Beast Land: A YouTube giant’s bizarre capitalist enterprise in Saudi Arabia
When I was a child, I wanted to grow up to be either a writer or an archaeologist. Little did I know that I ended up picking the career that might well see AI turn me into a dinosaur.
My classmates wanted to be footballers, teachers or firemen, but poll any schools now and the kids will all want to be content creators. YouTube is the new Top of the Pops and YouTubers are the new rock stars, with KSI the John Lennon and iShowSpeed the 21st century David Bowie.
If we continue the metaphor, then Mr Beast, with his 451 million subscribers, is the Bob Geldof of this era. Mr Beast, born James Stephen ‘Jimmy’ Donaldson, is known across the world; his face would illicit a knowing response from people on every continent. Alongside huge viewing numbers, he’s recognised for philanthropy, with his videos and organisation, Beast Philanthropy, aiming to help communities across his home state of Kansas and the wider world. Also, like the Boomtown Rats, it’s hard to find anybody who will actually admit to being a fan.
He’s a divisive figure, and much like any 1970s pop star, there are whispers of him acting very differently in private than the image he projects in public life. A lot of the online hate appears to be rooted in jealousy, but it’s hard to deny that there’s a dystopian feeling to a number of his videos. He held a real-life Squid Game-style challenge, which, despite lacking the violence of the South Korean show, still traded on desperation and spectacle. He also challenged two contestants to spend 100 days in a nuclear bunker to win $500,000 and offered the same for somebody to stay inside a drawn circle for 100 days too.
The dystopian echoes continue with his latest work, Beast Land, a “fully immersive, real-world adventure” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The question is, what is this and why?
Money casts its shadow over the project, with the press release boasting of the two million SAR of prize money available to visitors, which is worth just over £400,000. Even more important is the money that you don’t hear mentioned, with Mr Beast’s decision to open this attraction in Saudi Arabia clearly being motivated by money.
Opening as part of Riyadh Season, this is another propaganda piece, looking to launder the petro-state’s reputation, as well as positioning itself as a tourist destination, as it looks to diversify away from oil. This isn’t a new thing, with Saudi Arabia’s moves into boxing, golf and football, all well-discussed.
It’s also important to acknowledge that while the project does have capitalist overtones, it doesn’t make it any less important to the young kids of Saudi Arabia, who are thrilled to have a big star build his theme park in their country, something which can be viewed as a co-sign to both the country and the Middle East as a whole.
Upon opening, the park was packed, with locals and content creators, many of whom were flown in by either Mr Beast or the organisers, to promote Beast Land in a positive light. Other YouTubers saw the opportunity for views and flew there themselves, showing the park through the lens of a member of the public.
What we saw was truly dystopian. Large open spaces between the many stalls, huge, grinning photos of Mr Beast overlooking the park. Each of the various attractions at the park are the challenges, with success earning you points, which can then be redeemed for prizes.
Some of the challenges involve trying to score in basketball hoops of increasing sizes, running a Total Wipeout-style obstacle course and even a bungee jump, with a three-hour queue. There are plenty of other, less interesting ways to earn points, too. In many ways, this echoes the local travelling fair that arrives in your town once a year, more than an actual theme park.
There are places to eat and drink, as well as plenty of marketing opportunities for Mr Beast’s products, such as his Feastables chocolate bars. The opening event even saw Mr Beast show up and give people the chance to meet him, via winning a golden envelope.
The truth is that Saudi Arabia has a lot to offer visitors; it has history, and the people are friendly and warm, but Beast Land doesn’t sit quite right. Rather than focus on the impressive landscapes of the deserts, it focuses on all the wrong things. This is a very modern attraction. A dystopian mirage in the desert outside of Riyadh. A substance-less lightshow, existing purely to launder the reputation of a country and fatten the wallet of a YouTuber who positions himself as a philanthropist. Mr Beast may as well be quoting the words of Bob Geldof.
“Give us the money NOW.”
