This week on The Deep Dive: “Why does Pixar’s Cars have trains?” and other questions about the franchise’s confusing world-building, J.Crew’s nine lives (pre and post-Jenna Lyons), when main character syndrome makes you air your own real-life dirt laundry, what Squidward can teach us about intrusive thoughts and living a meaningful life, and The Great Recession’s lasting impact on reality TV.

Let’s help Fadi AbuTaqiya’s and his family evacuate Gaza. The offer still stands – if you donate at least $10, reply to this email with your receipt and a video essay category of your choice, and I’ll send you a personalized recommendation from The Deep Dive’s archive!

MEDIA

The Worthless Worldbuilding of Pixar’s Cars by choopo (13:08)

Finally, someone said it. Although it does seem like people have already been saying it in corners of the internet where these types of things matter, and as someone who has been confused by the worldbuilding of Pixar’s Cars since first watching it in theaters – it matters to me. In this video, choopo asks the important questions like if the tractors in Cars are cows, does that mean the other cars eat the tractors and drink their milk (oil)? Why are prehistoric cars dinosaur-like machines or submarines instead of horse-and-buggy vehicles or the Ford Model T? If the pope is a car itself, then why does it need a popemobile? Why even is there a car pope? I get the whole “flashing” thing is fun wordplay, but am I really supposed to believe that these cars are driving around with their nipple equivalents out to see at night? And are the forklifts unionized? Because they should be!

BUSINESS

The Rise and Fall of J.Crew by understitch, (38:44)

One thing about me is that I’ll always click on a video about the rise and fall of a brand that was once a mall fixture. Some had a straight path to success with a few dips along the way, but few have bounced back and forth between a clear understanding of their North Star brand identity and completely losing sight of their core customer the way J.Crew has. Maybe it’s just a prep thing? In this video, understitch, tells the story of J.Crew’s nine lives, from family business and department store to popular catalog brand to being as early as anyone possibly could be to online shopping to near-bankruptcy thanks to venture capital to the iconic Jenna Lyons era – and that was all by the 2010s. Now, things aren’t looking too hot for J.Crew, even with the rise of “old money” aesthetics on TikTok.

A Sneak Peek at The Rabbit Hole:

May 24, 2024: Subscription Services and the Great YouTube Migration

The YouTubers are leaving YouTube, and something about this migration pattern feels familiar.

Last month, the creators over at Watcher announced the very unpopular launch of their new streaming service, initially intending it to be a “Goodbye YouTube” forever before quickly backtracking for obvious reasons – and they’re far from the only ones. Just this week, The Try Guys waved a half-goodbye to YouTube, a full goodbye to Eugene, and a hello to their new subscription service, 2nd Try. It’s worth mentioning that this one is, so far, being received much better than Watcher’s.

“Why I’m Leaving YouTube” has become something of 2024’s version of “Why I Left BuzzFeed,” which makes it all the more interesting that two of the biggest YouTube departures of this year got their start at BuzzFeed. Especially when you consider that the announcement of their BuzzFeed departure was the spark that lit the flame that came to be their successful YouTube channels. 

But as I said, this feels familiar. Ten years ago, the big social media transition that defined the era consisted of popular Vine stars moving to YouTube to start their own channels, with their newly established audiences following them there.