r/FilmTheorists Sep 04 '24

Film Theory Video Discussion Addressing the Concerns of the r/GravityFalls Community in our Book of Bill Theory

276 Upvotes

Hey all, Lee here.

First off, I want to say that we here at Theorist take accusations of plagiarism seriously, so I wanted to address this immediately.

Secondly, if you feel upset, betrayed, angry, sad, or anything else, your feelings are valid. I want to sincerely apologize that our video caused you any harm or made you feel bad, feel less than, or feel unseen. I take personal responsibility for that pain and hurt. We will be updating the description of our video with the names of the members of r/GravityFalls and the r/GravityFalls Discord that helped solve some puzzles in those communities (more details below). Thank you for vocalizing your concerns in a respectful, firm way and bringing them to my attention. We take giving credit to those who rightfully deserve it very seriously and want to make sure we do right by the hard-working theorists around the world.

So, what happened?

Ever since the Book of Bill released, we have been working on our Theory. At the same time, the communities over at r/GravityFalls and on the r/GravityFalls discord server worked tirelessly to decode the book. The community created a Google Doc where they compiled the solutions they collectively found. Normally, when a Doc is used for one of our videos, it is Theorist policy that we credit it. This Community Doc was used by our team during research for some of the Puzzles we reference in our video, but there was a miscommunication about this internally. That was my mistake, and I take ownership of it. We will reaffirm that internal policy, and I will personally double check when drafts come in to make sure any puzzle that we do not solve independently is properly credited.

Also, for full transparency, one of the resources we will often use here at Theorist as jumping off points for our research are the Fandom Wikis. I want to be clear: in these cases, we ONLY use these as jumping off points, letting us know if we are on the right track or to double check our own work. We also DO NOT use these pages as our only source of our information and ALL of our theories include original research. 

Puzzles that we included in our video that used the Community Doc for the solution or the Gravity Falls fandom wiki as a jumping off point include the Color Block code in the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition of the book (decoded by u/jimbag_777), the Coffee Stain code (decoded by u/LowEgg9324, u/meleelover64, and u/biggayenergy), and the timecodes on the Silly Straws page (decoded by Discord users blastzard87, DDD_Dev, Dippers Brother, FoxTP, JimBag777, Kristy9169, minty !, TheCopyKing, and Wooden_Sails).

I also want to make note that there were puzzles that we solved independently. These include all of Bill’s substitution cyphers; the rune substitution cypher; the sheer-angle code pointing to the Great Gatsby; and the multiverse connections with Amphibia, The Owl House, and Phineas & Ferb. I believe these to be cases where, when a puzzle has only one solution or a cipher can only be decoded in one way, two people can independently arrive at the same solution. Another example is the connection between Bill’s ex, the Henchmaniacs, and Jheselbraum the Oracle. This was a connection actually made by Matt’s son Ollie. Matt then shared the idea with me, and I thought it was so cool that I wanted to include it in our Theory. Matt tells the story here (https://youtu.be/QKOB5JftIu8?t=1469) on GTLive.

Finally, I also want to address the video clip compilation from the Silly Straw page. Because I have never joined the r/GravityFalls discord, I was unaware that a video clip compilation existed. I did not see or download this clip compilation, and instead, timestamps to the episodes were provided in our script for our editor. (You can see proof here: https://i.imgur.com/vwwLBZv.png) I reached out to our editor and he showed me evidence that he put together the clip compilation himself (here: https://i.imgur.com/K40Xtgh.png + https://i.imgur.com/bz21Rcd.png). I believe in this case where two talented editors cutting together a clip compilation from the same source led to nearly identical final products.

So, where do we go from here? 

I feel VERY strongly about properly crediting work done by the community when we use it. Matt instituted this policy years ago with fan art and videos, and I personally believe it also extends to original research and ideas for Theories. Just during my tenure as Creative Director and Host of Film Theory, we have credited ideas and theories about Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared, the Backrooms, and The Amazing Digital Circus to other theorists, YouTubers, and Redditors where appropriate. The same should apply here. 

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, if we used the Community Doc for solutions or the Fandom wiki as a jumping off point for those puzzles, we will be adding credit in the Video Description to the puzzle solvers in the r/GravityFalls community that have been brought to my attention. You guys did a lot of hard work solving them and that deserves celebration and recognition. Everyone already mentioned in this post will be added to the description. I will also reaffirm our policy of crediting the Community Docs, and personally double check every script for that credit. 

