I watched a lot of YouTube this past year, and as the year comes to a close I figured I’d put together a list of video essayists I discovered that I particularly enjoy. The list criteria is arbitrary, but all of these channels have emerged relatively recently and all are relatively small. Maybe you’ll find something you like, too!
featured image from Bilial Creation Production
The Stories We Tell
philosophy, media, and cultural critique
Ryan Hodes pilots The Stories We Tell, a debutante on the scene of contemplative video essayists about the Big Topics of the day. I recommend his essay on the themes of Mononoke Hime as a good starting place:
Hodes blends influences from Taoism and Buddhism to anarchism and mutual aid in a compelling reading of one of Miyazaki’s classics. The release date is notable and is reflected in the comments section, coming as a source of solace for viewers reeling from the initial impact of American regime change.
Princess Mononoke is not a story of good vs. evil or right vs. wrong. It’s a story of reconnecting with harmony. Of seeing that the totality these opposites encompass is much larger than the sum of its parts. Princess Mononoke’s complex characters represent the fact that within all of us are the capacities for love and hate, trust and fear, wisdom and ignorance, greed and generosity, violence and peace. And if we refuse to see the humanity of hateful people and respond with more hate, this hate will only multiply until it consumes us all.
If this strikes your fancy, his other work is equally thought provoking; delving into topics such as AI and Silicon Valley, manufactured consent for genocide, and philosophies of stillness in defiance of the late capitalist imperative to constantly consume and produce. It’s heady, heavy stuff, but fortifying.
Swamp Jawn
the art and craft of animation
I came across Swamp Jawn early in the year, around the time I started watching Dungeon Meshi. As a lover of the craft, his companion series reviewing each episode from an animator’s perspective was a delightful way to experience the show again from a host of new angles.
The rest of Swamp Jawn’s catalog is more of the same, with lovingly crafted odes to Dandadan and Look Back, examinations of cinematic techniques unique to animation and to specific animators, along with critiques of AI’s encroachment into the animation space and justified takedowns of some of the most notorious entries in the anime canon.
It’s easy to spend an afternoon with Swamp Jawn and come away feeling entertained and with some new knowledge under your belt. No higher praise from me for a video essayist.
chriswaves
high octane visual culture critique
chriswaves is a candidate for your favorite video essayist’s favorite video essayist, a criminally small channel with maximalist vibes, impeccable production quality, and a penchant for the Gen Z edit. A good place to start is here:
A practitioner in the vein of Mia Cole and CJ the X, chriswaves is a person to watch if you enjoy having superficially insightful non sequiturs thrown at you rapid fire until you suddenly realize they were all building to a point, sometimes well after video is over. Enjoy? Enjoy.
Sarah Davis Baker
liminal intangibilities; the holding of hands at the end
Wistful; nostalgic; memento mori. Sarah Davis Baker’s work thrives in the boundary spaces of culture; between the body, the screen, and the vastness of the internet, or between the machine, the human, and the soul.
It’s almost cheating to include her on this list, since in the past year her channel has gained prominence (and a Nebula affiliation) off the back videos such as the above; but this is only one in a sequence of profoundly moving and at times unsettling journeys into the modern abyss of the real, within even the darkest of which the glimmers of starlight can still be seen. Watch, and find comfort.
Farm to Taber
American farming industry insights
Farm to Taber is an essayist I discovered relatively late in the year, but one whose work has been indispensable in helping me understand a sector of the American economy that I grew up adjacent to but without ever directly experiencing: the American corporate farm.
Sarah Taber brings insight directly from the perspective of a farmer and farm worker, helping fill in gaps in the material base underlying the superstructure of support for the current American regime in the farm sector. It’s grim listening at times, but she delivers the message with a directness and pragmatism that respects the viewer’s intelligence to a refreshing degree. If you want to understand the political economy of the American food supply, this channel is a must-watch.
sincere on main
plant-based food, working out, health in body and mind
sincere on main is the brainchild of Anna Ladd, whose website I visited for the first time in the process of writing this post. It’s absolutely delightful, as are her videos; her guide to plant-based protein is a great place to start, if you’re interested in that sort of thing:
My household has been incorporating a lot more plant-based alternatives in our diet for the past several years, and if that’s your jam, this channel will deliver a potent dose of exactly what you need to get started or keep things moving forward. Pro tips for delicious vegan food are punctuated by self help advice and tips for working out, all with a delivery that’s refreshingly direct and drier than a cold Asahi. Watch and learn.
COLORMIND.
“Masculinity, Media, Mental Health, Music.”
Tayo Omisore is the lyricist behind COLORMIND., an eclectic cultural critique channel with impeccable vibes, always.
His latest video is a rumination on friendship that transcends utilitarian transaction and defines the stuff of life. At 11:09 it’s the shortest video I’m recommending today, and worth every minute, both visually and conceptually. If you watch one video today, pick this one.
Another great recent entry of his is The Game Theory that Explains Society, a comparison of the classic prisoner’s dilemma with the stag hunt model of economic cooperation. I hadn’t heard of the latter, and this is a solid primer. A great channel to find to close out the year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.
