This week on The Deep Dive: The Cut either platforms people who have terrible judgment or are straight-up lying and I can’t tell which is worse, how to capture the essence of a city in a video game, Fifth Harmony’s mess in all its 2010s nostalgic glory, a take on plagiarism that I’m still not sure I totally agree with, and the stolen car that launched an exploration into dread, marshmallows, rented fridges, and poverty trauma.

I also interviewed tiffanyferg, the creator who helped me discover video essays back in 2018, for tomorrow’s issue of The Rabbit Hole! And in case you need more reasons to sign up, check out the Searchable Playlist to help you find the perfect video to watch while folding laundry…or eating lunch…or pretending to work…or whatever else…

MEDIA

Is this author's husband trashing her novel on Goodreads? Maybe, but there's a bigger problem here. by withcindy (18:30)

Between Charlotte Cowles talking about how she was too smart to get scammed before telling a story about the time she put $50,000 in a shoebox to hand over to some random in a white Mercedes who she thought was from the CIA and this bonkers advice column question, I need to know what kind of nonsense is going on at The Cut. So let’s entertain the possibility that one of these stories is completely made up. I’m still holding out hope that it’s the $50,000 scam one but in this video, withcindy breaks down the suspicious details in a story of a successful writer’s hater husband. All there is to say is if this story is true, its submitter is going to need way more than surface-level advice from a columnist at The Cut and should probably call a divorce lawyer instead.

GAMING

City Levels: The Most Underrated Biome by Pixel a Day (28:24)

I never thought I could be so blown away by an analysis of city levels in video games, but here I am nearly crying over visual and sound design. In this video, Pixel a Day reminds me of what I love so much about being in the city by spotlighting the abstract cityscapes of two video games I’ve never even heard of and will most likely never get to play. How do you capture the essence of a big city? How do you bottle up its sounds, moods, and the joy of human connection and manifest it into a nameless metropolis of a fictional universe? What do busy streets sound, feel, and look like during the day and how do those details change when night falls? And what is it about Super Mario Odyssey that just makes me want to party in the streets?

This issue of The Deep Dive is sponsored by

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This week, I came across coverage of COVID’s impact on worldwide life expectancy. With Ground News, you can compare how this news was covered on left, right, and center-leaning media.

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POP CULTURE

chronically online gay explains Fifth Harmony breakup lore by Swiftologist (56:26)

You already knew that Fifth Harmony was a barely functioning mess every single day of its existence, but do you know why? Do you know how? In this video, Swiftologist, inspired by Nicole Rafiee’s lore format, rummages through the clutter to tell the story of Fifth Harmony’s quick rise and chaotic fall. Shockingly, the criminally incohesive outfit choices and on-stage belting competitions were indicative of trouble behind the scenes. As it turns out, building a girl group from the remnants of eliminated reality show contestants who intended on becoming solo artists, one of whom was already deemed the breakout star by Demi Lovato before they even had a chance to record their first studio album, isn’t really conducive to a solid group dynamic – who could have known? Sledgehammer is still an absolute banger, though. So is Work from Home. So is Flex.

INTERNET

Plagiarism and the Death of the Video Essay by Zoe Bee (59:25)

Now that we’re a few months post-hbomberguy’s plagiarism video, it’s time to ask some questions. We know plagiarism is bad, but why is it bad? How do you avoid plagiarism and, more importantly, how do you end up stumbling into doing a plagiarism, whether intentional or not? In this video, Zoe Bee explores why people plagiarize, even when they have absolutely everything to lose, why we love to watch when it’s exposed, and whether the most severe punishment possible even works to deter plagiarism. And what’s the solution to plagiarism on YouTube? To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Zoe’s ideas (especially the one about contributing to creators’ Patreons as a means to possibly prevent plagiarism, since that was literally part of the whole issue with James Somerton). But I thought this framing was interesting and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it as well. In the meantime, we’ll just need to keep a close eye on our favorite creators, check them when necessary, and be extra mindful of their post frequency, I guess. But no, video essays aren’t dead (at least I hope not).

SOCIAL ISSUES

Our Car Was Stolen!? A video essay by The Leftist Cooks (1:31:58)

Earlier, I cried over visual and sound design in video game city levels. Now, I’m crying (and laughing) over hope after recovering a stolen car. In this video, The Leftist Cooks tell the story of the worst trip home imaginable. That’s all. No tangents about dread and feeling undeserving of nice vacations. No stories of the trauma that comes from experiencing poverty or the ways even professional researchers implicitly judge those who are in poverty. Just a retelling of a time when absolutely everything that could have gone wrong after a long flight home, did. I promise there’s no reason for the big, silly, hopeful grin I had on my face as the credits rolled by alongside an original song made for this video essay. Which, by the way, this is the second week in a row we’re getting a video essay with an original song (see: Alexander Avila’s Hannah Montana video from last week) – this genre is evolving!

The Deep Dive’s Bonus Video of the Week

Shout out to Heather from Connecticut for the recommendation!

I don’t understand how I went so long without watching this video about this disastrous Spider-Man Broadway show because holy moly, was this show cursed. And if you’re wondering how bad a Broadway show could possibly get, try multiple severe injuries, millions of dollars in the hole, a court case, and an actual death while paperwork was being signed to kick off production. This level of chaos left me truly speechless – and this week’s newsletter includes a video about Fifth Harmony.

If you have a bonus video you want to share for a shoutout in an upcoming newsletter, check out the poll below – it doesn’t even have to be a video essay!

Thanks for reading and happy watching! See you next week 💭

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