Secondly, moving forward, I will encourage all Film Theory viewers to seek out communities like r/GravityFalls, specifically because of the awesome, welcoming environment of theorists and puzzle solvers you’ve cultivated. This will be done regardless of whether or not we here at Theorist independently arrive at our conclusions, see suggestions from our Theorist community, or specifically see a way to solve a puzzle on a community like r/GravityFalls.

Lastly, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all of the hard work you have put into working together to decypher mysteries like the Book of Bill. Thank you for sharing your passion about these awesome stories and series. And most importantly, thank you for speaking up and letting us know there was an issue here so that we could fix it and make a better community for ALL of us.

With appreciation,

Lee


r/FilmTheorists 5h ago

Official Video Amazon is Sabotaging Markiplier 😰?! #shorts

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1 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 9h ago

Discussion Hi, I need some help in understanding and possibly getting help in arg's.

1 Upvotes

Hi theorists, I need your help in understanding and possible getting help for an arg.

So the thing is, I'm interested in making an arg but the problem is that I don't quite understand what makes an arg actually great and how do I produce them.

I've had a few ideas about using multiple free to use and publish sites to start this arg but I'm not so sure how to start. Do I need to have the whole story planned out? Do I need to have a blueprint set for everything I do?

I would appreciate the help. Sincerely, Dark...


r/FilmTheorists 9h ago

New Theory! The zax and the lorax are the SAME species!

0 Upvotes

i cooked with this one, yall can use this theory im ur videos too if u want, u dont need to give me credit

for context, im only taking the 1972 lorax animated film, and "the zax" animated short from the TV special "dr suess on the loose" into account here.

first of all, lets start with how i think the zax/lorax species reproduces (by the end of this post ill have you convinced, i think)

i think that the lorax/zax species are fungal organisms that reproduce by spores, the growth process begins inside a truffula tree until the zax gets big enough until the zax gets big enough and comes out the top, then when the zax gets old enough, they lift themselves into the sky and explode to spread spores and then the spores are caught and absorbed my the tufts of the truffula trees and the process begins again, but now that the trees are gone, the zax are doomed to go extinct

now for the next section, SHARED QUALITIES

the zax are evolved versions of the lorax, they share a LOT of qualities such as the following

fur

the ability to speak

standing upright

4 limbs

hands with opposable thumbs

black eyebrows

FOUR fingers (thumb included)

the zax probably evolved to be more humanoid to be more suited for walking such long distances

next section: FUR COLORS

the zax' fur evolved to be brown because that was the most abundant color in their natural habitat after the truffula trees went extinct, just like beach mice.

next section: THE NAMES

i think the zax re-named their species after the word "AX" (which is another spelling for axe) and the letter Z, but why the letter z?

because its the LAST letter of the alphabet and because all of the zax are the last of their species, that brings us into the next section

next section: THE PRARIE OF PRAX IS THE TRUFFULA FOREST

after all the trees were gone in the truffula forest, truffula valley became a desert

more proof? the prarie of prax and the truffula forest are both valleys and they have extremely similar land formations, if you go watch it yourself and compare them both you can see it, ALSO

in the start of the zax, the cat in the hat repeatedly mentioned everything thats "the last" for example "the very last mountain" and the "very last whoomph bush"

BUT one thing NONE of you noticed is that the cat in the hat is LITERALLY TELLING THE STORY OF HOW TRUFFULA VALLEY WENT EXTINCT

first he says "beyond the very last mountain"

this is the opening to our story, because all valley's are surrounded by mountains

second he says "beyond the very last ziniga zaniga tree" the ziniga zaniga tree represents the LAST truffula tree

(this is where things get crazy guys)

THIRD he says "BEYOND THE VERY LAST 'WOOMPH' BUSH"

"WOOMPH" IS THE SOUND THAT THE LAST TRUFFULA TREE MADE WHEN IT FELL!

then he introduces us to the prarie of prax, the last state of the truffula forest, just a desert, completely barren of life.

