K's Favourite Videos (Vol. 1)
(Compiled from previously written stuff.)
As someone who constantly needs mental stimulation or else they go insane, I often consume a lot of video essays or deep dives. Mostly on stuff analysing current popular media. Here are some of my favourites in no particular order:
Gross Games about Flesh and Stuff by Jacob Geller.
This is one of my newer comfort video—the one I always return to when I need a resemblance of normalcy. It's a dissection about several medias that center gore and bodily remains in its theme; it's about blood and viscera and guts and meat. It discusses cancer, it discusses how you cannot escape gore and flesh, it talks about horror involving something near and dear to you—your body.
It's an amazing essay detailing about these two games; Perfect Vermin and How Fish is Made. It offers an amazing analysis about the story within; how Perfect Vermin feels like a desperation to returning into normalcy despite a diagnosis of terminal disease such as cancer, about how cancer treatment is brutal and harsh—killing every single thing in order to target those who is deemed bad. It also discussed the two medias which inspired it, such as the art installation by sculptor Cao Hui titled "I Want to Play God" as well as the movie Videodrome directed by David Cronenberg.
It also analyzes the game How Fish is Made, which feels like emulating the feel of making important choices that dictate the rest of your life, while being clueless in what it will bring you and being doubted by the people you met. I, in particular, have played this game, and he was right about how terrifying it is. There is no happy ending within these organic, industrial, squirming, metallic, fleshy halls. Only up, or down.
One of the lines that hit me the most is: "I always hated my mother," he says. "I lived in terror of becoming like her. What horrible comedy that in the end, I even die like her."
Amazing video. I would always recommend this.
Four Short Games About Pain by Jacob Geller
This is another one of those video essays I always come back to.
It describes the horror anthology that is Haunted Cities vol. 4 by Kitty Horror Show, an indie developer, containing some of the shorter games from the collection on the Patreon. These games are different, but ultimately both are filled with pain in its on way. It's mesmerizing, it's creepy, and it always stuck on the back of my mind after I watched it for the first time. Geller did an amazing job pouring his analysis of these games and makes me curious about the nature of her other games. It's not as long as well, so it's perfect to watch in one sitting, if you got the time.
SPONGEBOB and the weird 90s band that SHAPED it by Noodle.
This is somewhat about a shorter essay-slash-history-course about the early days of Spongebob. I feel like this video opened my eyes about the series more in eleven fucking minutes.
When I first saw discourse about them hating the newer seasons of Spongebob, I never really got it—I always see it as this number one cartoon, Nickelodeon's answer to Disney's Mickey, and that it was a mere cheap laughter material with absurdist humor. Now knowing the brief history behind it; its initial conception as an educational cartoons for children... It makes me appreciate it more. It is, in its essence, a labour of love. A representation of Steve Hillenburg and his intersecting interest, something niche for him. It is made with love with people who care, people who saw an interest about a boy made of sponge and decided, yeah, I'll work on that.
And this video is a love letter, essentially, to the old seasons of spongebob. Noodle animated and edited it beautifully, matching Spongebob's tiki aesthetic very well. I love how he takes a shine in how the project was a loop of artists inspiring other artists and how warm the creative space could be. He also brings up the topic of quality and gave it context, something other people neglect to do oftentimes. It is warm, it is full of inspiration, and even though you might not be really into Spongebob, I think you would still appreciate this video about a man, and his seemingly contradicting passions.
Everyone Everywhere Needs Waymond Wang by Pop Culture Detective
A preface, this video essay broke me. It broke down the masculinity Waymond Wang embodies—the empathetic kind of masculinity without insecurity. This video hits near and dear to my heart, particularly because of Waymond's principle. He's not... assertive. Not like the way traditional masculinity is performed. He's empathetic, he's understanding, he's kind. This video makes me think about how I saw femininity and masculinity in general and the ways it's performed and its main message is something that always makes me emotional. Waymond is special in his own way, and I recommend this video to anyone who needs it.
That's all for today. I do plan to write down more in a shorter manner, as to not compile it as much, but volume 1 seem to be a good start for reviewing and recommending medias I like. See you soon.
Cheers,
K.