User:Mobilisinmobili/Draft article on Boogie2988
boogie2988 [1] (given name Steven Williams [2]) is a YouTube actor/comedian most well known for his creation of the character Francis, a speech-impaired, obese World of Warcraft player who films himself ranting about various topics related to video games, nerd culture, or society in general. He first rose to prominence in 2010 after a video of Francis complaining about a World of Warcraft account hack went viral [3]. He has been featured on the channel of Youtube talk show host Ray William Johnson and as of March 2014 has approximately 2.6 million subscribers and 384 million channel views [1] as of 9/1/15.
Characters and acting style[edit]
Francis[edit]
The Francis character does not involve any physical changes to boogie2988 other than the wearing of a specific blue shirt. While in character, however, boogie2988's voice changes to a nasal, lisping one, and he often becomes quite physical, smashing keyboards (or, on two occasions, an Xbox [4][5]). While the character Francis may appear to be concentrated on simply providing crude, scatological and physical-type humor, boogie2988 has stated that in reality he is intended as a sort of archetype has massive tits of a worthless person, for people to hate-- a "fat, neck-bearded worthless man-child" [6]. The satire is partially based on himself-- someone who was "DEEPLY into [World of Warcraft]... Just not that into it" [7]. His acting of the role has been praised as "brilliant" by Ray William Johnson [8].
Jessy[edit]
boogie2988 also has a lesser-known character called "Jessy". He is based on stereotypes of poor, white Southerners and is featured in videos entitled "Jessy Weighs In...". Unlike Francis, Jessy is very calm, and generally just talks placidly throughout the video. The humor primarily comes from his frank expression of misinformed, politically incorrect, or reactionary beliefs (although in one video [9] he expressed strong support for gay rights). Jessy has no particular clothing associated with his character, although he does have a Southern drawl.
Personal life and discussion videos[edit]
boogie2988 often uploads videos discussing various issues candidly, as himself. In the past, his comments on issues such as the suicide of Amanda Todd, 2012 Aurora shooting, gun control, obesity, and MMORPGs have drawn on his own experience growing up with a physically abusive, alcoholic father in Fayetteville, Arkansas and being morbidly obese and depressed his whole life.