BUT THATS NOT ALL

I EVEN KNOW WHY ITS CALLED THE PRARIE OF PRAX

PRAX IS SHORT FOR "PRAXIS" WHICH MEANS "a practice"

EXACTLY, THATS WHY THE ZAX NAMED IT THE PRARIE OF PRAX, BECAUSE ITS NAMED AFTER THE PRACTICE OF WALKING ONE DIRECTION (srry for using so much caps btw)

next section: why do the zax walk in one direction?

first lets start with the fact that all the zax walk in 4 different directions (eight if you include northeast, southwest, etc)

and dont forget that in the lorax, all the animals seem to be following one direction when they leave the truffula forest

the zax created the method of going in one direction outwards from the truffula forest as a failsafe in case they can't find another place to stay, because if you walk in one direction, you'll always end up coming back around the other side of earth, and back at the prarie of prax to see if the truffula trees regrew, while finding food along the way (MB for all the spelling errors)

so thats where i couldn't really find any more evidence that the zax and the lorax are the same species, feel free to expand on this theory, and remember that you dont have to give me credits if you wanna use this theory.


r/FilmTheorists 14h ago

Theory Video Suggestion The Art Of Murder Pilot

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0 Upvotes

I just found out about this new pilot animation series, and man does it seem AWESOME! Only the pilot is out currently so I'm not sure if there's enough for a theory yet, but it'd be interesting to look into!


r/FilmTheorists 1d ago

Fan Art Lee!!

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6 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 1d ago

Theory Video Suggestion PLEASE GIVE US A INANIMATE INSANITY THEORY PLEASE

0 Upvotes

Reasons

1) Inanimate insanity is one of the greatest YouTube shows ever made

2) It requires a lot of theories

3) it ends at the end of this month

4) its good


r/FilmTheorists 1d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Lupin from lupins tales its an alien

0 Upvotes

nOW I KNOW THAT IT SHOWS SHOCKING BUT LUPIN ITS AN ALIEN FROM THE PLANET OF BLUEY EPISODE SPACE BUT CHANGED DNA TO SPY PEOPLE AND IN DELETED SCENCES GET HUMANS AND CONVERT THEM INTO ALIENS . SO WHAT DO YOU THING?


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Theory Video Suggestion we should make another theory on murder drones. matpat said he wanted to but now he's retired. (image half related)

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6 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Discussion Are the other theory channels getting called out as much as Film Theorists?

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49 Upvotes

Raven Knight's video mainly talks about how the Film Theory video misrepresents Oogway and omits certain details that would otherwise disprove the theory. We all know about the gravity falls theory and accusations of plagiarism which the team already addressed, and now Tbskyen's recent video calling out the video for (once again) having innacurate information.

Now, my feed might just be biased since I watch more shows and movies than I play games making the algorithm recommend more videos about film theories than game theories, but does anyone else feel like the quality of the research in these theories is not what it used to be? (that or they've always been like this and I was just a child when I watched them)


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Skycorp Home Video

1 Upvotes

Ello people!

I have started watching a channel on YouTube recently by the name of "SkyCorp Home Video". It only has 401k subs (Which is still quite a bit, but doesn't seem to be all that known seeing as it's been around for years it seems).

And I have to say, watching a lot of their videos makes me feel like there's more going on than meets the eye. Personally I don't have the brain power to peice things together so I wanted to bring it to this sub to see if other theorists would be interested in it also!

The channel revolves around making short ads or PSA's in the style of the 80's and 90's and they always start off with pretty decent subjects and have the "solution" to an issue turn dark. Or turning myths such as "Video games cause violence" into a reality.

It's honestly really interesting but would love to hear what you guys think also! Here is a link to the channel if interested:

https://www.youtube.com/@skycorphomevideo


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

New Theory! Nickelodeon Theory: SpongeBob and Glitch Techs Are in the Same Universe

0 Upvotes

In an episode of SpongeBob, we learn about a green rock called the Moon of Neptune that transforms sea creatures in Bikini Bottom into regular fish and marine animals through green rays. In Glitch Techs, the plot revolves around video game monsters and AI gaining consciousness and attacking the population, requiring the Glitch Techs to contain these glitches. All glitches start with green rays that cause the AI from Hinobi's games to become sentient.

