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The real journey to hell is the friends we made along the way

man i just love how solar sands went from reviewing sans feet fetish deviantart fanart to talk about the human mind, philosophy and existentialism

Your videos never disappoint. Even when planting the seeds for some nightmares

To me it shows something about our obsession with punishment that we continue to be obsessed with the hell part of Dante's work but no one really talks about the other two parts where he climbs the mountain and travels through space to get to heaven.

I don't think Over the Garden Wall is a _retelling_ of Dante's Inferno; but it is most certainly at least heavily inspired by it, and at most, an allegory _for_ it.

You know Dante’s Divine Comedy was a revolutionary book when people still talk about it 800 years later.

I love the fact that every hell is a warning from the people who imagined it,and show the fears of these people in the eras they were alive. Even Solar Sands hell is a warning about the technology,sadism and apathy of the contemporary/modern man.

His Devintart stuff really prepared him for this one.

Solar Sands finally talking about how it feels to use Twitter.

People don't understand what a masterpiece the divine comedy is. When Virgil said "NOW I'M A LITTLE MOTIVATED" it brought me to tears

Im really glad that people are still talking about SOMA. The story of that game honestly has hung over me and never left my mind. The horror is so complex and deep, its honestly like nothing else I've seen, and I truly hope its never forgotten for it.

The guy at 25:00 who wrote the book "23 Minutes in Hell" was definitely experiencing a bad case of sleep paralysis. When I was suffering from opiate and benzodiazepine withdrawal I experienced something very similar multiple times. It happened so often that I would keep myself awake at all costs, I didn't sleep for almost 4 days. Sleep paralysis really does feel real and you really do feel like you are being physically injured by demonic beings. I'm not a religious person but if I was I would definitely see sleep paralysis as some sort of test or trial sent to me by god. It's crazy what our brains can make us perceive as reality.

Thanks for letting me help out with some of the animations on this one, Solar!

After hearing that Dante wrote something where people he hated suffered in hell I can imagine someone hearing that and going “Oh sure, When Dante writes something where people he hates suffer it’s considered peak literature but when I write something where people I hate suffer, people think there’s something wrong with me.

Luckily, people tend to forget that memory is based on physical processes. Live long enough, and you’ll literally stop remembering entirely the experience of living long enough ago. And that’s great!

The way you weaved video games into this reminded me of a Jacob Geller video. This is such a good one man. Well done

As a schizophrenic, I had my own journey to hell as the illness took grip. I was drawing to cope with losing my mind. I had no idea what was happening to me. I'm not a trained artist and had never really drawn before that event. I thought I would never share those drawings but my psychologist thought it would be good for me. If anyone is curious I hade a sideshow of them here on KZfaq. I never inform people about it as I see how scummy it is but it felt relevant.

My primary reason to not believe those “I’ve been to hell” type people is that if they really did experience the level of suffering hell is depicted to have for even a SECOND, They’d be smearing their blood and shit all over the walls of whatever asylum they’d be locked up in….

it's interesting to note that hell exists not to capitalize the fear of death but rather the fear of pain. Death is realized as an inevitability and is so common that we have desensitized ourselves to it a. Yet in religion, we are not motivated by our fear of death but fear of pain after death and is why we associate it with hell rather than a form of afterlife. It is funny to think that a "quick" or "painless" death is seen as a good thing rather than highlighting the tragic fact a death occurred.

"it makes me emotional every time I talk about it" he says looking as if he's never been more bored in his life I'm more emotional when my browser takes a few extra seconds than usual to load a website

"Spoiler warning for Dante's Inferno" I love this channel.

Spoiler warning for dantes inferno is wild, like dude its been 500 years, read it already

One time, my christian ex told me that because I'm bisexual I'll be going to hell. Looking back on it, after watching this video, I don't think he realized the weight and magnitude of what he said in full. I'm not religious at all, but just the thought of someone I considered a lover wishing me an eternity of torture...it sends chills down my spine; and saddens me that human minds are so easily in favor of extreme punishment over things that don't matter...

