There is something else I wanted to address though. It came to my attention, not during our walk through of the gallery, but during our discussion while I listened to other people's responses (I'm big on listening as opposed to partaking in conversation. My brain is more productive while listening.) People continually brought up the concept of addiction and it ultimately became a focal point in the conversation. Video games seem to be the biggest topic of addiction, falling right behind drugs and substance abuses. This is probably because video games came into the majority of American homes and are growing and progressing so quickly. Practically every teenager I know plays some form of video games, whether it be a first person shooter on Xbox or Angry Birds on their Phone, but something people forget is that it is possible to play video games without being an addict, it's simply because addiction to video games is becoming so common that the only way people know how to avoid getting sucked in is to distance themselves before it's too late. I know if I ever tell anyone that I play video games, they would automatically give me a condescending look, as if they know that I'm an addict, or on my way to becoming one. Not only does this create a wonderfully awkward moment, but it's a bit irritating. This happens with many subcultures of society, scrutinized because the only group of participants taken note of are the extremists and the addicts. This is because of the media - the only source of information most of us have on pretty much everything. While I won't get into my opinions of the media now, they don't make money off of "Timmy beat his old high score on Pac Man." People only want to know about the crazies and the amazing, and so that's what they get. Video game addiction is an extreme, but there are extremes to everything and because of these extremes people who fall into the moderate are more harshly judged. This doesn't just apply to video games, but to many different medias. The one I have the most experience with is YouTube and online video.
In order to continue, I should tell you that I am a YouTuber. I watch other people's videos as well as create and post content of my own. The only information pertaining to YouTube most people hear are the stories of cyber bullying and people being seriously injured or dying because they tried to do something stupid to gain internet popularity- in fact, someone I personally knew accidentally hung himself trying to make a video. But it's these preconceived notions that result in close-minded judgement of the entire Youtube community. These aspects of internet video do exist and they're terrible, but it's a very small, very extreme part of online video. Most people call me a YouTube addict, which I wholeheartedly deny. I am involved in the community - I make videos, I watch videos, I collaborate, I make friends, and I even went to VidCon (if you don't know what VidCon is, think ComicCon, but smaller and for YouTubers.) It's more than a website to myself and hundreds to thousands of others, it's a lifestyle. It's about the interaction between creator and viewer, and how those roles so frequently change. I've met some of my best friends on YouTube, most of whom I met at VidCon 2011. It's about doing what you do because you want to, and people who want to watch you do it will watch you. (For example, there is a very successful YouTube band called Chameleon Circuit. They're a rock band who write songs about the TV show Doctor Who. And they're amazing.) Youtube is about expression, growth, education, entertainment, and there are so many subcultures and different kinds of video makers (not necessarily filmmakers or video-art makers, but just people who make videos) that you will most definitely find someone who shares interests with you. John Green, an author and co-video blogger on the channel "VlogBrothers" is a big member in the community and in talking about his top ten moments from VidCon 2010, he said:
"...Ze Frank gave the most astonishingly brilliant keynote address I think I have ever heard. Reminding us that we don't make or watch videos for money or subscribers or views but because we want to feel what it's like to be other people and let others feel what it's like to be us." -John Green (Top 10 VidCon Moments, 7.14.10)
I am a part of this community, and though it is a huge part of my life I don't consider myself an addict. An addict is someone who lets their object-of-addiction get in the way of everyday life. I won't blow off friends to go watch YouTube, I don't spend countless hours watching videos and doing nothing else, I don't stalk people who I watch and think are sexy, and it's not all I talk about (unless I know you're a YouTuber as well, because a YouTuber finding another YouTuber in the "real world" is almost as rare as a Dragon Fruit in Fruit Ninja. It's extremely exciting.) I am a nerdfighter, a beard-lover, a CTFxC and a member of the DeFranco Nation. I am all these things, but to anyone who asks I simply say "I am a YouTuber." Not once has someone (who is not a YouTuber as well) given me a reaction of approval because all they know is what is written about the news. For so many different things (such as video games and YouTube,) people are generally oblivious to an entire subculture of people who are working and interacting, but for YouTube that's beginning to change. The YouTube community is becoming more widely recognized and appreciated, but I still wonder if there's a subculture like this in the video game world. Are we all so caught up in the horrors of video game addiction that we can't see something else that might be there?
Something else I find interesting is how addiction is usually only associated with electronic medias and drugs. If you have a friend who reads a lot of books, you don't usually consider them an addict, just someone who gets "lost in his reading." While I'm not denying video games are addictive, nor am I saying that they are an amazing way to spend your time, I am saying that people are a bit quick to judge. Electronics are never good to spend too much time around, but it is not always about the electronics themselves, but about the doors they open. The YouTube community is not fully about internet and video, that is merely how it begins. It is about the real-life connections we make and the collaborations which occur. I could go on forever about YouTube, but I will cut it off. Mainly because you can go figure it out on your own, but also because this post is extremely long.
To introduce you to the YouTube that I know, I've chosen 6 videos from 6 different creators, each of which in a different style and subject matter. In addition, these people are also some of the nicest people I've ever met.
Michael Jackson Medley - KurtHugoSchneider (Kurt Schneider and Sam Tsui)
Kurt is an amazing director and composer, on his channel he composes various medleys and mashups which he finds some of the most talented singers on YouTube to perform. His most recurring partner is Sam.
This Shore - Hexachordal (Tom Milsom)
One of my favorite artists and musicians. I haven't been able to stop listening to his most recent EP, Explorers 6. I even ordered it on Vinyl.
Looping Again - MysteryGuitarMan (Joe Penna, in Collaboration with Freddy Wong.)
Both extremely talented, both known for their skills and experience with camerawork and editing
LITERAL Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Trailer - Tobuscus (Toby Turner)
He does "literal trailers," and they're one of my favorite things. ever. Another trailer of his I would suggest is Harry Potter, it can probably be found in "suggestions" to the right of the video
Everything Out Of Context - LiveLavaLive (Mitchell Davis and Kyle Sibert)
One of my favorite channels, they do an assortment of different kinds of video.
(I should add that mitchell is an artist, and has a second channel where he post some of his Video Art)
The Things? I destroy them - MeekaKitty (Tessa Violet)
This is Vlogging (video blogging.) Most people don't like vlogs but they're one of my favorite kinds of videos
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