2025 ┋ 2024

I'm addicted to long video essays. Here's a brief list of some of the 2025 watches I did and recommend to expand your knowledge and understanding of media, storytelling, culture and society.

✦⸻ video essays

• why is social media not fun anymore? by Mina Le ▸ it took me a while to get to this one, it seemed too similar to what I was already reading/listening about, but it's a solid take on the topic of sincerity on the internet.
• How This Comedian Created The Biggest Sitcom In The World by ALXI ▸ a video essay in english about el chavo del ocho/chaves? sign me up. this was a lot more emotional and less analytical than I expected, but still enjoyable.
• How We Came to Hate Technology by chon ▸ a good summary of why everything sucks online and why I did make a good decision back on October 2024.
• The Disappearance of Third Places by chon ▸ the concept of non-paying third places is near and dear to my heart. Luckily I live close to a few of these spaces around my city, but the idea that they can disappear is scary.
• ok but "Cozy Game" influencers are the literal worst lol by Not Malcolm ▸ just a rage-bait video that applies to literally any content creators out there, there's nothing specific about cozy game influencers despite what this dude is saying.
• Emilia Perez: The Chaotic Union of Netflix and French Cinema by Alice Cappelle ▸ good take on the mess that is that movie and its nominations.]
• How a Superstar Doomed a Japanese TV Station Overnight - The Fuji TV Scandal by Mujin ▸ I hit play thinking "is it misogyny" and... yes, in Japan, the answer is always misogyny.
• Sims 1: A Masterpiece of Satire by enclave here ▸ it's short but such a good explanation of how TS1 was first and foremost a wink wink nudge nudge game that lost it's original approach.
• How An Obscure 70s Genre Has DEFINED Modern Music by Bandsplaining ▸ I wasn't familiar at all with the concept and loved learning about it. I only knew about the composer behind the DW opening music.
• How Sociopaths Actually Work by Insider ▸ I'd watched another video on the topic, but this one is very interesting and more in-depth.
• Emilia Pérez es peor de lo que imaginas by Woshingo I just had to watch a Mexican person shit talking this movie from hell. It's different than American reviewers with specific insights.
• The COOLER Internet by green hoodie cat ▸ an awesome explanation of the internet of yesteryears AND a cute animated character story? Cooler indeed.
• Sprinkle, Sprinkle: Femininity Channels are...interesting👀 by Khadija Mbowe ▸ "we need to critize and unpack where ideas come from"... the terrifying mix of transphobia and racism in "femininity" discourse.
• Goodbye fillers, hello... facelifts? by Mina Le ▸ lots of thoughts on this one; I like Mina's take here and it's so nice to see her change and grow from being beauty-obsessed to... not that; I disagree, however, when it comes to The Substance (or maybe I'm too infatuated with it for now).

✦⸻ other interesting videos

• Trump 2.0 by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ▸ best summary of the mess the US is going through. There's always that certainty that if/when they crumble, they'll take us with them.
• Sims 5 is dead. Now what? The Sims 4: 10 Years of Meh by LGR ▸ I share a lot of the sentiment here, but as builder-only player, I suffer much less than him. Maybe I wouldn't be such a builder if the game was better?
• Finding Fukue by CBC Docs ▸ rewatch. I'd totally forgotten most of it. It still makes me sad how Fukue feels so defeated as an adult. :(
• The developers of this farming game are lying to you | Moonfrost by Miss Bubbles ▸ it's NFTs on an video game that looked actually real cute, but what a weird choice to make it sound even more scammy.
• I Made a Tool to Debloat Windows in 2 Clicks by totallynotk0 ▸ living for ppl who give us normies/dummies tools like that. I'm excited to see this working. (and here's the update)
• The Substance - Making Of Featurette on MUBI ▸ they finally realized we as a society deserved this.
• THE SUBSTANCE | Q&A with Coralie Fargeat & Guillermo del Toro on MUBI ▸ loved this whole talk, but was especially moved when Del Totoro said what I realized halfway through this movie: this is a fairytale, and an original one at that. Love this shit.