The YouTube Effect Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The YouTube Effect Blu-ray Movie Review

"People are messy, and when they congregate, messy things happen."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 22, 2024

Who loves cats? YouTube loves cats. No matter what I search for, there's guaranteed to be a cat video lurking near the top. Thus it has been and always thus shall be. Even now, a quick dart to my YouTube page and a single click on a cat video offers these gems: "I Have a Friend Named Cat". "Things My Youngest Cat Learned from My Older Cats - Part III". "Funny Cats Compilation Part 7". "Cat TV for Cats to Watch" (dear God). "[NO ADS] Cat TV for Cats to Watch". "One Hour of Funniest Animals w/New Funny Cats and Dogs Videos". One of my favorites at a glance, "Cats that Threaten Human Existence". "Laser Cats Compilation SNL" (one that's actually worth searching up and watching). "Cats with One Brain Cell Left". "Meows You Can Use to Attract Cats". And the pun-tacular, "It's Raining Cats and Dogs".

Of course, YouTube's partnership with cats represents simpler days; days before we started to hear rumblings leaking out of parent company Google about YouTube algorithms, the effect of algorithm charting particularly with younger viewers, and other potential nasties that hinted at something more sinister beneath the cat-video-hub hood. Enter documentarian Alex Winter (of Bill & Ted fame, who since 2018 has moved into documentary filmmaking) and The YouTube Effect, a deep-dive into the once-innocent website that now (purportedly) looks the other way as it enflames culture wars, amplifies division and causes real, measurable damage to modern society.

Official Synopsis: The YouTube Effect, the fifth feature documentary in five years from actor-turned-filmmaker Alex Winter (The Panama Papers, Showbiz Kids, Zappa), had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 11, 2022, in the Spotlight Documentary section. The film takes viewers on a timely and gripping journey inside the cloistered world of YouTube and parent Google. The film, presented by Olive Hill Media and produced by Valhalla Entertainment, Trouper Productions and Zipper Bros, investigates YouTube’s rise from humble beginnings in the attic of a pizzeria to its explosion onto the world stage, becoming the largest media platform in history and sparking a cultural revolution, while creating massive controversy in the age of disinformation. Interview subjects include Caleb Cain, Hany Farid, Anthony Padilla, Ian Hecox, Steve Chen, Carrie Goldberg Loann, Loann Kaji, Ryan Kaji, Shion Kaji, Talia Lavin, Dave Lauer, Becca Lewis, Andy Parker, Nitasha Tiku, Susan Wojcicki, Brianna Wu, Natalie Wynn and Jillian C. York.

"People don’t know that YouTube and Google are the biggest purveyors of disinformation," Winter says. "One reason is people don’t understand what YouTube is. Is it just a place to watch cat videos, or is it something else? There’s something about using a webcam and the false sense of intimacy and proximity it conveys that works incredibly powerfully on the brain. It gives these creators an amazing amount of power. From its inception, YouTube was wonderful at knocking barriers down for marginalized groups. From members of the LGBTQ+ community to BIPOC creators, everyone had a voice here. And that happened long before the rest of the entertainment industry embraced these people. [But] YouTube and sites like it are new places for people to congregate. People are messy, and when they congregate, messy things happen. So now we need to get some traffic lights in before people get hurt."

Tackling YouTube (a discussion of which quickly pulls Google and its controversies into orbit) is no small task. Winter does a fine job providing an overview -- a broad and revealing glimpse into the mechanics of several tech giants and the dehumanization that's part and parcel with faceless algorithms -- and he certainly will get a rightful rise out of anyone paying attention, if only by the sheer scale of the stakes. It doesn't mean the resulting documentary is comprehensive, though. It's a subject that begs for a longer form docuseries from the likes of HBO, and The YouTube Effect is not that. But taken as an "Introduction to the Dangers of YouTube 101" course brings real merit to the project, exposing frightening facts without screaming the sky is falling as some docs are wont to do. (Ahem. Michael Moore.) This isn't a hyper-produced scare job, nor is it a one-note investigation. It's a journalistic endeavor through and through, despite some broad-stroke assumptions and conclusions that may (may) be a bit misleading if one isn't keen on researching matters further.

Information is power and Winter excels in delivering concise, easily digested tidbits that add up to a filling meal. The YouTube Effect doesn't exactly offer solutions, or suggestions as to how to right the ship, reign in decades of algorithmic influence, or address the larger issues of entire generations of young people being shepherded around by data streams. But you have to start somewhere, and you could no doubt create a dull, dry affair that captures the attention of precisely no one. The YouTube Effect is at the least an entertaining ring of the alarm bell; yes, a bell that's probably being rung in culture far too late to do much good, but one that needs to be sounded nonetheless. Winter's sadness for such societal shifts is palpable throughout as well, which keeps him distant as a filmmaker (a plus in a documentary) but still allows emotion to come through, making for a distinctly human watch rather than a rote assembly of news, message points, factoids and warnings.

The YouTube Effect Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Standard documentary fare here. Allied's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is a mish-mash of solid torso-up sit downs with interview subjects and hit-or-miss quality footage from news casts, online videos, and things from all corners of YouTube and Google. The result is fine, nothing to split hairs over for anyone who's watched a documentary on Blu-ray, but it doesn't exactly make for a consistent or consistently striking image. Fortunately the interviews look quite good, with lifelike skin tones, nicely saturated colors and reasonably deep black levels. Detail is relatively strong as well, with crisp edges and clean textures. Outside of the footage where you might expect it, there isn't any errant blocking, banding or noise of any concern, and The YouTube Effect ultimately looks as good as it could.

The YouTube Effect Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio is a little on the flat and front-heavy side, though, as is also par for the course with most Blu-ray documentaries. Music lends itself to more soundfield engagement but otherwise the rear speakers are notably reserved. LFE output pounds home a few points, despite having less to do with so many talking heads at the forefront. Voices are thankfully clean and always intelligible, prioritization is more than competent, and the documentary's soundscape isn't hindered by any major issues.

The YouTube Effect Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The YouTube Effect doesn't include any special features.

The YouTube Effect Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The YouTube Effect is a solid warning and call to action as it pertains to re-thinking the absent-minded manner we, as a culture, have kept an eye on the websites that provide us with information. No matter what anyone says, there is no such thing as "your facts" and "my facts"; there are only facts and the chasms that divide our trust in the sources relaying those facts. At some point, we have to find a way through this era of extremism and division. The YouTube Effect is a drop in the bucket by that standard, but nevertheless a decent, easily watchable introduction. Allied's Blu-ray release is so-so, but it's low price point makes any shortcomings easier to swallow. Mildly recommended. (Although if you're right-leaning politically, you'll no doubt be irritated with the left-leaning filmmaker's criticism of far-right sources. But then again, if that's the sort of thing that tends to upset you, um, how to word this delicately? You're probably not in a place to be able to accept the film's message and warnings anyway.)