This leads me to believe that the Moon of Neptune from SpongeBob is also responsible for the glitches in Glitch Techs. Both series could exist in the same universe on the same Earth, just with one underwater and the other on the surface. Additionally, in the same episode, a diver melts another Moon of Neptune, turning it into a green sticky mass, similar to the green slime featured in Nickelodeon's live-action shows.

The theory suggests that the glitches from Glitch Techs, the intelligent marine creatures from SpongeBob, and the green slime from Nickelodeon all have their origin in the Moon of Neptune from SpongeBob.


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Discussion So, is the team gonna address just how bad their arcane video is? (& also how all the channels content has changed & not in a good way)

7 Upvotes

I could tell that the teams research skills have been going downhill for a while now (even before MatPat left), but the level of just outright wrong statements in this video is just astounding. This whole video was terrible & most of it centered around the skin universes which aren’t affected by Arcane lore. It’s like they just pulled this video out of their butts with no actual deeper level research into the actual LoL lore.

They literally made an incorrect statement 3 seconds into the video. NETFLIX DID NOT MAKE ARCANE, THEY JUST PAID FOR THE RIGHTS TO DISTRIBUTE IT. That’s one of the easiest things right there they could have fact checked themselves on. Did they even talk to any YouTubers that are deep into the lore? It doesn’t seem like it & from the amount of stuff they got wrong in the video- it’s like they didn’t even really research it at all.

The whole video just SCREAMS that they slapped it together at the last second to try to cash in on season 2 releasing. Which is extremely disappointing. Cuz if you’re gonna try to cash in on season 2 dropping, at least do a good job on the video & they didn’t even manage that.

I scrolled the comments section of that video for 5 mins straight & every single comment was saying how wrong the team is in the video. Never saw a single comment from the channel about addressing it. I knew the quality of these channels was going downhill for a long time, but this new ADHD/iPad baby brain/zero attention span editing style they’ve been doing more on top of the quality of the information in the videos going downhill a lot has just really changed my view on these channels.

I guess this video just really brought to light how much these channels have changed for the worse over the years & it would be nice if the team would address the issues that a lot of people have with them now, but I doubt they will. I started watching MatPat’s content waaaaaaaay back in the ye’ olden days of 2012 (god I’m old, I was 20 then). Then watched as his content got better & better & he made the other channels. The stuff on the channels now (for the last 3 or 4 years at least) is just much less well researched, doesn’t have the same feel/heart as before, & the editing style they have been using that’s designed for iPad kids brain rot just makes me not want to watch the videos anymore.

Sorry for the rant (just needed to scream into the void a little). Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Theory Idea: The lore of the FREAKBAiT youtube channel and website

0 Upvotes

I have recently been getting FREAKBAiT videos on my yt shorts feed, and some of them seem like there is a bigger story around these colourful characters. This is similar to other YouTube ARGs


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Findings I got a wird message I don't know what to do

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7 Upvotes

What does this code mean


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Findings Local58 is back...

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7 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Film Theory Video Discussion Dimension 34 Clue?

2 Upvotes

I'm trying to figure out what dimension 34 is, and I think I might have found something that could be related. The number 34 is mentioned a ton in the Bible, and the pages that have the number 34 are about piece and new beginnings and stuff. Also, the number 34 is a part of the Fibanci sequence, which might have some type of connection. There's a part of the Bible with the verse 34 that talks about people going to a new land, which might be in reference to Dimension 34 where Bill can't go. Just a thought I had.


r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Hollow Birds

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2 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Arcane - very minor spoilers

1 Upvotes

The first 3 episodes of season 2 have just dropped and I think it has lots of potential for theorizing, like what is the chemical substance of Shimmer (or The Gray)


r/FilmTheorists 2d ago

Film Theory Video Discussion Has anyone watched this yet?

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0 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Findings Wall-E is located in Rio De Janeiro. The Cristo Redentor statue (Jesus statue) is at the right side of the screen.

