ProfessorViral

So, very few of you probably know that the channel name is actually pronounced Professor VEE-RAL (one of my favorite characters ever, Viral from TTGL). It usually comes off like "viral video," which is a connotation I really hate, and probably drives some people away. So... do I change the name? Just one letter different probably, to something like "ProfessorVeral" to make it better? Or, will I just look like a rip off of myself? (If I do, I will make mention of the coming change for probably a month so that everyone is aware and I don't just disappear when searched)

1 day ago | [YT] | 86

ProfessorViral

Tomorrow we have Madoka Magica, Wonder Egg Priority, and Black Lagoon all at once. The old favorites of the channel, but addressed with the new talent of years passed, and designed for this present moment we find ourselves in, where hate is often easier than love. Let's see (part of) why in 24 hours.

1 week ago | [YT] | 351

ProfessorViral

Hey everyone. I mentioned in "the pain of being seen" that I wanted to celebrate other people's work a bit more, and part of that is better keeping track of the videos in the same genre as mine that I enjoy. So, here's a way that I can do that, and share it: The Human Curated Video Essays playlist:

www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

As I come across things within the genre (or close enough, I don't think production value and scripting are required so long as the message is well said and important) I can pop them in here and be able to share either all of them, or specific ones I really found worth a watch. If you're ever wondering what I watch, or looking for more yourself, this is the easiest place to go.

1 week ago | [YT] | 71

ProfessorViral

As a teenager, I was very close to growing up into a hateful adult. Concerned with little more than improving my KD on Call of Duty, I stayed up all night putting no effort into myself and wondering why the world didn’t reward me simply for existing. I put walls around myself and then, feeling the pressure, blamed the world for this excess force shoving my face into a corner. I did no research, but rested assured that I was the most oppressed, I could just feel it, and if I wasn’t so awkward, I would have said it too, thinking it to myself incessantly as other’s conversations provoked my fragile ego.

I don’t know exactly what broke me out of this; maybe it was a partner I chameleoned who was emblematic of everything early 2010s tumblr, maybe it was a father mostly absent, but just present enough to pass on his own escape from such things, maybe it was the one activity I ever truly joined breaking my awkward spell, but whatever the case, I’ve always been thankful that I escaped from my hate. It was the first step to all of this introspection and growth I’ve shared with you across mostly the past 5, but in total 10 years of this channel, as I learned from profile after profile of flawed characters that what I really hated was my past self, that I could point out their flaws so naturally because they were once my own.

I think this is what drew me to Black Lagoon 5 years ago now, a show with an often missed point of violent anti-violence. The characters say and do horrible things, but in service of presenting them as weak, ineffectual against a mirror even if they would kill another with its broken shards. The very premise calls into question where blame lies, on the origins of a hateful cycle of those who perpetuate it in the name of survival, eventually coming to love it. A show all about how much honesty, honor, and equality truly mean, and the flawed, self harming mindsets of those who say they mean nothing at all; the people whose hate is an excuse for failure.

The real depth of my self discovery began with Sayaka from Madoka Magica, a character who I grew up with; in younger years, I related to her desire for, and failings at love. As I got older, I related to why she felt undeserving of that love. But, often neglected when I talked about the show was Kyoko, the red to Sayaka’s blue, and we’ll be correcting that next week with a dedicated look at her, someone who believes that the duty of those with power is to do nothing; but only because that’s everyone’s duty. The complexities of the human mind, rifts based on age, gender, location, and so much more, drive us to misunderstand and hurt where we meant to help, and so in her mind the truly kind option is to be selfish; to keep our desires out of other’s lives, to correct Sayaka’s wonders of if she’s selfish by simply never thinking of another to begin with. Complexity becomes an excuse for hate.

And, continuing my reminder that Wonder Egg Priority was more than its terrible ending, we’re returning to it for a look at Rika, a picture of how hating ourselves can be reasoned as loving others, and can make the world make sense. When people love us, they often sacrifice for us, their free time, their money, even their dreams, purposefully denying their own pleasure in service of our own. While this is often because they simply see us as more worthwhile than those things, could this be recognized by a child who was left behind and ignored, never privy to the first place we encounter the sacrifices of love in parents? To them, the world hurts, and if they deserve it, then that’s the end of the story; it simply makes sense.

