Was Ruby Rhod the first influencer?
Posted by prix03gt@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 54 comments
He's loud, he's flamboyant, his literal job is making content for his fans. Did the movie somehow unintentionally predict that influencer was a thing?
Suspicious_Yam_69420@reddit
No, he was a host.
wintor9@reddit
Starbugg1@reddit
Definitely first livestreamer though. Parading his ass around recording people that didn't ask for it.
a_wascally_wabbit@reddit
So....podcaster live on location?
jtho78@reddit
Like a mobile talkshow host.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
"Influencer" seems to be like "hipster" where everyone just makes up their own definition.
ghoulthebraineater@reddit
No. If anyone gets that credit it's Ron Popeil.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Ron was late to the party, despite making extensive use of the dance floor.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
Ron Popeil was the actual inventor of that stuff, not an influencer.
ghoulthebraineater@reddit
His biggest invention was using media to influence people to buy his shit. The actual products were pretty irrelevant. He invented the concept of the infomercial which is the basis for most influencers.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
People selling things they invented a very old concept. The whole idea of an "influencer" is that you're selling something you have absolutely no connection to.
ghoulthebraineater@reddit
Influencers sell things they are connected to all the time. Feastables or Prime are perfect examples.
But yes, people have been selling shit since civilization existed. It's how he sold things that was different. He created entertaining content with a focus on him as a personality with the goal of selling merch. That's exactly what an influencers does He created that model.
theduder999@reddit
Godammit, I fucking love this movie. It’s way better than it has any right being.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
I lost count of how many times I watched it in the theatre.
Clamwacker@reddit
Went to see this with my wife when they were replaying it in theaters for the anniversary a while back. I forgot how many little references that I use frequently that came from that movie lol
My friends mom had one of those cable de-scramblers back in the day and her hobby was recording movies off HBO. Had a huge book shelf filled with the LP VHS tapes with 3 movies on each of them. The one with 5th Element, the Saint, and some old ass movie with Kris Kristofferson ended up getting played a lot the summer we discovered LSD. Peaking on acid during the opera scene was intense!
IdioticPrototype@reddit
100%.
Comfortable-nerve78@reddit
This is a movie I can watch over and over again. Corbin??? Corbin??? 😂
w0rsh1pm3owo@reddit
[2] radio shows have existed for awhile, and quite a few had flamboyant absurdity used for content.
mindbullet@reddit
Zzzz Zzzz Zzzzt!
InfectedSteve@reddit
If anything, wanyes world.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
The original premise of Wayne's World was that it was a public access show at 2am that nobody watched.
prix03gt@reddit (OP)
Good call, didn't think about that one.
terrab123@reddit
Korbin, best character ever 😉
mizushimo@reddit
Radio DJs in the 70s-80s were old school influencers
MeatPopsicle10@reddit
Bzzzzz
kgruesch@reddit
I'll never forgive him for stealing Egon's hair...
NocturnalSerpents@reddit
d man... your man... my man.
Shanntuckymuffin@reddit
I always felt like this was Perez Hilton foreshadowing
iwasnotarobot@reddit
Coming up on 30 years since this movie came out…
bgva@reddit
Quiet you!
Red_Car_Singer@reddit
ragonastik39@reddit
I think the movie happens in the future so he’s just copying all of today’s influencers.
iknowiknowwhereiam@reddit
Super green
Chunklob@reddit
Everyone wants to be green nowadays.
KoRaZee@reddit
mcnotarysd@reddit
Sorry but doctors are not influencers.
SirStocksAlott@reddit
Wasn’t his portrayal based on Prince?
prix03gt@reddit (OP)
That's what the internet says. The costume was designed with prince in mind.
SirStocksAlott@reddit
I had to find it because I’m a huge Prince fan and it blew my mind when I heard about it, but also made sense in hindsight. The director posted this about a decade ago and there is more story to it.
Only_Jury_8448@reddit
It was for the best. Prince was an amazing musician, one of the best in modern history. His acting, well...he was an amazing musician.
timara69@reddit
I see your Ruby Rod...and raise you Max Headroom,😁
hombredave@reddit
I see your Max Headroom...and raise you Elvira.
ratiofarm@reddit
I see your Elvira and lower you Svengoolie!
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
Max Headroom predicted CGI/AI celebrities, which has happened mostly in Asia. Ruby Rhod was just a dude who hosted a radio show.
RodinKnox@reddit
No, because he lives in the future. He hasn't even been born yet, and there are influencers now!
flower_songs@reddit
Yes I actually thought this as well!
locomuerto@reddit
No his show has a set time slot with commercials. As an influencer he would be streaming non stop and do the selling. Also he wasn't dead inside off camera.
NineToeBIll@reddit
I just finished this movie, it was on AMC when I woke up.
prix03gt@reddit (OP)
Same...
Evan_802Vines@reddit
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jackfaire@reddit
No. That was centuries ago.
fourofkeys@reddit
there were a lot of dj characters in the 70s that fulfilled this role in movies. you could maybe argue that christian slater in "pump up the volume" was a different flavor of this earlier in the 90s. i see him as a step between the old school dj influencer and the social media influencer.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
Ruby Rhod hosted a radio show. Radio shows have been around a while.
gtindolindo@reddit
In what year did this movie take place? That should answer your question.