Streamy Awards Move to TV May Not Be For the Best

Regis Schratz ’16/ Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

The Streamy Awards moving to TV means more exposure than before, but with that comes an added pressure to include creators that are already front-pagers and celebrities with nothing better to do. As a result, a lot of the niche corners of YouTube are under-reported, such as gaming, narrative productions, and especially animation. Gaming, for instance, has been a growing section of YouTube and PewDiePie’s prominence has been a major catalyst in that shift; however, beyond the most popular Let’s Players such as Felix, the expanding sub-genres seems to be unknown to the majority of YouTube viewers.

The Streamy Awards takes the model of other awards shows in that they feature the most popular content creators and musicians, but due to the vast amount of content produced (over 24 hours every minute), it is impossible for an award show such as this to cover all the shades that YouTube offers. As the metrics for what makes a successful video have changed to support channels that often post over those that take a longer time to produce quality content, animation videos have suffered as they take a longer time to create. Beyond this, the amalgamation of content colloquially known as “that weird part of YouTube” that makes up a large part of its video storage has much that could never be converted or appreciated in a television setting. What makes YouTube Youtube is that it is vaudeville with a stage as expansive as the wild west and when summarized, much of what makes it great is lost in translation.

Only on the Streamy Awards though, can average entertainers upstage established celebrities by being far less constructed. Only on this stage could an award winner announce that they have come back from addiction to thrive in their art. FouseyTube’s extreme honesty is complimented by iJustine’s recognition of where this all started. When creators like Smosh and herself began posting videos, the idea of making YouTube videos for a living was a joke. That is until it became a reality. Though the crowd is mostly made of freshman faces, it’s nice to see some veterans from 8-10 years ago, such as Ian & Anthony, Justine, and Philip DeFranco. Their presence anchors the event in its humble beginnings. Let us not forget that the first popular Smosh video was a poorly edited lip-sync of the Power Rangers theme song.

Despite most of the celebrity appearances at the event falling flat, Sir Mix-a-Lot’s dance party was an oddly appropriate way to end the show. Many of the new content creators were children or babies when the song was made, and yet YouTube is founded upon inherited nostalgia. Sir Mix-a-Lot became a bridge between the creator’s new and old and allowed us a moment to reminisce and reflect on the world’s one true love, big butts.

You too can appreciate that moment with the greatness that is Sir-Mix-Alot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvKj_XWykIU