I've found myself becoming a fan of more and more Youtube essayists over the past year or so, and many of their videos have gotten longer and longer over time to the point where I'm watching what are essentially feature length documentaries and thinkpieces. I thought it was high time I devoted a post to these, which may become a continuing series. While most of these videos relate directly to media analysis and media criticism, others are more tangential. The last few months in particular have made it clear to me that I am now one of the Olds, and falling way behind when it comes to the state of online media - which I don't feel the need to truly participate in, but I do feel it's necessary for me to keep up to date with, just so I can understand and discuss media in any kind of socially relevant way.
Here are the videos that I've found the most helpful in parsing just what the hell has been going on in the last year:
Folding Ideas: In Search of a Flat Earth - The rise of the QAnon conspiracy over the past few years has been one of the more frightening aspects of recent American history. Dan Olson addresses the topic of conspiracy theories, very gently at first, conducting his own experiment to find the curvature of the Earth, before moving on to grapple with the minds of Flat Earthers. And then the QAnon adherents. And the right wing insurrectionists. And it's absolutely terrifying.
Sarah Z: Fandom's Biggest Controversy - Proshippers vs Antis - Oh boy. The media fandom ecosystem Sarah Z discusses used to be my old stomping grounds in the early 2000s. I got off this train ages ago, but even then I could see the trouble on the horizon as some of these more traditionally transgressive subcultures were on a collision course with the emerging moral absolutists as media fandom became more visible. Sarah Z presents a nice primer on the latest terminology and the latest round of clashes, plus discussion of a shiny new (ish) generational divide. Fun!
Brows Held High: Starship Troopers - Fair warning that this is a three part series that totals well over four hours altogether. Grappling with a piece of problematic media that still has so much to say is very familiar territory for me, but the level of scrutiny that Kyle Kallgren achieves is wild. He discusses both the film and the book "Starship Troopers," the work of director Paul Verhoeven, Dutch culture, Dutch language, and Kallgren's own experiences living as an expat in the Netherlands for several years. It's deeply personal, often uncomfortable, and tremendously rewarding when Kallgren finally starts tying all the disparate threads together.
CJ the X: Bo Burnham vs. Jeff Bezos - So, here's someone else who fell down the same Bo Burnham rabbit hole that I did over the summer. He uses Burnham's work and interviews to look at transhumanism, runamok capitalism, meme culture, and the soul-sucking performative nature of social media that has been making everybody's lives miserable. CJ's combative, funny, and unflinching exploration of these topics is as entertaining as it is alarming. And I love that he finds a light at the end of the tunnel and takes the trouble to ask and answer the big question: Are you happy?
Dave Chapelle Only Tells Half the Truth - There were a couple of F.D. Signifier videos I could have put here, but after the blowup over Dave Chapelle's latest Netflix special, this is the one that felt the most important. What I like about this video in particular is that it keeps the focus on the black trans women who are being treated badly by nearly all parties involved in this blow-up. And the dressing down he delivers to Chapelle is so thorough and so devastating, I consider this essay the last word on the subject.
Tracing the Roots of Pop Culture Transphobia - Yes, it's Lindsay Ellis. Annnd, I don't feel bad about avoiding "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" for the last three decades anymore.
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