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evertomorrowart · 4 months

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Best of YouTube 2023

Yes, I did spend the first week and change of January on this. I wish I could have had it done for New Years, but too many people came out with incredible work in December, so waiting turned out for the best.

What these creators do are a huge influence on my life, I would honestly have difficulty doing what I do without them. That isn't to say that my favorites of the year are *only* on this image--It was almost impossible to narrow down my favorites. Many creators I wanted to include couldn't fit on a single page, and too many of them made more than one video I wished I could draw too!

But, to all of you, thank you for what you do. You're an inspiration.

For those who don't know, further is an explanation.

At the bottom center is an artistic masterpiece by Defunctland: "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History." Over the last several years, Defunctland has risen from delightfully-entertaining commentary on decommissioned theme park attractions to occasionally dropping profound statements on the creation of art itself. "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" is worth treating like the cinematic experience it is: No second screen, you sit your ass down in front of a TV, set down the phone, and then you *watch it.* Any Disney, theme park, or independent film fan needs to pay attention to this one.

Bottom left is Caelan Conrad with their piece "Drop the T - The Deadly Consequences of Gay Respectability Politics." While I do think they've done more visually or artistically-daring pieces before, "Drop the T" is one of the most important videos released on YouTube in today's current climate of hate. We as queer folk (and our allies) need to understand how integral every identity of the queer experience has been since the start of the Civil Rights movement (and before!). While we are not identical, we *are* inseparable, and we deserve having our real history easily accessible.

TERFs and other conservative mouthpieces need not reply. Your opinions are trash. 😘

I cannot stop watching and rewatching this video by @patricia-taxxon, "On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People." It's not just a defense of furry fandom and its eccentricities, it's a thoughtful and passionate analysis of what the artform achieves that purely human representation can't. Patricia goes outside of her usual essay format to directly speak to the viewer about the elements that define furry media (the most succinct definition I've ever heard) and just how *human* an act loving animal cartoons really is.

As an artist who can draw furry characters, but never really got into erotic furry art, this video is a treasure. Why did I choose to have her drawn as a Ghibli character, hanging out with one of the tanukis from "Pom Poko?" Guess you'll have to watch, bruh.

Philosophy Tube continuously puts out videos that I would put on this list--I'm not even sure that "A Man Plagiarised my Work: Women, Money, and the Nation" is the best work she released in 2023. However, this video got many conversations going between myself and my partner, and the twist on the tail end of the video shocked us both to such a degree that I had no choice.

At the very tail end of the year, Big Joel released "Fear of Death." On his Little Joel channel, he described it as the singularly best video he's ever done, and I'm inclined to agree. However, for this illustration, I ended up repeatedly going back to a mini-series he did earlier in the year: "Three Stories at the End of the World." All three videos are deeply moving and haunting, and I was brought to tears by "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot." While it may be relatively-common knowledge that the original Gojira (Godzilla) film is horror grappling with the devastation America's rush to atomic dominance inflicted on Japan, Big Joel still manages to bring new words to the discussion. Please watch all three of the videos, but if, for some reason, you must have only one, let it be "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot."

Y'all. Let me confess something. I hate football. I hate watching it, I associate seeing it from the stadiums with some of my worst childhood experiences, I despise collegiate and professional football (as institutions that destroy bodies and offer up children at the feet of its alter as a pillar of American culture)--

I. L o a t h e. Football.

But.

F.D. Signifier could get me to watch an entire hour-plus essay on why I should at least give a passing care. AND HE DID IT. I might think "F*ck the Police," the two-parter on Black conservatism, or his essay on Black men's connection to anime might be "better" videos, but this writer did the impossible and held my limited attention span towards football long enough to make a sincere case for NFL players--and reminds us that millionaires can *in fact* be workers. That alone is testament to his skill.

Sit down and watch "The REAL Reason NFL Running Backs Aren't Getting Paid." Any good anti-capitalist owes it to themselves.

CJ the X continuously puts out stunning, emotional videos, and can do it with the most seemingly-inconsequential starting points. A 30 second song? An incestuous commercial? Five minutes of Tangled? Sure, why not. Go destroy yourself emotionally by watching them. I'm serious. Do it.

Their video Stranger Things and the Meaning of Life manages to to remind us all why the way we react to media does, in fact, matter. Yes, even nostalgia-driven, mass-media schlock. Yes, how we interact with media matters, what it says about us matters, and we all deserve to seek out the whys.

