My experience on TikTok is not the typical experience, what with me being an elder millennial media critic on an app that champions teenagers dancing to the latest hits.
All in Web
Announcing: Spookier Times
Introducing Spookier Times. This is a new biweekly podcast about everything horror, Gothic, and weird fiction across media. I’m incredibly proud of the project and the opportunities it affords in media criticism.
The Mind of Jake Paul Review (Web Series, 2018)
You can’t fault Shane Dawson for his ambition. In the past year, he reinvented himself as a sort of YouTuber documentarian, creating series exploring the lives behind some of the biggest names on YouTube. After the massive success of his documentary web series centered on the fallout from TanaCon and the inner workings of Jeffree Star’s empire, he set his sights on his most ambitious series yet. He wanted to explore the relationship between internet celebrity and mental wellness, specifically personality disorders. By chance, he wound up with Jake Paul agreeing to be the subject of the new documentary series.
Format Shift: The Reinvention of Shane Dawson
It’s weird how quickly a cliche can develop. I feel like every piece of criticism responding to Shane Dawson’s new multi-part documentary format on YouTube starts with a bunch of disclaimers. The author (meaning writer, vlogger, podcaster, etc.) comments on how they hated or didn’t really know Shane Dawson. They say it’s surprising that he’s doing something so serious with his channel. They’re happy for his success, but they question what’s really motivating him.
In all honesty, I can see how this is true for a lot of authors. Online content, especially videos, is a young person’s game. I’m young by normal standards, but ancient by Internet standards: 32, turning 33 tomorrow. I’m old enough to remember when YouTube was a new platform; I’m also old enough to remember cassette overtaking vinyl and mall tours being a huge deal.
Camp Wannakiki Review (Web Series, 2018)
…There have been web-based drag reality competitions before Camp Wanwakiki. Even Dragula started out that way before getting picked up by OutTV in Canada. Camp Wanwakiki is noteworthy in an ever-growing pool of drag reality TV for its perspective, gimmick, and heart.