The Age Of Enlightenment, By Shane Dawson And Voltaire

In addition to comically expressing themselves, Shane Dawson and Voltaire have also spoken out against the government, indicating their lack of trust in it. During the Age of Enlightenment, while all aspects of European life were being re-evaluated, Voltaire criticized the government officials that were in power at the time through his satirical writing. Some of this problematic writing included satirical poems in which Voltaire “[ridiculed] the incestuous love affairs of the new French regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans” (Reill and Wilson). Because of those poems, Voltaire was exiled in 1715 to Sully-sur-Loire, a commune in France. However, he could not resist spreading his thoughts, so “renewed literary attacks against the regent in
1717, brought arrest, an 11-month imprisonment in the Bastille, and a second exile to Chatenay” for Voltaire (Reill and Wilson). Nothing could faze Voltaire as he continued to spread his opinions. As if multiple exiles were not enough, “After he returned to Paris, he published his views on British government, literature and religion in a collection entitled "Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais" ("Philosophical letters on the English"), which met great controversy in France (including the burning of copies of the work), and Voltaire was again forced to leave Paris in 1734” (Mastin).
Voltaire’s repeated writing against the government despite the repercussions demonstrates how important to him it was to inform the public of his suspicions and beliefs. Although Shane Dawson was not constantly in trouble with the authorities and did not face exiles, he also made remarks that were critical of the current government. In his various conspiracy theory videos, Shane often shares theories about the government such as them coordinating historical events such as 9/11, watching and listening to people through phones, being behind harmful trends in order to control overpopulation, and cloning celebrities. In one of these videos, Shane Dawson explains the belief that there were bombs included in 9/11 set up by the government and that the planes may not have even crashed into the Twin Towers based on the footage of the planes flying straight through the towers without being
destroyed. Shane states, “Of course the government said no, no, no it was just the two terrorists and the planes. But some people think that [President George W.] Bush and the government coordinated it themselves and that there were bombs placed in the building beforehand because they wanted both buildings to come down [...] the government created this awful disaster so that we would be okay with going to war with Afghanistan.” He also reveals that according to HuffPost, fifty percent of Americans believe these 9/11 theories (“Mind Blowing Conspiracy Theories” 13:12-14:17). Due to discrepancies and arguments over what was said in past videos, Shane has created a new introduction for the conspiracy theory videos with a warning message. The new intro states, “Warning: what you are about to watch may make you question everything you thought you know. Viewer discretion is advised.” The words “DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE” pop up at the end of the introduction (“Mind Blowing Conspiracy Theories” 0:04-0:18). Shane also includes a believability scale to represent how much he believes in a theory which influences how the viewers will perceive the theory because his opinion matters significantly to his fans. Consequently, Voltaire argued his points as much as he wanted regardless of the repercussions while Shane continued to spread his fascination with government conspiracy theories but took precautions to avoid further troubles. However, both Shane and Voltaire influenced the amount of trust society has in the government.
Not only did Shane Dawson and Voltaire make a huge impact on public opinion in their area, but they impacted society’s views worldwide.
Using the technology of his time, writing along with the help of the printing press, Voltaire was a “prolific writer” as he “produced works in almost every literary form” including “plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical and scientific works, over 21,000 letters and over two thousand books and pamphlets” (Mastin). For both good and bad reasons, these significant pieces of writing sent him around the world to further publicize his thoughts. The main unfortunate reason that Voltaire traveled so much was because of his multitude of exiles and times when he had no choice but to flee. However, Voltaire ended up in several different countries. At one point in 1748, Voltaire had settled in Poland with Madame du Châtelet. But after the death of this “beloved companion”, Voltaire returned to France and then decided to “finally [accept] the longstanding invitation of Frederick II (the Great) to move to Berlin” (Reill and Wilson). Although this was tragic, being invited to Berlin by Frederick the Great shows that throughout his career and circulation of his beliefs, Voltaire made a great impact that even reached those in power outside of his native country of France. Shane Dawson has similarly made a global impact. However, he did not have to travel to various countries in order to get his thoughts around. Using twenty-first-century technology,
such as YouTube, his main platform, Shane Dawson has touched lives all over the world. Shane Dawson’s Youtube channels “collectively, have more than 17 million subscribers and over 3 billion views” from all over the world. In addition to his large fanbase, Shane has made such an impact that “he was named the sixth most powerful influencer in entertainment, on Forbes' 2017 Top Influencers List” (Ward). Shane’s YouTube success moved him and his family out to Los Angeles, and he now has “tens of millions of followers” and is able to travel around as he pleases while maintaining the same trust and humble personality that his fans love (Ward). Therefore, although Voltaire had to be more mobile to gain his success and make a difference while Shane was able to influence so many people’s lives through a computer screen, they both had such a widespread impact on society.
Overall, although the two are seemingly distinct, Shane Dawson and Voltaire both touched the lives of people all over the world, openly criticized the government, and questioned widely accepted concepts despite the negative effects that came along with their actions. Shane and Voltaire share the characteristics of being very determined, influential, and brave. They wanted their voices heard and they wanted to make the public aware that not everything is as it seems and that people should not be afraid to stray away from everything they know to dig deep and find other possibilities and explanations. In a way, both Shane and Voltaire can be viewed as strong and heroic because they struggled in their early lives and worked so hard to make a lasting effect on the world even though there were many reasons why they should not have said certain things. Not only were they unfiltered, but the two also attempted to deliver powerful messages or voice basic opinions in a comedic way so that people could still get a laugh out of it. Their method of passing on information was not accepted by all, but they were never deterred. The works of Shane Dawson and Voltaire should motivate society to open their eyes and understand that life can still be enjoyed even though people need to figure things out for themselves rather than accepting the circumstances without hesitation or further questioning.