Folding Ideas has spent the last few years articulating exactly why so much of our modern world feels broken, and because of that his voice continuously lives rent-free in my brain. While the tricks that scam artists and grifters use to try to swindle us are never new, the advancement of technology changes the aesthetics of their performances. Portions of Folding Ideas' explanations might seem dry when going into detail of how stocks work in This is Financial Advice, but every bit of it is necessary to peel back the layers of techno-babble and jargon and make sense of the results of "Meme Stocks."

Jessie Gender puts out nothing but bangers, her absolute unit of a video about Star Wars might be my new favorite thing ever, but none of her work hit so profoundly in 2023 than the two-parter "The Myth of 'Male Socialization'" and "The Trauma of Masculinity." There's so much about modern life that isolates and traumatizes us, and so much of it is just shrugged off as "normal." We owe it to ourselves to see the world in more vivid a color palette than we're initially given.

Panels drawn after Kate Beaton and "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands."

"This is Not a Video Essay" is one of the most intense and beautiful pieces of art I've ever put into my eyeballs. Why do we create? What drives us to connect?

I don't even know what else to say about the Leftist Cooks' work, it repeatedly transcends the medium and platform. Watch every single one of their videos, but especially this one.

The likelihood you are terminally online and yet haven't heard of Hbomberguy's yearly forrays into destroying the careers of awful people is pretty slim. Just because it has millions of views doesn't mean that Hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" isn't worth the hype. Too long? Shut up, it has chapters and YouTube holds your place, anyway. You think a deep dive into a handful of creators is only meaningless drama? Well, you're wrong, you wrong-opinion-haver. Plagiarism is an *everyone* problem because of the actual harm it creates--the history it erases, the labor it devalues, the art it marginalizes--which you would know if you watched "Plagiarism and You(Tube)".

Watch. The damn. Video.

In fact, watch all of them!

Thanks for reading this if you did.

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cherryberg · 4 months

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Tagged by the cool @ardate

Last song: Dentist! from the 1986 Little Shop of Horrors movie

Favorite color: Red :]

Last movie/show: If I recall correctly, Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart! I've been listening to Channel Toon News on and off recently and half of every episode is dedicated to just going over and chatting about an animated movie or show. Mao Mao just happened to be one of them, and it was something I wanted to watch at some point, so....

Next on my watchlist: The Dungeon Meshi anime, but I'd like to read the manga first

Last game: Oh boy... I've been cycling through a couple of games everyday for a bit just to get the daily rewards, but the last I've played played would be A Little to the Left

Last book: Umm... I'm almost finished reading Calvin and Hobbes? I would like to read House of Leaves though, but for that I think I'd need my own copy

Sweet/savory/spicy: Savory

Relationship status: Taken by my beloved woowah 💖

Last thing I searched online: "defunctland tweet filmmaking"

Current obsession: Not big on anything at the moment, but I guess the biggest thing is Find Everything (findeverythinggame.com btw)

Greatest flaw: My massive ego, and this goddamn skin

Fic I’m currently reading: None

Tagging: @salcreus @pencil-merchant @pointsfortrying @pigswithwings @rolex-kaard @grapemoon and uhh i don't know who else

#tag game #textberg

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strandedcrow · 9 months

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hi friend you're a video essay enjoyer i believe do you have any recommendations people and or videos? need somethin interestin to listen to while tryin to draw

HELLO FRIEND ok so skipping over the obvious popular ones (victorious, roblox oof, defunctland in general, my house.wad, etc) some of my favorites are:

The Downward Spiral of Watching Velma: one that i only found recently, a lengthy deep dive into the shitty hbo velma show so that u don’t have to watch it

How SunnyV2 Ruined Video Essays: also one i found recently, a shorter one which provides a meta analysis of video essays on youtube, also got me back into video essays tbh

How Sponegbob Explored Existential Nihilism: VERY short one (under 10 minutes) but actually neat

I Found Every OSHA Violation in FNAF Security Breach: there are so fucking many

The Biggest Cheater in Clone Hero History Was Finally Caught: honestly it’s been a rocky past couple weeks for the CH community bc just recently Multiple big name players have admitted to cheating so like calling this person the biggest cheater might not even be accurate anymore but like. still a rlly good watch

Bojack Horseman Full Series Retrospective: if you want lengthy here it is (almost 6 hour analysis of every season)

Disney Trash Can Tier List: not rlly a video essay at all however it’s such a random tier list to make and it’s delightful

Dream (Market) - The Infiltration of the Dark Net: literally an insane fucking story one of my absolute favorite barely sociable videos bc the whole story is just so fucking wild

The Dark Side of the Silk Road: one of my other favorites from barely sociable

Explaining: This House Has People In It: one of my favorite youtubers providing a complete analysis of my favorite arg/analog horror project HIGHLY recommend this one btw

