The Creators: A Film About YouTube, in Partnership With YouTube, Shown on YouTube

Documentary shows online stars to be “real people” (and a little bit boring).

www.thesundaytimes.co.uk

YouTube has been revolutionary in the way it gives young people a way to express themselves: they can watch what they want, whenever they want and add content on whatever they like.

As TomSka says, “There are so many different types of YouTube channels: it’s a person who plays video games, it’s a person who bakes cakes, it’s a person who talks about their feelings, it’s a person who makes comedy videos, who makes cartoons, it’s everything.”

So it goes without saying that the website and the big names that surround it deserve a celebration of their achievements.

A film about some of the most successful content creators on the site seemed like a good way to say “thank you” to the other users and fans. However, it was just a bit… Flat.

www.bbc.co.uk

My initial impression of the film was that it was a really long winded advertisement for YouTube creators and Zoella fans. But as the minutes passed, I realized I was already watching the thirty minute film, not an advert. I found the film difficult to watch and questionable in its intentions.

By the end of it, I still didn’t feel like I had gained anything. I just felt like I had been brainwashed into starting my own YouTube channel and slightly embittered towards the three “celebrities” involved.

The first of these “Creators” is Zoella. I didn’t learn anything new about Zoella, which was surprising seeing as I knew nothing about her to begin with. All I learnt was that someone else seemed to be doing her hair, which really annoyed me, because that was the only likeable thing about her in the first place.

As for the teen duo, NikiNSammy, who I hadn’t even heard of before, I felt their screen time was significantly shorter than the other two. They were portrayed as two normal kids, still living at home. They’re substantially less successful than the other two, with only tens of thousands of fans, rather than millions, but they still had absolutely nothing to add to the documentary.

Finally, something that made the whole thing worth watching happened in the appearance of TomSka. Now, I did actually learn a lot about YouTube from him, about him as a real person, the traumas he had been through and his highs and lows. He made the others look lazy, untalented and completely two dimensional by contrast.

If they could all come across as good as TomSka, then the documentary could have been quite profound. But instead, it seemed fairly artificial and pointless.

Don’t get me wrong. These kids all have something to be proud of. They reach out to a lot of people and rack up a hell of a lot of views (and money) on their videos. All I’m saying is at this stage are they really worthy of their own film?

Maybe I was expecting too much. This isn’t a Blockbuster, “coming to a cinema near you.” This is a 30 minute documentary on YouTube that felt like an advert for YouTube. And guess where the funding came from?

Yep, you got it, YouTube!

The film had been up 24 hours when I viewed it and had 80,000 views. Not bad, YouTube. Not bad at all.

I think YouTube is just trying to encourage fans to retain interest and to keep running with this online celebrity thing.

From the comments on the video there seems to be a hell of a lot of controversy over the film, focusing mainly around Zoella and whether she did or didn’t write her own book and whether she does or doesn’t deserve her fans.

All this film has told me, is that YouTube is desperate to give their creators an even bigger platform. This in turn is opening the site up to the same bullying that Twitter and Facebook have had to deal with.

Personally, I think it’s a shame. YouTube used to be quite safe and friendly. But it will continue to turn away from that the more faces people have to put to the videos. Oh well, I guess YouTube needed to evolve too.

Watch the film here:

Megan Herdson

Megan is a country girl who moved to the city with some big dreams. She is studying her MA in Creative Writing whilst also managing an American Football Team.  She loves her blog and wants nothing more than to have her words read. That and to win the Championship, obviously. Follow her @MeganAtSMF

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