Until about 3 months ago I really did not see the point of youtube. Yer, I’m one of those people who goes on it a lot and manages to waste hour after hour watching dancing bears and ninja cats. But lately it hit me, what a pointless waste it is! What is so amazing about a kid who sings like Barry White, a sneezing panda bear or a guy wasting probably thousands of pounds/dollars to dance around the world! Then about 3 months ago after having a conversation with my housemates about old school television, I finally saw what the point of youtube is, and my good friends the answer is to re live those lost programmes that no one will release on DVD. And the programme that made me realise this? “Are You Afraid of the Dark”. An amazing programme that was both entertaining and scary as hell. Then I moved on to something that I know both me and my girlfriend loved as kids, “The Demon Headmaster”, and I jumped straight into series 3, and damn the acting really is as bad as I remembered!
About now I bet you are wondering why I’m telling you this, well I am trying to open your eyes! Take a minute, close your eyes if it helps, look back into your past and remember the things you watched, the things that made you happy, scared, excited, sad and just wanting the days to go faster till the next episode. Maybe I just watched too much television when I was a kid, but I do not care! Television, I think, is a key element to where I am today. Ok maybe I am in a shitty job and not sure where I am going, but I am truly happy. One of my great memories growing up was the joy of a Sunday night, sitting on the white wool rug in front of the fire, my parents behind me on the sofa, waiting for the Sunday family drama to start! “The Borrowers”, “5 Children and It” and “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” are to name just a few of the brilliant programmes that we would watch. And that is one of the reasons why I took up the decision to study a course on film and television, and maybe one day I will write something that at least one kid can sit at home and watch on a Sunday afternoon, in ore of the magic, adventure, romance and gripping cliff hangers at the end of each episode.
So please use youtube for the right reasons, do not waste time, use it to remember and have that warm feeling. Maybe it will not be good as you remember but I am sure it must bring back a good memory or two! I’m off to watch “The Last Train” and “Noggin the Nog”!
Tom I use youtube allllll the time, and not to watch dancing bears, but to watch original content made for the internet.... I also use it to watch people fall in/on/over/through things. I have a whole subscription list full of goodies.
ReplyDeleteBut a programme you should be watching on youtube: knightmare! get on it