Exploiting the Archives, Paternity Leave Edition: Introducing Control Nathan Rabin 4.0-Payola with Honor

The blog posts that I write here tend to fall into a couple of categories. There’s political posts, of course, mostly directed at the rancid orange bloviator in the White House and his evil minions. Then there are daddy blog posts about the joys of fatherhood, which you’ll probably be reading a lot more of in the future. Listen to the end of the very latest episode of Nathan Rabin’s Happy Cast to find out why. Having been a pop culture writer for twenty-years, I blog an awful lot about pop culture as well. I’m super proud of the Oscar guide that posted today. I wouldn’t be surprised if people are so impressed by it that I’ll be able to slide smoothly into a richly compensated sideline as an Oscar prognosticator. God knows there just aren’t enough of those around. 

Then there’s an entire section of blog posts that I probably would not write if I were actual in therapy (which I really should be), dealing with my fun lifelong battle with depression and professional, personal and financial frustrations. My blog post last Thursday, entitled “The Struggle” was one such piece. 

I wrote about how I felt like I’d hit a wall, in terms of page-views and Patreon-wise, and was at a loss for how to break through it. I felt a little self-conscious writing, yet again, about my angst and my depressive tendencies but the response to it was incredibly encouraging. A lot of readers could relate to the feeling of believing passionately in something, and wanting it to succeed with every fiber of your being, yet fearing that you’ve peaked, and all that’s left is a decline, either slow or disconcertingly swift. 

On an equally promising note, after a month or two or three of stagnant growth in new pledges and an alarming increase in deletions, an exciting surge of new pledges came in. I’m pessimistic by nature and wary of jinxing myself, but it felt like, with your help of course, I’d crashed right through that ceiling and acquired at least a little momentum. 

The response to “The Struggle” also made me realize that I’d need to try some things in a bid to keep Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place growing as a small business that will support my growing family in addition to a creative endeavor/adventure that’s changed my life in a lot of really positive, transformative ways. 

To that end, I’m introducing Control Nathan Rabin 4.0—Payola with Honor. Why 4.0? Well, the original Control Nathan Rabin was the first incarnation, followed by the Patron-only version (coming up: Leonard Part 6!) and the podcast-centric Control Nathan and Clint, which has a different title and a second person to control, but works on the same principle. 

Control Nathan Rabin 4.0 opens this concept up in a big way. For a one-time pledge of one hundred dollars, a reader will be able to choose a movie that I must then watch and write about. There are some important caveats. It has to be movie I’d be able to get my hands on. Stuff like The Day the Clown Cried obviously wouldn’t apply, nor would stuff that’s not available on home video or steaming in any way. Also, it can’t be some crazy long experimental film. Sorry, but I don’t have the experience, filmic vocabulary or, to be honest, patience, to watch a 14 hour film that’s a static shot of the Statue of Liberty. Also, ideally, the films chosen for this new column should be interesting for readers to read about. Ideally, this can be a win-win-win proposition—a reader gets more exposure for a favorite film, I make a little money and get a good article about something I might never have even considered writing about on my own and readers get a fun and unpredictable new column that they control like never before. 

I’d also like to offer readers an opportunity to sponsor an article, past or present, or dedicate an article, for 27 dollars. We’ve scored some great ads for Nathan Rabin’s Happy Cast so I was thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try something similar on the site itself. 

I am not a natural businessman but you’ve got to grow and adapt in this crazy market. One of the things I love most about this site is the connection that I have with readers, and this is an opportunity to deepen that, and/or corrupt it with money. Maybe both! 

If interested, visit https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace and check out the new tiers. Also, if you’re interested in an ad read on Nathan Rabin’s Happy Cast, that can be procured for a 27 dollar one time pledge over at https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappycast