We’ve Deconstructed Everything, Now What?

I’ll usually hop on YouTube and watch a video essay or two whenever I have a spare moment. These videos are perfect for me. They are academic enough but not to the point of being pedantic, and the perspectives these creators bring are rather illuminating… to a point.

After watching some of these critique-based video essays, I started to realise that I might be getting a kick out of the wrong thing. What started as a kind of intellectual curiosity slowly turned into a hunt for the “gotcha” moments whenever a video essayist makes a provocative point.

It made me feel like a smartass. After all, I’m acquainted with the statistics, arguments and figures via video essays and my research, right? I can spot all the hidden forces and malicious intentions in this screwed-up world we are in. But after a while of being in that world of critique, my way of viewing the world started to change.

I can’t watch a film without picking it apart…

I can’t read a book without questioning its integrity…

And I can’t take anything at face value.

What started as a good-faith engagement turned into a snarky and aloof view of everything. The hidden fear is that if I start enjoying what everyone else is enjoying, I’ll lose my status as a critical thinker, right? Except in this case, after assessing the situation, I’ve concluded that critical thinking is a tool while being negative is a choice.