This video reeeaally makes me think of "The Good Place". The entire show is set in the afterlife, and (among other things) tackles the idea that there is no ill deed performed on this earth that could possibly equate to an ETERNITY of torture. And on the flip side it shows that an eternity of "heaven" is also flawed. It's really interesting how in the end, they found a way to avoid the problems that infinity creates (by avoiding infinity altogether). (I don't want to go into too much detail (because spoilers) but give it a watch if you like a good laugh, philosophy and a finale that will probably make you cry).

He will never stop impressing me, in a playful way he talks about the most intelligent and interesting subjects

56:50 "Thank God the universe will end" may be one of my favourite quotes ever considering all the context. Absolutely incredible work, you've made me cry and I'm not even entirely sure why

As a student in Italy I used to hate the Divine Comedy (to be honest I used to hate anything related to school). Luckily I grew up to become a book worm, and in the last 4 decades my love for La Divina Commedia just grew stronger and stronger. I tend to read it (all of it) every couple of years. It's an absolutely stunning masterpiece, in my opinion the best work of poetry my country has ever produced, and one of the greatest literary works of art in human history. Not an easy read, especially the Paradise, but it's totally worth every drop of brain sweat! I also feel so lucky that I can read it in the original language, which is the most awesome thing because it also sounds unbelievably good.

Never take the glasses off. Wear them when you walk your daughter down the aisle.

I feel like solar sands has gotten more and more philosophical

It was fun working on this project!

40:00 the philosophy Peter Singer goes even further, not only the rich,but ordinary people are imoral.(as even ordinary people can help a little but chose not to, out of convenience) to him charity is not generosity but obligatory,in the same way you must no kill,or when someone is falling and you can save them by standing your arms. And honestly i have no response that doesn't make me sound selfish or evil as hell lol.

the worst hell is being forced to watch every 15 sec unskippable ad.

In 5 or 6 videos this man has re invented his entire career and I love it

As someone who has followed you for 7 or more years, you've grown into a phenomenal analyst and I think this piece has outdone them all to date. Wonderful work

Having been raised Catholic as a kid, Hell is one of the most fascinating topics to me and I eat up any piece of fiction that portrays it in a semi-serious way. Thanks for covering this from a literal, fire and brimstone approach.

I really liked the display of art being in a black void. That one small touch makes it feel like a curated experience

as a kid i never really understood the idea of hell, the idea that you could experience infinite suffering for a finite crime seemed so odd to me , it seemed almost unfair

"I went to hell. What I saw was indescribable" Okay, HP Lovecraft.

Having thought about it some more, Hell really is the perfect representation of mankind's wrath. When a human well and truly hates something, to the point of completely dehumanizing them, we want them not just to disappear, but to suffer. To suffer well and truly, either eternally or for so long that it may as well be eternal. We don't just want them to kowtow for any misgivings, we want them to be in complete unending misery for whatever they did to slight us. Anything from a personal offense to simply being part of a group we consider "bad". Absolutely no empathy for whatever they're going through, just a sadistic kind of antipathy. Hell is the symbol of just how unforgiving and ruthless humans are, well and truly beyond any other creature's malice. A beast would simply want to maul you and kill you, and then you are no longer a problem. A human, being crueler than any heast, wants their enemy to agonize even past death, so that not even death is an escape to their torture. Why are people this way? Is it because we have an inherent belief that "life is suffering", and we feel bitter that our slain enemies get to escape that suffering?

i am moved and this has altered my mind permanently. thank you for this experience, you are incredibly talented and admirable.

I thought for sure you'd mention the idea of using drugs that lengthen perception of time so prisoners could serve sentences longer than normal human lifespan. If that's not a man-made hell, I don't know what is

In Part III, the chilling finale of that Black Mirror episode played on a loop in my mind, where the protagonist’s digital twin was condemned to an eternity in the simulated universe, experiencing a thousand years in just a mere second of our time, while the creators casually departed for their Christmas holiday. This moment was a profound exhibition of cruelty, a mind-twisting scene that has etched itself into the fabric of my memory as the most impactful of the entire series.

