Be Kind Rewind

One of the major fixtures in the world of YouTube are the video essayist channels who I would call, to use my own term, "screen critics." These are wonderful channels who basically spend their time making video essays about films and TV shows. 

Sometimes, the individuals behind these channels, such as the two ladies behind The Take, take a very broad approach and choose to examine whatever they want in whatever way they want in any give video. Every so often though, a YouTuber will take a slightly more nuanced and unique approach.

One such example of this the YouTube Channel, Be Kind Rewind.

Be Kind Rewind is a screen critic channel with two specialties. Largely, it is a channel that explores the history of Hollywood filmmaking, from the Classic era of the Studio System to the present day, through the lens of the Academy Award Winners for Best Actress. However, it it also a channel willing to explore the greater social issues surrounding the Oscars and Hollywood filmmaking in general through a lens of social inclusivity and feminism. 

I first became aware of this channel by accident (call it serendipity, if you will), when a video about Anne Bancroft's Best Actress Oscar from this channel suddenly appeared in my suggestion queue. Following close behind was a companion piece about the famous Feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford appeared. Suddenly, I was hooked. (Both videos are available below to view.)

Monthly, in excellently put-together videos, the host (for I'm unsure of her name), of BKR takes her viewer through a topic of her choosing. In keeping with her "brand," it's usually a given year in the history of the Best Actress Oscar. With a close eye that takes into account cultural trends of the times, a working knowledge of Hollywood History, and a thorough knowledge of the Hollywood canon, she discusses in detail what it was that most likely caused a given actress to win in a given year. Everything from internal politicking to media reports is taken into account for why certain winners got the gold. It's those things that, in my opinion, make this channel and her videos so addicting to watch. 

Most wonderful of all is that our host of this channel does not shy away from the darker underside of Hollywood. She fully explains and explores how hard it was for women in Hollywood during the classic era, especially with regard to ageism towards women, the blatant racism faced by POC actresses throughout time, and how that all plays into the movie-making capitol's struggle between art and commerce. That she also doesn't shy away from looking at her subjects--the actresses in question--as "real people" rather than culture icons we all too often place on pedestals only increase a viewer's fascination. It's that desire to embrace the complex human mess  that makes this channel such a joy to browse when you have the time. 

At the moment, BKR is a fairly young channel with active production on episodes only going back two years. However, if our host is able to keep up the level of quality she's already putting into her videos, I have no doubt it will just keep getting better.