Documentary
United States of America
Feels Good Man is a documentary film directed by Arthur Jones that tells the story of Pepe the Frog, a popular character in indie comics created by artist Matt Furie. Initially, Pepe was a laid-back, easygoing character with a positive outlook on life, but he was eventually co-opted by the alt-right and white nationalist movements and became associated with hate speech, racism, and anti-Semitism.
The film delves into how Pepe was first introduced to the internet, how he became a viral meme and cultural phenomenon, and how he was eventually used by extremists to promote their hateful messages. The documentary features interviews with Furie, who discusses how he created Pepe as a way to connect with his friends and how he felt powerless to stop his character from being appropriated by hate groups.
The film also explores how the internet and social media have allowed hate groups to spread their messages more easily and reach a wider audience than ever before. It uses Pepe as a lens to examine larger issues of free speech, censorship, and the ways in which technology is reshaping our culture and politics.
Throughout the film, Furie and his team work to reclaim and rehabilitate Pepe's image, and to remind the world of the character's origins as a symbol of love and acceptance. They launch a campaign to flood the internet with positive and wholesome images of Pepe, and to counter the hate speech associated with his previous iterations.
Overall, Feels Good Man is a powerful and thought-provoking documentary about the intersection of art, technology, and politics in our modern world, and the dangers of allowing hate to flourish online.
