YouTube Video Essays: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
“Fake essays” or not, they’re still pretty damn entertaining
The word essay has come to bear somewhat negative connotations. Unless you’re a professional writer or have a job that entails copious amounts of research and writing, then you probably don’t have a particularly positive association with essays.
Instead, some of these definitions probably come to mind:
- Annoying assignments you had to BS during school
- A boring template crammed with filler words to meet a minimum word count
- A paper focused on a predictable, dull thesis statement
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you love essays and are in the (seeming) minority like me.
Perhaps I can only speak for myself. During my childhood, even I felt that the above definitions were accurate descriptions of what the average written essay entailed: boredom, template-driven topics, and rigid structures.
This perception of essays remained the same throughout most of my college years, until I discovered a game-changer: the video essay.
Yes, video essays. They’re exactly what they sound like: essays in a video or digital media format, often complete with a voiceover and music. While there is still a main thesis and a list…