Hey solar sands I know it’s pretty late to be commenting on what I know now is an old video, but videos like these are what have fueled my passion for historical art and have genuinely pushed me towards what I want my career to be. The way you talk in these videos and explain concepts draws me in better than any other commentator. You have a way with words that make watching your videos a relaxing and informative experience every single time no matter what the topic is. You are my favorite channel on KZfaq and I am inspired by you all the time. Please don’t ever stop making these video essays, because no one else does what you do.

Nothing has resonated with me this much about my feelings around hell. It's something that has taken up so much space in my mind and in my life, not only in a religious sense, but in other manifestations of eternity as well, like the possibility of technologically storing consciousness. I grew up in a very catholic home, and as I got older and learned more of the moral rules of Catholicism, and actually began to consider hell as a place I could end up, it took over my life. As a child I didn't fear hell as much mainly because it was so absurd and I thought only truly evil people could go there. But something as simple as skipping church on Sunday can send you to hell in Catholicism, and i started to take things like that more seriously. I have OCD, which I didn't know at the time. So I began to take the smallest things, that could potentially cause someone to sin, as a possibility that I had committed a mortal sin. And then I would go to confession, but i started having intrusive thoughts about forgetting how i had been thinking at the time. Was I culpable for things from years before, and was just in denial? It started to feel like heaven was unattainable. But I didn't even want heaven. I just wanted to not go to hell. I spent so much of my teenage years just hurting and worrying and repenting because everyone told me I could be subjected to eternal torture. That's what made me start to think God wasn't real. How could you make me and put me here, with such unclear instructions, and if I get it wrong, I go to hell? So after a while i looked into enough atheist arguments that i started to just let go of religion completely. It was so freeing. I was allowed to just be human. not for long though! About a year after that my OCD latched on to more past events and I started to obsess over new things. It was still a form of scrupulosity but now instead of eternity in hell, it was eternity in how people would think of me. What if things i said were twisted or taken out of context. what if i did something awful to someone and they ended their life because of me? What if i had a horrible thought that meant i was a horrible person. And what if my consciousness, or even just my memories, were obtained through technology someday? i felt like all my worst fears could come true in some unimagineable way through the wires of my computer. It felt like i made a new god after i got rid of the old one. And this one was right in front of me, growing, learning, every day. eventually i had to accept the possibility and move on with my life, because it was tearing me apart. but what you said about hell existing as long as humans want to torture people, is so true. We created so many religious hells, and we create hell in so many other ways, as a punishment for others, or for ourselves. no one deserves it.

It's a shame we live in a world you need to put an ad in this piece of art just to pay the bills. I am grateful to be able to watch this for free. Astounding work, top to bottom

The scene shown at 47:56 from SOMA is one of my favorite moments in a game ever, maybe in any media ever. It left me completely stunned for at least a couple minutes while I grappled with the indescribable existential horror of being *that.* Even though the revelation of the player character's nature comes earlier in the game, this transcendentally disturbing moment of recognition when you finally look yourself in the mirror is almost unmatched, in my books.

Fantastic documentary, as someone who has just unwillingly stumbled across this channel, I feel as if though you have a vast understanding of religion (and that's coming from someone who is) You really seem to have grasped the concepts of both afterlife's (Heaven and Hell) interpreting a message from writers, other experiences, books, and even god his self, you do what most creators are afraid to do, and you have my utmost respect, this was a very well put together video, thank you, this doc didn't waste my time, it gave me a purpose on how I could better subject it. Thank you, Solar sands

Ive had this video in my watch later playlist since it came out. Now that I finally have some time to watch and enjoy it fully, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the work and thought you put into every video. Ive loved growing up and changing along with this channel. Keep up the amazing work!

Depictions of Hell are one of my favorite things when it comes to art

This video is definitely a top contender for most severe existential crisis

This is one of the greatest videos out there, and it really touches some of the thoughts I had for a long time now. I used to be horrified of an idea of a afterlife. I didn't matter what afterlife, just the idea of existing forever even in the most pleasures conditions, is a scary one. To continue existing forever is the worst thing that could possibly happen to someone, if its even possible. I grew up a bit since then. There are things that the human brain cannot understand, and this is one of them. If an afterlife is real maybe there's some things that will change the experience there or the comprehension of it. and there's no afterlife, I wouldn't even know. I also can't really change it so I don't worry about it, but... what if it is all real?

gotta say, this was your best video so far. Quite insightful and well produced, a very pleasant suprise

i love bosch’s “garden of heavenly delights”, how seemingly satirical it almost is, because our pleasure equates to pain and punishment, according to the triptych and outer globe painting. also really enjoyed dante’s “inferno”, me and a friend read it in high school physically and it was so fun and freeing from the mundane routine of schooling.

