YouTube is a diverse, exploratory vessel for people to use with experimenting diverse forms of media. Music videos, parodies and short films are all forms of content that can be seen on the site and I believe it’s one of the most exciting and accessible platforms for both watchers and creators. YouTube streams 1.2 billion videos a day which is ‘enough for every person on the planet with Internet to watch a clip each day’ (Vernallis, 2013). The platforms’ importance in contemporary society has grown massively in the last 5 years. It is now not only used as a way for creators to post art but also for parents to stick on a video, such as ‘Baby Shark’, to entertain their child for hours on end. When analysing the Badger video created by MrWeebl, Vernallis describes its contrasting techniques of child like ‘cognitive play that toddlers enjoy—the disappearance and appearance of objects’ (Vernallis, 2013) with the rich, advanced level of the music’s ‘majors and minors’. Badgers has 30 million views. I believe it’s so popular due to its strange, funny concept of a song while possessing ‘many of the elements commonly present in music video’, as Vernallis explains YouTube clips can do.

While Henry Jenkins believes that YouTube acts as an agent for self-expression (as do I), Alex Juhasz calls it a ‘space for crass commercialism and further reification of mainstream media. For her, YouTube ‘fails to build communities’ (Vernallis, 2013). It’s interesting to think that some theorists see YouTube as to not be taken seriously as a platform for sharing art but I disagree. The technological sphere is adapting and changing constantly and websites/apps like YouTube are accessible ways for people to engage with sound and imagery, whether it’s the funny Gummy bear song or an educational TED talk video.

By Maddie wood, 302 words

References

Vernallis, C. (2013). Unruly media : YouTube, music video, and the new digital cinema. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, Cop.

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