Sit again, loosen up: you would possibly be taught one thing.
This text is a part of our 2022 Rewind. Observe alongside as we discover one of the best and most fascinating motion pictures, reveals, performances, and extra from this very unusual yr. On this entry, we discover one of the best video essays of 2022.
2022 has, inconceivably, come to an finish. And within the spirit of reflection and gratitude, it’s time to understand the factor that had our again when instances had been powerful; the factor that helped us wind down after an extended day at work; the factor that made that first cup of espresso within the morning go down just a bit simpler: video essays.
This yr, I had the pleasure of as soon as once more curating The Queue, a thrice-weekly column devoted to highlighting short-form video content material about movies, tv, and the craft of visible storytelling. Because of this, the main target of the video essays under is motion pictures and TV reveals — in case you’re questioning why there aren’t any video essays on pace working mechanics or broadway musical drama, that’s why!
There have been, it have to be mentioned, a heck of a whole lot of top-shelf video essays this yr that fell exterior the scope of this record (together with, however not restricted to, Jacob Geller’s poetic eulogy to sea monsters; Folks Make Video games’ anthropological exploration of VRChat, and Jenny Nicholson’s sarcastically lengthy portrait of Evermore, the theme park that attempted to sue Taylor Swift).
As soon as once more, I had a doozy of a time narrowing down a brief record of this yr’s picks. So in case you might all cease making such good #content material, that may be nice (simply kidding, by no means cease). I wish to sincerely thank all of the essayists I’ve lined this yr for his or her laborious work. I hope I get to proceed seeing you in my feed in 2023 and past.
Bergman Island: Artwork, Love, and the Insufferable Technique of Making
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French director Mia Hansen-Løve embraces the notion of autobiographical filmmaking. And the video essay above does a ravishing job illustrating how her first English-language movie, Bergman Island, attracts consideration to the method of its personal making with out sacrificing its personal story. I like how this essayist unravels the tapestry of the movie’s twisty relationship with metatext with tangible examples and accessible language.
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This video essay on the metatextuality of Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island is by Broey Deschanel a self-described “snob (and YouTuber) whose video essays cowl all the things from new releases like Licorice Pizza and Euphoria to camp classics like Showgirls. You possibly can subscribe to their YouTube account right here and you’ll observe them on Twitter here.
Realism and Implausible Cinema
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We’re dwelling throughout an fascinating time in visible results, the place most of the time, realism is the aim. The next video essay presents a convincing gospel that preaches a distinct method, which proposes that “implausible cinema” that actively doesn’t chase photorealism or expose its personal trickery is totally different, particular, and value combating for. In the event you’ve discovered different arguments in opposition to fashionable CGI unconvincing — or in case your love of sensible results begins and stops with fetishism — I urge you to offer this a glance.
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This video essay on why the pursuit of realism in particular results is hurting the fantasy style is by APLattanzi, a contract filmmaker and illustrator who hails from the Philadelphia space. You possibly can subscribe to them on YouTube right here. Their essays cowl a big swath of matters, from movie scores to brief movies. You can too discover them on Letterboxd right here.
Gen Z wants extra slacker motion pictures
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In all equity, this video essay is preaching to the choir: I’m an enormous sucker for slacker motion pictures. And if for no matter purpose you’re not, this essayist articulates one thing that feels True about what the sub-genre presents to the 2020s, an age the place we’re more and more bumping up in opposition to the political spirit of fucking off and the worth of who can afford to do nothing.
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This video essay on why the youthful technology (I’m relationship myself, whoops!) want some new slacker motion pictures is by Area of interest Nonsense, a video essay channel that gives, properly, simply that: area of interest nonsense. The channel was solely created in mid-December of 2021. And you will get in on the bottom ground and subscribe right here.
Leslie Cheung & Hong Kong LGBT Cinema
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Love letters are contagious, and in case you’re unfamiliar with Hong Kong star Leslie Cheung, this can be a nice introduction to one of many best LGBTQ+ icons in movie historical past and the way he left his impression on the Queer Hong Kong movies that got here within the wake of his trailblazing.
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These movies on the impression of Leslie Cheung on Hong Kong queer cinema is by Accented Cinema, a Canadian-based YouTube video essay collection with a concentrate on Asian cinema. You possibly can subscribe to Accented Cinema for bi-weekly uploads right here. You possibly can observe them on Twitter here.
