Breadtube: Left-wing Youtubers

[sqbr]

scytale asked about Breadtube in a comment thread, and I thought I might as well make a proper post. Made with the help of Cam, who is way more into this stuff than me.

So! Breadtube is a subculture of progressive Youtube accounts, often making videos about pop culture but also history/philosophy etc. Breadtube.tv has a little more context and a long list of channels.

I've heard it criticised a lot for being very white/male etc, and since I just watch what I'm recced, my recs have that problem too. Cam recced me some more diverse channels he's heard good things about, who I've linked and will have to check out.

My recs
Note that I've generally only watched one or two videos by each account.

PhilosophyTube: Philosophy. Cameron LOVES this guy.
Rec: Witchcraft, Gender, & Marxism

Folding Ideas: Film analysis. I've enjoyed quite a few of his videos. Cam likes him.
Rec: A Lukewarm Defence of Fifty Shades of Grey

Hbomberguy: Pop culture analysis. I've basically just watched this one video but it's very good. Cam likes him.
Rec: Sherlock Is Garbage, And Here's Why

Lindsey Ellis: Pop culture analysis, with a lot of Disney. I've liked some of her videos, but sometimes they feel a bit shallow. Cam likes her.
Rec: Pocahontas Was a Mistake, and Here's Why!

SarahZ: Pop Culture and fandom. I've liked quite a few of her videos, I vaguely remembered being annoyed by others...but I think I was mixing her up with Jenny Nicholson. Cam likes her.
Rec: Serious topic: Double Standards and Diverse Media
Silly topic: Tumblr's Failed Convention: The Story of Dashcon (the tone is so different I couldn't decide)

Jim Sterling/The Jimquisition: Bombastic video game analysis. Sometimes good, sometimes more shouting than content.
Rec: The Addictive Cost Of Predatory Videogame Monetization

Juice Media: Political satire.
Rec: Honest Government Ad | Visit Timor-Leste!

Kat Blaque: Social commentary. I hadn't heard of her before today, but Cam recced when I said I wished I knew more POC youtubers and she's pretty cool!
Rec: THE DARK SIDE OF BUZZFEED
Also Why is "LeftTube" So White?, which is useful for an insight into the dynamics around Breadtube/LeftTube, and how this affects her as a black trans woman


Recs from Cam I haven't watched/don't like

Jenny Nicholson Fandom and pop culture. Her videos don't work for me or Cam, but she's well respected enough that Cam recs her anyway.

Knowing Better: History, Government, and Psychology. "Originally presented a moderate viewpoint before realising that's not a good thing"

Beau of the Fifth Column: US politics, and police/military things.

Three Arrows: US politics.

Shaun: tears down right wing talking points. Talks slowly.

Pop Culture Detective: Discussions of pop culture from the POV of how toxic masculinity affects men.

Other notable accounts I haven't watched

chescaleigh: A black woman Cam has heard good things about but not watched himself.

Sexplanations: Sex education, which is apparently very good. Into homeopathy.

Contrapoints: Controversial social commentary. She's a trans woman who is Not Great about non-binary people, and goes through cycles of offending people, apologising, then offending people again.

Feminist Frequency: Feminist analysis of pop culture. Created by Anita Sarkesian, who was attacked aggressively for the very idea by Gamergate.

Tweets with collections of twitter links: One Two

Comments

[yalovetz]

The only ones of those I watch regularly are Lindsey Ellis, Kat Blaque, and Contrapoints. I really like Kat Blaque's stuff, she talks very openly about race, polyamory, goth culture, kink, and trans stuff. I started watching Contrapoints years ago, before she transitioned, and while I think she's done some really important intellectual work in the past, I'm unhappy with how she's conducted herself in recent years. Lindsey Ellis strikes me as rather fannish in her overall approach.

[sqbr]

I have now watched some Kat Blaque videos and moved her to my recced list! She does indeed seem very cool. *goes to watch more videos*

[ariaflame]

I watch Beau of the fifth column pretty regularly. I don't agree with him on everything but he seems to be good people. Occasionally there's some non-political stuff on there. A lot about community building.

[sqbr]

nods

[holyschist]

I think some people have interpreted a lot of what Contrapoints has actually said in aggressively bad faith; I like her videos a lot (I don't always agree, but I find them invariably thought-provoking), and I have nonbinary friends who like her stuff as well (and friends who don't, or have never heard of her). Yeah, sometimes she puts her foot in her mouth, but that's human, and she apologizes, which seems to me better than not apologizing. So - YMMV, but there's value to be found there for some people.

[scytale]

I'm very late, but thank you for this, and especially the video recs!

I've heard of only a few of those channels before, though not in the context of Breadtube, so this is very helpful.

[sqbr]

I'm glad it's helpful! It ended up being a lot of fun to put together, thanks for the inspiration :)