DHMIS Explained: another from the same youtuber, but this time with defunctland style production (before defunctland started having these vibes. honestly maybe a little the other way around given this is 6 years old)

Fear of the Deep: nexpo is the third of my horror/unsettling internet history trifecta that i watch in this list (barely sociable, night mind, and nexpo my beloveds), this one was made just before oceangate, but talks about a few different projects that focus on. ig a fear of the deep really

#ask #goopyguy #take yuor pick LMAO #thumbs up emoji

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luckyfaeth · 11 months

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i think when talking abt defunctland not enough people acknowledge that kevin is so fucking funny. the most recent example is of course the wiggles dark ride video. the repitition of toot toot chugga chugga big red car has me in tears every time i watch it. the way he says everything in the most deadpan way so that some people wouldnt even realize he's being a silly guy in order to keep the informational tone of the video. i just think he's neat.

#defunctland #sorry idk whts wrong with me rn #i just think he's neat!!!!#~

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karatam · 1 year

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Top 5 video essays. Go!

oh this is such an interesting questions hmmmmmmmm

(my problem is that I'm an idiot who has not maintained a playlist or anything of my faves, which I'm going to do starting now lmao)

not in any particular order, though I ended up with more than 5:

Line Goes Up - The Problem With NFTs by Folding Ideas. Does a great job at explaining what they are and how they work, and particularly how they don't work. Talks about the toxic culture that surrounds them and now they're often just scams. I've rewatched it twice.

ROBLOX_OOF.mp3 by hbomberguy. Starts off as a light-hearted look into who made that ubiquitous sound effect. Goes right off the deep end into the teeming insanity of the liar at the centre of it all. Incredible and utterly unhinged.

Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery by Defunctland. Related to #2 in general idea, but totally different in execution. Starts off by trying to find who composed a short little jingle used by the Disney Channel. Ends up a study of being an artist and what that means. I cried.

Disney's FastPass: A Complicated History by Defunctland. A truly interesting look at the history of the management of queues at amusement parts, culminating in the FastPass, for better or worse.

The Church Play Cinematic Universe by Jenny Nicholson. Not a video essay like some others on this list, but simply one of the most entertaining 80 minutes I've ever spent. A weird church puts on incredibly elaborate plays based on existing IP by twisting every story into a christmas or easter play.

The Rise, Lies, & Demise of Jan Hendrik Schön by BobbyBroccoli. Actually a three part series about a man who almost faked his way to a Nobel Prize in physics.

The Bob Emergency: a study of athletes named Bob by Jon Bois. Another two-parter. This is exactly what it says on the tin. It looks at the rise and fall of the number of athletes named Bob.

Into The Omegaverse: How a Fanfic Trope Landed in Federal Court by Lindsay Ellis. Truly batshit, truly incredible. Everyone needs to watch this at least once.

The Failure of Victorious and The End of Victorious by Quinton Reviews. These are a combined 13.5 hours about a show that I only kind of watched. And yet I was fascinated.

An appropriately unhinged recap of Pretty Little Liars by Mike's Mic. Like above, a truly batshit recap of a batshit show that I didn't really watch. Honestly it's more fun when you haven't seen it, because every new plot point is like being hit in the head by a baseball bat.

I Debunked the Entire Manosphere by munecat. A terrifying but funny examination of that part of the internet that I've been trying very hard to avoid.

The Making of Horizon Zero Dawn by noclip. One of my favourite games and a very interesting look at the process of bringing a video game from pitch to end product.

#ask #Anonymous #video essays

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embyrinitalics · 10 months

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What a Surprisingly Thoughtful Defunctland Documentary Taught Me about Writing Fanfic

In case you weren't aware, Defunctland (Kevin Perjurer) is an artist and documentarian whose delightful films cover the strange histories of theme parks and themed entertainment (my favorite is the FastPass+ retrospective). I just finished watching one of his videos, and I found the conclusion so inspiring that I wanted to jot down some impressions.

I didn't think a documentary about trying to track down the composer of the Disney Channel theme song would lead me on a deep dive into artistic identity and legacy, but here we are.

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So without spoiling the ending, the film concludes in part with various artists (and even the filmmaker himself) introspectively discussing the complicated relationship between an artist, what he creates, and the legacy he want to leave behind.

Usually an artist hopes to be remembered for something meaningful and lasting, something "serious," probably the culmination of years of labor that they would consider to be their best work. For a composer, they might imagine a grand piece played in a concert hall, or something similarly complex. Almost certainly not a four note jingle played between commercial breaks.

