YouTubers analysing films and telly

[Ivo Shandor]

So this one is by Collative learning/Rob Ager on 2001: A Space Odyssey. He reckons Kubrick's film is a little more meta than one may think, I won't say anymore. He's a lil heavy handed with it, but it's another theory or way to look at the film. Who likes 2001, what do you think about his theory. Rob has a lot to say on Kubrick, and some of it seems to hold up, not for 2001 specifically, but other films.


No aliens in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY meaning of the monolith revealed (2021 update) film analysis
https://youtu.be/KYcekxnsjyY
24mins

[coppernorks]

Don't watch these windbags, it just encourages them.

A lot of True Crime podcasts are similarly manned by idiots, tattooed idiots with
hats on backwards who make a 100 minute video on the Delphi Murders, just reading off the Wiki entry.
and not unsurprisingly come to eff all conclusions.

I could do that you cretinous cock-head.

[popeyewhite]

A classical guitarist gives their opinion on an Eddie Van Halen solo, a martial artist gives their opinion on a fight scene from Enter the Dragon, a former housebreaker gives their opinion on a scene from The Heist... I mean c'mon - who is actually interested? Why do these people think anyone is interested? One of the many downsides of YT is it's too easy for crap content to be uploaded by self-promoting windbags.

[Lucas Ayde]

coppernorks said:

Don't watch these windbags, it just encourages them.

A lot of True Crime podcasts are similarly manned by idiots, tattooed idiots with
hats on backwards who make a 100 minute video on the Delphi Murders, just reading off the Wiki entry.
and not unsurprisingly come to eff all conclusions.

I could do that you cretinous cock-head.

Then don't watch it or find someone to watch that you like. That's the beauty of something like youtube.

Yeah, there's a load of crap and a lot of stuff that you are not going to like but there's so much material on so many subjects in there that there's usually something (or a lot) that you do like. And they offer a free service (with annoying ads) so it doesn't cost you anything to browse around it.

Frankly, 9 times out of 10 I find youtubers to be much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about topics than mainstream TV 'experts'. When it comes to reviews of various media, I absolutely find better takes on YT than I ever saw on the mainstream media.


It has completely replaced casual TV viewing for me to the extent where I cancelled my TV license and pay for YouTube Premium instead.

[jayemm89]

I studied film and TV and can tell you with absolute certainty that what I learned is anybody can say anything about any film and make it sound plausible.

There was a tale years ago about a man who interviewed Akira Kurosawa. He said "how did you arrive at this shot, the beauty of it, the composition, the elegance, it is perfect"


And he said "well, we needed to get the three guys in shot, and to the left of them was the Sony HQ and to the right of them was a road and it was set in feudal Japan so..."

(Not his exact words but that's the jist).

[JagLover]

Lucas Ayde said:

Frankly, 9 times out of 10 I find youtubers to be much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about topics than mainstream TV 'experts'. When it comes to reviews of various media, I absolutely find better takes on YT than I ever saw on the mainstream media.

It has completely replaced casual TV viewing for me to the extent where I cancelled my TV license and pay for YouTube Premium instead.

I don't trust MSM film and TV reviews anymore so Youtube has definitely replaced that in part for me.

[goldbazinga]

Ivo Shandor said:

So this one is by Collative learning/Rob Ager on 2001: A Space Odyssey. He reckons Kubrick's film is a little more meta than one may think, I won't say anymore. He's a lil heavy handed with it, but it's another theory or way to look at the film. Who likes 2001, what do you think about his theory. Rob has a lot to say on Kubrick, and some of it seems to hold up, not for 2001 specifically, but other films.


No aliens in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY meaning of the monolith revealed (2021 update) film analysis
https://youtu.be/KYcekxnsjyY
24mins

It's the usual Youtube clickbait.

Pick a subject that has a large fan base.
Pick a subject that is not explicit in terms of meaning.
Claim to have finally worked out what it means.
Suggest that a 6 year old could understand, i.e. agree with me or you are less intelligent than a 6 year old.
Compile a montage of clips that support your view.
Get a bazillion clicks and pay the rent.

I watched bits of this, then fast forwarded through others and it meets all the above criteria.

Kubrick was on record saying that at a superficial plot level it's about an outside entity (aliens or god, take your pick) nudging the human race through evolution. This is the story that AC Clarke ran with in his follow on novels, and is the plot at a simple level.

Crucially though, Kubrick also said that it's sub text is there for the viewer to read more into it, implying that it's for the viewer to make sense of the imagery, expecially the last third of the film.

In this case the reviewer has found a different (new?) reading and is claiming it as the one that Kubrick intended. Kubrick went out of his way not to tell the viewer the subtext (if indeed there was a planned subtext and not just a bunch of design decisions), and expected each viewer to take from the film what they wanted.

I'm not saying that Rob Ager's conclusions are wrong, but I do think he's missing the whole point of the film, which is that it doesn't fundamentally have a single specific meaning, it's entirely for the viewer to take from it what they want.

Finally, I find Youtube a hopeless place for film reviews. The commercial nature of Youtube means that reviewers increasingly have to use hyperbole for every review. Films are either "the best ever"/"Oh my god this is crazy"/"Why you must watch this film NOW!" or its "what were they thinking"/"they killed the franchise"/"I'm never going to watch XYZ again!". On the other hand, if you want your pre-conceived opinions about a film to be re-inforced you can find a Youtube talking head to support to your viewpoint.

