This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Erin Galioto. Find her on Instagram at @eringalioto. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Like most Zillennials, I am a victim of shortened attention span due to TikTok usage, and I WISH I would be entitled to compensation. A 10-year-old me used to breeze through a novel in a singular day. Now, at 24, the book I started several months ago still lingers in my tote bag unfinished. I experience a lot of shame towards my inability to focus while reading a large block of text, especially when I am so eager and curious about its content. Desperate to reprieve my brain from its goldfish-like state, I discovered video essays on YouTube. Just like a smoker might use e-cigarettes to transition between a pack a day to cold turkey, video essays are the perfect middleman to begin healing my maladapted brain.
Video essays cover a wide array of topics and their length can range anywhere from a Jack’s pizza bake time to a Netflix extended series. I have watched a 20-minute video on systematic racism, a 3-hour video on a failed theme park attraction, and everything in between. The beauty of the video essay is it has all the rich information of a traditional essay without all the instant boredom that arises from those daunting blocks of text. Creators fill their video essays with relevant clips, illustrations, photos, headlines, and even skits complete with elaborate costuming and sets. The visual experience lures my brain rot in while the insightful voiceovers encourage the intact parts of my brain to stay (and grow!).
Between the carefully curated visuals and the well-scripted information of the media, video essays are the perfect way to digest the topics that interest you no matter how dense, complex, or heavy. Some video essays (see oliSUNvia and David Choe) have even critically changed my perspective and perhaps the trajectory of my life. Here are some of my favorite YouTube video essayists and their videos that hooked me:
Shanspeare
Remember that bit about elaborate costuming and set design? Well, Shanspeare’s video essays take the cake. Her essays focus on current cultural phenomena, whether that is a silly topic like the “Girlboss-ification of Horror” or a serious topic like misogyny and male privilege. No matter how serious the subject matter, Shanspeare injects enough drama and poetry to make the real Shakespeare proud. Her extensive research is obvious when she pulls out connections between events that often floor me and includes incredibly niche references that I would have never otherwise been attuned to.
Her video “Is the Internet Ruining Community?” is a stand-out for me. In this piece, Shanspeare investigates whether the dark sides of Internet use and abuse are the result of our misuse or if a tendency towards overuse is baked into the design to predispose us to addictive behaviors.
oliSUNvia
My frontal lobe fully developed when I heard the Socrates quote, “The only way to truly learn is to be willing to unlearn.” Everything I had previously identified with, including my religious and political beliefs, I only analyzed critically for the first time when I got to college. I previously accepted everything my parents and other trusted adults told me as fact without ever questioning it. When I finally dismantled the long-held paradigms of my mind and rebuilt them from the ground up, I was astonished to find how drastically different my convictions and values became. It also made me incredibly wary of others who seemed to have lived without ever practicing this exercise.
YouTuber oliSUNvia’s channel is dedicated wholly to this experience. Her topics dive into cultural attitudes and behaviors that have been widely accepted but misinformed and undress the underlying influences of manipulative marketing, fake news, and romanticization. She even recently made a video essay debunking itself and asking if video essays as a content form could be simultaneously educational and entertaining or if it would inevitably fall in one direction. Talk about a mind f*ck!
My favorite video of hers, “The Desire to be Sad,” broke down my very toxic behavior of self-inducing depression. In her essay, Olivia explored the long history of art that depicted suffering to be more beautiful and valuable as opposed to happy or neutral art. In turn, we have been conditioned to view our suffering in the same light and tend to linger in depressive episodes longer. As a Lana del Rey mega-fan, I felt a wee bit called out.
Broey Daeshanel
Creator Broey Deschanel’s hot takes will put your average film bro to shame. Often leaning toward the unpopular opinion, Maia explores film with an attitude of humility despite her extensive knowledge of the subject matter. She injects themes of psychology and philosophy in her analysis and often allows her mind to be changed and changed again throughout the runtime. As a fellow overthinker, I feel right at home on her YouTube channel and use the film education shared to boost my street cred on Letterboxd.
My favorite video of hers intellectualizes my favorite reality TV. “Love Island: A Flirtation With Surveillance” dives into the dark consequences contestants subject themselves to after joining the show and how producers actively seek to cause their participants trauma for entertainment. She compares the nature of the series to philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, a prison design that reveals human nature when prisoners are aware of their constant surveillance. Besides being absolutely fascinating and surprisingly digestible, Maia’s argument gave me an ironclad comeback to anyone who claims Love Island is just brainless TV.
David Choe
If Bob Ross had an urban art aesthetic and was Korean, he would be indistinguishable from David Choe. Choe is an artist, actor, and writer and has recently started a series of video experiences on YouTube. They are a bit more abstract to be described as essays but are equally as entertaining and educational. David’s videos seek to share insight and strategies for the creative process and become incredibly profound despite how zany and unserious they may start. His goofy nature disarms you and makes you feel safe so his message can reach below the surface and speak to your subconscious critic.
His video “How to Make the Best Underpainting of a Canvas” was a 15-minute journey that took me from indifference and mild amusement to touched and watery eyed. The first time I turned on this video, I was passively watching while folding laundry. Toward the end of the video, I was sitting at the end of the couch, leaning forward, fully captivated, with tears welling in my eyes. For anyone who struggles with perfectionism and self-criticism, I think you’ll find any of Choe’s videos to be a wholesome, healing experience.
What are the best YouTube video essays you’ve watched? Let us know in the comments below!
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