Re: Vice Article on YouTubers

This Vice article has angered people. I know, I know, what an astute observation, Elise. I can see why, though. I get it…the words are demeaning and the descriptions harsh, not to mention the profanity that debunks the article of its true journalistic stature. Still, with all of this in mind, I can’t help but to agree with the underlying message which is: Stop giving people fame on account of being arduously “relatable” and “attractive.”

“Their fame and promotion is symptomatic of a wider issue, too: the norms becoming the stars. Those with no charisma, no talent and no guile being paraded through popular culture like a preening, self-obsessed Ark of the Covenant.” Vice

“Successful vloggers sell them the dream that normalcy can make you famous – that you can be adored for just blurting non-sequiturs at a camera with an upward inflection, and that with a few first-year film studies classes and a half-decent haircut you could be earning a hundred grand a year.” Vice

The problem is this merging of social media (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram) with the entertainment industry. Producers and moguls want to work with people who already have a substantial following on these sites. It’s how they make big money very quickly. The problem is that this causes talent, training and potential to be defunct, which is wrong. I find it absurd that these “beauty gurus” have more followers than Oscar Winners (most have millions more than Jared Leto) and this is why they get radio shows, sponsors, and tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars a year—some even make millions. To do what though? To sit in front of a camera and talk about unimportant subjects like “How I Take a Bath on Mondays and Wednesdays” or “How to Contour”?

My next problem with this generation of Internet Celebrities is their unwillingness to use this platform for real concerns and world issues. Of course there are exceptions. Some YouTubers will work closely with charities (Tyler Oakley, JacksGap, John Green), but most will not. They won’t even give five minutes to talk about world issues and educate their audiences. Most of them will state that they just want to make you smile for a few minutes a day, which is great, but can't a video can make you smile and think simultaneously?

I will admit that I have uploaded some videos to YouTube. Some were my attempts and experiments at filmmaking, while some were filmed similar to how YouTubers will film their vlogs. Guess which ones blew up with almost 60,000 views? That’s right, a video of mine called “How to Build the Best Fort Ever.” You can go ahead and hand me my Oscar now because that video epitomizes my talent. Pssshhhhh. It’s bittersweet to know that 60,000 people…enough to fill up an arena…have seen my face, but it hasn’t done much else.

This is all coming from someone who is adamant about getting into storytelling. I’ve been a passionate writer since the age of eight and have grown very passionate about acting and visual storytelling. It’s frustrating to know that the training and effort I give to these crafts can be disregarded because I don’t have as many Twitter followers as the kid on YouTube waxing his legs or the girl showing off what she bought this week at Urban Outfitters. In the end, what matters is how much money you can make a company and not your talent, which is sad, but somehow makes me want to fight even harder.

“Our emerging cultural figureheads are distressingly bland. What people tend to forget about entertainment is that it’s an art form, the nuances of which have to be learned. Rodney Dangerfield, Tommy Cooper, Michael Barrymore, Harry Hill – love, hate or fear them, you have to admit that there’s an inherent talent for showmanship in what they do. And the skills – the bare bones of it – are still something that have to be honed and crafted. These young bucks – these webcam frontiersmen – are learning on the job with no one teaching them. The result is a poorly edited mess of ego and quirk.” Vice

Let’s hope we don’t continue this trend of dragging Internet celebrities into the limelight. I also have to add that I am feeling a tad conflicted while writing this piece because I am writing it on the Internet in hopes of it being read by people. I'm obsessed with the internet and all of the new opportunities is provides. I don't now how I would procrastinate efficiently without Tumblr, obsessing over who's unfollowed me on Twitter, and the 30 things all 90s kids will remember. So I don’t even know what to think anymore. I just hope I have something more substantial to say other than how many things I can do in seven seconds. Yes, it’s actually a video trend with these guys.