Kevin himself admitted to having difficulties reconciling his love for his work and the films he creates with his disappointment with his outward facing identity: a YouTuber and Content Creator, who gets called pretentious for trying to identify himself as an artist, filmmaker, and documentarian.

Part of what's put forward in the film is that maybe we need to stop obsessing over how grandiose or serious the work we're remembered for is, which is really a thing of ego and largely outside our control. Maybe what we need is some humility, and to learn that what's important isn't how fantastical the work was, but the amount of joy it brought to people.

It got me thinking about being a fanfic writer. I've never had anyone call me pretentious for claiming I'm an artist, but I've felt like I am. And I have had people tell me that I'm "wasting my talent" writing fanfic and that I should eventually outgrow this hobby and do real writing. It's made me timid to tell my friends that I write, and made the pride I feel when I finish a piece a tad tarnished.

But if I step back from the notion that the value of a piece of art is determined by predefined measurable parameters, instead of by the passion, talent, and love and dedication of the craft poured into it by its maker and the joy it sparked in others, maybe I'd stop pooh-poohing the stuff I make—THE FANFIC I WRITE (louder for the people in the back!)—and treat it like the lovingly-crafted, handmade, one of a kind, fresh-squeezed out of my brain SPARKLY WORK OF ART THAT IT IS.

And the same goes for you! So, uh, yep! That's it. That's the post.

Mmkay bye!

#fanfic #writers #artists #defunctland #personal #long post #Youtube #when you’re just trying to watch a lil YouTube video and get smacked upside the head with ARTISTIC WISDOM

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doorbloggr · 1 year

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Long Form YouTube Videos: Documentaries and Video Essays

Thursday 8/12/22

Media Recommendations #41

Content:

The History of Wii Sports Resort Golf World Records (Summoning Salt)

Disney Channel's Theme - A History Mystory (Defunctland)

The Line Goes Up (Folding Ideas)

Treasure Planet - Disney's Biggest Mistake (Breadsword)

YouTube and new TV

YouTube is one of, if not the most popular ways to engage in video media in the modern age. I am in my mid-20s now, and I do not watch broadcast television at all. Subscription services like Netflix and Disney+ have meant that users can now curate their watching experiences, watching what they want, when they want, instead of having to watch for a certain time of day for a show to air.

Netflix is a giant in today's media consumption

Unlike these other subscription services, YouTube is a user driven site and thrives off the very low bar of entry for creators. All you need is a camera, and/or microphone, and a computer. This means that videos can be and are about anything. Videos of people playing videogames, rating their personal preferences of foods, tourist commentary, chemical demonstrations, original animation and music, or just educating other on your favourite things.

Some of my favourite Youtube Media. Clockwise from the top left: NileRed, SoloTravelBlog, LunaiMooney, TerminalMontage

Getting paid for your creations on YouTube is a tricky topic I do not want to get into deep today, but to get to today's topic, there is a sweetspot of length. A very short video does not pay well, and a very long video does not either. And it is tragic that longer videos do not get the recognition, reward, and engagement they deserve, because I have recently become very aware of how good the long form video catalogue is on YouTube these days.

Long Form Video Content

Now it can be quite easy to make a long video, but what I'm talking about today is beyond just stream archives and let's play compilations. I'm talking about feature length discussions of topics that the creators are passionate about and have put their passion into. In the early phase of planning this article, I came across two terms to describe my taste: Video Essays, and Documentaries. And there is a difference.

Now, Documentaries exist as a broad appealing form of media outside of YouTube. But the difference between a David Attenborough narrated exploration of nature and an explanation of the history of speedrunning a Wii game is resources and interest. The BBC would not greenlight funding for a History of Speedrunning, because it is a niche topic that will not have the broad appeal necessary to return on the cost to make that documentary at a BBC level budget. But just because it does not have mass appeal, does not mean it doesn't have appeal. The reason why I'm writing this article is because these are topics that will engage a niche audience, and these videos would not exist without the passion of the creators.

GenoSamuel's documentary of ChrisChan is a very unique case of something that can only exist on the internet.

The point of a documentary is to document. It is a presentation of collected facts, with little room for interpretation other than the presentation itself. BBC's Blue Planet is not a narrative any more than the the History of Wii Sports Resort Golf Speedrunning is. They are a curated presentation of knowledge on the topic that is enjoyable because it is easier to enjoy in one complete package rather than the interested party having to seek out and consume the scattered information themselves.