It’s a video that I kind of went all in on without realizing it; I planned to get it done very quickly, and then ended up making three character profiles into one and giving the best editing effort in probably years (aside from literature based videos which inherently require more). I was inspired to make some truly great things after crawling out of my own hate, I guess. It’s an odd one, because it isn’t about me like some videos, but about the kind of person I could have been, a terrible self avoided in some grand casualty of manipulative relationships, somewhat absent parents, and witnessing how much more fun loving people had.

It’s available now for any paid supporters, and actually has been for a week. If you want to see it early and help out the channel, $3 a month gets you early access, as well as your name in the credits. I swear I’ll get better at promoting that actually in videos soon. Anyway, thanks for reading all of this. I’m always honored that your time is spent here with me.


-Viral
(it’s actually pronounced Veral, like the character from Gurren Lagann. My name is a lot less cringe when I mention that lol)

1 week ago | [YT] | 512

ProfessorViral

How much do you feel like advertising works on you? I feel very immune to it because I'd taken some psych courses in the past, but I know that even if I ignore/hate most of them, they still put the name in my brain, meaning when I need that kind of product/service it will be the first I think of, so I know that there are some parts of it which simply can't be escaped

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 54

ProfessorViral

When you're watching a show, do you prefer an ending that sticks to the pattern and delivers what the show has led you to expect, or would you rather have something more wild?

I've been watching a bit of the lesser remembered Gainax anime, and they're usual one for an unexpected ending. To some degree I appriciate that it forces me to reconsider the mindset I'd gotten myself in throughout the series, often after a bit of effort I can try and reason out why it happened. However, it also often feels rushed, and will muddy the waters of a good thematic arc will last minute changes, which are often not reinforced by anything from earlier on

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 54

ProfessorViral

So, that whole "trying to care less about views" thing? That's gonna be the feeling for this week, because the video is one that I absolutely love, but can almost guarantee will not perform well.

It's still following the thread of attention that was laid in the previous video, but focusing much more specifically on the desire to be "cool," that envious picture of nonchalance, charisma, and effortless independence. It's part research-piece on where that archetype came from, a dive into social history to understand how a once rebellious spirit of detachment, born in the oppressed classes of post-war America, has morphed into a need to wear expensive brands, have unique tastes, and describe effort and passion as "cringe." In short, the difference in doing something for a cause, and doing something simply because.

Even further, its part analysis-piece, digging into the characters of one of the (unfortunately) greatest movies ever to see how a desire for this archetype impacts us, how it leads us to stiffle our true selves under the boot of "merit," upholding the power that crushes is in the hopes that we one day attain it, and to justify our lack of doing so yet, all while we play act as what we want to be instead of actually becoming it. In a subjective world where collective belief dictates so much, does our desire to be "cool" harm others?

I actually lost faith in this video after finishing it, I figured no one would care about the topic. But doing my final pass in editing, I've entirely fallen in love with it as an exploration of history, interwoven with philosophy that I never directly name, but specifically included (in the pinned comment there will be an outline which explains the philosophy and how the film fits it). I don't believe it will be highly viewed, but I believe it's one of the best I've put together all year. As I'm digging deeper and deeper into the ideas I love, I'm finding myself able to finally understand and communicate the depth of them which once escaped me, and I think that shows itself in this video (I hope an eventual video on Camus' "The Rebel" can showcase that even better though).

Anyway, the video is up early and ad free for supporters, and the next one will be up a whole two weeks early as well. Videos like this are the risks I can take because of direct support, so a big thank you to them for that, but to everyone alike for your time. See you soon.

-Prof (again, for now. I might dye my hair and change my name, who knows. The self may "exist for no reason and then ultimately disappear," but I'd like to get a feel for it before that final "moment of becoming," if possible. Go watch Sonny Boy, it's so good I quote it at the end of an unrelated message. This is going on too long. Uh. Bye!)

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 157

ProfessorViral

Do you see other people on here who do polls regularly? Something like three years ago it was part of "The Strategy™" and I figured I would try it and see... and then I never stopped because it's always interesting.

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 68