Here's another one to think about: How much worse is the most moral person in hell than the least moral person in heaven?

Amazing video, always love how I’m depth you go into on a topic. I appreciate how much effort you put into these

Great video, as always. Looking forward to whatever you make next!

One more thing I'd like to say: Being good is not about doing bad things to bad people. Being good is about preventing bad things from happening in the first place.

I know this is a serious video about religion and eternal torment, but I cracked a smile when Solar said "999,999 balls". I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy.

love how all your videos are bangers now. You've come a long way from your early days, thanks for providing incredible video essays!

I think this and monumentality are your best videos thus far. So excited to see what you'll make in the future. Amazing work.

one of my favorite tellings of what hell could be is from the short story “a short stay in hell.” the thought of being stuck in an infinitely growing library, filled with the stories of all of those who have lived, is so unique. it really drives in the idea that hell is personal, it is what we sculpt ourselves. another thing that really adds on to the “time” aspect of hell is the game everhood. although it takes place in a heaven-like world, the characters are all mad and in pain, as they are all immortal.

I'm glad to hear your take. As a christian, I'm always baffled that so many people can be so blase about hell. If you believe in it, why wouldn't you be absolutely terrified of it? And how could you want anyone else to go there for eternity, even the worst of people?

This is my comfort video now, ive already watched it like 10 times

This video led me to read The Jaunt and pick up Soma ($2 on the PS store), so thank you. Truly excellent work, one of my favorite videos of the year!

When I think of hell, I think of Made in Abyss. Children used for experiments, given immortal bodies capable of withstanding infinite punishment, and used as disposable shields that let a person temporarily ascend from hell by transferring ones own punishment onto someone else.

I find Solar's videos about horrific tortures and hellish punishments to be calming and relaxing while his videos about AI disturb and shake me to the core, and I can't tell if this says more about me or about our current society.

Glorious video, the amount of important messages you concieved is amazing. I feel like this video solves the most fundamental philosophical problems we face because it truly is a battle. We most fight the possibility of eternal suffering with all our might or else we will bring about ultimate and infinite loss that no one should deserve. It really looks like a true good against true evil and you've done great job depicting it. This video is one of a kind I will hold it near my heart for eternity.

I just have to say I really appreciate the level of reality you bring to your videos. The topics aren't KZfaq monetization friendly, let alone safe in general. They're dangerous topics that most people are scared to think about. It's artistic and I really respect that.

As someone who's currently writing my own circles of hell, seeing this video in my notifications made me very happy.

Dad is home

This video was absolutely incredible. I just can’t believe the calibre of the content you create. Thank you so much for putting so much effort into your videos man. Brilliantly-edited, smart dialogue & segues, awesome narration. And such a cool concept!!

This has got to be one of your best videos yet

a thing that came to mind about hell being all pleasure and no real struggle etc was the show The Good Place, which explores this idea through comedy

The book "Johnny got his gun" from Dalton Trumbo, that inspired metallica's "One", is, to me, the most scary depiction of hell/torture I've ever read. It is like "I have no mouth, and I must screen" but much more terrifying for it's reality and for how well written it is. If you are in the mood to feel bad, it is a amazing and contemplative read. And if you read it, remember what was said at 51:34 "what makes hell , Hell, is time."

Very well researched and contemplated video, the conclusion is really haunting and stays. Well done!

The thing about hell being a constant descent to some anticipated hell that never arrives hit really close with my anxiety. Thanks for the video mate!

This was one of the most thought provoking pieces of media I have ever watched. It's truly astonishing that KZfaq of all places houses this masterpiece of human creation

Ahh yes... the DMV. What a wonderful analogy. Great content as always. Don't ever stop man. Your video essays are so damn intricate and so damn inticing. Perspectives open, and you kinda help me see alot of things from different views from all of your videos. Cheers mate!

