The best YouTube channel about movies

The Pop Culture Detective YouTube channel is hands down my favorite movie-related channel. Jonathan, the host, doesn’t do reviews of the latest movies, and he has zero content about entertainment news. What he has is analysis.

I began watching Johnathan’s videos solely for the entertainment value, but in the process, I have become a more mature media viewer and now appreciate the finer qualities of stories when done well, while simultaneously making me better at recognizing the weaknesses in poorly made movies.

Jonathan recently created a trailer for his channel that sums up the tone, content, and quality of his work. If you have any interest in movies I highly recommend watching this short 5:33 minute introduction.

Jonathan’s analysis videos are great to watch and share with friends and family because each will inspire endless discussion. The danger of this channel is that you may see some of your favorite entertainment in a different, and much less flattering light. For instance, if you’re a big fan of The Big Bang Theory, and you want to stay that way, then don’t watch The Complicity of Geek Masculinity on the Big Bang Theory or The Adorkable Misogyny of The Big Bang Theory. Don’t get me wrong, Jonathan doesn’t trash the show in any way. He only shines a light on aspects that are hidden in plain sight.

Pop Culture Detective videos will help you refine your detective skills when watching movies. You’ll notice the building blocks of stories better and how they’re put together to achieve a result, sometimes intentional, sometimes not.

A few of my favorites

The Tragedy of Droids in Star Wars
Droids often steal the show in Star Wars movies but considered as a race of beings their story becomes tragic.

 

How The Shawshank Redemption Humanizes Prisoners
How is it that I’ve seen this movie a dozen times, yet failed to properly connect the movie with the history and culture of prisons in the USA?

 

Abduction As Romance
This video addresses a deeply troubling trend in movies. If any politician has ever argued that there is too much violence in Hollywood movies I’ll bet anything they were talking about violence toward authority. But this form of violence is far more insidious because it is so often recognized, mostly by men, as necessary.