A Video Essay on the other hand is exactly what the name suggests, it is an essay in video form. It is the creator making an analysis or argument on a topic, often by dividing their video into sections, presenting information supporting their point of view. Video Essays are often more emotion driven, targeting the viewer's empathy to support the creator's opinion, either by making them happy, sad, or angry with the information presented. Video Essays do not exist as a popular form of media outside of YouTube, since their scholarly/professional equivalent are written essays. The idea of the Video Essay is not unique to YouTube but it is the best platform for independent long-form media. On the internet, there's an audience for everything, and a someone willing to present their opinion on it.

Contrapoints is a trans video essayist that discusses societal values, politics, ethics, and trans rights.

It might be my personal taste evolving, but even if YouTube doesn't financially support the models of Documentaries and Video Essays, the rise of crowd funding e.g. Patreon, has meant that the model becomes more feasible, and as a result, the general quality and variety of good long form videos has increased on the platform. So I'm take a bit of more of your time to recommend some of my favourite creator's of such media, and my favourite videos they've made.

Documentary Recommendations

The History of Wii Sports Resort Golf World Records

Summoning Salt

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Summoning Salt is a historian of videogame speedrunning. To the outside observer, speedrunning may not seem like a topic that needs or lends itself well to documentation, but in reality it works very well. Since Speedrunning works around reporting your records via footage, there is lots of footage to demonstrate the topic. And if you fear getting lost in the jargon of techniques, Summoning Salt is very good at explaining the runs in laymen's terms. His sound design, narration, and how the video is formatted makes it easy to follow a topic, and the Documentaries go at fast enough pace that you never feel bored down by unnecessary detail.

The video that introduced me to Summoning Salt and the true depths of speedrunning was their video on Wii Sports Resort Golf. It was a tale of competitive spirit, flukes of ingenuity, and tenacity. What was one person's whim became a series of trials for many. How far can you stretch the technical ability and exploits of a Wii Motion Control Game? Very far it turns out. At 36 minutes, it is a shorter doco, a great introduction to Summoning Salt and his genre. It is a gripping tale that I implore you to experience for yourself.

Disney Channel's Theme - A History Mystery

Defunctland

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Defunctland is a historian on theme parks, children's media projects, movies, and shows. Their origin was in extinct theme parks, but the breadth of topics discussed has expanded. While theme parks documentaries are not an uncommon subject area on YouTube, nobody does their research quite as thoroughly or directly as Defunctland. Much of the information presented in their works are things the creator had found out themselves via interviews with involved parties, or trudging through deep internet archives, all to put together complete packages.

The first video I watched of theirs is the latest (at time for writing) and is a story of how Defunctland found out who wrote the theme song for the Disney Channel. Given it is only a four note melody, it seems like it would not be difficult to find, but there are several layers of intricacies about channel tones, Disney's marketing teams, and composers that make this a very long journey. It is an emotional tale that does great tribute to those artists involved. Do watch!

Video Essay Recommendations

The Line Goes Up

Folding Ideas

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Folding Ideas is a documentarian who discusses ideas that often affect society at large. Some topics are meta discussions of how to make media online and analysis of certain media products, others are societal level analysis of phenomena such as Flat Earthers. Folding Ideas has a sort of university lecture style presentation unique to Video Essays, where a large part of the video actually features the speaker in frame, while images and videos are used secondarily to better demonstrate his points. Folding Ideas videos are very long, but easy to follow; any concept brought up during explanations is quickly explained in layman's terms, so the entire essay can be followed.

The video that introduced me to Folding Ideas was their 2 hour explanation of NFTs, which also explored market capitalism, cryptocurrency and Web3. It is a Video that can be enjoyed in the background of other tasks, but I advised that for a first watch, you may want to set aside a couple hours near bedtime to sit down and absorb the explanation. Like many other Folding Ideas videos, it is overall neutral on the topic itself, but he is not afraid to make clear his stance on what he thinks of cryptocurrency and NFTs. If the NFT craze passed you by and you had no idea what any of it meant, this is THE source to educate yourself on what it all means, and why it is so bad.

Treasure Planet - Disney's Biggest Mistake

Breadsword

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Breadsword is not your typical video essayist, I would describe them more as a story teller. Breadsword's target content is nostalgia bait for people who enjoy feel good media, be that older anime, disney and dream works movies from the 90s and early 00s, or even videogames. The videos of Breadsword are a love letter and analysis of childhood memories, stories from their internal development, deeper meanings, and why we should (or do) enjoy these pieces.

The first video I watched of Breadsword was their exploration of Treasure Planet, one of the last 2D Disney feature-length films. The video is both an exploration of all the technical and narrative techniques that made this movie great and how Disney tried to sabotage its success. Breadsword makes the argument that since movies like Treasure Planet are so technically demanding, and 3D animation was on the rise, Disney wanted the film to fail, so they had the excuse to change medium. It is an emotional story and a heartbreaking one, and Breadsword tells it very well.