Honestly my favorite video you've done. Very thought provoking, brings me back to old vsauce stuff

I grew up Eastern Orthodox. Our view of hell is called "Theosis". It rejects the view that God is a judge who condemns people. Instead, god is seen as an invincible flame in the middle of a blizzard. By living a Christian life, we decide to stay close to him and feel his light and warmth. By sinning, we decide to walk away from him and feel more of the cold and darkness. In that sense, god does not condemn anyone, he wants all of us close to him. Only we can condemn ourselves.

Solar I really loved this video, all save for the very last point: Regulations and laws have done little to nothing to prevent invention. Hell, more often than not, things like the atom bomb or the gun were made with the blessing of the powers that be, the ones you think are capable, or even willing to put a stop to anything. Progress can only be set back, and often only through extreme means. While we cannot stop what is meant to be, we can, as we have with the aforementioned inventions, adapt in spite of it.

I think this is my favorite video on KZfaq right now. Literally had an existential crisis and then actually accepted death for the first time in my life. Keep up the good work!

Absolute WONDERFUL video essay man, really got me thinking more about the end and stuff

I highly recommend watching Wendigoons Series going through the Dantes inferno, purgatario and paradisio. It gives so much more context to alot of ideas in the Writings of Dante if anyone found the concepts here interesting

Pascal's wager is such a "gotcha" thing that completely fails to address what happens if you worship the wrong god for example, or worship a god that hates being worshiped.

The greatest video that I ever watched until now, congratulations Solar Sands.

I really related to your point about how too much time is truly the most terrible thing someone can experience. The movie “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” by ghibli really put that into perspective for me. What’s the point of living if your experiences aren’t mortal? Is infinite happiness really worth it when you’ll eventually do everything there is to do? It always freaks me out when people are trying their hardest to extend the natural human life (I’m talking like way past 100 years extended.) if people find the key to immortality, they will be the ones suffering simply because they are scared of the unknown. Humans are always trying to figure out the unknown but death is just an occurrence we will all have to deal with at one point. Living life day by day and doing what makes you happy is enough in my opinion. There are supposed to be ups and downs, and there are definitely supposed to be unknowns.

The more I watch your channel, the more I dread the end. There are moments when I feel "The Silent Black". Fearing that my eyes may not open again, that I will not see a fantasy again. I fear the silence, I fear the endless void, I fear nothing. And yet, I live.

In the Bingo cage thought experiment: You've said that Hell is the ultimate loss state, then conclude that it is imperative to avoid it, so the correct choice is to stop existing. What about Heaven? If Hell is the ultimate loss state, you'd need to consider Heaven as the ultimate win state. You could argue that it is equally imperative to achieve it. Thus, the correct choice is to play, no matter how small the chance of winning is. I cannot help but feel compelled to play even if the ods were 1:1. I find my personal Hell to be life based around avoidance of loss, instead of just enjoying it as much as possible.

That was really really good. I'm honestly really impressed with this. I'm really glad the algorithm put you in my path. Great job!

Yo I love seeing ur style change ab improve, I love the direction ur taking the channel man

Another example similar to the jaunt is the long dream by junji ito, where a man’s dream grow progressively longer

about a third through the video and I had this thought about your content generally. I really appreciate that you're clear when speaking from the heart and a place of emotional resonance, and only try to justify it to the extent of arguing your perspective, rather than trying to argue that this perspective is somehow factual or on the "right side", and also without explicitly having to say "this is my opinion". it is such a relief to be able to listen to people's thoughts online and not feel attacked or challenged constantly, thank you

I fr just found you again after watching you years and years ago. Glad your content is so good now highkey awesome surprise to find.

I love the way your brain works man. Keep up the bang up work!

Me burning in hell but smiling because my personal data was protected while on the internet

I thought this was just going to be an art analysis and critique of existing work but the way you brought that all together into the final thesis of "eternity is hell" was masterful.

this is some amazing content man! Keep up the great work

I cannot express enough how much i enjoy your content. It's clear you put a lot of thought and effort into your work and i hope you enjoy making it as much as i do listening.