The YouTube Effect | Alex Winter documentary

[BluBonnet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo2EWOU6J6U

[dancerslegs]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo2EWOU6J6U

I absolutely deplore the effect YouTube has had on the popular discourse about movies. Along with Twitter, it has utterly poisoned it with an outrage mentality that has all but destroyed rational film discussion on platforms like this one. (At the very least, I'd personally be for outright banning the posting of ragebait media videos here, which have never yet done any movie thread here good.)

And to think once upon a time, I fretted a bit about shit like CinemaSins. Hell, bring that back to the forefront if you have to, if it means people will talk primarily about actual movie content vs nonstop pet political grievances.

[BluBonnet]

Alex Winter’s ‘The YouTube Effect’ Pairs With Short Film On Court Watching Movement For Cinematic Double Header

Moviegoers who catch Alex Winter’s new documentary The YouTube Effect can expect a cinematic bonus: We can reveal the film is preceded by a short documentary for the National Courtwatch Network narrated by Fiona Apple, with original music by the singer-songwriter.

The four-and-a-half minute long short, which also features narration from actor Jesse Williams and Dr. Carmen Johnson of Courtwatch PG, examines a growing movement to bring accountability to the judicial system by training court watchers to observe judicial proceedings “and report their findings to the public.”

The movement picked up steam during the pandemic when many court proceedings were made available online, allowing Courtwatch volunteers around the country to monitor arraignments, bond hearings and other judicial matters that might otherwise go unwitnessed by members of the public.

“This principle of courts open to the public was inscribed in the Constitution by the nation’s founders who themselves suffered injustice behind closed doors during British rule,” the narration notes. The court watch movement “seeks to train a legion of volunteers to attend hearings and to learn the language and process of court so that they can take notes, amplify the injustices they witness and hold power accountable.”

Apple herself has become an active court watcher.

“Court watching is really the gateway to a better community, a better world, because it will make you care,” Apple told Pitchfork.com in a February interview. “It makes you care about people you don’t know. And we need more of that.”

Winter, The YouTube Effect director, told Deadline in an exclusive statement, “The lack of equal justice in courts is a systemic problem in this country. The Court Watchers is an important short film that chronicles Fiona Apple and other regular citizens who have found a way to fight injustice in the courts. I’m proud to be able to show the film in front of our documentary and to give this urgent, little-known avenue for activism more exposure.”

The YouTube Effect producer Gale Anne Hurd commented, “It’s absolutely essential that concerned citizens be aware of what they can do to keep our justice system accountable. This powerful short film highlights the importance of Court Watchers.”

Drafthouse Films is releasing The YouTube Effect in Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas today, with a nationwide expansion happening next Friday. Locations showing the film include Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Austin, Chicago and San Francisco.

The feature documentary from Winter (Bill & Ted Franchise, Showbiz Kids, The Panama Papers, Zappa), “explores the ascension and acceleration of YouTube, a video-sharing website that started with humble origins and has gone on to change how we experience the world,” according to a release. “With exclusive access to some of YouTube’s biggest stars, the film presents an eye-opening and troubling look at the platform now so powerfully embedded in our lives.”

The YouTube Effect premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Festival and went on to screen at CPH: DOX in Copenhagen, the Montclair Film Festival, and Philadelphia International Film Festival, among others.

[Jay H.]

There's no such thing as a YouTube star.

[GaragePoet]

[BluBonnet]

Alex Winter’s ‘The YouTube Effect’ Takes a Tough Look at Everyone’s Favorite Cat-Video Platform

Most people know that social media has become a cesspool of disinformation, a digital hydra that feeds off toxicity and conspiracy theories. But somehow YouTube, the second-most-popular site in the world, has avoided the scrutiny that’s come Twitter and Facebook’s way. “The YouTube Effect,” a new documentary from Alex Winter, could change that. It takes a tough look at the role that the Google-owned service played in everything from the Jan. 6 riot to the 2019 New Zealand mosque shooting by promoting election denialism and white supremacy.

“People don’t know that YouTube and Google are the biggest purveyors of disinformation,” Winter says. “One reason is people don’t understand what YouTube is. Is it just a place to watch cat videos, or is it something else? And the second reason you hear about it less is because Google is so deep-pocketed that it has some of the strongest lobbyists in the world working for them. That’s made them less likely to be legislated against.”

“The YouTube Effect” argues that the most polarizing and provocative content tends to get the widest viewership. Since the platform is ad-based, creators are rewarded for espousing fringe views. Plus, the lo-fi quality of some videos lends them a greater sense of authenticity.

“There’s something about using a webcam and the false sense of intimacy and proximity it conveys that works incredibly powerfully on the brain,” Winter says. “It gives these creators an amazing amount of power.”

And Winter thinks that Google hasn’t done enough to deplatform its most dangerous voices. The reason, he says, is money: “If they take some of these people off YouTube or they change the ad model, it will cut into profits.”

In making his film, Winter spoke to YouTube stars such as Anthony Padilla, who sounds the alarm, as well as Susan Wojcicki, the platform’s former CEO, who emphasizes its sense of community. While Wojcicki may be downplaying the risk YouTube poses, Winter believes a great deal of good does come out of YouTube.

“From its inception, YouTube was wonderful at knocking barriers down for marginalized groups,” he says. “From members of the LGBTQ+ community to BIPOC creators, everyone had a voice here. And that happened long before the rest of the entertainment industry embraced these people.”

Winter, who is still best known for starring as one-half of the zonked-out duo in the “Bill & Ted” movies, knows a lot about tech, having made documentaries on Silk Road and Blockchain. He didn’t approach the subject as a Silicon Valley skeptic, but he is concerned about the direction YouTube is taking.

“YouTube and sites like it are new places for people to congregate,” Winter says. “People are messy, and when they congregate, messy things happen. So now we need to get some traffic lights in before people get hurt.”

[danielrg]

I bought this - I admit because it was super cheap. Did everyone's arrive on a black BD-R?

I assume so, but have to admit I've never seen a Manufactured On Demand (MOD) title on a black BD-R before.