The Secret Ingredient That Makes Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ So Nice
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When folks say that fashionable superhero motion pictures really feel soulless, you don’t at all times get a whole lot of concrete examples or arguments as to why that is the case apart from a normal feeling. Fortunately, the above video essay takes the time to nail one thing particular about why Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man trilogy feels a lot extra honest and front-the-heart than fashionable, irony-poisoned Marvel fare.
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This video essay on why on a regular basis folks make Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies really feel so particular is co-written by Patrick (H) Willems and Siddhant Adlakha. Yow will discover their very own directorial efforts and their video essays on their channel right here. You can too discover Willems on Twitter here. And you’ll find Adlakha on Twitter here.
The Lion King and Disney’s Sequel Curse
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Frankly, I didn’t know that I wanted an hour-long defence of The Lion King 1 ½ till it was sitting in my YouTube subscriptions. The Disney animated feature-length sequel panorama is, by and enormous, fairly mid. And whereas The Lion King 2 is likely one of the higher ones on the market, The Lion King 1 ½ is in a category all of its personal. In the event you’re not acquainted, the sequel takes place in the course of the occasions of the primary movie, nevertheless it’s instructed from the attitude of Timon and Pumba. The next video essay does a stellar job describing why it guidelines, the way it ties into Shakespeare, and why it’s a terrific instance of self-aware filmmaking.
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This video on the unimaginable Disney sequel The Lion King 1 ½ is by Jace, a.okay.a BREADSWORD, an LA-based video essayist who focuses on long-form nostalgia-heavy love letters. Impeccably edited and smoother than butter, BREADSWORD essays boast an unparalleled relaxed match and an expressive narrative tone. Lengthy essays like this take a whole lot of time to place collectively, and in some way BREADSWORD makes all of it look easy. You possibly can subscribe to them on YouTube right here. And you may observe them on Twitter here.
Twin Peaks Truly, ACTUALLY EXPLAINED (No, However For Actual)
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That is, fairly frankly, probably the most lucid explanations of “why Twin Peaks is the way in which it’s” that I’ve ever seen. Perhaps its my small display screen ignorance exhibiting, however the concept that TV reflexivity is the important thing that unlocks Twin Peaks actually feels capital-t True. The above is the primary of a two-parter, and can hit tougher in case you’ve seen all three seasons and Hearth Stroll With Me. I’m additionally an enormous fan of how this essayist choses to border their work; the Socratic dialogue is alive and properly.
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This video essay on what Twin Peaks is about, really, is by Maggie Mae Fish, a Los Angeles-based comic, actress, and tradition critic who releases brief movies and video essays on her YouTube account. Fish has been featured on School Humor, Display screen Junkies, and JASH. She was additionally a former lead actor and author at Cracked.com. You possibly can observe Fish on Twitter here.
Nothing However Hassle is a Very Bizarre Film
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Even in case you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Nothing However Hassle with your individual two, God-given eyes, you should still have heard rumblings of its infamous standing. I respect that this video essayist takes the time to offer sophisticated tales — just like the making of this film and why it got here to be considered an enormous bomb — the time they need to breathe and converse for themselves.
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This video essay on why Nothing However Hassle is sweet, really involves us from In Reward of Shadows, a video essay channel run by Zane Whitener and primarily based in Asheville, North Carolina. The channel focuses on horror, historical past, and retrospectives. Beneath their “Anatomy of a Franchise” banner, they break down horror properties together with Tremors, The Stepfather, and Re-Animator, along with The Hills Have Eyes. You possibly can try the collection’ playlist right here. And you may subscribe to the In Reward of Shadows YouTube channel right here. And you may observe them on Twitter here.
Why The Bear Hits So Laborious
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There’s a particular bond between cooking and the shifting picture and Hulu’s The Bear is the most recent piece of popular culture to carry the 2 artwork types collectively. I like how this video essay balances its evaluation of the technical and scripted points of the present to elucidate the managed chaos that defines the texture of the present. Breakdowns like this, that do as a lot exhibiting as they do telling, are actually what the video essay format is all about.
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This video essay on the attraction of The Bear is by Virginia-based filmmaker and video editor Thomas Flight. He runs a YouTube channel underneath the identical identify. You possibly can observe Thomas Flight and take a look at his again catalog of video essays on YouTube right here. You possibly can observe him on Twitter here.
Beneath The Pores and skin | Audiovisual Alienation
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Whereas I do suppose that all motion pictures partake in non-verbal storytelling (they’re shifting footage, in any case), I do suppose some movies are extra non-verbal than others. This isn’t to say that these movies aren’t about something or that, extra disparagingly, they’re “simply vibes” (yeesh). Living proof: this considerate evaluation of Beneath the Pores and skin, a movie that makes use of non-verbal storytelling to place us within the footwear of an alien customer making an attempt to make sense of the complicated, predatory, and sometimes lovely human world.
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This video essay on how Beneath the Pores and skin makes use of non-verbal storytelling to discover the query of what it means to be human is by Spikima Motion pictures, a Korean-Canadian who’s been dropping gems on YouTube since 2019. You possibly can subscribe to Spikima’s channel for extra unimaginable essays right here. And you may observe them on Letterboxd right here.
How a 10-year-old lady wrote Japan’s most insane horror movie
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Simply after I thought that Home was beginning to slip into that particular class of films which were “talked to demise,” somebody goes forward and makes a video essay like this. I am keen on the messy human tales behind canonized movies. And the way in which that this video essayist describes the father-daughter relationship behind the deeply private making of Home is impeccable, even in case you’re already acquainted with the final beats.
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This video essay on the uncanny origins of the 1977 horror movie Home is by okayaptainkristian, a YouTube-based video essay channel that peddles visible love letters to filmmakers, musicians, and syndicated cartoons. The account is run by Kristian T. Williams, whom you possibly can observe on Twitter here. You possibly can subscribe to kaptainkristian, and take a look at their again catalog on YouTube right here.
Studio LAIKA and the Ghosts of Invisible Labor
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Provided that conversations on labor and animation have gotten an increasing number of prescient and pointed, this video essay looks like a must-watch. This essayist’s evaluation is deeply insightful, compelling, and well-argued. The concept animators on Laika movies are in-universe Lovecraftian gods tickles my mind one thing fierce.
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This video essay on the self-reflexive industrial allegory of Laika studios is written and directed by Mihaela Mihailova. It’s produced by Alla Gadassik and edited by Gil Goletski, with Jacqueline Turner offering the narration. The top of the video credit the Vancouver-based Emily Carr College of Artwork and Design for assist. Mihailova is an Assistant Professor within the Faculty of Cinema at San Francisco State College. She is the editor of the essay assortment Coraline: A Nearer Take a look at Studio LAIKA’s Cease-Movement Witchcraft (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Why This Fifties Studio Made Motion pictures Backwards
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We love a gimmick. And we particularly love a gimmick that produces some wildly kick-ass film posters. This video essay presents a lucid rationalization of how AIP cracked the code for making B-Motion pictures: poster first, film later. Has this precept of creating a movie from a advertising and marketing perspective mutated into one thing extra insidious over time? Yep. Will that make me any much less charmed by exploitation cinema? Nope. Look, somebody needed to make the flicks that play on the drive-in whereas teenagers suck face at the back of their mother and father’ Cadillac.
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This video on how American Worldwide Photos marketed their movies backward is by Andrew Saladino, who runs the Texas-based Royal Ocean Movie Society. You possibly can browse their again catalog of movies on their Vimeo account right here. If Vimeo isn’t your pace, you can provide them a observe on YouTube right here.
Why Did Spaghetti Westerns Look Like That?
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On the one hand, that is one thing of a biased choose as a result of I eat Spaghetti Westerns for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, this video essay does a extremely stable job honing in on one particular facet of the sub-genre and asking: why? I like laser-focused matters like this, and the truth that it’s about probably the most iconic shot varieties in style cinema is simply icing on the cake.
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This video essay on Sergio Leone’s filmography and the way he perfected the usage of the close-up shot is by Adam Tinius, who runs the YouTube channel Entertain the Elk. They’re primarily based in Pasadena, California. You possibly can observe them on YouTube right here. And you may observe them on Twitter here.
The Catharsis of Physique Horror
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Frankly, the truth that this video essay managed to remain on-line for so long as it has (so far) with out getting despatched again to the shadow realm by YouTube’s AI censor bots is a straight-up miracle. Fortunately, as of penning this, the essay remains to be dwell and completely value your time, particularly in case you’re the form of one who doesn’t vibe with physique horror. There’s no disgrace in having likes and dislikes. However this essay very clearly articulates why physique horror is much more than the sum of its goo-covered, fleshy components.
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This video essay on the catharsis themes of physique horror is by Yhara Zayd. They supply insightful deep dives on younger grownup content material from Skins to My Greatest Buddy’s Wedding ceremony. You possibly can try extra of their content material and subscribe to their channel on YouTube right here. In the event you like their stuff and also you wish to assist them, you possibly can try their Patreon right here.
Associated Matters: 2022 Rewind, The Queue
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