By: Petra Chase, Arts & Culture Editor
As a communication major, I listen to a lot of video essays about media and culture in my free time. As the channel Shanspeare points out in a video essay, it’s currently “The Era of The Critic.” YouTubers making well-researched and thoughtful commentary on contemporary issues are reaching large audiences. Video essays are a great way to learn and broaden your perspective and critical thinking while also being entertained. Here are some of my favourite creators.
Mbowe brands themself as a “cool, fun, Millennial aunty” and “non-binary hippie with a bougie palette.” If that tells you anything about Mbowe, it’s that they’re entertaining as much as they are informative. Their sarcasm can be so satisfying sometimes (See “Men… in pearls… groundbreaking”) and their dry wit always keeps my attention. Their video essays focus on media, gender, and race through a sociology and media studies lens. Diving deep into power structures, their dialogue relates work by historical feminists like bell hooks and Audre Lorde to present-day phenomena, like digital blackface and algorithm skin tone bias. One of the main reasons I watch some reality shows is to watch Mbowe’s analysis afterwards, because they always manage to turn them into compelling theories in a fun way. You can also check out their self-titled podcast on Spotify.
Tee Noir’s social commentary videos cover media, gender, and race, with a focus on Black womanhood. She isn’t afraid to approach a topic she isn’t sure about, exploring the different perspectives and angles before reaching a nuanced conclusion. Part of what makes Noir’s analysis so compelling is that she shares her personal experiences in dialogue with other video essayists and scholarly thinkers. She told Buzzfeed, “Most of the time, my topics start with a feeling that I have and in the process of explaining that feeling to myself, I find myself forming a web of questions like, ‘How does this affect me or others? How can I challenge this?’” Her channel is rich with interesting content, such as “‘The Black Girl Fetish’: Let’s Talk.,” “Surviving ‘Alpha Male’ Mentality,” and “When the Black Gaze Expires” (a two-part “Kardashian commentary”).
Not to be confused with the English playwright (although they’re “just as dramatic”), Shanspeare tends to talk about social media trends and phenomena. They are “all about navigating pop culture, diversifying academia, and making learning fun(ny).” They always have flamboyant, unexpected intros. They tend to dress up and act as different characters, like as a conservative news anchor in “Dissecting the War on Woke” and as Sigmund Freud in “Mommy Issues and the Great Gender Expectation.” But behind their theatrical delivery is always a thought-provoking analysis. For instance, “12 going on 21: The End of the Tween Era” attempts to understand how social media has put pressure on kids to grow up quickly, and points out how while shows like “Euphoria” have played a part in this, it stems from larger cultural issues. Sign up for Shanspeare’s newsletter, Tragedy of Errors, where viewers can participate by sharing their experiences to be included in their upcoming videos.