Thanks for Reading

The irony of my article about Long YouTube Videos being very long was not lost on me, and I understand that this length will be intimidating to readers. I will not expect a lot, if any, to read the while post, but if you did, and you're reading this, thank you so much.

Like many YouTube creators, my input on this blog is for the benefit of my creativity first, and if it turns out others enjoy it, then that's fantastic. If you want to see what my other recommendations are, I have a list of them in pinned post on this blog.

#Youtube #blog #blogpost #media recommendations #video essay #documentary recommendations #documentary #youtubers #folding ideas #defunctland #breadsword #summoning salt #genosamuel #contrapoints #long post

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chungledown-bimothy · 6 months

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top 5 video essays!!!

just 5?? okay, um. i'm gonna have to run my favorite video essays playlist through a few filters: minimum one hour, one video per creator, and no hbomberguy or defunctland. everyone here knows roblox_oof.mp3 and the disney theme, i want to show some love for other videos)

1- The man who tried to fake an element (Bobbybroccoli) He's a master of explaining just enough of the historical and scientific context to put things into perspective while keeping it interesting. The way he visually depicts what he's talking about is also always fantastic. This video is the pinnacle of both of those, I think.

Also it's a really interesting and funny story. How he thought he'd get away with it still baffles me.

2- FNaF & Undertale: How to/NOT to Tell A Story (Spaceman Scott) The thesis is perfectly unbiased. There's no objectively right or wrong way to tell a story, let's look at these two culture-changingly popular stories and how differently they were created and are told.

The other 75 minutes of the video are absolutely shitting on Scott Cawthon and talking about how much the attention, love, and care Toby Fox put into Undertale shows.

3- The False Evolution of Execution Methods (Jacob Geller) Incredibly well researched, thought out, and presented. It would have been easy for it to just be talking about the statistics, but he does a really phenomenal job of putting them in the context of societal and technological changes and not pulling punches or being too graphic when discussing what happens when things go wrong with the different methods.

I don't want to spoil the ending, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Honestly the only reason it isn't higher is because it is such a heavy watch. (yes it's technically 53 minutes but I had to pause and process shit for at least seven minutes while watching it. It counts.)

4- Who Is Nazeem REALLY? Skyrim's Most HATED Character (Camelworks) I've done some deep dives into incredibly niche things, but this takes the goddamn cake. I want to study the creator like a bug. No one asked, but my god they delivered a fucking masterpiece.

5- The Most Painful Death Ever (VIEWER DISCRETION) (Wendigoon) Nuclear physics and weird medical things are both interests of mine, so I found it fascinating. That said, oh my god take the warning seriously. It was all presented very respectfully and tactfully, but the facts of the situation are intense to say the least. I'm not squicked by medical stuff in general, but some of it had me feeling truly shaken.

honorable mention for This is Financial Advice (Folding Ideas) for making cryptocurrency, both the thing itself and the culture around it, make sense to me.

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twodoorsnotone · 1 year

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I transcribed the entire music reveal monologue to the Disney Channel Theme defunctland documentary for a friend so now I offer it to you, Tumblr, you're welcome. 👍 😭

I love what I do. I get to make videos, for a living, on subjects that I'm passionate about, that people watch. I am so lucky and I am eternally grateful for every second that I am able to do this, but I'd be lying if there wasn't a small part of me that hates that this is called a video and not a documentary or a film. That I am referred to as a YouTuber or a contact creator, not a filmmaker or documentarian, or an artist.

Because the truth is that I could do this, make videos on this platform every day until I died, and I would be happy everyday. But that small part of me: that selfish, arrogant, pretentious, miserable part of me, would not be happy if that were my legacy when I'm gone. Because living my dream looks a lot different than I imagined as a kid or even 10 years ago.

I didn't know Alex Lasarenko, and unfortunately, I never will. I made this video 2 years too late and I missed my chance to interview him. I can't ask him what it was like composing for commercials and networks. I can't ask him how he came up with the Disney channel theme.

But I think the first question that I would ask would be, are you ok with this? Do you even want to be credited with writing the theme?

Because this was his most popular work. He composed for other networks and shows and commercials and films, some of which some people may recognise. But nothing comes close to these four notes. How could you compete with something that has been playing non-stop for millions of people for 20 years? And according to everyone I've spoken with, he probably wrote it in a day. And he might not have thought about it again after that. It was just another job.

