the anonymous sub! phil who do you want to win the super bowl this year? i have NO idea whos even playing i havent watched sports in YEARS thats a very unrelated question to whats going on *mocking laugh*. the only thing he'll talk about outside of the gamingsphere is wrestling but i refuse to believe he isn't way more informed on things he claims ignorance about.
i think he hates any discussion outside of something he has control over or that isnt about or related to him. maybe its also partially him pushing the shtick that he works so hard he doesn't have time for anyting other than playing games watching wrestling.
Phil likes being contrarian because he has the basic maturity of your average edgelord high schooler. He thinks it means he is more independent and he considers himself better than other people because he doesn't just go with the majority and thinks for himself. That's why he'll say shit like Sonic 06 isn't a bad game or insisting there was nothing wrong with Shadows of Mordor. It is also part of why he dumps on more mainstream people like PewDiePie and Ninja. It's also why he used to dump so hard on Minecraft. The funny thing is how quickly Phil backpedals on this when he thinks it'll make him money, which is why he always hypes up new releases and stuff, but then ultimately goes back to "this is popular so it sucks" to cover up him being bad at a game.
It also applies to basic things like using editing programs or greenscreen. Hell, even streaming in general was something he was bashing when it was first growing in popularity. The more people are doing it, the less likely Phil is to support it unless he thinks he can make money out of it. Then, when it loses popularity, he'll inexplicably try to pick it up and cash out on it even though he is years late. Just the fact that he is now only trying to make Minecraft a thing is proof of that. I look forward to seeing Phil jump into fortnite for his 2023 save the house marathon.
Here's a thing. You're right, of course - against all reason and on top of all of the other aspects of his ludicrous persona, Phil has to be an edgiboi with his opinions. But there's a caveat. Notice that Phil
never wants to give a bidden opinion - he'll give them when he's damn good and ready, but cheer him 5000 bits to ask his favorite GTA game and you'll only ever get one answer. "ACK ACK ACK I don't think about things like that! And I can't answer a question like that anyway, I'm too busy playing a game!"
Ignoring that the response itself is a lie because he does top tens and shit every so often, I think I know why he does this. Phil cannot abide being wrong.
He knows the opinions he expresses are safe. Their numbers aside streamers like PewDiePie and Ninja are divisive (and I think in this case Phil's envy overrides the rest of his brain anyway). Political issues have support on either side. The point is that when he does express an opinion, I think he does so comfortable knowing he'll have chat support. He keeps his mouth shut about everything else because if he fucks up there can be reasonable dissent in the chat, which he can't stand. Whether that's pure ego or because it also clogs things up when he's using it as his personal vidya helpline, I think that could be any number of things, but my larger point is that he absolutely cannot abide being demonstrably wrong.
I'll demonstrate with 0utsyder's Silent Hill 2 TIHYDP.
At around 3:14:09, when he's at the ass-end of the game, minutes from finishing and having already gone into overtime because his exceptional ass just has to beat this in the current session, Phil slams on the brakes and goes on a 'tism parade to prove wrong one person in his chat.
I don't think it's enough for Phil to be able to block/ban people who disagree with him. He has to avoid disagreement to begin with, and of course we all know that's because years spent on a loveseat has reduced his spine to gelatin.
EDIT: removed some words for clarity.
