Current Events > It's so hard to find good video essayists.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I only like Big Joel

What makes them good

DuuuDe14 posted...

What makes them good

• Original and interesting observations
• Not a synopsis/narration channel disguised as analysis
• If discussing public policy, goes beyond "here's something you should be ANGRY about"
• Not focused on "controversies" (drama)

I have smaller "icks" that I can't think of off the top of my head but could point out if someone posted a video essayist that displays them

What does CE watch

KaiserBeamz - who does retrospectives of older anime from the 80s/90s - also made the most comprehensive Looney Tunes history videos I've ever watched:

https://youtu.be/z57_2T_WIuA?si=7OEyaB14DyKERn5T

I watch KBash sometimes. He basically does long essay reviews of games, but he tends to play lesser played games like Monster Rancher games or the Mana games or games from the Dept. Heaven series. He does kinda try to be funny haha game reviewer a little bit, but it doesn't dominate the video and he's not trying to be the Nerd either.

Reasons why gaming is dying:
Micro transactions up the ass
Nobody for me to play with irl cos everyone has a life besides me :((((
Uhhhh glitches lots and lots of glitches

This is the list concluded it's definitely not cos I am getting older btw blocked if you say that in my comment section grrrr!

I watch Big Joel but it doesnt help that he literally looks like this:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/5/2/AAYLngAAE0BU.jpg

my favorites grouped from higher to lower tier generally

Noah Caldwell Gervais, americana and video games. Lincoln highway video is great. https://www.youtube.com/@broadcaststsatic

MrBTongue, video games/media https://www.youtube.com/@MrBtongue
HBomberGuy, video games and breadtube https://www.youtube.com/@hbomberguy
FoldingIdeas, did that viral NFT takedown https://www.youtube.com/@FoldingIdeas

Veritasium, science https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos
Perun, Ukraine War, https://www.youtube.com/@PerunAU
Jacob Geller, video games https://www.youtube.com/@JacobGeller
Not Just Bikes, city planning https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustBikes

SuperBunnyHop, video games, doesn't really post anymore https://www.youtube.com/@bunnyhopshow
Shaun, breadtube, https://www.youtube.com/@Shaun_vids
Technology Connectios, tell you how mundane technology around you such as Coffee Makers and Dishwashers work. https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections

The Chieftain, staff historian for World of Tanks, the last word on WW2 tanks if you're into that https://www.youtube.com/@TheChieftainsHatch
PBS Frontline, news https://www.youtube.com/@frontline/videos
Biographics, history https://www.youtube.com/@Biographics/featured
ClimateTown, city planning https://www.youtube.com/@ClimateTown

discodancer77 posted...

I watch Big Joel but it doesnt help that he literally looks like this:

Yeah idk why he does that to himself because this was him a couple years ago

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/5/3/AAcZIZAAE0BV.jpg

Im a fan of Gingys video essays.

Noah caldwell Gervais.
His videos are long but they are broken down by chapters so it's easy to watch them in small pieces.

https://youtu.be/iSIDtxHaFpk?si=lPbfYzqMKBNWPhV0

Here is an example of him doing a travellouge of american west coast to compare real life locations of the bethesda fallout games (he did black isle and obsidian east coast too)

Dan Olsons channel is called Folding Ideas. Youre welcome.

>Good
>Video essayists

Pick one

FunWithAFryPan posted...

Dan Olsons channel is called Folding Ideas. Youre welcome.

I saw "Line Goes Up" and thought it was a poor video, honestly. I'll try his "In Search of a Flat Earth" though

Doe posted...

I saw "Line Goes Up" and thought it was a poor video, honestly. I'll try his "In Search of a Flat Earth" though

Line Goes Up is excellent, what didnt you like about it?

In Search of a Flat Earth is also great, but his channel goes back for years and years.

I like the video essays where I don't have to see their face.

Damn_Underscore posted...

>Good
>Video essayists

Pick one

https://youtu.be/OFbhDs_8k1A?si=k9vmW3bFPDqegG29

https://youtu.be/fb7AfWKS1OE?si=Vg6AZt74xMkTjlPs

https://youtu.be/a5GNbywOx0g?si=QRCxMPDhAwfXdMp8

Try these bangers

At work now..but I am tagging to add my favorites a when I get home.

FunWithAFryPan posted...

Line Goes Up is excellent, what didnt you like about it?

I dug up what I wrote about it on CE around the time the video dropped and people here were discussing it

I'm trying to get through the video but he will just move from a topic like how having capital makes it easier to whale on bitcoin, to the energy usage of crypto vs ATMs, and then detours to a review of a book someone wrote about ethereum, while focusing more on calling the writer a loser than just explaining ethereum. . . . As an educational video about the limits of the technology, it's unfocused and poorly structured. I mean it's called "the problem with NFTs" and he has not explained anything about NFTs in the first 30 minutes.

Might've been a little harsh but I think that was because people were pitching it as

an essential watch for anyone who's unsure on the merits of Crytocurrencies and NFTs

and I thought no, you don't need a feature-length video (2h18m) to explain what an NFT is and why it is not useful.

What do you mean by he doesnt explain anything about NFTs in the first 30 mins? Thats absurd.

apolloooo posted...

Noah caldwell Gervais.
His videos are long but they are broken down by chapters so it's easy to watch them in small pieces.

I really like his video game essays, but I'm so confused why he mispronounces literally every person and place name in the Dark Souls series despite the game sounding them out.

I like StrucciMovies but she (they? i forget) seems to not really care about her youtube channel that much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAh9oLs67Cw

CuckPhilosophy has the Hegel video you want to watch

I like wendigoon

FunWithAFryPan posted...

What do you mean by he doesnt explain anything about NFTs in the first 30 mins? Thats absurd.

No, it is not. Folding Ideas does not so much as define what 'NFT' stands for until 39 minutes into the video (chapter 4) and they are not meaningfully mentioned before that except to assert they will, eventually, be discussed. Most of the 39 preceding minutes is spent building a narrative about anyone in crypto, poisoning the well honestly, before he actually commits to explaining how a blockchain functions ("3. The Machine", where that description begins, being 25 minutes in).

As a video specifically interested in delivering a narrative about the rise of crypto evangelism, I guess it's fine, but that's not quite what it was billed as here or in its title, and I'm not a fan of the organization of the information regardless. NFTs are lame because they do not have a meaningful use case, because they are a speculative asset that often try to obfuscate the "asset", not because bitcoin hoarders are wrong about centralized banking.

NFTs and crypto are obviously related topics. You think talking about the latter is unrelated to the former? The video itself isnt just about NFTs, its about crypto being a scam. Thats what the line goes up refers to. He lays all this out in the intro, Im surprised you missed it.

I also dont agree with your accusation of poisoning the well. Olson does not present a flattering depiction of crypto but thats hardly the same thing. Youre being quite disingenuous here.

the only video essays ive ever watched that i thought were interesting were from every frame a painting, who are no longer active

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8&t=1s&ab_channel=EveryFrameaPainting

oh and foolish baseball which will be of no interest if you dont like baseball. however he seems to have fallen into doing clickbait since he got more popular instead of stupid niche videos like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4YTRD3r_-A&ab_channel=FoolishBaseball