December 2018

Top 3 YouTube Favorites
Best Fan Theory:

There is no question that Bong Joon-ho has a distinct style that blends the dark and the weird and the comedic. I was introduced to him while living in Korea through the monster movie The Host. A monster emerges from the Han River and ravages urban 21st century Seoul. The movie never escapes the ambivalence of whether it is a comedy, a social commentary, or a horror movie. Maybe it is all of the above. Above all, it has transcended borders and reached a fairly global audience. That was in 2006.

In 2013, his expected “breakthrough” to American audiences didn’t quite hit the mark. It is haunted by similar ambivalence: is it a Korean or and American film? When should I laugh and when should I not? It’s hard to make anything of it. Now, we have an initially sounding far-fetched fan theory: Snowpiercer is a logical follow-up to another darkly comedic film about class struggle: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Not convinced? Give this video exactly one minute and it will suddenly start to make sense. This is the most convincing fan theory since Ferris Bueller as Cameron’s dream.

Best Music Video (tie):

Of all the music videos, these seem to have had the biggest impact. Yes, Weird Al is still doing parodies, and he may have created a new genre: the parodist covering the band covering the original work (or, x covers y as z). Imitation has been around since the beginning of time. Every biological organism is a variation of something that lived before. When the parodist covers the cover band, every nuance is intentional. Why stop there?

This brings me to the second video. “This is America” is creative, haunting, historically alluding, provoking, fun, and awkward to talk about all at the same time. It hits a nerve. With its unique continuous-shot-through-empty-space style it also lends itself to imitation. Of course, an imitation of this almost has to include some combination of guns, religions, allusions to (class) history, or violence. I’d like to see Weird Al try to do a version of “This is [insert place here].”

Best Channel (Rhystic Studies):

Fantasy art today is really good. It is more pervasive than you might think: paperback book covers, graphic novels, movie posters, and of course, tradable card games. Each video of Rhystic Studies homes in on the style of one particular artist who’s legacy has graced the hands of the millions of people who have touched a Magic the Gathering card. Each video is sharply edited and stylized, giving a thorough art history lesson that is also a paean to the artist is praises. This channel is not just doing fan service, but is a gateway into what goes into making good art. From color to dimension, from design to story, no grain of detail is left out of consideration.