Alex is well remembered by his friends and family and coworkers, but on a broader public and cultural scale, he does not have a well-defined legacy. There's the tribute that Fritz Doddy wrote, the IMDb page, the archived website, and one single photo, but when I release this video and credit him for composing this theme, it will likely become the thing that he is known for - and I'm hesitant to do that. I'm hesitant to condemn someone else to the fate that I fear for myself.

And worse, in this case, it's just four notes.

There is an obvious solution to this, and that is to expose you to some of Alex's other work while I have your attention, to give you a broader sense of his talents and artistry outside of this four note mnemonic. I could play a few clips from other compositions. I could link to some of his work and encourage you to go listen to it on your own.

But I don't have to, because you've already listened to his music. In fact, you're listening to it right now, and you have been, the whole time, since the beginning.

You've been listening to the music of the late Alex Lasarenko.

#defunctland #kevin perjurer #defunct tv #defuncttv #disney channel #disney #alex lasarenko #disney channel theme #disney channel theme: a history mystery

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anartificialsatellite · 5 months

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Do you have any other recs for long YouTube dives into complicated things that aren't all that important? For *some weird reason* I find myself consuming a lot of that kind of content lately. (While also trying not to get, like, jumpscared by surprise blood libels about the current war in Gaza after trying to just watch some video on the meme stock rabbithole. For instance.)

Boy howdy, do I know exactly what you mean there.

I really enjoy pretty much every other thing Defunctland has done and can't recommend that channel enough, including his search for the origin of the Disney Channel theme music, and his six-part Jim Henson series.

Other recs:

Eddy Burback's video about Ghost Kitchens,

Yesterworld's history of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

History channel also has a ton of old episodes of Modern Marvels uploaded to YouTube, which can be really interesting looks into mundane things as well, like this one on how supermarkets work.

Also not a really deep dive as much as they are long and silly, but I enjoyed Eddy Burback and Ted Nivison's trips to visit every Rainforest Cafe (Eddy's here and Ted's here) and their following trip to every Margaritaville (Eddy's here and Ted's here).

Also not a deep dive but if you're looking for something sort of fun and weird, I'll recommend all of Brutalmoose's Mystery Tapes videos, in which he buys old "sold as blank" VHS tapes and makes videos about what's on them. These may not be interesting to you, idk, but I like them!

If anyone has other recs, please let us know!

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arthurdrakoni · 9 months

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Figment is a great all ages comic from the Disney Kingdom line. This is my review.

Disney Kingdoms was a truly unappreciated gem of a comic book series. Each issue was based on a different Disney Theme Park attraction; past, present, and even ones that were never built. There’s a lot of lore and creativity put into Disney Theme Park attractions, so there is certainly very fertile ground for story telling.

So, I’d like to share with all of you a review I did of the comic Figment. Based on the classic EPCOT attraction Journey Into Imagination. Figment takes place in London in the year 1910. It follows an aspiring inventor named Blarion Mercurial. He might not look it, but he is destined to become The Dreamfinder. Blarion works for The Academy Scientifica Lucidus. He's always been a dreamer and he wants to harness the power of imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, his boss, Chairman Illocrant, is only interested in creating a device that can during thought into energy. While working on the device, Blarion brings Figment, his childhood imaginary friend, to life. He also opens a portal into a realm of pure imagination. Before long, our heroes embark on a journey into imagination.

I’d been meaning to read this comic for a while, but it got a major boost after I watched Defunctland’s episode on Journey Into Imagination. By the way, if you haven’t check out Defubctland, fix that as soon as possible. One of the best channels on YouTube. Love his attention to quality, and the amount of information he always manages to find on defunct theme park attractions.

Anyway, back on topic, I loved Figment. It is a great all ages comic with a strong message in believing in yourself. The segments set in the land of Imagination were fun and whimsical, but the real world segments were entertaining as well. It also a surprisingly well done origin story for Dreamfinder. It could easily have done very wrong. He’s one of those characters like Willy Wonka or Mrs. Frizzle where you don’t know much about them or their origins, but they’re so awesome you just don’t care. However, giving a definitive origin to such characters can backfire badly. Thankfully, that is not at all the case here.

Also, Figment is as cute and adorable as ever. Just as he should be. I’m not the only one who thinks this comic is great. It is the only member of the Disney Kingdoms line to get a sequel. Even then Disney CEO Bob Igor was blown away by the comic’s success. I know that Disney+ is going to be producing some shows based on Disney Theme Park attractions. So, perhaps Disney Kingdoms will rise again some day.

