The YouTube Discussion: Part the Third
I believe I’ve done two other posts like this, hence the title. And here is a cute doggo looking a bit confused, bless him. I’m confused, too.
Specifically about when, or how, or maybe just *waves hands in overwhelming puzzlement* YouTube became its own cable network hitting all the genre tropes.
In my previous posts on YouTube, I talked about how my favorite creators/vloggers were enriching my life and the entertainment scene. Unfortunately, that was a while ago, and now…well…
I’ll just go straight into the rants.
Point the First: What the hell happened to Ryan Trahan?
Ryan Trahan was one of the most wholesome and down-to-earth YouTubers on the platform. He was an average kid who didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life, and kind of fell into doing reviews of under-hyped restaurants and travel locations. It was a delight to watch his latest forays into the range of venues now offered through Air B&B, hear his thoughts on why this Chinese-Mexican-fusion truck stop in the middle of nowhere deserved more visitors, and get treated to the occasional pup shot of his dog Spock. Then he decided to buy and relaunch an under-performing candy product, and called it Joyride, and managed to get it in the inventory of major retailers like Target. And it was like the man changed overnight.
With Joyride’s success came the apparent fame-and-money-has-gone-to-his-head moment that many fans of various celebrities or influencers expect, but dread, and with good reason. Trahan’s last several videos have been heavily-edited compilations of him traveling across the world, on very expensive flights and trains, dining at exclusive restaurants, and taking his (already spoiled) wife to bucket-list destinations. I am not impressed.
Years ago, I stopped watching travel shows on TV, because they were all about professional chefs or journalists getting special invitations to ancient monuments on protected land and dining on exotic dishes even the locals no longer consumed. No one lives like that. I couldn’t stand the fakeness, and I wanted to see how real people would travel. Ryan Trahan spending the night in an RV at a farm in Missouri, where he could pet the animals while watching the sun set over the hills, and then he got excited when he realized Taco Bell delivered to said RV, was charming and attainable. It actually made me want to try traveling (I notoriously have not left my region in the past 10 years). This 20-something trying to turn into the next Anthony Bourdain has the distinct opposite effect.
YouTube was already filled with travel vlogs, food vlogs, and a combination thereof. Yes, recently a whole lot of these folks have migrated to Instagram or TikTok instead, but the fact stands: Many viewers don’t see the need for more of them on YT, myself included.
Point the Second: Dhar Mann
Remember when network television was chock full of these ridiculous sitcoms with canned laugh tracks and unbelievable plot points, and at the end of each 27-minute episode, everything was back to how it had been at the start and none of the characters had really learned anything or grown? And how these shows fell out of fashion eventually, because people wanted to watch something that made sense and presented relatable discussions? It’s why the vlogs of normal, everyday people experienced such a meteoric rise on social media.
Then there’s Dhar Mann. Who apparently didn’t get the memo that sitcoms with one-dimensional characters and unrealistic storylines were pretty much done away with in the early aughts, for good reason. Dhar Mann’s channel is all videos filmed like a TV show, scripted, using actors, and presenting an “after school special” sort of theme, like bullying, a parent losing a job, a friend caught lying, and so forth. These videos are incredibly gaggy and not one bit how things work in real life. Bullies do not stop their behavior because you ask them nicely. A company focused on the bottom line does not give someone with no experience a high-ranking position because they asked nicely. Teachers will not un-suspend troublemaking kids because you ask nicely. You get the idea.
I hate things like Dhar Mann videos. I hate the wrong impression they’re spreading among kids, that you can get anything you want if you smile enough, that somehow the world will just fall at your feet simply because you dream big. It’s sugarcoating the long and involved process of serious and important matters like adopting children, getting out of poverty, beating addictions, recovering from critical illnesses. My generation was fed all sorts of this crap, and it’s why we wanted our kids to have role models who showed triumph over adversity without covering up the hard parts. Dhar Mann is the anthesis of that, and starting the cycle of impossible expectations all over again.