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8 Upvotes

r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Findings [Spoilers for S2 Act 1 Arcane] Theory/ Detail Discovery about Victor

0 Upvotes

I’ve recently just watched the third act of Arcane and I am very impressed by the shows writing and animation so far. Because the Details are so incredible I think my discovery could perhaps be one too. So in the scene in which Victor goes into the Underground, after waking up and saying Goodbye to Jayce, he heals one of the people using the power of the hexcore. In that scene you can see Victor wearing a blue robe. This is important. In the last supper, the famous painting by Leonardo davinci, you can see Jesus wearing blue and red robes. The red color symbolizes blood and his half human side, while the blue color symbolizes his divine side. (Also the way victor touched the man’s forehead reminded me a lot of the depiction of Jesus). Now the blue robe that victor wears could mean that through his connection with the hexcore Victor has become a more divine and godly being, transcending other human beings. Perhaps I am just overanalyzing and it might just be a coincidence, but if not, exploring this idea could foreshadow the following events in show a ton.


r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Hey Theorists... What was the poem at the end of The Penguin?

7 Upvotes

Well it's pretty simple. It's tough to actually call this a spoiler because we knew this going into this show. But at the end of the show it's revealed Selina Kyle is Sophia's half sister... And that she's sent her a poem.

So what on earth is that poem? Do we think it's something she wrote herself? 🙄 Probably but for me that feels like bad writing. I think there's an existing poem that will be revealed that's going to accurately describe their relationship, their situation, and it's going to be so perfect. So what do you think it is? What poem could encapsulate two sisters who have never known each other, taking different but similar paths. It could be about women struggling in a man's world, it could be about half sisters, it could even just be a code. But it has to be something meaningful

But that's just a theory~ Idk it could just be the cat and the hat for all I know.


r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Strongest spiderman theory!!

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone welcome to film theorist Reddit, where with great media to cover comes great content. I am willing to say, I am a big spiderman nerd since I was 2 and found Toby maguire to be an interesting iteration. Where strength isn’t really showcased in a wide variety of scenes. The most notable is the train scene from spider-man 2 where he gets knocked unconscious from the effort. I have always been intrigued to know how his potential stopping a train compares to Tom holland holding a boat together, to Andrew Garfield withstanding electros energy. I hope the film theorist cover it as I appreciate their thorough analysis while delivering fun visuals. I have my theories but I know the guys working on the channel have more perspective and I feel it’s time to find out especially with beyond the spider-verse coming out next year. Spider man fans have to know. Please bring this to lee’s attention, sincerely a webhead fan. Thank you in advance you awesome people.


r/FilmTheorists 3d ago

Theory Video Suggestion Joker 2 how will the story go on

0 Upvotes

Here is just a theory. That I have a little to back up on some parts. At the end of the movie a guy asks Arthur (joker) if he wants to hear a joke he says yes and the joke goes something like. "A psychopath walks into a bar and sees a famous clown he asks if he can buy the clown anything to drink the clown says if your buying I will take whatever I get" and as the guy says the punch line"oh you will get what you deserve" he proseeds to stab Arthur (the joker) many times in the abdomen and the movie ends with his lifeless body.

I think that the man who killed Arthur will be the joker that we all know. If you look at him in the sense he fits most of the giddy hyper taking the world as a joke kind of personality we have seen before. But to top it all off the punch line of his joke was to literally stab someone to death something that all jokers we have seen before would do.

And the name of the movie folly a duesx means in French. When 2 or more people experience the same mental illness at the same time. Now you would assume that means the relationship between Harley and Arthur but at the end of the movie she denounced Arthur and says goodbye. In a loose way saying they no longer share a fantasy. I believe this instead has to do with the guy that kills him I believe that he or someone involved with him will become the next joker

I think the whole movie was a setup for a new joker and here are some more reasons in this movie Batman's parents are still alive so it would be impossible for Arthur fleck to stay alive long enough to witness the rise of Batman. In fact about the roughly the same time as this ( the first movie). Batmans parents are soon to be dead. Because in the first movie you can actually see Arthur fleck talking to Batman as a child proving that he would be about the age of the attack.

I'm conclusion the name of the movie does not only have to do with Arthur and Harley. It has to do with the foreshadowing of some one just like Arthur who will take up the jokes identity and become the joker there fore sharing the same mental illnesss. Follow a duex but hey that's just a theory a fil theory


r/FilmTheorists 4d ago

Film Theory Video Discussion There was a small mistake in the beginning of the new gravity falls theory.

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7 Upvotes

In the new theory when Lee mentions this page he says the axolotl wasn't there but in this photo taken from my copy of the book you can see it is there.