#video recommendations

[canadiangamerninjabunny]

I have spent the last 3 days going on this journey of a video. I could not recommend it enough!

Whether you were a big grumpy cat fan or never even saw the meme once, @quinton-reviews tells a compelling, hilarious, and heartfelt history that goes beyond the impact bottom text.

If my earnest plea isn't convincing enough, maybe this will be:

[genericpuff]

Speaking from my own experiences as a chronically online media analyst who writes auDHD-fueled diatribes about my favorite (and most hated) media on Tumblr and reddit - if you want to get better at media analysis, whether it be literary or artistic or a combination of both, then it's not just a matter of watching and consuming other peoples' analyses of media, but learning how to distinguish between tangible objective analysis, and reactionary critique.

I think a large part of the "literary analysis is dying" argument is both rooted in and suffers from the fact that many people exclusively watch clickbait rants on Youtube about why a certain piece of media sucks or how its creator is a Terrible Person Actually™️, and they don't understand that that's not actual analysis, it's just reaction. That's not to say these videos don't have value in their own way (I myself often jump between reactionary critique and tangible objective analysis, based on whatever I'm feeling that day lol) but they're often just skimming the surface and not really getting into the art itself. They often start and end with "I like/dislike this work because xyz". They're designed to keep your attention, with snappy editing, quirky copyright-free music, and loud simplified language, while offering little else outside of what you could find in your bog standard reddit post.

And ironically, these "analysis" videos aren't even treated like their own pieces of art, rather just settling for a baseline template that follows the same "optimized for the algorithm" formula and structure, without any unique writing or editing to show for themselves. So ironically, the people who make these kinds of videos can't even lead by example themselves.

But if you want actual analysis, you need to find the videos that are quiet, thoughtful, patient, and intentional. Find the video essays that actually talk about the techniques used to create the work, the visionaries behind it, the influences it drew from, the era and culture that compelled it to exist in the first place. Find the video essays that actually treat themselves like their own work of art, an extension of the art they're analyzing, demonstrating the techniques and philosophies they're trying to teach you about.

While subjective opinion is still an aspect - it would be impossible to exclude it entirely - you'll find you'll learn a lot more about the craft of storytelling and media, and subsequently get better at analyzing that craft, just from watching someone talk about how the directors created a certain shot in a film from 30 years ago, or about their editing process and where they would choose to let scenes sit and linger and other scenes cut prematurely.

And if you feel like this post is talking to you specifically or if you're actively trying to get better at media analysis but have no idea where to start or what kind of analysis content I'm talking about, here are some of my own recommendations:

Every Frame a Painting

Taylor & Tony are gone again! Thanks for watching! We returned in late 2024 for a limited series featuring brand new video essays, followed

CinemaStix

CinemaStix is a series of filmmaking stories & video essays, with a focus on popular & classic movies. Hey, I’m Danny Boyd! CinemaStix is

Jacob Geller

Talking about video games, history, politics, empathy, and more — typically at the same time, always unpredictably. For more info, visit my

Sideways

I talk about music. A lot.

[checkyourasianbias]

RE: that “Chinamaxxing” thing that other anon mentioned. I’m not even Asian let alone Chinese but Mina Le (also not Chinese, but I’m dropping her here because she is an Asian YouTuber) made a video about this a bit ago. https://youtu.be/qK5im4tRU8I?is=A_AGPKX8wLpV_pU4

YUP!!!! Mina Le for the win once again <333

[bunnies-and-loverboys]

I know there are Witch Hat Atelier enjoyers out there so I just want to recommend TBSkyen's watch-along analysis that he's doing on the 3BSkyen channel, the first two episodes are out for all viewers and they're GREAT if you want to watch someone absolutely GUSH about well made animation and themes and symbols. They are LONG videos but they are worth it!!

[breith-hh]

God, I hope people don't hate me for using Gacha 2 in 2026?

No matter how much I spent on this app, I still didn't see the ship between Jin and Alex, come on...

I love them very much (since childhood, as far as I can remember), give me more food 😭

Well, and one more thing: I love this song, for some reason these two immediately came to mind, lol

And yes, I stuffed a ton of stuff into their models, because without it they just looked dry, and I hate that 🩵

(P.S. My native language is not English! Please forgive me if you see any mistakes)

[miramicw]

MINECRAFT VIDEOS RECS CUZ I NEED A JOB!!!!!

"I Tricked My Friends into My Minecraft ARG" by JoosJoe. It's a unscripted ARG video with a "open" end, and a second part is being done. Five people enter a world that was already used before, and end up following the paths of the ones who came before them. It creates a amazing experience with each character and it's an amazing video:)

"Youtubers Escape a Horrific War in Minecraft" by ApolloTV. Honestly it's such a realistic and great video. The acting is amazing and every character has such a strong presence and importance to the story. Four cadets have to protect a doctor(?) in the middle of a war zone. It's also kinda philosofical

"Traping youtubers in a containment zone in hardcore minecraft" by ApolloTV. By far my favorite one out of all. The characters are VERY realistic, and are aligned with their ideals. Still, every action has a purpose and a reason, and it's consequence. It's honestly such a well built video with so much lore and care put into the story, i super recommend it!

"Turning minecraft into a mascot horror game" by Winsweep. HOLY.SHIT. This really felt like a horror game and not like minecraft lol. It's different from basically anything i've seen and it has a delicious horror and eeire feeling. The lore is also tasty:P

"i DIDN'T add horror mods and it drove my friends insane" by wylan. Honestly this video is so fun to watch. Everything is genuine and it's just... Idk, it brings me joy to see how good it feels to watch it. It's kind off a comedic horror yk?

-Alex :P

[waffle-love]

I’m witnessing a tour era for the first time (as a post hard launch phannie) and I’m guessing there’s gonna be a big break from content on youtube until they’re done?

so in the meantime, what are some must-watch d&p videos or series that I should catch up on for the lore? I’d love to get some recs!!