>>213642238
Reception to the prequels wasn't as bad as it was today when they first came out. A lot of people, specifically the children it was aimed at, enjoyed the movies. Yes, they weren't as good as the original trilogy, but when you're a kid with slopbrain, flashy star wars movies still entertain you. Being Gen X and not a millennial, however, Mike wasn't won over by flashy visuals and just plain hated the prequels. He compiled all of his complains into the a long form video essays, the Mr. Plinket reviews. At the time, YouTube and video essays in general were still in their infancy so his had oversized reach compared to what one might have today. The videos went viral and spread and as millions of people watched them, the general consensus spread that the prequels were bad. People began to harass George Lucas (more). By no means was Mike the only person to cause the shift in opinion, but he definitely had an impact. Because Lucas was being harassed so much he eventually just said "fuck it" and sold Lucasfilm to Disney, which obviously didn't work out in anyone's favor.