Have you read Figment? If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog is here: http://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2018/09/comic-review-figment.html?m=1

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acceleracers-baby · 2 months

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Acceleracers HCs! Amusement Parks! Teku Edition!

Teku

(Nolo Pasaro, Vert Wheeler, Shirako Takamoto, Kurt Wylde, Karma Eiss)

+Bonus Round

(Brian Kadeem & Banjee Castillo)

Teku

Nolo Pasaro - Nolo loves theme parks! He rarely ever went to any as a kid- always using the money he saved up to help buy parts for either Tone’s car or what would be his own as soon as he was old enough to drive. It was nice because by the time he got his license, he pretty much had the beginnings of a great streetcar, but in doing so, he also missed out on some regular kid stuff. He didn’t mind though. Going to meets with Tone and feeling the car surge forward and drift around was about as much fun as a theme park anyway. That being said, Nolo still loves rides! Especially, the ones that are known for being “high adrenaline.” Stuff that goes upside down, backwards, free falls. Basically anything that gets his blood pumping!

Vert Wheeler - Vert loves theme parks for the opposite reasons that Nolo loves them. Because Jack was always out on missions, he would end up missing Vert’s big milestones. To make up for it, he would take Vert to his favorite theme park when he rotated home to celebrate. It quickly became a tradition. So now, going to theme parks always scratches that nostalgia itch for him. Also like Nolo, Vert is an adrenaline junky when it comes to riding rides. Any attraction that has a reputation for being fast paced and scary- he wants on. He is also the one to hype people up if they’re scared to go on a ride.

Shirako Takamoto - Shirako is all about those Defunctland videos!! Late at night, when he’s updating his website or searching for good deals on parts, he’ll have music AND a video essay playing in the background. Overstimulated King. Usually, it’s just something mind numbing, but occasionally he’ll actually stop what he’s doing to watch through the rest of the video if something interesting pops up. Shirako, as always, just knows a bunch of random shit about whatever theme part they’re at because of all the videos he’s gone through. He enjoys rollercoasters. Not as much as Nolo or Vert, especially cause they make him take his headphones off before the ride for safety reasons, but he still likes the adrenaline rush.

Kurt Wylde - Kurt carries the bag!!! Full on dad stance!! He’ll definitely ride some rides every once in a while, but he taps out after about two or three. This dude has had way too many gnarly crashes to be thrown around on some high speed, barely padded rollercoaster. He’ll still stand in line with everyone, or if they’re starting to get hungry, he’ll use the time to go grab everyone some food and a place to sit so they can just eat whenever they get off the ride. He also is 100% the type to make fun of someone for buying a stupid theme park souvenir while also doing the exact same thing.

Karma Eiss - Karma is also an adrenaline junky! However, once Kurt starts tapping out, she’ll alternate between waiting with him so he doesn’t just have to awkwardly stand alone at the exit, and riding with Shirako if the seats are set up in pairs. She knows the best times to go to each ride, and exactly what restaurants to go to to get the best food. She’s always the one planning. Even when the guys mix things up or want to do things out of order, she’s quick to adjust the plan to accommodate. It’s cheesy, but she always has the group take a picture together in front the best ride of the day as a memory.

Bonus Round

Brian Kadeem - Oh, LOVES theme parks!! This dude is trying to ride every ride, try every snack, and overall just live his best life. It’s rare for him to get a break and get to visit a theme park, so when he does, he’s making the most out of it! Genuinely, this dude is a giant ray of sunshine who wants to make sure that everyone is having a great time. Kadeem is also that one dude who is cackling on every ride. He’s just so pumped to be there that it’s the only reaction he can have. Like Vert, if someone’s nervous to go on a ride, he’ll try to put them at ease before they get on!

Banjee Castillo - Banjee, my dear sweet adrenaline junky, is a menace to theme parks. Those rides that barely have a line because people are too scared to do them? Banjee is first in line, baby!! Not only that but he wants to ride them over and over again. He could almost put Vert and Nolo to shame. Almost. He also loves buying those stupid “I survived the _______” shirts that have the ride name on them. They’re so goofy, and he will literally put it on as soon as he buys them cause he thinks it’s hilarious. He’s also weirdly good at those rigged carnival games??? Like that dude will walk away from the park with some kind of ridiculously large plush that he won, it’s absurd.

——— Thanks for Reading! ———

#hot wheels #acceleracers #hot wheels acceleracers #hot wheels highway 35 #acceleracers headcanons #hot wheels hcs #hot wheels fanfic #acceleracers fanfic #kurt wylde #nolo pasaro #vert wheeler #shirako takamoto #karma eiss #banjee castillo #brian Kadeem #Teku #Teku Edition

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