[Ivo Shandor]

Oh I dunno, they're fun, the YouTubers I use for current film reviews I find are very good, there's no hyperbole or stuff, I looked at my list, most of them are look backs at styles, genres, old films: current stuff, the only two I seem to use are RLM and Beyond the Trailer (very good for the business side). I like 2001, it's a film I can rewatch. The meta aspect, I don't know if it's there or not, it's a nice talking point. I find that YOutube is just so much better than TV, no-one on TV has the knowledge or the inclination to talk about stuff that I want to watch.

---

Anyhoo.
I have been aware of the cheapo film on Amazon for a while, I don't really use streaming services, I was surprised by the amount of films I had never heard of (I noticed Bruce Willis was in a lot). I knew about the cheapo Kazakstani films that get made, but not these 'Geezer features.'
And as if by magic, RLM made a video, Willis has made 12. Tax troubles, boredom, a bet, who knows. They must have an audience.
Half in the Bag: The Bruce Willis Fake Movie Factory
https://youtu.be/cd1eNS9HtXo
70mins

[Cotty]

Lucas Ayde said:

Yeah, there's a load of crap and a lot of stuff that you are not going to like but there's so much material on so many subjects in there that there's usually something (or a lot) that you do like. And they offer a free service (with annoying ads) so it doesn't cost you anything to browse around it.
.

Just install an add blocker.

[Cotty]

popeyewhite said:

A classical guitarist gives their opinion on an Eddie Van Halen solo, a martial artist gives their opinion on a fight scene from Enter the Dragon, a former housebreaker gives their opinion on a scene from The Heist... I mean c'mon - who is actually interested? Why do these people think anyone is interested? One of the many downsides of YT is it's too easy for crap content to be uploaded by self-promoting windbags.

I actually quite like some of those episodes especially The Breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0hKMB1-xkc...

[Vipers]

When I see these peoples opinions I always think of the joke about the picture of three black naked coal miners and one has a white willy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNyXMO2UWZ0

Edited by Vipers on Sunday 6th February 13:18

[HAL 9000]

2001? Hah, well I know what it is all about, trust me. I've been waiting for this one to come up

[Lucas Ayde]

Cotty said:

Just install an add blocker.

I watch mainly on my TVs, from media boxes with the Youtube app. So ad-block not applicable.

But aside from the ad-free experience (on any device or browser) you also get 'Youtube Music' which is essentially Google Play Music (or whatever it used to be called) with a huge library of music. Plus extra features, which TBH really should be standard, like being able to download youtube videos to your mobile device to watch offline and background play even when you power the mobile screen off (good for podcasts).

It's actually a pretty good deal and I get by far the most use out of it compared to any of the pay TV services I have used.

I'm not keen on YTs censorship but if they overstep the mark I will cancel my sub. I'd even like to hope that the prospect of losing paying customers might even help YT be more sensible when it comes to their 'cancelling' proclivities. Many of these Silicon Valley companies treat the end user as a commodity and not a customer with free offerings.

[popeyewhite]

Cotty said:

I actually quite like some of those episodes especially The Breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0hKMB1-xkc...

OK, but what's driven your interest? Are you curious about the inaccuracy of a movie? I mean a movie is entertainment first and foremost, if you want factual reporting then a documentary is surely the best format? I suppose it could be interesting to research how realistic a movie you like is, but....it's just a movie.

[Cotty]

popeyewhite said:

OK, but what's driven your interest? Are you curious about the inaccuracy of a movie? I mean a movie is entertainment first and foremost, if you want factual reporting then a documentary is surely the best format? I suppose it could be interesting to research how realistic a movie you like is, but....it's just a movie.

As you say I am interested in seeing how realistic or inaccurate a film is. If I watch a DVD I will often watch the extras on how they made the film, training the actors had to do, how they created costumes and vehicles, the Batman Tumbler is a good one.

[bloomen]

If it makes people happy then they should watch it, but you can glue anything you want to anything.

I tried watching Room 237 which is endless theorising about the The Shining. It was utter dreck and I can't believe people are wasting their one precious life coming up with the meaningless junk it spouted.

I lasted about fifteen minutes before wondering what the hell I was doing there.

[anonymoususer]

Some of these youtubers are a bit intense. Some extremely amusing.
There is one chap who pops on a bow tie and reviews anything Bond.
I caught a few of his bits to camera and the one where he reviews the trailers is a cracker. the screen is split with one half showing the trailer and the other showing his face and his comments as we get to join the action
My wife was in tears of laughter as the chap gets ever more excited seeing a 2 second clip of something that he is convinced isn't in the actual film
Oh well everyone has to have a hobby

[Ivo Shandor]

I can still remember watching The Keep back in...unsure, early 90's? It was one of those great C4 (or BBC2) film seasons. It was called Forgotten Cinema and showcased forgotten films. I can't recall the others, but I remember this one. It was introduced by thingy Cox (or maybe Kermode). I loved it, even though it's a confusing mess (then again I love the original Casino Royale). I feel there's a great film here, somewhere, the story is so intriguing. I hope the 210 minute cut exist, I still feel this could saved.
https://youtu.be/Ctv7bU1xFzQ

---

HAL 9000 said:

2001? Hah, well I know what it is all about, trust me. I've been waiting for this one to come up