Posts

A look at PewDiePie’s unprecedented YouTube success

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  Vloggers have become one of the go-to sources of information and entertainment in the new millennium, as the internet is now more accessible globally and streaming has become the norm.   Social media is more powerful than ever, and people who’ve seen its potential early on are now reaping the rewards.   Topping the list of superstars basking in YouTube glory is the Swedish content creator Felix Kjellberg, better known to many as PewDiePie.   The 28-year-old vlogger is the most popular in the platform, having amassed over 64 million subscribers as of this writing.   His typical posts rake in millions of views, ads, and, in effect, have made PewDiePie a certified young billionaire. Of course, like many current YouTubers, Felix began uploading videos just for fun.   Now, he has made content creation a full-time career that has become the industry’s template for success.   It all began when the video platform opened the doors for paying its t...

Is the latest Kanye West album brilliant or a flop?

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  After a long layoff and some soul-searching in the relative seclusion of a Wyoming resort, rap star Kanye West is back with his eighth studio album “Ye.”   The sitcom-length release has polarized critics and fans everywhere, some claiming that it goes against the grain and is West’s most experimental yet, while others insist that it’s just a receptacle of over-the-top missives and carelessly constructed instrumentation . What’s sure is that the album gets everyone more focused on his music once more.   “Ye” is a much-needed breather from Kanye’s many ridiculous and even scandalous political claims and positioning in recent months.   Hearing the eccentric songs in the short album, makes us forget for a while his affinity with Trump, as well as of the other, politically incorrect remarks he has made on rappers, race, and society in general.   The tracks feel jagged and sound raw, banking on a slew of samplings and a cappella rapping, reminiscent of ...

The value of fan service in Nathan Fillion’s Uncharted short film.

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The internet broke this July when a video popped up showcasing Firefly actor Nathan Fillion alongside other notable Hollywood stars playing as characters in the renowned Playstation 4 game Uncharted.   That Fillion actually agreed to doing a fan-made Uncharted short movie was something out of left field, yet one that just might change how the entertainment industry looks at video game adaptations.   After all, everyone into the game knows that its lead character Nathan Drake was, in every way, modeled after Fillion.   Also, a full-length movie adaptation of Uncharted is currently in the works which would star Tom Holland instead.   Fans everywhere are elated by the short film directed by Allan Ungar as, though short, it came across as authentic, complete with the signature moves, antics, and humor of the Nathan Drake we’ve grown to love in the console game series.   There’s even a sequence about three-quarters into the film that truly captures how Drak...