As an enjoyer of video essays, I wanted to share a few of my favorites in the hopes that others would share theirs as well and broaden my video-essay horizons.
“Who’s Afraid of Modern Art: Vandalism, Video Games, and Fascism” by Jacob Geller. 30 min. Geller has many essays, often talking about obscure video games combined with art movments and politics. This one, as the title indicates, is about art, video games, and fascism.
“Professional Wrestling is Stupid and Beautiful and I Love it” by SuperEyepatchWolf. 30 min. If you think professional wrestling is dumb and fake, this will explain why others love it. If you love it, this will make you love it more. A wonderful entry point into the world of professional wreslting. He’s got four other videos on the topic, including a two hour video about Roman Reigns. All are excellent.
" The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel" by Jenny Nicholson. 3h37m. A nearly four-hour review and breakdown of the short lived Star Wars hotel at Disney World. I’ve loved Nicholson’s work for ages, and even though I don’t enjoy Star Wars these days and care little about theme parks, this is a great one.
" The History of Tetris World Records" by SummoningSalt. 1h53min. I don’t give a shit about Tetris and only started watching this out of a love for SummingSalt’s prior work. This video is insane, and while it’s ostensibly about getting a high score in a game published in 1989, it’s also about human ingenuity and in a way makes (some) good on the flying-car-future we were all promised in 1989. It’s nearly two hours long, and I don’t want to spoil too much, but within ten minutes players have already achieved the maximum possible score that the game will allow, 999,999 points. Where it goes from there is something to behold.