Don’t Quit Your Day Job People!
You’ve probably heard about this ongoing trend. Celebrities opening their own YouTube channels and creating their content. Now, in terms of the celebrity status, these individuals range from Academy Award winners like Angelina Jolie, movie blockbuster stars like Jason Momoa, Will Smith and The Rock, supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Karlie Kloss, divas like Jennifer Lopez, respected actors like Rainn Wilson and even chefs like Gordon Ramsey.
Why are they doing this? It seems odd that celebrities like them need any more exposure and even more money than they already have. Well, for one it’s not about the money. They all have money to burn so they don’t need $$$$. It’s all about pushing an agenda, a self-image or a message. Hear me out.
It all depends on what they want to promote. Whether it’s just a different wholesome image or a hobby like playing video-games or a cause that they believe in. Now, there are persistent rumors about Jolie’s bid to run for president next year but that claims are just speculation at this point, and time will tel if that’s true.
But why is a YouTube channel good for them? Well, because they are picking and choosing what THEY WANT to portray to the audience. Long gone are the days in which the paparazzi’s will catch them of guard or we’ll see them doing something naughty. No, these videos are (for the most part) extremely well-edited and although they’re not fully scripted, celebrities also selective about the words and the themes they’ll use in them. Fans can see them in their natural habitat (like on vacation for instance) and they’ll appear rather normal. Yes, normal is the term I chose here. Hear me out. Even with social media and the other perks of technology, probably 90% of the modern-day celebrities are still very sheltered and guarded people. Most of them appear on talk shows and interviews with already prepared questions and it’s not that easy to catch them in a more relaxed state. So you can imagine how different these videos must feel for them and the audience. They’re genius! Well, for them at least.
That’s from the celebrities’ perspective. They’ll get (extremely filtered but stylish) agenda pushing and the audience will get entertainment. But let me elaborate on why I think celebrities with YouTube channels should not leave their day jobs. 2 reasons for that.
For one, there’s a thing called over-saturation. There is a chance that the same audience can become over-saturated and fed up with them. And secondly, they’re the nepotistic bratty spoiled child that everyone hates. We get that they have a lot of money, connections, fame and a whole entourage of publicists, agents and PR people behind them. But just because they do, it seems like they have an unfair disadvantage against everyone else on YouTube. You know…. The regular folks that are struggling to get a buck or two. It would take normal Joe/Jane years and years of content production to get the following, the views and the money of the channel’s monetization that Jolie and Jack Black will get in a matter of hours. Not to mention the fact that most of the YouTube channels are doing something creative. The good YouTube content creators are reviewing movies, and albums, they’re doing fun challenges, they’re applying skills like cooking, sewing, and makeup tutorials and don’t even get me started on the fantastic video-analysis on pretty much everything. Movies, directors, historic figures, cars and so on. You can find great content on just about everything on YouTube and it’s well researched, well edited and extremely well presented. So it seems a bit unfair to see how Will Smith gets thousands and thousands of dollars for just a 3-minute video of him how he almost took the role of Neo in the Matrix. We know of that already and he’s not being creative at all in his delivery. Don’t you think?
That’s not to say that all celebrity YouTube channels are bad. I particularly enjoy watching Mayim Bialik’s YouTube channel. She’s fun, nerdy and hilarious and although mainly static (sitting in front of a camera) she’s been a joy to watch. Her videos are short, poignant, and intelligent and thought-provoking. I even dedicated a whole post on one of her videos, but I think I’ve made my point. You get me.
In conclusion… This may seem like a fun side-job (let’s go with that) for Hollywood celebrities, but for the love of God, don’t quit your day job. Most of the folks on YouTube don’t have that luxury, and you’re basically stealing money from them.
