Since the show ended, a bill is now moving forward, a move that Fielder said may have been influenced by the HBO series.
  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org
    5·
    2 days ago

    The top review says:

    It’s self-help reality show satire. Idk how else to put it. If you don’t get it, then sorry. His situational comedy hits a little too close to home for some. But for those who have the humility to appreciate the awkwardness of the human condition, then you appreciate just how absurd this show gets. It’s comedic inception, I started the show chuckling, and by episode 4 I was in tears. Layers upon layers of absurdity. This show has the perfect guy (and apparently the budget) to do it.

    Official Trailer - Season 2

    Super weird. I can imagine no legislation that could move forward from this. Maybe that’s just another level of satire on Fielder’s part?

    Also please remind me where I know Nathan Fielder from?

    Anyhow, thanks for the tip.

    • exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      4·
      1 day ago

      I can imagine no legislation that could move forward from this.

      It’s hard to explain without watching the whole thing, but the second season explores several themes, including whether Nathan Fielder has undiagnosed autism. Autism is a disqualifying condition for a commercial pilot’s license, so instead of opening an envelope that includes the doctor’s opinion about potential neurodivergence (after a bunch of psychological tests), he goes and gets the flight hours to qualify for a commercial license. And he triumphantly announces that there’s nothing wrong with him, because the FAA doesn’t license people with mental health issues.

      It’s a brilliant demonstration of how the incentives relating to pilot mental health (a recurring theme all season) actively discourage pilots from seeking out mental health treatment, for risk of losing their licenses. It’s willful blindness because they’d rather not know than run the risk of knowing something they’d be required to disclose to the FAA.

      The proposed legislation would provide the FAA the resources and a mandate to better design rules around mental health treatment so that pilots don’t purposefully avoid mental health treatment or diagnoses.

      Also please remind me where I know Nathan Fielder from?

      Nathan For You was a popular comedy show where he would persuade local LA-area businesses to implement all sorts of ridiculous business ideas. It was popular and ran about 10 years ago, but the clips became very popular on social media especially after 2014 (when the “Dumb Starbucks” project went viral). So even if you haven’t seen the show, you’ve probably seen gifs and videos from the show all over the internet.