back to stupid topics
I’ve been using YouTube for along time now. I have witnessed trends come and go ad nauseum, but recently I’ve started to witness a truly peculiar type of YouTube content. And these videos in question, are reaction videos.
Reaction videos are not a complicated concept; it literally is someone sitting in a chair, recording their “reaction” to whatever it may be they’re watching.
“really Julie? why waste your time on such an inoffensive idea?”
Well, here’s the thing:
The best aspect of YouTube is that it caters to every type of creator. You have your comedy, your movie reviews; let’s plays; your horribly terrible and bizarre animation skits. It’s all there. But what is the key difference between these creators, and the “reaction channels” that exist in the platform?
Well, they’re not exactly creating anything.
Some of you might be thinking, “well, Julie technically doesn’t create anything either. her topics piggyback on other peoples’ creations.” yeah well here’s when things get tricky. A lot of creators, particularly on YouTube, like to throw in the word “transformative” as to defend their type of content. As in while a video game might be a copyrighted product, a let’s play on said video game can be said transformative because in theory, the person recording is adding something inherently unique to the video, might it be a challenge of some kind, their own commentary or their thumbnail; much in the same way songs use samples to make something original out of it.
Going back to the reaction videos, where should we draw the line on what I explained? When does content seemingly hold so little value on its own that it actually should be criticized for being completely barren and ultimately 100% pointless? What you perceive as entertaining is subjective, obviously. No matter the content, there is someone out there who is willing to watch and enjoy it; no matter their reason. That doesn’t mean said content is of quality.
Though there are entire channels dedicated to discussions about new movie trailers, video game leaks and such, and there are a bunch of well thought-out reaction channels. But they all manage to do it without just sitting there and watching it all the way through. They manage to create something unique, making the video funny in a sort or some other method. They add something to it.
Next time you go to a theater, sit in the middle, and look behind you halfway through the film, and you’ll see the passive, engaged people watching their product. That’s effectively what a reaction video is. It’s you watching someone else watching a video.
The biggest problem I have with reaction videos is that they add nothing to the original substance.
“uhhhh, hey everyone let’s watch this vid you’ve all been asking me to react to. ok let’s do this”
*guy watches video with mild reactions, five minutes later*
“ok guys so make sure you subscribe and watch my videos”
I urge you all to stay clear of crap like this. It has no meaning, no substance. There’s no skill or involvement that makes it worth watching. It’s a shame that the work “react” has such a negative connotation to me now, because as I said, there’s some really good reaction content out there; it’s more than just somebody silently watching a popular video they didn’t make.
Fucking talentless hack.