Point the Third: Drew Gooden and company need to stop whining
How many of us stopped watching daytime talk shows, one-name hour-long whine-fests on cable news, sports channels, and even late night TV, purely because we could no longer handle the intense amount of griping? I gave up on the talking heads ages back — not that I was big on them to begin with — and had absolutely no regrets about doing so. Almost a year ago, I was trying to find new YouTube channels to add to my list, and somehow came across Drew Gooden and his friends, Eddie Burback, Danny Gonzalez, and Kurtis Conner. Now, for whatever reason, Danny and Kurtis’ styles did not gel for me, so I’ve only watched a couple each of their vids. But I’ve spent several nights catching up on the back catalog of Drew and Eddie, respectively.
At first, it was fun — I liked hearing their takes on changes in technology, business models, and entertainment. I enjoyed that, even when the subject matter or tone was serious, they still threw in jokes or light-hearted moments. Then two things happened that drastically changed my mind about both these presenters (separately, but how I feel about both now is a very similar disdain).
One: I watched Eddie Burback’s videos on traveling to every single Margaritaville and every single Rainforest Cafe in the USA and Canada.
Two: A Drew Gooden video gave me a panic attack.
The impacts of One: I found it tremendously hypocritical that a man who literally spends the majority of his time and effort — and gets paid for! — complaining about how pervasive stuff like corporate chains have become in our lives even made these trips — purely for channel content as well! I began to wonder if someone in such a privileged position of being able to spending weeks on end traveling and filming it was really the person we should be going to for rants on DoorDash scams and TicketMaster ripoffs.
The reasons for Two: For a while now, Drew has been whining — intensely — about AI, and how social media feels so toxic anymore, and how streaming services are changing their business models, and…basically everything he uses in his daily life makes him miserable, but…here he is, months later, still using it and whining about it. And sometimes it can be cathartic to listen to someone vent, especially if you agree with most of their thoughts. I honestly enjoyed his reviews on random products he bought from Twitter and Instagram ads, as some were winners, and it was interesting to get a layman’s perspective on these items. But now…the endless bitching and moaning about Facebook bots and Netflix original programming and $76 for a bottle of wine made with grapes picked off the vine by a famous TikToker, and OH MY GOD do not get me started on his insistence on watching Hallmark Christmas movies and somehow being surprised they’re complete garbage. This…is not it, fam.
The other night, I was watching his latest, and after about 15 minutes, could literally feel my blood pressure going up. Before I reached the end of the video, I was starting to hyperventilate, and had to shut it off. I realized I was having the same reaction I used to get when watching horror movies, and yelling at the screen, “Don’t go down there by yourself! Run to the car and drive away from the scary, blood-decorated basement! How stupid are you?!”
That comparison may not seem to connect, but here’s why it does: This man is using all the air in the room to tell us how much he hates this technology that…he could simply stop using. If social media gives him that much anxiety, he can just delete his accounts and find healthier ways to spend his free time than doomscrolling. If he can’t stand watching certain streaming services, he can cancel those subscriptions. If seeing ads gives him FOMO, he can install an ad blocker. “How stupid are you?!”
So, I’m saying buh-bye to the talking heads YouTubers.
Point the Fourth: If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
I watch YouTube for entertainment. I like to have a respite from the dumpster fire of reality. I want to spend an hour or two before bed laughing at Gaming Beaver’s attempt at dad jokes; reveling in the so-satisfying-sensation of those 100 layers of whatever coming apart after Preston gives it umpteen whacks with a baseball bat; smirking at non-lethal re-creations of The Squid Games. I enjoy Brianna figuring out the puzzles in the newest Garden of Banban; Kindly Keyin being determined to save all the cute little androids in Astro Bot; DanTDM, against all logic, getting stuck in a vanilla Minecraft seed. I need to see people behaving like decent human beings, even kind and respectful of pixelated NPCs trying to help them complete a level, in a game that has no stakes for the outside world. I don’t have my head in the sand; I’m maintaining my sanity so that I can keep functioning to raise my children and hopefully teach them how not to be asshats.
Anyway, here’s the biggest point of this post — I stopped watching traditional TV a long time ago because I hated “reality” shows, faked DIY, pundits hollering that the planet’s exploding but not offering a single possible fix to any of the problems, and “family” programs teaching kids it’s okay to coerce their parents into buying them an IPad because their dimples are so persuasive. I do not need YouTube to turn into the thing it claimed to be the solution for.
End rant.
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