We’ve all done something weird for money. I modeled on and off during grad school, so I’m used to getting emails and DMs from people with weird requests. But what’s the difference between doing something a little embarrassing for some quick cash versus doing something that might ruin your life? The 2016 documentary Tickled, directed by New Zealand journalist David Farrier, explores that very question in his notoriously disturbing documentary. The answer is, of course, a scam artist/fetishist. But getting that answer requires going on one of the darkest journeys I’ve ever seen.
The documentary starts off laughably tame. Farrier comes across a video of young men in colorful Adidas uniforms tickling each other on camera. He discovers they’re participating in something called Competitive Endurance Tickling, hosted by a mysterious American company called Jane O’Brien Media. In their ads, the company promises participants an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, a luxury hotel stay, and $15,000 in cash. Tickling sounds like one of the most harmless things you can do for money. But something feels a little off.
Farrier politely reaches out to Jane O’Brien Media, only to be hit with one homophobic message after another. The hostility is so outsized, so defensive, that it transforms what could have been another one of his quirky human-interest stories into a bizarre, real-life horror story.
Tickled might almost be a decade old, but the issues it explores surrounding exploitation, manipulation, and using people as content/entertainment feel very relevant today, especially in the TikTok era. I hate being the person who blames everything on capitalism, but Tickled really is about the horrors of late-stage capitalism, those who benefit from it, and those who don’t.
I wish I could say this was Farrier’s first and last documentary about weird men doing despicable things. But his most recent documentary, Mister Organ, is “his scariest yet”, as described by our Editor-in-Chief Mary Beth McAndrews in her review. There, Farrier once again digs into what McAndrews calls “the horrors of humanity,” following a “real-life narcissist willing to inflict what appears to be emotional terrorism upon anyone unlucky enough to stray into his path.” And I fear there’s a lot more of those types than we think out there. Thanks, Farrier!
Watching Tickled now, in a moment when the American economy continues to be unstable and exploitation is an acceptable business model, it’s hard not to think about how everything—literally everything—is for sale. Our data, our attention, our faces, our bodies, everything is fair game. Not so funny anymore, is it?
If you love Tickled or disturbing documentaries, let me know: @ashjenexi on Instagram and X.
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