Mr. Rehak has asked that I write about an educational website for my Beacon article this month, and I’m confident that the site I’ve learned the most from over the course of my life is Youtube. Due to this, I’ve decided to write about three of my favorite channels from which I believe anyone can learn significantly. I’ve been consistently watching videos from these creators for several years now, and I believe that viewership has been worthwhile.

1 – SNEAKO

Sneako has to be my favorite online personality, as regardless of what he’s doing or talking about, his content is consistently enjoyable to watch and highly thought-provoking. He offers a uniquely insightful perspective on a variety of topics (some of the most interesting being his on-the-street interviews with New Yorkers or first-person documentation of the Portland riots last year) as an overconfident, contrary, and above-all questioning individual. He’s had Youtube popularity since his early teens, and has always been one to think outside the box, pushing viewers to do the same, and this push is what I enjoy the most about his channel. Nearly every Sneako video not only pushes, but inspires you to be better than you are now, and better than the ephemeral or illogical thing in which our culture becomes caught up. His honesty is also respectable, as he is both willing to let viewers the darker parts of his own self and to share his opinions without softening them to avoid negative responses or offense.

Ronald Jamieson, ‘21, says “While I don’t agree with all of Sneako’s doctrines, I do believe he is an influencer to look for. He always poses questions to the audience that may shake their faith regarding controversial topics like religion, censorship, etc. Recently, Sneako’s video “everything is a hustle” questioned the validity of certain “street” rappers with respect to their voice over the impoverished black community. It’s almost ironic that many people regard a famous rapper who makes millions of dollars via rap music, somehow the “voice of the streets” as Sneako puts it. Takes like these point at blatant oxymorons in our society that many could have been oblivious to. Whether you like Sneako or not, you will always leave the video with better critical thinking. His rhetoric may even be true in some cases but that truth hurts those who claim he is politically incorrect. I really appreciate Sneako’s honesty and overtime I have come to love his thought processes and takes on topics many feel are off limits.”

2 – Matt D’Avella

The leader of the last few years’ minimalism/productivity trend on Youtube, Matt D’Avella’s videos, while sometimes repetitive, always push the viewer to examine their problems and to become better through his many efforts to improve himself. His videos are, for me, much more valuable for utility than for entertainment. I don’t find his videos to be the most engaging, nor his personality to be as enjoyable as Sneako’s, but he manages to consistently deliver very useful practices for maintaining a productive, straightforward, effective life for yourself. 

Former WY student Peter Lyday says “I think he could present his material in a more enjoyable way, but the content that he is focusing on is very interesting to watch and he provides insight as well, if it is a little bit dry.”

3 – The Closer Look

Henry of The Closer Look creates the best film commentary I’ve found on Youtube. I discovered him in late 2017, and he has failed to disappoint since then, developing countless revealing analyses of a multitude of films. He has the perfect combination of discovering things that you would never perceive while never making something out of nothing. I’ve found with other commentary channels that they either discuss painfully obvious and uninteresting elements of film or they come up with theories so outlandish that they’re hardly possible. In the case of The Closer Look, Henry makes astounding observations about the intentions or failures of directors, but remarkably demonstrates how his conclusions can be arrived at logically. Watching his videos has surely made me a better analyst of film, and as everyone watches movies, I believe everyone can gain from watching The Closer Look.

Kankakee resident Isaac Stipp says, “The presentation of the video was not all that unique, but the quality of the content and graphics were very good. He uses clips from movies that are relevant to what he’s talking about, and there is always an interesting visual to go along with his voice even when the visual doesn’t directly correlate with his words. The way he transitions from topics is very smooth, and he relates all of the topics together throughout the video.”